Free Republic

The ultimate cost of rescuing Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae may double, their government regulator has said. The US government has already given the two federal mortgage agencies $148bn (£94bn) in capital injections. But because of continuing loan losses, that figure may increase to between $221bn-$363bn, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Meanwhile, the FHFA has appointed a law firm to look at suing big US banks for mis-selling home loans to the agencies. The regulator has hired the California-based litigation specialists Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Ballooning costs...

“Houston (and Atlanta, LA, Boston, New York, etc., etc., etc.) – WE HAVE A PROBLEM!” As this is written (in September, 2004): 1. We have over 15 MILLION illegal aliens in this country. 2. Another 3 MILLION pour over our “borders” each year. 3. Another 1.3 MILLION arrive legally. 4. Assuming these rates of increase do not rise – a tenuous assumption at best – our population will rise by an added 200 MILLION in less than 50 years. 5. Our current LEGAL citizen birth rate is level at approximately 2.3 per, just about a legal population replacement level. If...

<p>Republican congressional leaders are trying to collect enough votes to pass a prescription-drug bill. Over the weekend, Senate and House negotiators crafted a compromise that conferees found satisfactory. Whips do not have the votes necessary for passage yet, but a war room has been set up in the House. Every morning, congressmen and lobbyists will meet to thrash out tactics to get out the vote. It is an important fight.</p>