When you woke up a week ago today were you feeling jilted?  Maybe a week later you still do?  Don’t despair.

Why?  That’s an easy one.  For one, you’re still alive.

“No, not enough,” you say.  “Give us another reason.”  Rather than give you another reason, you could talk to 10-15 million whose names we may or may not know, and they’ll explain why they fled parts unknown, jumped fences to get in, and entered our country illegally for a better life.

“But, but, it’s the end of our democracy.”  Is it?  Can someone explain how DJT’s election will end democracy and why it didn’t end in 2020?  Far too many buy into hysteria that never materializes.  Do you remember Chicken Little who said the sky is falling?

Speaking of chickens, every potential voting block was promised one in their pot.  Student loan forgiveness, increased child care credit, 50k to start a biz, 25k to first-time homebuyers, one million “forgivable loans” to black entrepreneurs, and no tax on tips were all side dishes to the chicken.

What a feast.  But, Kamala didn’t get a chance to serve that Thanksgiving spread.

It’s ok.  There are many government agencies here to help- for now.

The departments and their public servants(reminds us of jumbo shrimp) will need to dodge DOGE.  What’s DOGE?  It’s the Department of Government Efficiency.

Perhaps these ground-shaking last seven days sent you to bed early last evening.  If so, you missed the smoke spewing from the Mar-a-Lago chimney.

DJT anointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as “department heads” of an independent initiative to recommend to President 47 where waste can be cut from the bloviated government.  This leaves more than a few career DC folks jilted as well.  Take the Department of Education, please.

The hope is to cut two trillion from yearly spending and finish the surgery by July 4th, 2026.  That coincides with our nation’s 250th happy birthday.

Still not happy?  You have 36 trillion reasons and counting to be.

Maybe all of this caused you to turn off FOX News years ago.  If so, you may not know Pete Hegseth, a weekend anchor.  Former President Trump will nominate him as Secretary of Defense.  WHAT?

Before you say that’s not fair or balanced, realize he’s an Iran and Afghanistan veteran with two Bronze Stars, a National Defense Service Medal, and a Global War on Terrorism Medal recipient.  He holds degrees from Princeton and Yale.  He believes in merit-based assignments, not DEI.   DC doesn’t like outsiders but loves DEI.

If all this upheaval leaves you feeling like an outsider, remember midterms are just two years away.

Because there is NO threat to your democracy you’ll have a say again then.

It’s beach time for Dr. Jilted and Joe.

America has spoken.

Give it a chance.

At multiple recent campaign stops Kamala Harris has appealed to the crowd, ” They have pledged to carry out the largest deportation, a mass deportation, in American history.  Imagine what that would look like and what that would be.”

Predictably her supporters clap and wave signs.  If you’re tolerant of illegal immigration you’re probably against deportation.

Donald Trump and his zealots see it quite differently.  He used the exact video of Kamala’s anti-deportation callout and added his name and approval at the end.   In other words, I am Donald J. Trump and I hope you not only imagine it but get to see it.

What would it look like? Millions of people and the government would be involved, so imagine a yuge mess.

It would look a lot like the unfettered illegal immigration of the last four years- a great big mess.

Eleven million (Trump says, “more, some would say many more, many many more”) aren’t going find the backpack they dropped walking in, pick it up, and head south.

Mexico let them walk out, but they aren’t going to let them walk back in.   Who would want the mess we’ve endured?  Not Mexico.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles anyone?

Here’s a one-way ticket back to your country of origin.  We hope you enjoyed your stay on our dime, here’s another to fly back from whence you came.

JD Vance says we should take little bites out of deportation.  He’d start with any who have criminal records.  He’d move on to organized gangs, etc.

Make no mistake about it, the Border Czar has no plan to deport any just like she had no plan to prevent any from walking in.

Election season is here so now she wants to solve the border problem.  The polls tell her so.  Could someone ask her what she thinks the problem is at the border?  Would she be dumb enough to indict herself?  Maybe.

And, the irony of all ironies is her campaign is hooting and hollering about border crossings being down 55% last month, to the lowest since she took office.

Could it be that everyone who wants in is?   Did we make our bed and now get to lie in it?

Mass deportation likely isn’t the realistic answer any more than our  “no border” border policy of the last four years.  Two wrongs don’t make a right even if the right says so.

Perhaps there is a sensible solution that strikes some balance with who is here and gets to stay or go.

Future clarity is needed on who and how many will come here.  This country isn’t in the same place as in 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

We have laws.  Or, we did.

So, who won the debate?

Stated differently, who accomplished what they set out to do.   And, was the performance good enough to sway the few voters still undecided in key battleground states?

For Trump, the objective was to expose Harris for what she is, not the candidate “for change” she purports to be.  For Harris, the objective was to show that she was capable of holding the highest office in the land and to goad Trump into being Trump.  For ABC, owned by liberal Disney, the objective was to help Harris.

The BBR scorecard has it Trump 0, Harris won, ABC 4.

Trump unevenly attempted to attach Harris to her recent Biden/Harris past.  The economy, the border, and the world ablaze were ripe for the picking.  His message didn’t pin the mess on her.

He took the bait each time she tossed it.  “You have small crowds at your rally and they leave early.”  “We have big crowds, great crowds.  Some say the biggest crowds ever. They don’t leave early.”   Who cares?  Trump’s ego cares.  And, it always gets in the way.

His MAGA platform from 2016 has changed very little.  On substance, that might be fine.  On style, it seems tired and more importantly, it doesn’t bring fence-sitters to the right.

“I had the greatest economy some say ever.  Most say ever.  Putin wouldn’t invade if I were in office.  The war will be over if I’m elected before I take office.”

I.  I.  I.  Ego. Ego.  Ego.

People want to see a better tomorrow for themselves not argue about the past.  Tell us how you’d end the war.

Don’t you have a plan to enlist influential business leaders to help you shrink government?  Not a peep last night.

Trump’s wandering unscripted diatribes are old.

Harris is scripted because she’s an actress playing a role.  Low-information voters like style.

She’s played many to get here because she has no defined principles.  She’s for or against defunding the police.  She’s for or against gun confiscation.  She practically eliminated the border and now she’s for a tougher border.

She’ll tackle inflation on her first day in office.  She’s in office now.

If her presidential bid fails she can pocket some big coin doing a commercial next summer for flip-flops.

Her Opportunity Economic Plan is one big government giveaway.   Expand child credits.  Give first-time homebuyers down payment money.  Forgive the student’s debt and hand it to you.  Low-information voters like handouts.

ABC did its part to try to move the needle left.  They repeatedly “fact-checked” Trump even if he spoke factually.  CNN counted four times.  They didn’t fact-check Harris once even if she didn’t speak factually.

There was not a single question about the 35 trillion dollar debt.  Ms. Harris, how do you plan to pay for all of this?

Did this debate matter?  It’s doubtful that Trump gained any undecided nor took any from Harris.  Surely some undecided folks decided to move Harris’ way.

How many?  Is it enough to push her over the top?

Eight weeks ago, thank goodness, Trump dodged a bullet.

Last night he shot blanks.

There are eight weeks to go.