"Lock the doors and close the blinds -- we're going for a ride..."

Tonight is the turning point when it happens.  And America is doing nothing to stop it.

True -- it all seems innocuous during the day:  people dressed up in cute little costumes, wearing Condi Rice masks or dressing up like Optimus Prime.   Orange and black candy and decorations are all around us -- as if we're at a Princeton Alumni Carbohydrate Club meeting.  Kids are attending parties with their friends in safe places -- some schools, fire stations, etc. still hold such parties as an alternative to trick or treating.  Heck -- you might see the occassional toilet papering of a house which -- let's face it -- the tenants deserve. All makes for a fun day.

But overnight is where it all changes.

Because tomorrow morning -- the Chirstmas* shopping stuff starts going up in all the stores.  And the new economic season begins...

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* or "Holiday Season."  This isn't a rant about the war on any certain holiday**.

** ... yet.