Some people (okay, so far only one person, but her opinion is important) don't like our continuing feature "Retroactively Making Star Trek: Voyager Good." Sorry, Skeeter, but I like it; in fact, the more I write the more excited I become about the whole idea. The Odyssey continues!

The French Connection
The ambassador of the French Republic to the United States of America was on The Diane Rehm Show yesterday. He made some excellent points, but also had the unenviable job of making his country seem to have always been supportive of American policy vis-a-vis Iraq. Mr. Ambassador, I apologize for the boorish behavior of my countrymen, but you have to understand that they reacted the way they did because France and America were not standing "side by side," despite your assertions to the contrary. Had France and America been side by side, French troops would have been in the coalition, as they were during the Gulf War. Our two countries have traditionally been both allies and friends, but you have to understand that the recent animosity was a result of our not standing side by side. Frankness is the only way to mend the ties between us, not dissembling half-truths. Nevertheless, France and America are friends, and I want the head of the man who coined the phrase "freedom fries" on a pike.