Darkest Night

I know what you want to say Diane...... !

I don't belong to my own country, now.

I wonder what this means for your country and for the whole world!

That is what we are all wondering, Tanja. We shall see...

(oops, maybe I already answered this!)

How could tht happen? :-/

It's impossible for me to comprehend.

Well, people had been sick of all kind of politicians and politics and the argy-bargy between the two parties. A lot of people want to have a CHANGE, no matter how and with whom. Trump is not a politician, he is a man from the economy, and from this fact they hope of a change. So, a lot of the people accept that he talks badly about women and foreigners; mainly it changes something!
Now he has to bring the proof ...

The people who adore him will not care what he does or says. They have no shame. They think he will provide them all with jobs that pay a lot of money. Americans of that kind think they live the worst lives in the world. They know nothing about the world.

Es tut mir leid.

Thank you, Heidi. I am simply sick.

I am so so lost....

First I lost my England to idiot Brexit.... now I lost America..... Its going to be a long, dark time

Desolate...despondent...that's how I feel. I don't belong here.

Pam has expressed my views perfectly.
We live in cretinous times.

Cretinous...yes.

I feel with you and don't dare to think what repercussions this will have worldwide:-( I hope very much that at least a trigger happy finger on the red button can be prevented....

Yes, catastrophe is possible. But, I think catastrophe will happen almost entirely within the United States. Terrible, terrible times...

Superb composition!

This is something different, something very special.
YOUR ARE A CREATIVE MASTER. THIS IS TRULY IMPRESSIVE.

~ARTISTIC IMPRESSIONS~

Thank you.

A Black Night indeed...
Lets hope that the senat will do a good Job in the future. I hope he honors his words and that the less fortunate will get better lives. I do not think so however ..

I found this here

Excellent image. That is exactly how I feel, poly...

be optimist, and 4 years, it's not long .......
;-((

Yes, four years of my country being run by the ultra-right and their dumb-as-mud mob.

la France est un pays de refuge.....

Oh dear Diane I really do feel for you......it's a nightmare!! And by the way this superb image is too special to be associated with him!

Thank you, Cheryl, I really appreciate your sympathy.

Diane, what this CEO hasn't grasped yet -- he will not be that in this new job. People will tell him what he can and Can Not do ... and there is a LOT of can no do!

Just waiting ..
We shall survive, Dear ... we SHALL ... go see what I posted today..

Well, there is the problem of the Supreme Court. That's big and potentially very destructive. Not to mention the mob now feeling their violent threats and ignorance are legitimate ways of being citizens. I can't see anything uplifting right now.

One thing we can kiss goodbye is any thought (much less action!) for the environmental emergency we are in.

Diane, in my lifetime I have survived Joe Stalin, the Cuban missile crisis (Do you remember that? Going to be figuring you're probably going to wake up dead?), Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and many, many more! Trump Shmump.

John.... Thankyou... I think you just maybe lit a candle in the darkness...

I also survived nine years under Stephen Harper. He's probably a bit to the left of Hillary Clinton, but to us he's a hardcore conservative. Anyway, he was actually trying to change our values from liberal to conservative. But we showed him.

Well, this guy isn't even a conservative. He is a foul-mouthed, hateful person who has a gigantic mob of like-minded people behind him no matter what he says or does. He set out to whip up this mob and he succeeded. I think they're a real threat to the stability of this country. And, they love verbal threats and using guns (many states, including mine, are now "open carry", by the way).

I don't think a Canadian, a Frenchman or a Brit can understand how irrationally paranoid and enraged they are, even in the best of times, and how much hatred they have for people other than their own group. I was raised among them and live among them again. I know this kind of American very well. (I've commented here about bad experiences with some when I am taking pictures of a landscape, or an abandoned building...it could be anything.)

This latest wave of hate began shortly after Obama was elected. All the racists came out of the closet. It's a backlash against having a Black president. Now, it's worse, because an ugly, orange man has stoked the fire and legitimized public hatred. I don't know if you've seen videos of what went on at Trump rallies, but it was truly frightening. The KKK endorsed him and is currently celebrating the victory.

All of this is why I'm not optimistic. Sure, I'll survive, but so what?

I agree, the situation is frightening. We try not to think about it, to assume that life will 'go on' somehow, that this somehow isn't that different from when Wallace ran for President or Nixon's troubles, but this is the first time we've elected what is essentially a prepubescent boy who is all raging hormones ready to burst into anything.

Well and succinctly put, Don!

Canadians understand Americans better than they understand themselves, Diane. I'll just end that thought there.

Despair just empowers the irrational and paranoid. That's good advice, and it would be even if I didn't understand Americans.

So sad, thoughts are with you and all decent citizens of your country in this loss.

Thank you, Larry. The most appalling thing for "the rest of us" is realizing the magnitude of racist, violent and misogynistic feelings all around us. It turns out they aren't in the minority, after all.

We go towards difficult times :-(

Yes, I think so, too.

Recently I've read a short biography of the whole Trump dynasty. They all (grandpa, father and him) made their money almost without exception with swindles, corruption, contraventions and deceptions. An enumeration of all the wicked deeds in the code law. What an ideal as the most powerful man of the Western world!
Sometimes I think I'm happy that I don't have to do it for a long time anymore ... :-/

What's worrying me most is that the mindset of the Trump mob very much resembles that of the Brexiters, the Pegida/AfD/Reichsbürger Mob etc. All over the western world globalisation losers feel justified in promoting violence- they start off verbally and many then lose all inhibitions:-( Just look at the comment sections of online newspapers, there's so much hate and virtriol, even "liberal" papers like the Guardian are overrun by trolls.

Not in all of the western world, Gudrun. Not in Canada, for one, and I suspect not in the Scandinavian countries. And if the Brexiteers are promoting violence, where is it? And why are Remainers promoting hate of the Brexiteers? Why do they promote condescending stereotypes of them? They're not losers from globalization -- they're winners. Hmmmmm.

Civility is as civility does. If I were an American I wouldn't have voted for either Clinton or Trump (or any other candidate). What I'd be worrying about, though, is the widespread corruption in American politics (politicians are bought and sold, eh?) and the impending collapse of American government under the weight of all those checks and balances.

Oh yes, with the addition of plenty of guns, here. Ugh, the comment sections! Unbelievably violent talk, they just drown in hatred.

All of that is well-known here, yet his followers think it's great! He brags about it. He "beat the system!" That is what his followers want to do and I suppose they think they will be able to get rich, now.

The blackest.
I'm still in a fog.

So am I...

Tuesday will be the first day we go into town. I will be wearing a very visible Safety Pin from now on (if you dont know about it read about www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37948762 . I also intend to resist in any legal and peaceful way I can.

I do not own a gun... nor will I.

Do me a kindness.. if I catch a bullet any time.... wear yellow.... drink a toast to me in fine Champagne... and dont send flowers. I wont be the "victim" for anyone.

What a great idea. I happen to have a gigantic kilt pin, that should do it. ; )
Okay, Pam, I'll follow your wishes to the T. The champagne will have to be less than fine, for budgetary reasons, but I won't need it anyway!

By the way, the Mexican immigrant kids were being harassed on the playground on the 9th at my granddaughter's elementary school.

Simple solution, vote! Why did so many people who favoured the Democratic take on government not bother to vote? Failed presidential candidates soon disappear.

If you don't like the candidates the parties choose, join the party of your choice and contribute.

Why do countries not have compulsory voting as we have here in Australia? Here all are required to consider how the future government will be constructed. (There are, of course, those who spoil their votes to avoid contributing to the country but this is a very small minority).

For me it also is a problem of the money. I have the impression that nowadays only those people win the election who have the most money, and not the people who would be most competent for the function. I think one should limit the money for the election campaign on a certain level.

Money - billions - is a terrible problem in our political system, I agree! It makes the campaigns unbearable and sets up the legislature for corruption. But, in this case, the problem was Donald Trump, who perfectly displayed the danger of populism. When the worst of a society is encouraged, such as incessant rage and bigotry, this is the result. A very poor quality president who will eventually betray the very people who now idolize him.

By the way, Hillary got over 2 million more of the popular votes than he did, but he won the electoral votes. (Don't ask, it's too complicated to discuss here.)

I agree, Graham! Our voter numbers are always way too low. I can't imagine why and neither can experts. I have known several people who have never voted in their lives. This is something unimaginable in my family! I take pleasure in shaming non-voters. Don't imagine it helps one bit.

This time, in polls, many people who said they weren't voting said their reason was that they didn't like either one, therefore they just couldn't decide. Others used it, stupidly, as a kind of protest over not having their candidate of choice on the ballot - Bernie Sanders. What kind of morons are they all? My honest opinion: the real reason is spoiled-brat, ignorant laziness.