It really is quite amazing to see how much fear the media has put in the minds of Americans. They--the media--started this whole "the sky is falling" fear mongering that has snowballed into a full-fledged recession by repeatedly reporting the negative aspects of the US economy. Don't tell me that the media only reports the news--I don't buy that for a moment. The media is greatly responsible for creating news by picking up on one aspect of an event and wringing every ounce of almost-fact-almost-fiction out of it until it resembles what works politically. I honestly believe that the media is responsible for reporting so much on mortgage lending problems that banks, lenders and mortgage-holders all bought into it and fear led them to put the brakes on unnecessarily. Everyone closed their wallets out of fear of the unknown, and here we are. No one dares to spend a cent on new homes, cars, stocks or any type of investment. They're holding on to their money--in cash because they've lost a lot of money (on paper) in the stock market. We are so spoiled because we've had so many years of prosperity that we've forgotten what it's like to have to stick to a budget; forgotten that the economy has natural ups and downs and in order to enjoy the ups you have to occasionally endure the downs. Hey folks-- it's a priviledge to enjoy having extra money to blow on $7 lattes!

Now that I've blown off that steam (it was indeed threatening to blow off the top of my head), I will tell you what I am going to do with my $250 (I'm disabled and on a fixed income). I could put it on the balance of a credit card. I could save it for a rainy day. Nope--I'm going to spend it. I'm going to buy something that has "Made in the USA" on its tag - if I can still find something made here. Even if I buy $7 lattes and pay someone to cut my hair and do my nails, I will put the money into the hands of an American. I know that many people will just be seeing a few dollars in their paycheck; I wish it were lots more and I wish that every cent of it would go into the hands of an American, be they toll-booth workers, church collection plates or someone to plow the snow from my yard.

Maybe if we all spent the stimulus money on SOMETHING and stop listening to the media, we'd do the most to help our economy. Yes, we need to tighten our belts a little bit because we're all used to having a little breathing room in our budgets; together we can do it. We can do it because we love our country, even if we're not crazy about where our country is headed. May God bless America again.