The Federal Trade Commission was looking into it, Congressional heavyweights had rattled their sabers, and, of course, class action lawyers were circling.

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Thanks to the incredible longevity of the Star Wars brand, kids today are nearly as hungry for plastic light sabers and X-wing flight simulators as they were in the 1980s.

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Except for the tapered electric bulbs in the sconces, we could easily have been sitting there in 1849, listening to the sound of young Count Otto von Bismarck clanging sabers in the next room.

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In the past year alone, a fuel crunch has put a crimp in the sales of SUVs (Detroit's most profitable product), unions have rattled their sabers in the face of more job cuts, and people have started whispering about GM possibly declaring Chapter 11.

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The clones, which have been genetically modified to make them more obedient, are seen by the movie's heroes as little more than another military technology, like battle droids or light sabers. (The clone army apparently plays a role in the downfall of the heroic Jedi Knights, even turning one, Anakin Skywalker, into the evil Darth Vader.) These clone warriors are the ultimate mindless flunkies.

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