also, after hearing about the passage of the tax-cut bill and the executive order authorizing the government to go into $7 trillion dollars worth of debt that went with the tax-cuts, i felt a little downtrodden. here is that article listed on CNN.com: "The bill-signing in the East Room was for the third-largest tax cut in the nation's history. It came a day after Bush -- with no comment or ceremony -- signed a bill allowing the federal government to borrow as much as $7.4 trillion. The $984 billion increase in the federal debt limit, which the White House announced in a 20-word statement from the press secretary, is the largest on record. It will help pay for the new tax cuts that the GOP-run Congress passed on close votes at Bush's behest." john then sent me this quote in response from a book he is reading on the nature of poverty that i thought i'd pass along: "The economic system was created by God to steward responsibly and justly the natural and human resources of the nation and to encourage men and women to be productive, using the gifts God has given to create wealth. Distorted by the fall, people occupying positions of influence within the economic system now act more often as owners and less as stewards. They skew the system to enhance and protect their own self-interest and insulate themselves from the impact of these distortions on the less fortunate. "The political system was created by God to bring the nations and their institutions into relationships with God, too often colludes with the fallen political and economic systems. The prophets of accountability are gradually seduced by money, power, and prestige, gradually becoming silent."