Curtis Mayfield, "Freddie's Dead"

So the federal government has taken over two private, for-profit institutions because they were failing and threatened to have domino-toppling effects on other financial structures. OK, if that's what has to be done to prevent the economy from tanking further, fine, let's do it. But let me take this opportunity to point out to any Republicans who might be reading this that this is - shock, horror - unquestionably and incontrovertibly a Big Government activity. Isn't that something only those evil Democrats advocate for?

Here's a teachable moment, folks: There are some things - many things, I would argue - that command and deserve a big government involvement. Katrina of course comes to mind. Our response this week to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suggests this is another of them. So any Republicans who continue to demonize Barack Obama and the Democrats for not minimizing government's function can take this Bush-administration-enabled debacle and go eat it with a big bowl of fuck.

I'd further like to take this opportunity to remind Sarah Palin what I typed above: that Fannie and Freddie are private, for-profit institutions. She was apparently under the impression that the programs were taxpayer-funded, as the Huffington Post reported with relish. So I'd like to humbly suggest that while she's safely secluded from the evil media as she bones up on GOP talking points, perhaps Governor Mooseolini might want to bone up on a few factual points as well? (How sad, the lack of an intersection in that Venn diagram.)

Meantime, Freddie's not quite dead, but here's Curtis Mayfield anyway. He was a truth-teller for his generation, and man, do we need a lot more of those today in America's current anti-intellectual climate.