READER ALEX BENSKY WRITES: “I enjoyed the link to Jonathan Last’s column on Star Wars. In the interests of truth I think you should remind your readers that Star Fleet could destroy both the Empire and the Republic and not break a collective sweat.” Actually, as Steven den Beste points out, the current-day USMC could defeat ’em single-handed.

Back when I was in high school, some of my friends figured that a good high school rifle team was worth at least a battalion of Imperial Stormtroopers, given that the former actually aimed their weapons and understood the concept of cover and concealment, while the latter showed no sign of doing so. Furthermore, that cumbersome armor doesn’t seem to be of any actual protective value.