Congress Celebrated July 4th by Setting Democracy on Fire!

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America celebrated Independence Day with fireworks and barbecues, but behind the festivities, a political bombshell was detonating in Washington. While you were checking the doneness on your burgers, House Republicans passed what Trump calls a "big, beautiful bill”.

This massive bill guts our Democracy.

The timing was no accident. Passed during a major holiday when public attention was diverted, this legislation represents a calculated attempt to reshape American governance while citizens were distracted by celebrations.

 As the firework smoke clears and the reality of this bill comes into focus, a sobering truth emerges: democracy isn't fueled by symbolic displays and patriotic slogans—it requires constant vigilance, especially when those in power are counting on your distraction. 

Listen as I unpack what happened while America was celebrating, and what it means for our collective future when the holiday weekend ends.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a world on fire.
This is a world on fire.
Fire, fire, fire, fire.
It's Saturday, july 5th, thegrills are cold, the fireworks

(00:25):
are over.
You survived, uncle Ralph,almost burning down the
neighbor's tree and blowing hisfingers off in the process while
being in charge of thefireworks, and the only thing
still smoldering is theRepublican Party's dignity.
Welcome back to A World GoneMad.
I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe.

(00:46):
While most Americans were justtrying to figure out if hot dogs
count as protein and looking uppotato salad recipes, donald J
Trump was busy pushing what hecalls a big, beautiful bill.
And no, it's not infrastructureBeautiful bill.
And no, it's not infrastructure.
It's not health care, it's notanything remotely useful.

(01:09):
It's a self-serving legislativefantasy that manages to be both
absurd and dangerous.
It's like giving a toddler alighter and calling it
innovative child care.
This bill passed in the House onThursday, july 3rd.
It reads like it was written bysomeone who skimmed the

(01:32):
Constitution once while eatingglue.
It's a 900-page budget bombstuffed with priorities that
would make a lobbyist cry tearsof joy.
With priorities that would makea lobbyist cry tears of joy.
A $5 trillion debt ceilingincrease from the same people
who scream fiscal emergencyanytime someone mentions school

(01:55):
lunches.
Permanent tax cuts forcorporations and high earners,
because what better way to saytrickle down than with another
golden shower of giveaways.
Deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAPbecause poor people don't vote
Republican often enough.
A 10-year ban on federal AIregulation, because apparently

(02:19):
the Republicans think the freemarket will raise our robot
overlords correctly.
The free market will raise ourrobot overlords correctly.
Rollback of clean energycredits because wind turbines
give Republicans migraines.
A provision to gut civilservice protections so future
presidents can fire experts andreplace them with influencers,

(02:43):
family members or whichever.
Intern didn't spill Diet Cokeon the president's golf cart.
It's government by cronies,curated by chaos and sponsored
by loyalty over literacy.
House Republicans, take yourseats, please.

(03:05):
The vote to screw America isnow in session.
The vote 218 to 214 for Trump'sbig, beautiful bill Just enough
to pass, but more than enough toshow the Republican Party's
spine is officially a decorativeitem.

(03:26):
Somewhere in the distance, abald eagle screamed.
One Republican called it astrong signal that freedom still
matters.
Right after he voted to gut it,another Republican whispered
we're just trying to stay inoffice without getting primaried

(03:48):
by a guy in a QAnon hoodie.
Meanwhile, the rest of us wokeup today with dry mouths, empty
coolers, sounds of Aunt Marthathrowing up in the bathroom
because she ate too many corndogs, and the nagging
realization that democracy isn'tfueled by fireworks and slogans

(04:08):
.
You can't gut health care andcall it liberty.
You can't deregulate AI andcall it innovation.
You can't kneecap publicservice and call it.
You can't kneecap publicservice and call it patriotism.
And you sure as hell can't gutMedicaid for families, seniors,

(04:38):
kids, the disabled and call itefficiency.
But that's what this bigbeautiful bill tries to do
Reward the base, punish theopposition and if Trump tries to
crown himself president for athird term, whether by claiming
divine right and brandishing agold-plated Bible or flat-out
cheating, the system's alreadycleared to welcome his

(04:58):
excellency with open arms andzero questions.
So as you crawl out of yourbarbecue coma and scroll through
firework photos, just rememberthey didn't take a holiday, they
took a vote and they're hopingyou were too distracted to

(05:19):
notice what they passed whileyou were checking the doneness
on your burgers.
That's the real firework show,and it's not red, white and blue
, it's just red.
I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe.
This is A World Gone Mad.
Trump signs this bill next andthe moment he does, people will

(05:43):
start dying a little faster.
But don't worry, america'sbillionaires will still have tax
breaks big enough to bury theevidence.
Catch you Monday.