Too bad Mexico's President doesn't feel that way when cashing the foreign aid checks from the United States or when his government encourages its citizens to invade the United States to work illegally and send the proceeds back home.

MEXICO CITY — Mexico's president is making one last attempt to get the "United States" out of Mexico - at least as far as the country's name is concerned.

The name "United Mexican States," or "Estados Unidos Mexicanos," was adopted in 1824 after independence from Spain in imitation of Mexico's democratic northern neighbor, but it is rarely used except on official documents, money and other government material.

Still, President Felipe Calderon called a news conference Thursday to announce that he wants to make the name simply "Mexico." His country doesn't need to copy anyone, he said.

Personally, I m glad to know that he has done such a great job solving Mexico's problems with poverty, government corruption, and narcoterrorism that the only thing he has left to do during the waning days of his time in office is to make a symbolic change to his country's name to poke his country's biggest trading partner in the eye.