Now there was at least one story quite appropriate for Halloween in last week's New York Times, concerning the revelation that John Podhoretz, son of the neoconservative warrior Norman Podhoretz (whose ideas are so scary that he can go as himself to any costume party on October 31) will take over Daddy's old job at Commentary magazine in 2009. Some call it neonepotism, but I say that the younger Podhoretz's journalistic background, involving, among other highly intellectual publications, Rupert Murdoch's New York Post makes him the perfect choice to take over a once-fascinating and intellectual publication that is now a bastion of Neanderthal thought. Norman started the job by turning the magazine sharply to the right in the early 1970s, and John can presumably finish the job (although it's hard to imagine the magazine becoming more right-wing.) Don't call it nepotism; Podhoretz the Younger is eminently qualified for the task of spreading dumb and dangerous ideas. Boo!

To return to the question of Halloween (I know, I know, calling attention to the ghoulish Podhoretz clan was off point, but it's my blog and I'll digress if I want to), my only objection is that what used to be a minor holiday for children has been taken over and appropriated by adults. There's no fun in it for kids anymore, because no parent in his or her right mind would allow children to trick-or-treat without adult supervision. Oh, there are surely demons abroad, but they are not supernatural beings.

Here's what the so-called adults are doing: throwing Halloween costume parties for dogs. In a New York City park near my home, I recently saw a costume parade featuring brides and grooms (a pair of Scotties), vampires (Labrador Retrievers), and ballerinas (all of those tiny designer dogs). The dogs, naturally, were miserable. Come to think of it, maybe Halloween has become a demonic plot. Get thee behind me, Satan. And thou who put tuxedos on thy dogs.

Lest I be accused of being an atheist killjoy, I will admit that I am extremely fond of Valentine's Day, in that it involves the giving and receiving of romantic tributes in the form of chocolate. But I suppose somewhere out there, in spite of the fact that there (maybe) was a real St. Valentine, someone has a religious reason for objecting to valentines too. In fact, the Puritans did object strongly to all such frivolous holidays, including Christmas.