Today I received several e-mails regarding our election. They came from Thailand and Australia as well as Massachusetts and southern California. I have not heard from friends in Kentucky or the U.K. but I know those people will be writing similar messages. The surprising message came from a correspondent in Thailand who sent me (us?) a congratulatory message on the re-election of Bush. That one really startled me. I would expect people like Putin and Blair to approve of his re-election whereas the common man in those countries have quite different opinions. The same applies to Italy and Australia. All of my contacts in Thailand are not Bush supporters, or so I thought, so this e-mail was really unexpected.

My correspondent in the Boston area wrote that they are all in mourning there and fear that Antonin Scalia will become the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after which many or all of our hard won rights will be taken away. He concludes by saying that this is a devastating time for our country.

My friend from Southern California, originally from Singapore, is very sad today and worries about what the economy will be like four years from now and fears that the country will be more divided than it is now and that there might be more wars.

My friends in Australia are in shock. One says that he does not know what to say to me concerning my mood. He said that short of getting drunk or taking tranquilizers, or both, or joining an order of monks, he does not have an answer. (Hmm...how about all three of those?)

These are perilous times with that cowboy from Texas in the White House who believes in shooting first and asking questions later. He has done more to destroy international relations in three years than most or all of the presidents in the 20th Century. For that reason alone he should not have been re-elected.

The biggest fear however, is what a more conservative Supreme Court will do. We will find out sooner than expected since Rehnquist has been diagnosed with cancer and may not be on the court much longer. How many rights will be taken away after his departure? How much more power will the various law enforcement agencies have, all to the detriment of the freedoms we have known for many years.

Yes, yesterday was truly "Black Tuesday" in the history of this country.