Bushenomics and cultural evolution

I'm muy tranquilo from the pill it took to get me through shopping today. I wasn't the only one on tranqs in that little mall. There were a lot of people my age in same state of semi-removed cheeriness but more startling was the absolute lack of Christmas spirit. I mean it's two days away and there not this sense of holiday cheer in the crowds at all. The Bushonomic "experts" can say what they want about the "thriving economy" but that' s not the sense I got from the people trudging through that mall.

I heard parents having to tell their kids Santa wasn't bringing that expensive gift. Too many of them looked they meant it. There wasn't the usual last minute sense of "what the heck it's Christmas and let's jolly well buy a lot stuff" among the crowd at all. Not many shoppers were smiling. No one wished me a Merry Christmas although I used the greeting several times but I did get a tepid happy holiday out of the Hallmark clerk. I think the religious rights' war on Christmas is working down here. People seemed almost afraid to express any feelings.

And they were certainly afraid of spending money. The lines in the high end import store were long but the baskets weren't full and the rest of the mall was relatively empty. There were too many clerks for not enough customers. I think when the numbers come out on this season you'll find WalMart and the big boxes did well but the small speciality businesses will have taken a beating.

I did my part to drive the economy and if you must have the details on my own purchases, I posted it on LOS.