Quad Cities Annual "We Care" weekend

The Illinois and Iowa Quad Cities holds their annual "We Care" festivities this weekend. This one of two annual fundraisers for AIDS Project Quad Cities. For an updated list of all the activities, visit this page at Pride of the Quad Cities.

"Rest in Peace" in Illinois

The plans of a Kansas church motivated Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to quickly sign a bill into law that would regulate protests at funerals. Blagojevich on Wednesday signed the Let Them Rest in Peace Act, which prohibits pickets from using visual and oral "fighting words" within 200 feet of a funeral service, 30 minutes before, during and 30 minutes after the service. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, have been picketing at soldiers' funerals throughout the country because they believe the military protects a country that tolerates homosexuality, according to Shirley Phelps-Roper, an attorney for the church. The law is effective immediately. "It is pre-emptive," said Rebecca Rausch, a spokeswoman for Blagojevich. "Obviously, the governor always was going to sign it, but it became much more urgent in light of the services that will take place on Friday" in Shumway. Members of the church announced on the church Web site that they plan to attend the funeral of Army Warrant Officer 2nd Class Christopher Donaldson. Here's the story from Rebecca O'Halloran of the Springfield State Journal-Register.

Worst President Ever says Rosie

“I think he [ George W. Bush ] will go down in history as the worst president ever. The most divisive, corrupt, unjust, and by far the least intelligent.” — Rosie O’Donnell to the Denver gay magazine Exp, March 31.

Click here to get your very own 3x11.5 inch sticker seen above.

Stick flags for your Pride parade

Here are two easy-to-carry stick flags for this years Pride parade in your town. Both are screen-print nylon - the 12x18 inch one is on a wooden stick with a gold colored plastic top and the 4x6 inch one is on a plastic stick with a gold colored top. Grab a handful to give to your friends along the parade route.

The 12x18 is $3.99 and the 4x6 is $2.49

Click here to see all our flags.

Quad Cities "We Care" events now listed

Ralph Hunt's new Pride of the Quad Cities site is up and running. Ralph has listed many of the events for this years Aids Project Quad Cities "We Care" event. Here's the direct link to this year's schedule. Check out the rest of his site for upcoming events throughout the remainder of the year.

Bill Clinton's quest to defeat AIDS

The former President has written a feature article in the new issue of NEWSWEEK magazine entitled "My quest to improve care". The link is through MSNBC.com. For more information on the Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS initiative, visit clintonfoundation.org.

IL marriage amendment petition turned in

Same-sex marriage is illegal in Illinois, but a conservative group submitted 345,199 signatures to the State Board of Elections on Monday to put the question of amending the state Constitution to ban gay marriage on the Nov. 7 ballot. The referendum would not be binding. Gov. Rod Blagojevich said at a news conference Monday he would not vote in favor of banning gay marriage in the Constitution. Blagojevich’s Republican opponent in the gubernatorial election isn’t in favor of an amendment, either. “She supports civil union; she’s not in favor of gay marriage,” said Dave Loveday, a spokesman for Judy Baar Topinka. “She doesn’t think the amendment is necessary, because the law is already specific.” Here's the story from Tuesday's edition of the State Journal-Register.