Freddie, Fannie: Off with their heads

After considering all options Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced that the U.S. Government was taking over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two are laden with $1.6 trillion in debt and this will likely result in the largest bailout in U.S. history. The two companies apparently have lost nearly $14 billion dollars during the last year and investors are itchy because they had no idea where the mortgage companies left it. Heads rolled at both firms. The poor souls who "won" this Clearinghouse sweepstakes are Herb Allison picked to pilot the Hindenburg that is Fannie Mae and David Moffett was named the captain of the Titanic that is Freddie Mac. Of course, it'll be the public that picks up the tab for the two giants' bad behavior, and rest assured, they won't reap any of the rewards when the two are returned to something approximating economic health.