The Fannie Mae Gang

Wall Street Journal ^ | July 23, 2008 | Paul Gigot

[djsherin]

I recount all this now because it illustrates the perverse nature of Fannie and Freddie that has made them such a relentless and untouchable political force. Their unique clout derives from a combination of liberal ideology and private profit. Fannie has been able to purchase political immunity for decades by disguising its vast profit-making machine in the cloak of "affordable housing." To be more precise, Fan and Fred have been protected by an alliance of Capitol Hill and Wall Street, of Barney Frank and Angelo Mozilo.

I know this because for more than six years I've been one of their antagonists. Any editor worth his expense account makes enemies, and complaints from CEOs, politicians and World Bank presidents are common. But Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are unique in their thuggery, and their response to critics may help readers appreciate why taxpayers are now explicitly on the hook to rescue companies that some of us have spent years warning about.

[M. Espinola]

"A sad, confused geezer."

Go do some of your house flipping....

[Toddsterpatriot]

Sorry, never flipped a house :^(

[ex-Texan]

A very intriguing report out of Russia. But I get a sense the writer does not have a clue about what is really going on. Behind the scenes somebody under Putin's thumb is trying to control coal prices, steel prices and oil prices.

The Russians will not investigate deeper that this journalist did himself. They just throw up their hands and shout, 'Nyet!'

[M. Espinola]

I hear toads love today’s Russia :)

[dennisw]

You’ve only flipped your wig

[dennisw]

The Russia Iran alliance means ....

Russians control oil/gas flow and pricing on the Northern tier

Iran controls this on the Southern tier. It just needs the nukes to enforce it. Other weaponry too

Get a map and you will see Moscow looking down on that part of the world and dividing it into north and south tiers