Through trial and error I've discovered that the larabie fonts are the trigger for this kdm bug. When I removed these packages:
ttf-larabie-deco ttf-larabie-straight ttf-larabie-uncommon kdm started displaying the right fonts in the greeting. Note that *none* of the other programs on my system were misbehaving in the manner of kdm. So the larabie fonts may not have been a problem in and of themselves. -- Chip Salzenberg - a.k.a. - <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "I wanted to play hopscotch with the impenetrable mystery of existence, but he stepped in a wormhole and had to go in early." // MST3K