The reason why November/December sales receipts are so low, and malls are (relatively) empty, and retailers are going out of business -

The Christians don't know that Christmas is coming!

They don't realize they're supposed to be out there, buying gifts! Yeah, that's the ticket - it's the stores not explicitly reminding us that Christmas is coming, and has nothing to do with people out of work, businesses failing, investments melting away, people already at their credit limits and unable to get more, and getting foreclosed out of their homes.

They just don't realize that it's Christmas time.

... if Mr Bush had left the podium followed by a deluge of hurled shoes.

"please don't think I'm going to stand still and let you bill me for other people's privilege of having children."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it children who grow up to be workers, taxpayers, care givers, and otherwise keep society going? It's children - in this case, other people's children - who will thus be paying your Social Security benefits when you retire. Sure, you're paying today - but you're paying for your parents.

Social Security, as perhaps the most obvious example, is an inter-generational compact. Your paying for the previous generations guarantees that your generation's offspring will then pay for you. Wingnuts call this a "Ponzi scheme", which is both simple-minded and perverse, but it does depend upon there being a next generation.

Which is where the tax benefits for "breeders" come in. The paltry exemptions and deductions by no means cover the cost of rearing a child - nobody's getting rich off their standard deduction. But they do provide a measure of relief for what this country has agreed to be a general good.

Meanwhile, you're free to not avail yourself of the tax benefit by remaining child-free. You pay a little more. Big deal - would you prefer that you be forced to bear children?!

"Litriture," that's what the problem is, not fiction. There are plenty of manly - or at least exciting, action-filled - stories filed under what the book sellers call "genre" fiction: action-adventure, science fiction, romance, detective, horror, fantasy, etc. etc. And people, men and women alike, read 'em.

These tales can have interesting, complicated characters (or not). They can make you think as well as feel. They can reveal great truths and little human details. But they tend to NOT be bloodless, opaque, and overly fussy. These tales were meant to be read.

Something went wrong when English faculties defined "literature" as something you'd pay NOT to read. But writers just went on writing stuff that people liked.

So - all is not lost, Mr. Keillor.

Since we're into the Golden Oldies, remember Trent Lott and the drama of first taking over the Texas lege, then redistricting to force incumbent Democrats out of their Congressional seats?

And then, as soon as Texas got a majority Republican delegation to Congress - the Repubs became the minority party in Congress?

Heh, heh, heh.

Back when Albuquerque had two - TWO! - Krispy Kremes, you'd always get a free donut when you walked in.

But for some reason, they went bankrupt and closed ...

don't assume that Mr Rove will NOT turn over all abusive or threatening messages to the FBI for prosecution. It's just the kind of guy he is.

"Trucks running on diesel" - ridiculous for the future? Well, maybe not. Biodiesel can be made from just about any organic waste. If you feed people, you can make biodiesel. The engines would be relatively simple and easy to maintain, besides being something that could be easily fueled from existing waste, and you wouldn't need a planet to mine for petroleum.

If we only used technology as "advanced" as the current time, we'd be zapping can lids off with lasers, instead of mechanical cutting blade tools. Nothing would be "printed", as we have computer screens. Horses would be kept only in zoos and wildlife refuges, never ridden.

I agree that using older technologies is most frequently observed in "skiffy" TV shows out of either scriptwriter simple-mindedness or a bean-counter's preference to just get something out of Wardrobe or Stock Sets (say for a Western or noir - can you say "holodeck"?

But seriously - we continue to use technologies of many vintages today, and will probably always do so, because they may be more appropriate, cheaper, or beloved. Do we as yet have any saddles with seat belts, neck restraints, and airbags?

China has lurched from extreme Communism to extreme capitalism, and the results are in many ways equally devastating: massive pollution of water and air; deforestation and desertification; food supplies contaminated by adulterants like melamine, heavy metals, hormones, and pesticides; cheaply-made, toxic consumer products - face it, they probably export the best, leaving Chinese with stuff that's much worse.

And their yuan-grubbing agri-businesses have seized onto genetically-modified crops with both hands? We should be surprised? It's all about the quick buck, the big sale, the higher yield. The traditional Chinese concern for the next several generations seems to have been drowned out in the primordial roar of the unregulated, uncontrolled, irresponsible and short-sighted Marketplace.