Americans do love shopping, and we don’t really know how much until the holidays come around.

With the recession fully in gear and an unemployment rate of 9.8 percent, 2010 is shockingly the year when shopping made an extravagant comeback.

“The National Retail Federation predicts that holiday spending will reach $451.5 billion this year, up 3.3 percent over last year.”

Online sales alone have increased 15.4 percent this year mainly due to free shipping deals.  In fact, deals are one of the things that get us excited about the holidays, finding that special bargain that makes us feel better about splurging for family, friends, and especially ourselves.

“Even the family dog is getting a little something extra.”  Three Dog Bakery, a pet-supply chain in Michigan reported its biggest day ever Wednesday, since it opened three years ago.

With all of this happy spending going on, consumers are still wary of using credit cards.  Gift cards and cash seem to be a hit in all retail stores, from thousands of dollars of jewelry to a $15 sweater.

Although we may not be spending frugally, we are spending with caution, a lesson learned from the recession.

We know you are probably busy with last minute Christmas shopping…so…

To help you keep up with things in the news, we’ve got you a present:

A few last minute  ”What’z up’z”

1.The 111th US Senate has made history by breaking more filibusters than any other Senate in history.(rapturous applause)

Quite the feat, which is why Senate Democrats are now unanimously in favor of filibuster reform. While these efforts would not eliminate the filibuster, it would change the rules to place a greater onus on the minority trying to block legislation.

For example, all 40 senators involved in filibustering (editor: or are they “filibusterees’?) would have to physically remain in the Senate chamber throughout the filibuster process, which could take hours or even days.

2. Want to decriminalize pot? So does Pat Robertson (in case you are unfamiliar with him this is the guy who blamed 9/11 on the gays and feminists). He said that arresting people for possession is wasting money and “ruining young people.” When Pat Robertson says weed is ok, the first question that comes to mind is… what has he been smoking?

3. Speaking of pot…remember the 60’s? That was the bad ole days of segregation and racism.

It appears some folks have a nostalgia for those times past (the racism part… not the “pot” part).

Council of Conservative Christians is taking issue Marvel Studios for casting a black actor in the roll of a norse god “Thor” in a new movie to be released in cinemas. They are saying “It seems that Marvel Studios believes that white people should have nothing that is unique to themselves.” Huh?

We think the CCC should take a chill pill or better yet, share some weed with Pat Robertson.

As the end of the year rolls in we at US Democrazy enjoy taking a look back at the last year one last time.

In the days ahead we will be reviewing some of the interesting events in culture, politics and news.

Here are somethings of interest you may have missed in the world of Economics:

The White House has released its official 2010 Economic report.  We won’t flood you with the details, but the President did have this to say:

American families and businesses have paid a heavy price for failures of responsibility from Wall Street to Washington. Our task now is to move beyond these failures, to take responsibility for our future once more.

As stated by the President, businesses have had to pay a heavy price.  Sales dropped last year compared to the previous one.  However, Private Educational Services had an IMPRESSIVE 8% gain… although

With so many Americans out of work and looking to upgrade their skills, it may not be surprising that privately held educational institutions are seeing strong demand for their services.

To get a look at the big stories over the whole year WNYC has given us a time line of the years big economic stories.

Now that we’ve got you thinking about the past here are some questions, brought to you by Calculated Risk, about next year in economics:

1) House Prices: How much further will house prices fall…

4) Economic growth: …It does appear GDP growth will increase in 2011, although GDP growth will probably still be sluggish relative to the slack in the system. How much will the economy grow in 2011?

8) Europe and the Euro: What will happen in Europe? When will the next blowup happen?

We’ll just have to wait and see.  Until then, have a wonderful end of the Fiscal Year!

The results are in!

Census 2010 reported 308,745,538 people living in the United States on April 1, 2010.  Now what?

We’re glad you asked.

The answer is reapportionment.(editor: Huh?)  That’s the act of reallocating the 435 seats available in the House of Representatives.  The outcome of the Census tells us how many congressmen/women are awarded to each state.  As a matter of fact, this is why we have a census in the first place.

In Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution you can find the Founding Fathers’ plans for the census and apportionment process.

Still confused?  Check out this video from the U. S. Census Bureau.

Thanks to Bill Ingalls and NASA

Does that mean there won’t be any more episodes of  “Teen Mom” ? New reports say that the teen birth rate has dropped 6% this year.

Another unfortunate accident on the set of Broadway’s ‘Spider-Man,’ makes us wonder if this multi-million dollar show needs a super-hero to save it…

And in case you missed it- there was a lunar eclipse Monday evening. Don’t worry though, it will come around again in 2,000 years!

We’re dreaming of a white Christmas…until we saw Europe’s snow storm and changed our minds!!

Snow is canvassing Europe from London to Brussels to Paris to Frankfurt and shutting down public transport all over.

Even England’s Prime Minister David Cameron admits he is frustrated by the delays, but  London Heathrow hopes to start operating flights again Thursday.

Curious about the predicted MILLIONS who will be affected by delays abroad? See the map below!!

BBC

If you’ve never heard the phrase “net neutrality,” you’re probably not alone.  Actually, you’re definitely not alone.

To put it plainly, net neutrality keeps the Internet “free.”  It allows all users to access the Web and its content equally.  Until now, this has just been good practice by Internet providers, but that could change today.

The Federal Communications Commission is planning to hold a vote on a plan which would turn this theory to law.

Some have classified the FCC’s plan as a fight for freedom of speech and others have claimed it an unnecessary expansion of government regulation.  Either way, it is expected to pass, becoming the first law of its type.

This has been quite a contentious issue for many…

Take our poll and give us your opinion!

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