Gov. Quinn Opens State Parks

Hooray for Governor Pat Quinn! I had previously posted regarding former Gov. Blagojevich's ill-conceived decision to close several state parks. I agreed with Quinn then; and I applaud his decision to open 7 state parks and return them to the people.


“State parks protect some of our most precious habitat and provide opportunities for families to find outdoor recreation close to home. These are the people’s parks and the people have the right to enjoy them in good and bad economic times,” said Governor Quinn.

Today’s announcement officially starts the process of reopening Castle Rock State Park and Lowden State Park in Oregon, Illini State Park in Marseilles, Hidden Springs State Forest in Strasburg, Moraine View State Park in Leroy, Weldon Springs State Park in Clinton and Wolf Creek State Park in Windsor.

This Is Wrong

It is scary that President Obama is transferring power controlling the 2010 Census from the Dept. of Commerce to direct White House control, under Rahm Emanuel! At the very least it looks bad. At its worst... Manipulating the Census can obviously affect presidential elections by ensuring more electoral votes go to States benefiting the current administration, not the actual count of U.S. citizens. That would also affect the make up of the Congress. The U.S. Constitution requires the Census as a responsibility of the Legislative branch. One would hope that Congress would not allow a blatant power grab by the President to stand, but a very partisan Speaker Pelosi is not likely to do it. The change is likely to benefit the Democrats, by adding members to States that they control. Evidently, that is the 'Change You Can Believe In'.