One of the most adversarial one-on-one Firing Lines we've had in a while--which unfortunately doesn't make it easy for the uninitiated viewer to grasp exactly in what sense Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) and his sister, Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage Association), are private, and in what sense they are, as Mr. Buckley puts it, "adopted children of the Federal Government." Are we indeed facing a reprise of the S&L mess? Mr. Brendsel says not and gives details to back up his assertion. As he explains, although taxpayers' money is involved in Freddie Mac, it is only temporarily so for each mortgage: what Freddie Mac does is buy up mortgages at the low end of the housing market from private-sector lenders, combine a bunch of them from different parts of the country in a diversified package, and sell these "mortgage-backed securities" to private investors. As of this writing, Mr. Brendsel's expectations have been borne out.