Josh Bently writes us from Fayetteville, Arkansas: 

Apparently Rod Blagojevich considers himself to be the King of Illinois.  Yesterday the Land of Lincoln's governor announced that he would be spending $10 million of his subjects' money on stem cell research.  As reported today in the Chicago Tribune,  His Majesty, Governor Blagojevich ignored the fact that the state legislature had rejected several plans to fund stem cell research during its spring session.  The Trib explains:

'The money was added as a single line item to the budget of the Illinois Department of Public Health and was listed as being "for scientific research," without mentioning stem cells.'

Now that the budget has passed, the governor/king has decreed by executive order that all $10 million be used for stem cell research, including research on human embryos. 

It is troubling to have governments funding research that involves the destruction of human life, but the state/kingdom of Illinois is not the first to do so.  California, New Jersey, and Connecticut have already earmarked funds for embryonic stem cell research.  The difference is that those states did so with the full knowledge of their people and their legislatures. 

The more troubling issue in Illinois is the blatant distain that their governor/king has shown for the democratic process.  The Tribune quotes His Majesty, Governor Blagojevich as saying:

"While we are forced to live in a democracy with several branches of government, sometimes in a democracy the process is frustratingly slow."

The governor/king is wrong.  Neither he nor any of his subjects is being forced to live in a democracy.  If Mr. Blagojevich does not like to work with the people and their representatives, he can always find another place to live. 

The beaches of Cuba are nice this time of year.