In a country built on the dreams and accomplishments of an immigrant population, a particularly severe wound is inflicted on that principle when an immigration matter is not conducted in accord with the best of our tradition of courtesy and fairness.

I say to the women out there, remember how difficult it was for women like Justice O'Connor starting out. Even though she graduated with top grades, she had to take a job as a legal secretary. Remember how far we have come.

It is a hallmark of the American system of justice that anyone who appears as a litigant in an American courtroom is treated with dignity and respect.

Every sexy joke of long ago, every flirtation, is being recalled by some women and revised and re-evaluated as sexual harassment. Frivolous accusations reduce, if not eliminate, not only communication between men and women but any kind of playfulness and banter... Where has the laughter gone?