Okay, people, that's just crass...

I tend to believe that no matter how much you may dislike another country's policies (or your own country's for that matter), you should still respect a national anthem/flag. Hence, I wasn't too disappointed to hear that a New York team beat Montreal at hockey after many fans booed the Star-Spangled Banner. Serves you right. On the other hand, I also don't get the anti-France sentiment I've seen in some Americans. Just because we're not all playing nicely with one another doesn't mean we need to be sticking our tongues out, either. French fries being renamed "Freedom fries"? Hello, people, I have news for you. There's nothing French about french fries--every trivia bit I've ever heard says that they're American in origin--and German chocolate is actually named after a guy, not a country. And while I'm at it, where do people get off saying that Tom Daschle is "unAmerican" because he said President Bush's team had so failed at diplomacy that we were now going to war? I mean, that's pretty much a statement of fact, you know.

I'm beginning to see the wisdom in the button slogan of "it's a nice little planet if you know the right people". Arrgghh!!! Children, behave! Play nicely, or you'll be sent to your rooms!