why, again, is the government in the housing loan business?

The WSJ editorialists on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...

Fannie Mae yesterday announced its 11th consecutive quarterly loss—$11.5 billion—and asked for another $8.4 billion in taxpayer assistance. When it comes to losing money, nobody does it better than this government-created mortgage investor.

Fannie Mae is the Cal Ripken of bad real-estate deals, reliably pouring taxpayer money into the housing market. Granted, Fannie faces tough competition from its toxic twin, Freddie Mac, which last week announced its own request for another $10.6 billion from taxpayers.

Once the checks from Treasury clear, Fan and Fred will have consumed a combined $145 billion in taxpayer cash, and the end is nowhere in sight. Both companies warned of further losses triggering more government assistance, which is now unlimited after a 2009 Treasury decision....