It's 5:30 in the evening.  I've spent a vast majority of my day watching the stock market drop 777 points in one day, the biggest one day drop ever.  I watched Congress defeat the rescue bill that would have earmarked $700B to use to stabilize a financial market that is in grave danger.  I listened to various Congressman and Senators viewpoints.  Now I'm going to give mine.

    As a qualifier, I am not a financial expert.  I am mainstream America talking here.  It's time the U.S. Government directly speaks to you and me, not Wall Street, not the financial institutions that are going under because of poor lending practices to the "flipper" in the housing market that screwed themselves because of greed that aided this country in the mess it's in today. 

    As a prudent, mainstream American, I want protection!  Doubling the FDIC guarantees on all applicable accounts would be a good start.  Second, why isn't the government purposing direct dealings with banks and financial institutions in peril. 

    I sure hope my instincts are wrong, but I get the feeling the majority of our reps in Washington don't have a clue about what's going on here.  They say it's grave, now.  Way to go Einstein's.  I wise man, my father, a retired bank executive, told me four years ago, before Alzheimer's took him over, keep your eyes and ears open, because we were headed for troubling economic times. As a country, we were spending too much time worrying about everything else internationally, neglecting what was right in front of us here in the U.S.   Excessive good times leads to greed, and when you get greedy, you get needy.  

   We, as a country, will ride this one out once again. What concerns me is the fallout along the way.  

   One final thought.  If I hear another politican use the word "bi-partisan" one more time..I'm going to go nuts.  Is there anything wrong by saying, a collective effort, or working as one.  As the Tampa Bay Rays say, "We are one team."   Fact is, on Capitol Hill, acting as "one team" is a pipe dream.