"I get amazed at all the freepers that actually believe these reports, and take it as gospel that economy is going to hell in a handbasket without considering the source of the report. " On the contrary, very few Freepers believe these reports. That's why we browse the news on Free Republic. We get our news from a variety of reports, and make up our own minds.
If you look up some earlier threads on Christmas holiday sales you will find quite a few freepers agreeing with the articles on a "drop" in holiday sales. I've noticed in the past 10 days that most freepers are regarding these articles as bunk.