More people than ever close up their houses and keep the lights off. As you walk the kids along the street on Halloween night you can tell which neighbors aren t into the spirit of the season by the eerie echo of blue TV screens that reflect off the windows of their darkened homes. And the costumes are all the same. Used to be an old sheet with holes in it became a ghost and some old rags around the head with a little make-up and a pirate was born. Now the elaborate packaged costumes inspired by Hollywood promise a repetitive stream of R2-D2 s stumbling around the streets for a couple of hours at dusk on October s last night.
Parents are busy and kids demand fashion.
A costume off the store shelf is sure to please, easy to use and after all it s only for a couple of hours anyway. Lawmakers in Harrisburg are leading the trend. Pennsylvania s new Lobbyist Disclosure Act is a clever costume that came off the shelf and isn t destined to last too long. In the meantime the lights are off in most of the state capital for those parading around as special interests. Disguised lobbying in Harrisburg is a fine art form.