Chicago couple eagerly awaits Illinois gay marriage vote
Theresa Volpe and Mercedes Santos' 8-year-old daughter, Ava, has
learned about the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s in
school. So her school friends understand when she tells them her two
moms are fighting for their ccivil rights to marry -- it's just hard to explain it to grown-ups sometimes, Volpe and Santos say.
"This is really for our kids," said Volpe, who along with Santos are plaintiffs in a lawsuit demanding same sex marriage in Illinois. "It's important for them to be treated fairly. We're just as much a family as any other family."
Illinois could become the next U.S. state to legalize gay marriage with a bill set to be introduced in the state Senate this week. Gay marriage supporters in Illinois say they plan to press for approval in a Democratic-majority legislature in the next few days.
President Barack Obama endorsed the proposal to legalize gay marriage in his home state.
If it passes, Illinois would be the 10th state to approve marriage between same-sex couples. And Volpe and Santos could get what their siblings have already had -- a real wedding.
Santos, 47, and Volpe, 42, have been together for 21 years and have two children, Ava and 4-year-old Jaidon, conceived by anonymous donor. The women have owned a business that provides editorial content for publisher for 13 years.
Their large, conservative Catholic families -- Italian on Volpe side and Filipino on Santos' side -- accept their relationship. Volpe's mother, Barbara, lives with them in their spacious Chicago home. A recent Saturday found Barbara out fetching ear medicine for Ava, while the kids built a pillow fort in the living room near colorful wooden statues of the Virgin Mary.
Santos and Volpe long ago had legal papers prepared defining their relationship, to carry with them in case someone had to go to the hospital. But they say having the paperwork, and even being in a civil union, allowed by Illinois law last year, does not always help in situations where they have to explain their family.
Two years ago, Jaidon had kidney failure and was in danger of dying. He was transferred from a suburban hospital to an intensive care pediatric unit in the city, and Theresa filled out paperwork while Mercedes sat with him in his room.
But then Theresa wasn't allowed to see Jaidon.
"The woman at the desk said 'Hold on a minute, there's already a mom in there'," Volpe recalled. When she explained that Jaidon had two moms, the woman said "Well, if you were his stepmom, we have a wristband, but we don't have a wristband for two moms."
Mercedes had to leave their son's bedside to help explain to a supervisor.
"When Jaidon was sick it was the turning point," said Santos, explaining why they joined the lawsuit filed last May.
"In an emergency situation, we should not have to sit and explain our relationship," said Volpe.
The civil union law gives same-sex couples some of the same rights and responsibilities of married couples in Illinois, including hospital visitation and shared parental rights.
But Santos said an emergency room worker in Illinois or out-of-state might not understand what a civil union is. Nor did some members of their family -- who did not come to their civil union ceremony because it didn't seem important enough.
"If you say 'marriage,' people know what marriage is," Volpe said.
Volpe and Santos went to the Cook County clerk's office to ask for a marriage license, and were told they could not have one -- just a civil union license. When they said they already had a civil union, the desk worker explained to a confused co-worker that Volpe and Santos wanted "an upgrade."
"We said, 'Yes, we want an upgrade!" Santos remembered, laughing. The people behind them in line cheered and clapped. "That really is so symbolic of what civil union is -- it's not in the same category as marriage. Marriage is an upgrade. Gays got the downgraded version of commitment."
Those opposed to gay marriage in Illinois include the state's Catholic Conference of Illinois and Chicago's Cardinal Francis George, who said that same sex marriage is opposed to natural law.
Volpe and Santos go to Catholic services -- though they disagree with the church's stand on gay marriage. They say gay marriage is not about religion, but is a human rights issue. They also see it as a generational issue and one of familiarity -- young people accept it, and people who get to know gay families can come to accept it, too.
"We want them to know we're a family, with the same issues all families have -- should we send our kids to private school? Are we making mistakes with them?" Santos said. "We have the same struggles, the same successes that everybody else has."
- Reuters
this year or in the future.
Reuters report that Obama, who returned to Hawaii for a family vacation shortly after the House of Representatives passed a compromise bill on Tuesday, said in his weekly radio and Internet address that the new law was just one step toward fixing the country's fiscal and economic problems.
"We still need to do more to put Americans back to work while also putting this country on a path to pay down its debt, and our economy can't afford more protracted showdowns or manufactured crises along the way," he said in the address, broadcast on Saturday. "Because even as our businesses created two million new jobs last year - including 168,000 new jobs last month - the messy brinkmanship in Congress made business owners more uncertain and consumers less confident."
Government data released on Friday showed the U.S. unemployment rate remained at 7.8 per cent in December. Lawmakers in the Senate and the House passed legislation last week that raised tax rates for the wealthiest Americans while making Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class permanent.
It was a victory for Obama, who campaigned for re-election largely on a promise to achieve that goal. Republicans have indicated that they are ready for another fight over the U.S. debt ceiling. Representative Dave Camp, delivering his party's weekly address, warned, at least indirectly, that they would expect spending cuts in return for raising the ceiling again.
- Reuters
"This is really for our kids," said Volpe, who along with Santos are plaintiffs in a lawsuit demanding same sex marriage in Illinois. "It's important for them to be treated fairly. We're just as much a family as any other family."
Illinois could become the next U.S. state to legalize gay marriage with a bill set to be introduced in the state Senate this week. Gay marriage supporters in Illinois say they plan to press for approval in a Democratic-majority legislature in the next few days.
President Barack Obama endorsed the proposal to legalize gay marriage in his home state.
If it passes, Illinois would be the 10th state to approve marriage between same-sex couples. And Volpe and Santos could get what their siblings have already had -- a real wedding.
Santos, 47, and Volpe, 42, have been together for 21 years and have two children, Ava and 4-year-old Jaidon, conceived by anonymous donor. The women have owned a business that provides editorial content for publisher for 13 years.
Their large, conservative Catholic families -- Italian on Volpe side and Filipino on Santos' side -- accept their relationship. Volpe's mother, Barbara, lives with them in their spacious Chicago home. A recent Saturday found Barbara out fetching ear medicine for Ava, while the kids built a pillow fort in the living room near colorful wooden statues of the Virgin Mary.
Santos and Volpe long ago had legal papers prepared defining their relationship, to carry with them in case someone had to go to the hospital. But they say having the paperwork, and even being in a civil union, allowed by Illinois law last year, does not always help in situations where they have to explain their family.
Two years ago, Jaidon had kidney failure and was in danger of dying. He was transferred from a suburban hospital to an intensive care pediatric unit in the city, and Theresa filled out paperwork while Mercedes sat with him in his room.
But then Theresa wasn't allowed to see Jaidon.
"The woman at the desk said 'Hold on a minute, there's already a mom in there'," Volpe recalled. When she explained that Jaidon had two moms, the woman said "Well, if you were his stepmom, we have a wristband, but we don't have a wristband for two moms."
Mercedes had to leave their son's bedside to help explain to a supervisor.
"When Jaidon was sick it was the turning point," said Santos, explaining why they joined the lawsuit filed last May.
"In an emergency situation, we should not have to sit and explain our relationship," said Volpe.
The civil union law gives same-sex couples some of the same rights and responsibilities of married couples in Illinois, including hospital visitation and shared parental rights.
But Santos said an emergency room worker in Illinois or out-of-state might not understand what a civil union is. Nor did some members of their family -- who did not come to their civil union ceremony because it didn't seem important enough.
"If you say 'marriage,' people know what marriage is," Volpe said.
Volpe and Santos went to the Cook County clerk's office to ask for a marriage license, and were told they could not have one -- just a civil union license. When they said they already had a civil union, the desk worker explained to a confused co-worker that Volpe and Santos wanted "an upgrade."
"We said, 'Yes, we want an upgrade!" Santos remembered, laughing. The people behind them in line cheered and clapped. "That really is so symbolic of what civil union is -- it's not in the same category as marriage. Marriage is an upgrade. Gays got the downgraded version of commitment."
Those opposed to gay marriage in Illinois include the state's Catholic Conference of Illinois and Chicago's Cardinal Francis George, who said that same sex marriage is opposed to natural law.
Volpe and Santos go to Catholic services -- though they disagree with the church's stand on gay marriage. They say gay marriage is not about religion, but is a human rights issue. They also see it as a generational issue and one of familiarity -- young people accept it, and people who get to know gay families can come to accept it, too.
"We want them to know we're a family, with the same issues all families have -- should we send our kids to private school? Are we making mistakes with them?" Santos said. "We have the same struggles, the same successes that everybody else has."
- Reuters
Obama says US can't afford more showdowns over debt, deficits
Fresh from the long legislative fight to prevent a "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts, President Barack Obama warned on Saturday that the United States could not afford further budget showdowns
Reuters report that Obama, who returned to Hawaii for a family vacation shortly after the House of Representatives passed a compromise bill on Tuesday, said in his weekly radio and Internet address that the new law was just one step toward fixing the country's fiscal and economic problems.
"We still need to do more to put Americans back to work while also putting this country on a path to pay down its debt, and our economy can't afford more protracted showdowns or manufactured crises along the way," he said in the address, broadcast on Saturday. "Because even as our businesses created two million new jobs last year - including 168,000 new jobs last month - the messy brinkmanship in Congress made business owners more uncertain and consumers less confident."
Government data released on Friday showed the U.S. unemployment rate remained at 7.8 per cent in December. Lawmakers in the Senate and the House passed legislation last week that raised tax rates for the wealthiest Americans while making Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class permanent.
It was a victory for Obama, who campaigned for re-election largely on a promise to achieve that goal. Republicans have indicated that they are ready for another fight over the U.S. debt ceiling. Representative Dave Camp, delivering his party's weekly address, warned, at least indirectly, that they would expect spending cuts in return for raising the ceiling again.
- Reuters
Assad to make rare speech as Syrian rebels draw nearer
06 January 2013
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will deliver a rare speech on Sunday about the uprising against his rule, which has killed 60,000 people and brought civil war to the edge of his capital. With insurgents
fighting their way closer to the seat of his power, state media said
in a statement that Assad would speak on Sunday morning about the
"latest developments in Syria and the region", without giving details.
It will be the 47-year-old leader's first speech in months and his first public comments since he dismissed suggestions that he might go into exile to end the civil war, telling Russian television in November that he would "live and die" in Syria.
Insurgents are venturing ever closer into Damascus after bringing a crescent of suburbs under their control from the city's eastern outskirts to the southwest.
Assad's forces blasted rockets into the Jobar neighbourhood near the city center on Saturday to try to drive out rebel fighters, a day after bombarding rebel-held areas in the eastern suburb of Daraya.
"The shelling began in the early hours of the morning, it has intensified since 11 a.m., and now it has become really heavy. Yesterday it was Daraya and today Jobar is the hottest spot in Damascus," an activist named Housam said by Skype from the capital.
Since Assad's last public comments, in November, rebels have strengthened their hold on swathes of territory across northern Syria, launched an offensive in the central province of Hama and endured weeks of bombardment by Assad's forces trying to dislodge them from Damascus's outer neighborhoods.
Syria's political opposition has also won widespread international recognition. But Assad has continued to rely on support from Russia, China and Iran to hold firm and has used his air power to blunt rebel gains on the ground.
With the conflict showing no sign of abating, Syria's deputy foreign minister visited Iran on Saturday to seek to maintain the support of Assad's main ally in the region.
Iran's Fars news agency said Faisal al-Makdad would meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials.
MISSILE BATTERIES
Despite the estimated death toll of 60,000 announced by the United Nations earlier this week - a figure sharply higher than that given by activists - the West has shown little appetite for intervening against Assad in the way that NATO forces supported rebels who overthrew Libya's Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
But NATO is sending U.S. and European Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries to the Turkish-Syrian border.
The United States military said U.S. troops and equipment had begun arriving in Turkey on Friday for the deployment. Germany and the Netherlands are also sending Patriot batteries, which will take weeks to deploy fully.
Turkey and NATO say the missiles are a safeguard to protect southern Turkey from possible Syrian missile strikes. Syria and allies Russia and Iran say the deployments could spark an eventual military action by the Western alliance.
Syria's war has proved the longest and bloodiest of the conflicts that arose out of popular uprisings in Arab countries over the past two years and led to the downfall of autocratic regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.
The war pits rebels mainly drawn from the Sunni Muslim majority against Assad, a member of the Shi'ite-derived Alawite minority sect, whose family has ruled Syria since his father seized power in a coup in 1970.
Syria's SANA state news agency said a journalist, Suheil al-Ali from the pro-government Addouniya TV, had died of wounds sustained in an attack by terrorists, the term government media use to refer to rebels. Syria was by far the most dangerous country for journalists last year, with 28 killed.
The opposition-linked Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict from Britain through a network of activists on the ground, reported fighting and shelling on Saturday in the eastern Euphrates River town of Deir al-Zor and near the central city of Hama, as well as near Damascus.
Assad's last formal speech was delivered to parliament seven months ago, in early June. "If we work together," he said, "I confirm that the end to this situation is near."
- (Reuters)
It will be the 47-year-old leader's first speech in months and his first public comments since he dismissed suggestions that he might go into exile to end the civil war, telling Russian television in November that he would "live and die" in Syria.
Insurgents are venturing ever closer into Damascus after bringing a crescent of suburbs under their control from the city's eastern outskirts to the southwest.
Assad's forces blasted rockets into the Jobar neighbourhood near the city center on Saturday to try to drive out rebel fighters, a day after bombarding rebel-held areas in the eastern suburb of Daraya.
"The shelling began in the early hours of the morning, it has intensified since 11 a.m., and now it has become really heavy. Yesterday it was Daraya and today Jobar is the hottest spot in Damascus," an activist named Housam said by Skype from the capital.
Since Assad's last public comments, in November, rebels have strengthened their hold on swathes of territory across northern Syria, launched an offensive in the central province of Hama and endured weeks of bombardment by Assad's forces trying to dislodge them from Damascus's outer neighborhoods.
Syria's political opposition has also won widespread international recognition. But Assad has continued to rely on support from Russia, China and Iran to hold firm and has used his air power to blunt rebel gains on the ground.
With the conflict showing no sign of abating, Syria's deputy foreign minister visited Iran on Saturday to seek to maintain the support of Assad's main ally in the region.
Iran's Fars news agency said Faisal al-Makdad would meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials.
MISSILE BATTERIES
Despite the estimated death toll of 60,000 announced by the United Nations earlier this week - a figure sharply higher than that given by activists - the West has shown little appetite for intervening against Assad in the way that NATO forces supported rebels who overthrew Libya's Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
But NATO is sending U.S. and European Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries to the Turkish-Syrian border.
The United States military said U.S. troops and equipment had begun arriving in Turkey on Friday for the deployment. Germany and the Netherlands are also sending Patriot batteries, which will take weeks to deploy fully.
Turkey and NATO say the missiles are a safeguard to protect southern Turkey from possible Syrian missile strikes. Syria and allies Russia and Iran say the deployments could spark an eventual military action by the Western alliance.
Syria's war has proved the longest and bloodiest of the conflicts that arose out of popular uprisings in Arab countries over the past two years and led to the downfall of autocratic regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.
The war pits rebels mainly drawn from the Sunni Muslim majority against Assad, a member of the Shi'ite-derived Alawite minority sect, whose family has ruled Syria since his father seized power in a coup in 1970.
Syria's SANA state news agency said a journalist, Suheil al-Ali from the pro-government Addouniya TV, had died of wounds sustained in an attack by terrorists, the term government media use to refer to rebels. Syria was by far the most dangerous country for journalists last year, with 28 killed.
The opposition-linked Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict from Britain through a network of activists on the ground, reported fighting and shelling on Saturday in the eastern Euphrates River town of Deir al-Zor and near the central city of Hama, as well as near Damascus.
Assad's last formal speech was delivered to parliament seven months ago, in early June. "If we work together," he said, "I confirm that the end to this situation is near."
- (Reuters)
Shocker: Man found, after missing for 20 years
A man named Igor Faber, who was discovered missing in 1993, has
been found in a homeless shelter in Prague, capital and largest city of
Czech Republic. Sources said that, he disappeared after going on a
hike near his home, in Slovakia nearly 20 years ago and after months of unsuccessful searching for him he was presumed dead.
It was revealed that, Renata his wife was told he was missing and may well have passed away, but it turns out that Faber had reportedly, walked out on her and his kids to start a new life.
A family friend said, "He was finding family life tough and wanted to start again. He didn't give a thought for his wife and children."
On his arrival, Renata refused to take her husband back after he was found in a homeless shelter in Prague last month.
She explained: "How can I take him back after all this time? Life has moved on. The children have a new father, I have a new husband".
"If he couldn't be bothered to contact us, then I don't see why I should change my life again. Clearly he didn't want us, so now we don't want him," the angry Renata added.
It was revealed that, Renata his wife was told he was missing and may well have passed away, but it turns out that Faber had reportedly, walked out on her and his kids to start a new life.
A family friend said, "He was finding family life tough and wanted to start again. He didn't give a thought for his wife and children."
On his arrival, Renata refused to take her husband back after he was found in a homeless shelter in Prague last month.
She explained: "How can I take him back after all this time? Life has moved on. The children have a new father, I have a new husband".
"If he couldn't be bothered to contact us, then I don't see why I should change my life again. Clearly he didn't want us, so now we don't want him," the angry Renata added.
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