Cuban Candidates Clash

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US Senators Ted Cruz, Texas and Marco Rubio, Florida and both Cuban immigrants found plenty of opportunities to draw attention to themselves and add to their opponents camp pains contrasts.

Rubio: “We will have to work around the world with less than ideal governments. The government in Saudi Arabia is not a democracy, but we will have to work with them … But anti-American dictators like Assad. If they go I will not shed a tear.”

Bill of Rights

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On this, the 224th anniversary of the Bill of Rights, students from across the country discussed and debated issues related to the 1st amendment.

This anniversary marks the date, Dec. 15, 1791, when the required number of states approved the first ten amendments to the Constitution.

Do The Right Thing

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Nearly six-in-10 Americans say the United States should not temporarily bar Muslims from other countries from entering the U.S., and two-thirds say such a ban would go against the founding principles of this country, a CBS News poll shows.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump sparked a firestorm when he proposed keeping Muslims from coming in.

Donald Trump stands by Muslim ban despite backlash
There are sharp differences by political party. Just over half of Republicans responding -- 54 percent -- support such a ban, while most Democrats and independents do not.

Good & Bad News

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The good news is that City Island's new bridge will not have a toll. but, NY state officials have announced that Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bridges and Tunnels is set to strengthen toll evasion enforcement at its seven bridges and two tunnels in New York City. This plan aligns with a proposed New York State regulation to suspend the registrations of vehicles that repeatedly evade payment on toll crossings.

City Island Detour?

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City Island traffic may soon be increased by new status of a Yacht Club that has been an institution for decades. The Stuyvesant Yacht Club may soon be leased, or sold, yo NYC Parks Department. This local yacht hub has been on the eastern end of Centre St. for almost a century.

Among the concerns is t he need for onsite parking. Concerns that a full-time concessionaire might compete with local businesses and bring much traffic or recreational nightlife like Dyckman Marina in Manhattan.

Santa Baby

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Our granddaughter Olivia is only one month young and she is already prepared for her very first Christmas.

Her mother Sabrina and her father Stephen agree and we ask all of you... Inst she the most adorable baby girl who has managed to win all of our hearts? We certainly think so. What say you?

Santa Baby By Eartha Kitt https://youtu.be/g7T0IK99ELs via @YouTube

Photo: Stephen Grevenberg, DaD

Human Evolution?

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The Coliseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, was an oval amphitheater in the center of Rome. Fighting and destruction was constantly the biggest draw. Coliseum gladiators may have been the single most barbaric sporting venue in human history. Some of the showdowns witnessed there were so ferocious that we still talk about it today.

World Carbon Withdrawls

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Now that the international community has agreed to cut carbon emissions, the next step is to begin and it may turn out to be difficult and expensive.

This is the way to start a new week. The ink has dried in a first-of-its-kind universal agreement intended to wean Earth off polluting fossil fuels and slow global warming.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

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Like my parents did on their wedding day, millions have descend to local churches annually on December 12 and their faith shows no signs of fading.

The growth in the United States is strong, but there are many more in Central and South America, where, along with the Philippines, their devotion has deep roots.

The miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is centuries old and her message to St. Juan Diego has been translated into numerous languages over the years. So what more can we learn about Our Lady of Guadalupe and her message?

Handcrafted art by: Yirong Chen Soto *GUADALUPE" Yirong's needle point embroidery was produced with yarn stitched through an open weave canvas.
The new film is based on Anderson and Msgr. Chavez’s New York Times bestseller, “Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love.” Narrated by actor Jim Caviezel, the documentary brings the story behind one of the most easily recognized religious images to life with 3D animation, live action reenactments, and expert commentary.

The documentary shows that while Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez had outlawed the practice of human sacrifice, the Aztecs were witnessing the collapse of their empire, the enslavement of their people by the Spaniards, and catastrophic loss of life due to virulent disease ripping through their population.

Spanish missionaries also recognized the dire situation in Mexico City. Bishop Juan de Zumarraga was so disgusted with the abuses carried out on the native population by the new Spanish government, that he felt that unless a miracle occurred, Mexico City would be lost. He even went to so far as to order all the priests to abandon the city until the government changed its ways.

Thankfully, a miracle did come by the way of the Virgin Mary appearing to the humble peasant, Juan Diego, telling him to have Bishop Zumarraga build a shrine for her on the top of Tepeyac Hill.

In the years that followed, even in the midst of ongoing strife with the Spanish government, one of the largest conversions in the history of the Church took place with 9 million natives being baptized.

PARRANDA NAVIDEÑA

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There has been a change...Antonio Caban Vale "El Topo" will be headlining instead of Jose Nogueras tonight Saturday, December 12, 2015 @ 8pm The Lehman Center & Grace Marie Herger present:

PARRANDA NAVIDEÑA
A Lehman Center holiday tradition

“Parranda, Jolgorio y Bembe”
Featuring: Antonio Caban Vale “El Topo” & Papo Valle y Trio Borinquen