Reports are coming in that the U.S. Treasury will save fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are supposed to insure roughly half of all mortgages across the nation.

But the reports I read said that if the government takes over these two financial monoliths, their stock will be virtually worthless.

I am puzzled by a number of things that hopefully someone can clear up.

1. Fannie and Freddie were governed by the federal reserve, which isn't a government entity. So what IS the Federal Reserve and how did it come to be the overseer of Fannie and Freddie?

2. If the government is in debt past its eyeballs, from where does the money come for the U.S. treasury to do what the Federal Reserve could not?

3. How much money is the federal government spending on the war in Iraq each month, and how much would it take each month to save Fannie and Freddie from failure?

4. Since the federal government truly has no money (it all belongs to the American people), how can it arbitrarily decide to spend money it doesn't have without the permission of the peoples' representiatives?

5. When Bear Stearns was going under, it called a group of folks at 3 a.m. who came to its rescue. Now, Freddie and Fannie are calling folks over the weekend to save them as well.
Who do I call when bill collectors are trying to squeeze my blood out of a dwindling paycheck?

6. Who does the federal government owe? Is there a list of creditors I can check?
Maybe the federal government can get on some sort of installment payment plan?