The EFF recently reported that Last.fm gave the RIAA information about users who illegally downloaded U2's latest as-yet-unreleased bit of caterwauling uh, "music." That sucks and all, but there's a larger issue at question here than deniable, allegedly unintended musical surveillance.

Who the hell still cares about U2?

Many of my posts focus on the first word of my blog's name: Money. This one is all about the second: Liberty.

Saw this on the Young Americans for Liberty blog, and it is absolutely awesome. If the visual becomes too disconcerting, just close your eyes and listen to the words.

I like the Freakonomics blog, even though I often disagree with some of the conclusions they make (or at least imply). For example, Wednesday's post about how the recession will affect "clean" technology is somewhat lacking.

Fortunately, I don't have to explain my position, because I agree 100% with my good friend Dave, who gave me the following response:

I was catching up on some of my personal finance blog reading when I came across a post by Meg at All Financial Matters about whether and when spending money is good or bad (which itself is a reaction to this post at Living Almost Large). Meg's conclusion is basically that, of course spending itself is not wrong, but spending excessively is definitely wrong. In her words:

Over at MSN Money Central, Liz Pulliam Weston argues that you should send your comments to the Federal Reserve on their proposed changes to banking rules related to various types of fees and fee calculations.

FMF over at Free Money Finance recently posted his thoughts about the importance of religion in personal finance.

From the latest Investor's Business Daily:

The House, on a 235-181 vote, passed a Dem-backed energy bill that would eliminate $13.5 bil in tax breaks for oil companies and requires automakers to boost fuel efficiency 40% by 2020. The bill, which also includes $21.5 bil in tax incentives for development of renewable energy, faces a filibuster in the Senate and a Bush veto threat.

Is anyone but me sick and tired of hearing Warren Buffett give his opinion about how much other people can pay in taxes? Not everybody has gajillions of dollars, and even if they did, that's no reason for the government to take half of it (or more!) when you die.

His latest comments are being propagated by MarketWatch:

A progressive and meaningful estate tax is needed to curb the movement of a democracy toward plutocracy.

Market Watch reports that the Treasury Department wants to solicit ideas about how to change the banking regulatory system, and they offer a few suggestions of their own about which parts may be flawed.

Shortly after I started this blog, I decided to provide some commentary about a joint survey/quiz performed by CNN and Money Magazine, which contained questions related to money and ethics. Here are my thoughts on question 2.

Question 2:

You are selling your home. Your neighbor, who works at City Hall, tells you about a project that would make your neighborhood more attractive, but would lead to a $25,000 assessment. Would you tell prospective buyers?