This (shopping) Season ...

The turkey sandwiches are still occupying the refrigerators, and yet, this week was the official opening of the (next) holiday season, complete with lighting of x-mas trees, music and ridiculous looking Santas & co. But of course, all this is simply dress-up for the biggest shopping season of the year. Reading the signs ... well ... and the newspapers, one gets the sense that the holiday spirit is desperately prayed for but not really shared on Wall Street and in the White House. It seems only consumer spending will pull the US out of the slump, and thus, save the country and world from a recession. And while hedge-fond managers and their entourage already got their excessive holiday bonuses and are on their way to Art Basel Miami Beach to spend it and party, the rest of us eat warmed-up turkey and listen to motivational tapes. Yeah, we can do it! Spend all your money and more! Apropos, some people seem desperate enough for cash that they offer their kids in special stores, as seen here (pic above) on the Upper West Side.