I happened upon this today over at CNN and smiled to myself, comfortable that hypocrisy, at least, seems immune to the economic downturn in the US. Mortgage backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, formerly among the most vocal proponents of the Capitalist ideal that the Government should not be spending public dollars to bail out deadbeats defaulting on loans, are asking for corporate welfare. It never ceases to amaze me how fast money-lenders reputed for cutthroat business practices can turn around and ask for special consideration and bankruptcy protection.