In a D.C. state of mind

One answer is: Six rows of stars — the top, third and fifth rows with nine; the second, fourth and sixth rows with eight. The question is: How might the nation reconfigure its flag to acknowledge a 51st state. Or "state."

The question is pertinent, or it would be were Congress inclined to adhere to the Constitution. Both the House and Senate are moving toward pretending, as part of a disgraceful bargain with Utah, that the District of Columbia is a state.

The D.C. House Voting Rights Act will give the District a full voting member in the House of Representatives. The problem is, or should be, that although the Constitution has provisions that allow various interpretations, the following is not one of those provisions: The House shall be composed of members chosen "by the people of the several states."

The Constitution won't stop lawmakers from doing whatever they want to do. Democrats have the votes to enact all their pet projects now.