Everyday our liberties and freedom come under fire. The American Republic once protected its citizens from arbitrary abuse, extortion, and deliberate social engineering. Now the very same public servants who were meant to work for us connive daily on how to control our lives. The Republic is gone and we are left to fend for ourselves, to put up resistance to every encroachment on individual self-determination. The Freedom Under Fire Report provides daily coverage of the most important issues, so that you remain informed and ready to defend yourself. Read on and pass this around to everyone you think could benefit:
See Where the Stimulus Spending Will Go. CNN has a good breakout tracking the sectors in which the new bill’s money will be allocated. Despite the bill’s cost totalling $787 billion, only $317.2 billion of that is new spending-the rest is reduced federal revenue through various tax cuts.
Pirate Bay Trial Begins: Test of Copyright Law, and Internet Freedom. Four men are being tried by the Swedish government for “helping millions illegally download protected movies, music, and computer games.” The men created popular file-sharing site, The Pirate Bay. Pirate Bay does not host any unauthorized content, but is accused of facilitating piracy by directing its 22 million users to protected material. A civil claim is also penting by media giants, such as Warner Bros., MGM, Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, BMG, Universal, and EMI, in which they are seeking $14.3 million in damages. The defendents claim to have committed no wrong-doing, since their site does not host any illegal material. Rather, they claim that the merely provide a technology that others take advantage of.
Foreigners Still Buying U.S. Treasuries? The Dept. of the Treasury says so, at least through the end of last year. Net foreign purchases of long-term U.S. securities are reported to be $22.4 billion for December, 2008. This corresponds with the 30-Year Treasury yield trough at 2.519%. The yield now sits at 3.52%, meaning prices have steadily eroded since then. This would indicate net purchases have declines relative to sales.
Germany Paves Way for Forced Nationalization of Banks. Germany’s cabinet approved a bill allowing the forced nationalization of banks in the event of deteriorating conditions. The mandate enables the government to seize banks up through Oct. 31, 2009.
Facebook Backs Down on User Content Policy. After severe pushback from users, bloggers, and the media, Facebook reversed a Terms of Service (TOS) change that granted itself permanent rights to users’ photos, wall posts, and other information. Facebook claimed they would have indefinite rights to this content, even after users closed their accounts.
Obama Vows to Fight Home Foreclosures: Is it $50B, $75B, or $200B? Yesterday Obama announced that he was redirecting $50 billion from TARP to the mortgage industry, mandating banks use the funds to lend to homebuyers. Today, he announces a $75 billion plan that appears to be separate. This plan would give direct subsidies to distressed homeowners, giving money to those who continue to pay their mortgages. The government would also encourage banks to renegotiate terms with lenders, particularly for borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth. Finally, the federal government will make another $200 billion in credit available to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-controlled mortgage finance companies. So how much will all this cost? Yesterday’s headline said $50 billion, today’s says $75 billion, but then there’s that pesky $200 billion in credit to Fannie and Freddie.
Fed Bleak on Economic Outlook. Ben Bernanke says the economy would face an “unually gradual and prolonged” recovery. In other words, he says things will stay bad for a long time. The Fed predicts a GDP contraction of between 0.5% to 1.3% this year, with unemployment in the 8.5% to 8.8% range. Bernanke promised to do “everything possible within the limits of its authority to assist in restoring our nation to financial stability and economic prosperity as quickly as possible.” This means they are set to print a lot more money.
Postmaster General Pay Raise by Congress. There is growing scrutiny of Congress’s decision to grant the Postmaster General-the head of the U.S. Postal Service-a $135,000 performance bonus after losing $2.8 billion last year. John Potter’s (the Postmaster General) base salary also increased from $186,000 to $260,000 last year. These are not large figures relative to the size of the USPS operation, but it is ironic that this comes admid Congressional demands for capping Wall Street bonuses and salaries.
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