Canadian-born Justin Bieber is today's selection in honor of my teenage daughter who went with her girlfriends to hear the 16 year old singer here in Memphis over the weekend. Bieber has the distinction of being the first artist to have seven songs from a debut album listed on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time and his second album debuted at #1 on the charts. Bieber's discovery was also very 21st century. He was picked up for a recording contract after being discovered on YouTube.

I've written a number of times that we need to think about pursuing piecemeal immigration reform and give up on the notion of a comprehensive solution. The reason for this is simple math - you need Republican votes in the Senate to make it happen and the Republican Party has moved so far in to the Tea Party camp that it can't even muster a single pro-immigration voice. Lindsey Graham was that sole voice for much of 2009, but he walked away from the table in the spring and his latest pronouncements on the topic indicate that much like his predecessor in the role, John McCain, he has decided to abandon his prior views and go all out in the other direction. McCain has become the "finish the dang fence" Senator. And Graham just told Fox News he plans to introduce legislation to amend the US Constitution by repealing the 14th Amendment guarantee to birthright citizenship. That particular position is usually a telltale sign that someone is an anti-immigration extremist.

So for those pro-immigration groups out there who still think they can get the votes on CIR, this latest development ought to be a wake up call that it's just not happening. Time to move on to Plan B.

ABC News is reporting this month on illegal immigration in its "Out of the Shadows" series of reports. They're meeting different undocumented individuals to find out what brought them to America and why they entered illegally or fell out of status. One extraordinary story told is that of the Cho family from Korea. The father was a green card holder but called the many years of separation from his wife and children "torture". He helped them cross the border illegally from Canada. The family eventually all became legal under the now expired 245(i) law. The young son Simon Cho grew up to become an Olympic speed skater for Team USA. He tells his story here.

Sorry Governor Brewer.