Well someone had to hear these tree fallin' and report on it so I figured I may as well bring this wee bombshell of economic news to the "assembled".
Seems 3 of the top *economic* post have all succumbed to *resignation syndrome*. Interesting how Dubya took the advice of his managers for *ideologically correct* supply-side retreads
and corporate governance synchophancy , but in this season of "market uncertainty" we have a sitting president with
1) A resigned in disgrace Chairman of the S.E.C. ; every stockholders' chief of police and still woafully underfunded
( nothing like short-changing your cops on the beat while proclaiming yourself as "tough on corproate crime" Republicans
2) Sect ot the Treasury no less "resigns" this morning. This is *no* small office post, my friends. It's *Cabinet-level* meaning daily access to the Pres. in a time of economic turmoil due , in *no* small part , to the threat of launching a pre-emptive war on Iraq ( finishing up what is now judged irrevokably as what Bush Sr. "shpould've dome the 1st time.
3) Lead Economic Advisor to the President , and former Fed Reserve Board member resigns right after Tres.Sect O'Neil.

Bottomline: This Bush Admin has *zero* credability with its due-diligence in its responsibility to the U.S. economy starting with actually wanting to police a corporate crime wave which means everyone's investments are , in some way, "at risk" beyond the normal risks of a "well-regulated market". Well-regulated does *not* mean the libertarian dream of *zero* regulations or the next best thing, *zero* enforcement of those regs already on the books.

And it's no question that bith Tres. Sect. O'Neil AND Chief Economic Advisor L.Lindsay were "asked" to tender their resignations.......but ,ofcourse AFTER the midterm elections that the Repubs have been beaming over.
It helps when you dump your trash after the inspectors ( the voters ) have left the building ( voting booth ).

Yeah ,this is a reason to rant because this proof of either rank economic incompetency or rank sucking-up to the corproate interests that brung Dubya into power will effect our pocketbooks and investments "big time".
Oh ,and did I add Dubya is rpoving to be a chip off the old block with promoting what will be more "deficits as far as the eye can see".

Prediction: With the double whammy of this Bush economic team being completely caught oof-guard by new "jobless" numbers pushing unemployment in the U.S. up to 6% one can safely predict that the Chrsitmas retail numbers will be bleak as well. John & Jane Q Public are thinking that it's safer to not spend so much afterall since joblessness is a real issue nowadays.

On the bright side , spending one's *time* with family and friends ,and not one's *money* on too many mindless gifts is what Christmas more about anyway and the less emphasis on
wasteful consumer gluttony the better.
Silencing infatuation with the "material" world is what allows more attention to the spiritaul side which is a whole other world of values beyond price.

Too bad aetheists dismiss this entirely and thus condemn everything to "conditional ethics" of the randomly meaningless appetites of a purely biological existence.

How hollow life would be if it were ever thus.

Christmas Blessings to All , especially to those whom reject it so wholeheartedly as if it were something ominous .
Christmastime is thus always bitter-sweet though;-)