Exactly. People get so worked up about the technical distinctions, ones that are mostly drawn by the IRS for tax purposes, that they confuse the form for the f

Exactly. People get so worked up about the technical distinctions, ones that are mostly drawn by the IRS for tax purposes, that they confuse the form for the function. It is no different than Booz Hamilton "contractors" working on site at NSA and other TLAs. If the money comes from the government and you take direction from the government, even indirectly, you are an agent of the government.