Couple of thoughts: On the bailouts/stimulus package--- This reminds me of the time my kid made a mess by dropping a bottle of ketchup on the floor. The entire thing cracked and started oozing ketchup all over. SO my kid says Dont Worry- I will clean it up and grabs my clean towel and starts smearing the ketchup in circles, spreading it all over the place far beyond the original spill area. Finally I yelled at him to stop fixing the damage- he is causing more damage. Just get out of the way and let me handle it. So much like the govt, who caused alot of the damage with the original subprime mortgage business. Now they want to "Fix" the problem, thus spreading the damage to areas which were originally untouched by the crisis. NICE. Just STOP fixing it already!and get out of the way. Shalach Manos--- Someone I know was niftar and I am really depressed about it and I feel like it's appropriate to tone things down. Can I get away with a much simpler one this year? I really dont want to go all out. (not that I ever do)