The 58th Presidential Inauguration – An Opinion by Herb Ryan

By Herb Ryan
Editor
Custer Free Press
November 20, 2016

Custer, SD – The 58th Presidential Inauguration will be held on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, Friday, January 20, 2017. This will happen no matter how much you protest or sling hate all over the web. Get over it. Hillary Clinton will not be the next President of the United States of America. Think about that. This is the United States of America, not some dysfunctional group of people living in an Orwellian dystopian state.

Donald J. Trump, and all that he is, or is not, will be sworn in as President of the United States of America on January 20, 2017. This was an election where people decided they wanted change, they voted for him, and it is up to the President to make progress on some of the promises that were made.

No one with any reasonable amount of intelligence can expect that all promises made during an election cycle can be fulfilled.  Pet projects of a candidate or topics that lead off the news cycle are what gets the attention of the people. We all need something to feed our anxiety or to become excited about. A promise to improve the lives of ordinary citizens is quite frankly, boring.

In this presidential campaign and election, we allowed ourselves to be victims of the propaganda and falsehoods that were fed to us from both the Democrats and Republicans. This was a total media circus that exposed the underbelly of national politics to the world and forced our friends and allies to wonder what we really stood for.

American elections are a money sport and always have been. This election cycle was totally out of control. Presidential candidates spending millions of their own money and attending fundraising events that were only open to the moneyed and well-connected. Business as usual.

The hope is this President will manage to get through the transition period and be somewhat prepared for the office. All the violent protests do nothing but disrupt the process. There is nothing to be gained other than encouraging the professional agitators to continue their violent actions.

As a lifelong Democrat, I admit to being discouraged and apprehensive. This person was not my pick for President. I did vote for Hillary Clinton because that was the only choice there was for me. Other people felt differently and wanted change, and so it shall be.

Until all the appointments are made by the new administration, nothing is gained through the opinions and forecasting of second-rate pundits. The first 100 days of any administration are the litmus test. It is out of our control.

An Opinion – Dear Donald Please Leave The Building Now

By Herb Ryan
Editor
Custer Free Press
October 9, 2016

Donald Trump, anointed presidential candidate of the Republican Party has finally and irretrievably crossed the wavering line of unacceptable actions. Anyone with an ounce of commonsense can clearly see that this person is not fit to be President of the United States of America.

Trump was the candidate the people wanted, rejected in the campaign process were:
Republicans: Jeb Bush. Ben Carson. Chris Christie. Ted Cruz. Carly Fiorina. Jim Gilmore. Lindsey Graham. Mike Huckabee. Bobby Jindal. John Kasich. George Pataki. Rand Paul. Rick Perry. Marco Rubio. Rick Santorum. Scott Walker.And among this list of republican candidates could Ted Cruz or John Kasich not have been a better choice.

Sadly, the American people went for the lowest common denominator. The math was simple. Trump, in his campaign speeches did the same thing that most egocentric politicians do. He promised to build walls across the Mexican border, order mass deportations against certain ethnic groups, stop all immigration from Islamic countries, further empower and already militaristic repressive police state and continue to subjugate the rights of women and the LGBTI community. Fear mongering, a tactic used by almost every dictator in recorded history is the candy that the people wanted.

If Trump comes back from this latest episode and remains on the ticket, we are surely a country that has lost it’s basic common sense. The decision for Trump to withdraw from the race is our decision, not his. The evangelicals and others who find themselves thoroughly disgusted by the thought of Hillary Clinton as President along with other Christian groups now have a moral decision to make. To follow the tenants of their religion, or to support a man whose morals are so lacking that he mocks the very concept of Christianity.

No one is asking Hillary Clinton to withdraw, even though she carries a lot of baggage that will make her presidency difficult. Without a majority in the house and senate, the bitterness over the election will follow her full term calling into question every decision she makes. The moral standard is based on the person running for president. Bill Clinton has the character and morals of a sewer rat. Hillary Clinton, the actual presidential candidate is in the opinion of the public, a liar and not trustworthy.

Tonight, the two candidates, in front of a world-wide audience will once again embarrass themselves and America in a so-called debate. Please watch this if, Mr. Trump shows up, it will be entertaining, I do not expect anyone to take the high ground and above everything else be afraid, be very afraid. One of these people could be President of The United States of America for the next four years.