Well, yes and no.  In the NYTimes this morning there was a cartoon of a fellow leaning against the weather and a driving rainstorm – only the rain was coming down from INSIDE his umbrella.  He was making the complaint that all his work on Wall Street since his education and apprenticeship was now getting a drenching despite that umbrella.

I was thinking about the harm being done to a great many trusting souls thinking that our Government is secure, just and, in the end, will not let anything bad happen to any of the millions of American citizens who have invested unwisely in markets that are failing everywhere.  I got to thinking about how, while a lot of workers, owners of businesses and professional people were in a lot of trouble these days with soaking water a-la Ike pouring down, I was hunkering under an umbrellas and the rain was outside.  I had sound protection although in the climate in which we live, how much longer will that umbrella resist the rents and tears that come from the masses without my protection?

There are some who have umbrellas that are great big things to protect the great big pots of money they accumulated by screwing the unprotected – actually a great many ignorant, trusting people who THINK they are doing O.K.  I refer to the few who have the most and care little for the little people who have nothing and not even the protection of the American Government which they fervently believe in.

Yet, that Government is not rushing to protect the little homeowners wanting a new deal about their mortgage arrangements.  The Government activity that suddenly has been announced is BAILOUT of the big businesses whose stock in trade is trading money.  I have no doubt that these “Big” guys will come out with most of their money still in their banks while the payment will be passed on to the consumer – the little guy who supports all the wealth in this great country of ours.

I like to think of my umbrella as a stout protector while it rains like the devil outside its perimeter.  I’m O.K., I think – for now.  What will happen tomorrow is anyone’s guess.  It is my guess that most of the furor about how this turmoil will be solved will be that the moribund U.S. (you do know, don’t you – that our country is at war with two nations being torn apart by the terrorists who will attack us some more unless we tear apart those countries) that steps up and takes over (about time).

My sympathies are with anyone who loses something (our dollar isn’t a dollar anymore and our investment values go down when things go bad in the market) in this recession or whatever it is called. It seems it rains on everybody.