the next four years

imgresThe message we sent to young girls (and boys) across this country is heartbreaking.  I am at a loss for words.  I am numb.  The divide in this country is so clear and terrifying.  Instead of electing a woman who has taken advantage of the system in her own way (I could write a huge list here starting with misappropriated spending thru the Clinton foundation but at least she was fully qualified to run the country and understands the delicate balance of foreign affairs.  Instead we elected someone who avoided paying his taxes for decades, a narcissist, a bully, a bigot, a misogynist, a liar, a cheat, an adulteress, a terrible business man (easy to do with cash in real estate by declaring bankruptcy several times), who doesn’t pay his employees, shuns the law and has never held a public office.

Neither great choices but we know nothing about the man who was chosen and what he truly stands for.  It is a sad day for America.  We have yet to see the turmoil and long tail of this.  We are going to hunker down today and attempt to get out of the dark hole we find ourselves in.

Comments (Archived):

  1. BB

    checking in from my own dark hole and will be checking back regularly. we need a way forward and I know you’ll have some great ideas. count me in!

  2. Tracey Jackson

    Good for you. Great blog. Hit all the right notes. ????????

  3. gsilberman

    I keep hoping this is a dream & I will wake up from this nightmare

  4. Matt Kruza

    Joanne one thing I think you may find interesting, but hopefully promising too. Trump, and certainly the country, and parts which elected him are much less bigoted, homophobic / anti lgbt etc. than often offered up. The best example is North carolina. Trump wins by 5, Burr (the republican senator) wins by 6, yet the DEMOCRAT candidate upsets a SITTING governor (just barely, but still). He lost plain and simple because he decided to make a huge deal of bathrooms and transgender access. He proved that republicans (at least except in deep deep red states) are very dumb to fight the culture wars. And even trump initially disagreed with the NC governor on the transgender bill. The message for republicans is help the incomes of the middle 60% and “drain the swamp” and get rid of corruption. Will trump and the conservatives deliver? I think its possible. Regardless, I am heartened with the NC results because it shows that the views people fear most are not what has truly fueled the majority of people who voted for him, and at least nationally we won’t move back in the social wars. Thought you might be heartened by this insight/ result

    1. Gotham Gal

      Good point. The reality is we really know very little about Trump on what he would do. His campaign had very little substance but just flame throwing hatred.He is not a man who does research or reads. That.l much we do know and quite frankly that’s scary

      1. JLM

        .A wildly inaccurate description. He identified 20 potential judicial appointments in writing. That is a lot of detail.His website is replete with specific, multi-pointed plans for each issue.Play and fight fair.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

        1. Erin

          Have you read the article written by the ghostwriter of his famous book, “The Art of the Deal”? http://www.newyorker.com/ma…He deeply regrets “putting lipstick on a pig”, he says. Apparently he has the attention span of a five-year old. I think GG was being pretty fair.

          1. JLM

            .Yes, but I’m trying to move past the election. I know — Trump, bad. Very bad.,President Trump — get used to it. The election is over. Trump, bad, nonetheless.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          2. Erin

            I am also exhausted of this conversation.

          3. Gotham Gal

            I did. Great piece

          4. Erin

            The author now does the same kind of inner work I do.

    2. Mariah Lichtenstern

      You also have to consider the economic pressure put on NC that caused people to back down on bathrooms…As per usual, economics Trump so-called “moral values” with Republicans.

  5. Sunchowder

    A triumph of misogyny pure and simple. I have no words.

  6. Lisa Abeyta

    There will likely be many reasons uncovered as we analyze the data of it all, but the thing I have realized this morning is that most of us who couldn’t believe America would really pick him as President … we completely missed the depth or magnitude of the disenfranchisement of the unemployed, undereducated Americans who did not vote out of misogyny, racism, bigotry, or hatred – but because they believed the current establishment had failed them and saw Hillary as part of the current establishment. Until yesterday, that segment of Amercia has mostly been silent. They have not protested visibly or in ways that rallied the government or the country to help them. They watched a country pass laws to protect other groups of disenfranchised citizens, but they didn’t see the help for themselves. And so they voted against the “Establishment” that had ignored their needs. I strongly believe that we must find a way to use civic tech to empower more citizens to create tools that empower each segment of society so that the disenfranchised can better understand what help is available and how to access that help. For myself, I see this vote as an indication that our work has just begun. I now see that my industry can help change the mindset that got us here – if we can rally broad enough support to make it so.

    1. Gotham Gal

      That is a wonderful optimistic view. I am not quite there yet.It was hers to win but her history caught up with her. People had enough. The irony of the whole thing is that the people in the rural areas that voted for him are truly fucked.

      1. Lisa Abeyta

        There is a lot of uncertainty in how open data, etc. will fare under a new Presidency, but I do know that there are enough funding through foundations and private wealth to ensure that the efforts to empower and inform citizens doesn’t founder but can continue to expand. I’ve seen through our work what it can do when individuals believe they can create a tool that changes their own situation – I saw it with the girls we mentored from the NYC YWCA on their NYC Big Apps entry and I see it with our work through Living Cities Foundation. So I know it can make a difference even in rural areas. I just hope that enough of us see it that we will continue to push forward.

      2. awaldstein

        The less fortunate. Minorities. Women rights. Immigrants are all potentially fucked.Business will be fine. The rest is a step into the dark ages in my opinion.

        1. Gotham Gal

          i completely agree.

    2. Kirsten Lambertsen

      I appreciate your optimism. The numbers don’t quite tell the same story about these non-racist disenfranchised Americans. It’s affluent white people who voted Trump into office. And sadly, it’s affluent white women.I’m sure there’s reason somewhere to be optimistic, and I have 1000% respect for you, your words and your work. But, I believe we have to face the fact that racism won this election. Even more than misogyny. The Trump signs I see around my county aren’t on the lawns of the disenfranchised. They’re on the lawns of white people who are voting against Black Lives Matter.

      1. Gotham Gal

        Racism definitely won. That is what frightens me.

        1. JLM

          .BLM, lawless racial strife, our race baiting President lost. That’s what heartens me.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

        2. Jeremy Robinson

          My wife’s Mom is 94 years old. She and her sister got taken out of Berlin by their parents in 1936 because their parents believed what Hitler was saying about the Jews. This AM, my wife had a conversation with her mother who, despite her 94 years, is still very lucid. She said, “I’m afraid that my life is ending in the same type of situation that it began.” She was quite upset. My wife, of course, did all she could to support and listen to her. Racism, Nazism….these are powerful forces that once unleashed, often take on a life of their own. Thank you for your blog. Keep speaking up. So many in the business world are so lost and so full of themselves as “geniuses” that they can’t see the bigger picture.

      2. Mariah Lichtenstern

        It took both.

        1. Lisa Abeyta

          Yes. you are right. It took both. I guess my own focus, because of my industry, is on where I believe I can effect change. I have never understood the mentality of needing everyone else to look like us, act like us, believe like us in order to feel safe in our own values and lifestyle. So I don’t know how to tackle that; I think others can and will. But I do understand people who believe the system has worked to help others but not ourselves. I’ve witnessed investors ask me how the wife ran the company – and pass us over for funding because of it, so I know that feeling of disenfranchisement that an establishment passes over someone because they do not fit a demographic. And I know how we finally secured investment and began to scale; I know how to use tech and data to empower those individuals who feel disenfranchised so that they can find resources, support, and a network to improve themselves and become more informed. So I will focus on that for now.

    3. Susan Rubinsky

      That’s also why Bernie was so popular because he spoke to the disenfranchised.The problem with polls is that they measure “likely voters.” A whole lot of unlikely voters showed up.

      1. Gotham Gal

        Both Trump and Sanders spoke to change. Sadly she ran a same old school campaign with zero vision

        1. LE

          Sadly she ran a same old school campaign with zero visionRegardless of what you think of either candidate I think it’s a bit ridiculous when we start to elect someone because they were able to invite Springsteen, Beyonce or Bon Jovi (how much does he even matter?) to create excitement and a good show. It’s so absurd. And the fact that they put so much effort into certain states with electoral prizes and ignore others shows how bent the system and the process is. This is really a game about gaming the system, not about electing the candidate with the best qualifications to be President. The democrats didn’t even field any candidates compared to the Republicans who at least tried. In the end her ‘old school campaign’ is what was supposed to get her elected. Had she been more of a real person in her approach to winning and not tried to be the perfect candidate I truly think she would have won. She already had tremendous name recognition. Stunts are good for those that don’t (or for someone like Trump).

          1. JLM

            .It is equally absurd to attempt to be taken seriously as a champion of women when you are soliciting donations for your family foundation from backward countries who stone women for adultery.Of course, that defines what kind of woman you are.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          2. Erin

            No matter how you line them up back to back, her list of sins is much shorter (and I deeply distrust and dislike her). He is a danger to the very lives of minorities and the safety of women. At least with Clinton, there would have been a feeling of public safety.

          3. JLM

            .Yeah, well, Hillary, good. Trump, bad.Hillary, not president. President Trump.He is neither a danger to minorities nor a threat to the safety of women. That’s just hysterical hyperbole.Still, Trump, Bad. Hillary, good, very good.Unfortunately, HIllary, not president. President Trump.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          4. Erin

            I’m going off the behavior he encouraged at his rallies. You don’t have an emotional reaction to that? I mean, if ever there was a time for hysteria… Well… actually.. IMO, this is a time for meditation, getting grounded in the body, etc.

          5. JLM

            .Trump is not likely a strong candidate for saint hood but, luckily, we were not electing a Pope. We were electing a commander-in-chief.I do note that the Clinton campaign engaged persons to disrupt Trump rallies for money. This was the subject of a Veritas Action Project video. Convincing to hear the masterminds in their own voices.No, the election is over and I am prepared to close that chapter. Go meditate.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          6. Erin

            Lol. I’m done meditating. Have to make soup now.

          7. JLM

            .I am off to whip up a kale smoothie. Penance.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          8. Erin

            I finally get this joke.

          9. JLM

            .I am actually drinking a kale smoothie as I type this. More penance.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          10. Mariah Lichtenstern

            He most definitely is a threat to women and “minorities” as he has emboldened racists and sexists. Perhaps you didn’t hear the tape where he talked about the privilege of walking in on pageant contestants nude. He said that himself and women complained about it. That is a danger to them. It presents psychological harm. He is accused of raping a minor with his registered sex offender croney. We’ll see how that plays out. He is also accused of assault and his own ex-wife said he raped her. BTW, your use of the term “hysterical hyperbole” is the most sexist and backassward comment I’ve seen in a long time. Do you also prescribe hysterectomies or are you clueless as to the history of the word?As a woman and a minority, let me share that every time a republican is in office, racists (who lean Republican) are emboldened and people start shouting derogatory terms out of their windows driving by, etc. People are more worried now because of how blatant and overt Trump’s rhetoric has been. I get that you may not have experienced it so it may not be real to you, but it just makes you sound really ignorant and callous to deny what other people experience. I know from AVC that’s kinda your “thang” so don’t mistake chastisement for anger. Just sayin’…

          11. Cam MacRae

            I didn’t have a horse in the race — I live in single party state with an authoritarian bent — but to the best of my knowledge the president elect hasn’t actually killed any women and children. At least not yet. Unfortunately we can’t say the same of Hilary, who during her tenure as Secretary of State presided over the deaths of ten of thousands of women and children. That they were brown people on foreign soil is immaterial to me.Neither candidate was a champion of women.

          12. Erin

            You can scroll through Twitter or Facebook for about 20-30 minutes and read about all the hate crimes and assaults against minorities and women on Trump’s day 1. People telling Muslims to hang themselves with their scarves, holding a knife to their throats… Two transgendered kids have committed suicide… that’s something, right?

          13. Cam MacRae

            Fortunately I have far too much self-respect to use either of those services.It is terrible. Dare I say deplorable?The campaign was an international embarrassment. The result more so.And yet the point holds that a woman who presided over tens of thousands of wrongful deaths (sorry, collateral damage) of women and children cannot be the patron saint of women.

          14. Erin

            I won’t defend her on that point, although she did support planned parenthood and women’s reproductive rights at home, which is great. Facebook and Twitter aren’t that bad. It’s how you use them that can become deplorable if you don’t exercise self-control.

          15. Cam MacRae

            I wasn’t referring to Facebook and Twitter as deplorable, but rather the fallout from the election. That said, I think the tag works for both services as they’re cynical media plays that pander to the worst society has to offer. I am far too optimistic to bother with that tripe.

        2. JLM

          .Trump said he intended to enforce the existing immigration laws which is already funded.Bernie said he was going to provide “free college” which was not funded.I loved Bernie but even Bernie knew he was nuts.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          1. Mariah Lichtenstern

            Plenty of funding for college in the Prison and Military line items.

        3. jason wright

          and apparently that’s what the Democratic Party grandees were comfortable with, the same old status quo. privilege and progress do not a happy couple make.

    4. JLM

      .Not nearly that subtle.She said she’d raise taxes. He said he’d lower taxes.it doesn’t get much more granular than that.She was in favor of NAFTA, TPP. He opposed NAFTA, TPP. Then, she changed her mind and then we found out she has “public” and “private” positions which are not always in sync with each other.He has actually created jobs. She’s never created a job.I could go on for a lot longer.No, the electorate plumbed the depths and decided they weren’t going to give the job to someone who judged them to be “deplorable.”JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

      1. Gotham Gal

        He creates jobs and didn’t pay his people or his taxes. Just saying.

        1. JLM

          .He, apparently, had his taxes prepared by a CPA and paid the liability which was indicated.If he had an annual operating loss, he could carry it back for 2 years or forward for 18 years until it is completely absorbed or used. That is in strict compliance with the Tax Code.That is not “didn’t pay his taxes.” That is “he didn’t owe any taxes because he had losses.”Who do you think he didn’t pay?JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          1. Mariah Lichtenstern

            Countless contractors came out and told how he brought them to ruin or near-ruin by not paying them what he owed. He defended this as “renegotiating” – after services were rendered.

          2. JLM

            .I am perfectly receptive to learning something new on the subject.The only contractor and design professional disputes I can find attributed to him are related to Doral (which he bought out of bankruptcy and which came with a bunch of known disputes but not of his making and his resolution of them was approved by the bankruptcy court) and his four Atlantic City bankruptcies which were also supervised by the court.Unsecured creditors (some subcontractors included) took a hair cut but these same guys failed to file in a timely basis as it relates to the Mechanics & Materialmans statutory lien rights. They also voted for the reorganization plan as unsecured creditors.For a guy who built so many projects, it is not a big number.But, maybe, you are aware of some other ones?I am not sure what the point of your comment is other than, perhaps, a general mud splattering contest. The guy is not a saint and he was not running for Pope. If he failed to pay debts as owed, then he did wrong.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          3. Mariah Lichtenstern

            I’ve read a number of articles. Here’s one alleging hundreds of cases across different properties:http://www.usatoday.com/sto…As far as I’m concerned, he’s splattered his own mud. I’m merely contributing to the conversation as the nation grieves that fellow citizens have elected the most vulgar, xenophobic, misogynistic, and dishonest President of the century – if not of all time. Definitely not a saint. Clearly wrong on many things.

        2. LE

          I have been involved in small business since the 80’s. While he could have ‘screwed’ people and not paid them it is also possible that the work was not up to the quality that was promised. Separately anyone who had done work for developers knows they will chisel on the invoices and make money on the backs of subcontractors.Attached is an example from a company that I started out of college and owned until I sold it many years ago. It is a customer who is complaining about a job that we printed that wasn’t up to their standards. It happened to be for a very famous (at the time) restaurant in our city. La Terrasse. The date of this is 1985. I’ve kept it to this day as a reminder.I will repeat for clarity what the picture say:Totally fucked up Ink smears. Type @ bottom of card is denser in the center (not so on the mechanical) which is a printing error.In this case I could have easily presented this as the customer was screwing us or I could own up to the fact that we did a shitty job. With this particular case of course it was a shitty job but in all honesty there were tons of jobs just as bad that nobody ever called us out on. That was much more common. We redid the job and the customer was happy. You have certainly dealt with contracting and know that often subs deliver less than they promise (late, poor quality etc.).I happen to know someone who claims they weren’t paid by Trump. That is really meaningless without knowing the exact details. People generally think they are right and the other party is wrong.We once had a $20,000 (in 80’s dollars) job bounced by a customer. Very painful experience. Truth was the job was done wrong and not up to standards. That is the nature of doing any type of custom work. (And the reason that I sold that business way way to aggravating)…. https://uploads.disquscdn.c

        3. HRC

          What about carried interest that you take advantage of?

  7. LE

    Judging by the tone set by both what Trump said last night and what I just heard Obama say I think there is one thing you need to consider going forward in this country with respect to Trump as President.Prior to winning, Trump personally was a classic case of (with respect to Politics) the Bob Dylan saying “When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose”. He could say and do anything in order to get elected.Now he has something to lose. He was elected. And he has something to prove – that he can be a positive force in this country. He will not, I predict, take that lightly. He hopefully (looking at this on an upbeat tone) really really try to make a positive impact. He has something to lose now that he didn’t in the primary and campaign. I really believe that. It’s human nature. I don’t think he expected to win certainly not given what the polls said.What he does going forward may mean you could lose things that you like now but as Joni Mitchell would say “Well something’s lost, but something’s gained”, so hopefully also be advances as well. Maybe not everything to your liking (or mine) but that’s what happens in a country this size.

  8. JLM

    .There was a bit of concern that now Pres-elect Trump might not be willing to bend to the will of the electorate, the wisdom of the ballot box. Not accept the outcome. Y’all recall that?As it turns our, it is the liberals who are now the ones lacking in any evidence of graciousness or charm as they confront the reality that their candidate did not prevail in what they hoped would be a coordination.As they say in my part of the country, “Pardner, it depends whose ox is in the ditch.”It speaks to a lack of courtesy, manners, and a wholesale disrespect for the electoral process, the voters, and the many people who were involved in the process.The protesters are not limited by the truth — DJT did not fail to pay his taxes; he used a loss carry forward to offset like kind losses in perfect compliance with the Tax Code. He is not an “adulteress” though he may be an adulterer. Who really knows?The message we send to our country is that we have a system of passing power from administration to administration. It has worked — without tanks in the streets — for more than two centuries and last night, the winner surprised the crap out of the elites, the cognosceti, the illuminati, the GOPe, the DEMe, the Dems, the MSM, the pundits, the pollsters. They all got it wrong and woke this morning with a terrible hangover.What we also learned is the electorate is still as angry — angrier — than they were in 2014 when they gave the Senate, the House, governors’ mansion, legislatures to the Republicans in record numbers. Biggest reversal of fortune since the 1920s. Now, they’ve added the White House.We also learned that when Pres Obama said, in 2014, “Make no mistake, my policies are on the ballot” or in 2016, “My legacy is on the ballot” — nobody was too impressed by those utterances.Apparently, the rising premiums, the expanding deductibles, the increasing costs, the failing exchanges — market Obamacare as a terrible bit of legislation. Folks don’t like it because it doesn’t work. Pres Obama asked the folks to judge and they judged.Democracy is an experiment.It works best when we accept the results, even when we don’t agree with them. It also lets the world know what kind of people we are.I thought Hillary Clinton’s concession speech was classy; as classy as President-elect Trump’s acceptance speech.Let’s keep it classy, America. If you can. Don’t stretch it. Be the kind of genuine, authentic person you are.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

  9. Mariah Lichtenstern

    Very, very sad.

  10. bsoist

    Numb is the perfect way to describe what we are feeling at our house.

  11. jason wright

    that’s a negative outlook on the future. the future is for each of us to make happen. hierarchies are the past. there is nothing to fear except fear itself.

    1. Gotham Gal

      Unfortunately it will take me awhile to regain my positive outlook

  12. Guest

    Do you support Hillary’s 65% Estate Tax?

    1. Gotham Gal

      Do you support Trumps 40% tax on everything made overseas?All of these concepts were pre election bullshit. It would be impossible to agree with everything that any candidate put out there

      1. Guest

        No, I oppose tarifs.Unless you do nothing to shield your assets from the Estate Tax (which would be idiotic at your level of success), it’s hard to take the support for Hillary seriously because you’re still protecting your family from her policies and her belief that our assets belong to the government and not those of us who accumulated them.If your lawyer liquidates your assets in a firesale after you’re dead and writes a check to the IRS for 65% of that value, then the support for Hillary would come off as less hypocritical. If you give away assets or set up a trust or foundation, that is also hyprocritical as those actions are less likely in the absence of such a high Estate Tax (which I oppose no matter how wealthy someone is).