[dude1394]

And another.

http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?Entry=7491

Media on Holiday Retail Spending: Good news or a sign of depression?
Posted by: McQ

This is a classic. Here are the first two paragraphs from a Washington Post article:

The housing market is tanking, the credit markets are in crisis, and economists fear that a recession could be on the way — but in November at least, that wasn't enough to slow down the American consumer.

Personal spending rose 1.1 percent last month, the biggest gain in two years, the Commerce Department reported yesterday. Disposable personal income rose only 0.3 percent in November, meaning that on average, families either withdrew savings or took on more debt to buy goods and services.

No mention of the unrevised 4.9% economic growth last quarter - only doom (housing market) and gloom (credit crisis). And to really ensure you didn't miss that, well, there's the savings/debt angle to throw in there. But the laugh-out-loud moment was this:

"Apparently Americans are really depressed so are compensating by going shopping," said David A. Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's. "It's retail therapy."

If you haven't figured out yet that the media is bound and determined to talk us into a recession - or at least fear of one - you haven't been paying attention. The rest of the article is more of the same. But, come on, how freakin' low can you go when you try to claim that millions of individuals doing their holiday shopping are engaged in collective "retail therapy" because they're "depressed" about the economy?

Ye gods.