Speaking of abdication, is there a better example of it than the continuing abject failure of the federal government to enforce its immigration laws? And the very idea of the President of Mexico standing before a joint session of the U. S. Congress castigating one of our states for attempting to protect its property and citizens while receiving a standing ovation from the majority party should be outrageous to every American. Hats off to Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona for carrying this judicial challenge to her state law forward on appeal and exposing the duplicity of this administration. Incidentally, I thought I might never hear it, but there are finally some voices among the loyal opposition suggesting a review of the “birthright citizenship” clause of the 14th Amendment. Nothing is more timely. Clearly, this clause was intended solely for freed slaves and there is absolutely no grounding in the thought that produced this amendment that justifies its application to the children of illegal aliens from whatever source. In fact, analysis by University of Texas law professor Lino Graglia leads him to conclude that Congress could end this birthright privilege on its own without constitutional impediment. I would be surprised if there are enough elected officials with the necessary courage to seriously pursue this debate, but we need to have it.