This 4th of July I am Ashamed - Not Proud

Why were the Senate Majority Leader & VP Missing at the Big Beautiful Bill-ionaire Signing? Were They Ashamed Too?

July 4, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / U.S. Politics Media & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

On July 4, 2025, Donald Trump signed the cynically named, Big Beautiful Bill, into law. After reviewing its contents, I felt compelled to make a few remarks.

The image above or at right shows a photo of the second Trump tax cut signing on the July 4th holiday. Both Republican Vice President J.D. Vance and Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune are missing.

In the photo we posted below of the Trump's first term tax cut photo, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan and VP Mike Pence were all present. As you can see for yourself, this time around, two of the three leaders - albeit different Republicans - were not present.

Nonetheless, one thing that hasn't changed is that all of the Republicans in the photo are still LAUGHING AT YOU, not with you. They got preferential tax rates and will continue receiving campaign funding from billionaires to keep their jobs, while you, your children, your grandchildren, great grandchildren and so forth all got scr*wed.

This is literally taking money [$3 - $5 TRILLION TO BE EXACT] from BABIES. What kind of parents and grandparents allow this to happen? And what kind of cowards engineer these big steals? STOP THIS STEAL WHY DON'T YOU?

• CLICK here to read more about how the Republican Party, led by Donald J. Trump, Mike Johnson, John Thune & J.D. Vance, is taking $3 trillion plus dollars from your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and unborn babies in order to give the richest people on the planet lower taxes ... AGAIN.

This 4th of July I am Ashamed - Not Proud

Why were the Senate Majority Leader & VP Missing at the Big Beautiful Bill-ionaire Signing? Were They Ashamed Too?

July 4, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / U.S. Politics Media & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

The New America - Take from Children, Unborn Babies, the Poor and Middle Classes & Give  to the Rich - Made Possible in Part by Disinformational Billionaire TV News

The bill increases America's debt - already a whopping $36 TRILLION - by another $3 to $5 TRILLION in order to give the wealthiest people on the planet and their corporations low tax rates. Most of the tax cuts for the richest people on the planet will be paid for by children, grandchildren and unborn babies. 

Also offsetting some of the tax cuts for the richest people on the planet [which will be given IMMEDIATELY], are federal government cuts of food and health benefits for the poor and middle-class families.  The cuts will be DELAYED UNTIL AFTER THE MIDTERMS, so that people won't yet realize what Trump and his merry band of Republicans have done to them before they go to vote in November 2026. And like on so many other important issues these days, billionaire TV News will be sure to keep their viewing audience of ignorants, in the dark, by distracting them with nonsense news ... like the P. Diddy trial. Note that there are also cuts to clean energy incentives / investments.

Donald Trump and the Republicans have morphed into Reverse Robin Hoods, taking from the poor to enrich themselves and their campaign funders. 

A Brief but Important History of how America Accumulated so Much Debt and ...

Contrary to What Republicans & TV News Say - It is NOT Because of Federal Government Spending on Poor, Working Class or Middle Class Americans - It's Because of Billionaire, Banking and Corporate Bailouts & Tax Breaks for the Richest People on the Planet

It's worth reminding Americans that for the past 50 years the Republicans have falsely claimed to be fiscal hawks, when in fact they are the ones most responsible for the accumulation of U.S. federal government debt.

Throughout our lifetimes, Republicans have implemented tax cut policies for the wealthy and government bailouts of billionaires, banks and corporations - all of which have added significantly to America's federal debt.  The two most notable events occurred: 1) during George Bush Jr.'s financial market meltdown which required a huge government bailout of financial institutions [George Bush Sr presided over a smaller one], and 2) during Trump's first term when the CoVid pandemic erupted which was ameliorated by government relief spending. But there's a third element, which is ongoing and continuous tax cuts by Republican presidents with the help of Republican Senators and Congressmen, including the Administrations of Reagan, Bush Jr. and Trump [now twice], wherein the richest people on the planet were given huge tax breaks for which America's children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and unborn babies will have to pay.

Ronald Reagan 1981 - 1989. In January 1981, when Republican Ronald Reagan first became president, America's debt stood at $1 trillion.  Eight years later, at the end of his presidency, the debt had TRIPLED to $3 trillion as of January 1989.  One of the driving reasons for the increase in debt, was the Reagan tax cut for the rich.

George Bush Sr 1989 - 1993.  During Republican George Bush Sr.'s four year presidency, the debt grew 50% or another $1.5 billion, to $4.3 trillion.  This debt increase was driven in part by ongoing Reagan tax cuts [through 1990] and in part by the Savings and Loan / real estate speculation crisis [about $.1 - $.2 billion] bailout.

Bill Clinton 1993 - 2001.  Democrat Bill Clinton started reining in the federal deficit while he was president, wherein at the end of his eight year presidency, the debt had grown $1.4 trillion to $5.7 trillion. This was about the same amount of debt as Bush Sr. had incurred but over two terms versus Bush's one term [so Clinton decelerated debt growth and then reversed it].  Furthermore Clinton had started running federal government surpluses in the last three years of his presidency, paying down some of the debt for the first time since 1969.

George W. Bush 2001 - 2009.  During Republican George W. Bush's eight year presidency [2001 - 2009] America's debt ballooned by $5 TRILLION, nearly doubling to $10.6 trillion.  But what's more, Bush ended his presidency with America's first one year TRILLION dollar deficit [$1.4 trillion]. The Bush deficit increase was due in large part to the federal government's TARP [troubled asset relief program], wherein the federal government bailed out the rich and powerful financial institutions that had speculated to make more money faster in real estate.  The recklessness of the financial institutions nearly brought about the collapse of America's financial system.

Barack Obama 2009 - 2017.  When Democrat Barack Obama ended his eight-year presidency, America's debt had nearly doubled again, this time rising $9.3 trillion to $19.9 TRILLION.  It's worth noting however, that George W. Bush had so failed on the economy, that the Obama Administration started their term with federal deficits running in excess of a trillion dollars, but ended with a deficit of $665 BILLION in 2017.

Donald Trump 2017 - 2021.  During Republican Donald Trump's administration, America's debt burden once again skyrocketed, this time jumping $8 TRILLION to $27.8 TRILLION, during his one term presidency.  Furthermore, because of the HUGE tax cuts for the rich and CoVid pandemic relief spending; by the time Trump left office in 2021, America was running back-to-back multi-TRILLION annual deficits.  In 2020 the federal government spent $3.1 Trillion more than it took in, and did roughly the same in 2021 at $2.8 trillion.

The image above or at right shows a graphic posted in December 2017 at the time of the first Trump tax cut signing around the Christmas holidays. Note that on the first round, in Trump's first term, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan and VP Mike Pence were all at the photo op. As you can see above, this time around, two of the three leaders - albeit different Republicans - were not present. CLICK on it or this link to view our report of the first Trump Tax Cut for the rich. Ask yourself how much wealth did you get from that tax cut, of what was the equivalent of $60,000 per family added to the national debt?

Joe Biden 2021 - 2025. During Democrat Joe Biden's administration, America's debt burden continued its rapid growth, jumping another $8 TRILLION to $36.1 trillion.  When Biden took office, the federal government was running an annual deficit of $2.8 TRILLION.  By the time Biden left office, the federal government was running a deficit of about [half that] at $1.4 Trillion.  The Biden deficits were fueled by the ongoing Trump tax cuts for the wealthiest among us, as well as by additional CoVid relief spending, and investments in infrastructure and clean energy.

Time to Wake Up to the Murdoch Ministry of Mass Manipulation's, Half-Century-Long Big Lie, that Republicans are Fiscal Conservatives

So, as you can see for yourself, while Republicans tell everyone that they are the party of fiscal conservatism, when they are not.  In fact, based on their record, they are the party of exactly the opposite of fiscal conservatism.  But billionaire Network TV News and MSM [mainstream media - most of which now is also in the hands of the billionaires] don't inform you of that. Billionaire TV News no longer holds corrupt pols and their funders accountable, because many mass media outlets are owned by billionaires who appear to be in on the grift.  This trend started with Rupert Murdoch circa 1980, when he started using the NY Post, then Fox News and then the Wall Street Journal as propaganda outlets to get voters to elect his favored candidates. And then Murdoch would turn around and get numerous favors from the candidates he convinced his mass media audiences to elect. But today it's nearly all corporate Network TV and radio stations, as well as broadcast media groups.

Missing in Action - Republican Senate Majority Leader Thune & VP Vance

As mentioned above, it's important to note that this time around, in the photo of the signing of the tax and spending cut bill, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Republican Vice President J.D. Vance are nowhere to be seen.  Both of these men, made this abomination, of an incredibly morally corrupt bill, possible.

But they obviously know that it's just purely and simply wrong. And unlike Trump, they are young enough to run for re-election and likely want to distance themselves as much as possible from this bill, before the American people finally become aware of what the Republican establishment has just done to them. 'We, The People' aren't going to be happy when they find out how they scr*wed themselves. And it's not just the poor and middle classes that will suffer, as there will be a lot of collateral damage that those not wealthy enough to insulate themselves, will feel / pay for too.

Also take notice that billionaire TV News failed to provide Americans with enough awareness / information to stave off this sort of legalized thievery in the first place.

This is literally taking money [$3 - $5 TRILLION TO BE EXACT] from BABIES. What kind of parents and grandparents allow this to happen? And what kind of cowards engineer these big steals? STOP THIS STEAL WHY DON'T YOU?

Are they as Ashamed as I am? And How Close are We to Our Day of Debt Reckoning?

This July 4th was a day for which I will always feel some measure of shame for what the Republican party has done to this country ... AGAIN. That $36 TRILLION in debt is real. And the Republican Party just raised the debt limit by another $5 TRILLION, so you know they're not solving our fiscal problems and this debt isn't going to go away easily. A day of debt reckoning is coming, but many of the people who caused the debt - like Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump - may not live long enough to see that day. But that's only if the reckoning is staved off for another 10 - 20 years. And the probability of that, continues to diminish as the electorate continues to make bad electoral choices, based on misleading and distracting broadcasts, provided by billionaire TV News.

A couple of the first warning signs have already materialized in the financial markets, with the dollar losing ground, foreigners demanding higher interest fees, and the financial ratings services downgrading U.S. Treasury debt. As you know, when things go badly, they start slowly with a few warning signs, and then unravel very quickly.

Donald Trump's Track Record of Bankrupticies and Defaults

And this would not be the first financial debacle presided over by Donald J. Trump. Donald Trump presided over a number of defaults including: 1) Trump Shuttle airline, 2) multiple defaulting casinos including Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza & Trump Castle, 3) numerous bankrupticies including Trump Entertainment Resorts, 4) bankruptcy of Trump Plaza Hotel and 4) Trump University was closed after settling a lawsuit with the NYS Attorney General alleging fraud and deceptive business practices.

Why doesn't billionaire TV News discuss the relevance of these facts?

Republicans are the Party of Small Government & Why

While Republicans are NOT FISCAL CONSERVATIVES, they are the party that wants a SMALL, POWERLESS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.  And this is why they keep heaping huge amounts of debt on the federal government, in order to cripple it. The more crippled the federal government is, the less the rich and powerful who control the Republican Party and TV News, will have to follow the rule of law and answer to the American people, for their actions, via the federal government law enforcement.  This is how China, Russia, North Korea and Saudi Arabia work.  And this emasculation of the U.S. federal government was the general theme of Project 2025, which we outlined prior to the election. But how well did billionaire TV News inform their audiences? Please pay attention to this.

It's worth noting that the label 'Mainstream Media' for Network TV News is also a big lie. This lie is not unlike the one where Republicans call themselves fiscal conservatives. TV News is NOT MAINSTREAM at all, as it is controlled by the uber wealthy. It's the RICHSTREAM MEDIA. So while not mainstream, the TV Networks are highly MANIPULATIVE of the increasingly ignorant folks who watch them and rely upon them for their news. Network TV News appears to try to influence their viewers' perceptions and voting behaviors, via distorted news reports, omissions of key factoids from the news reports they provide, and sometimes just plain outright story omissions / no coverage. It's what you don't know that will hurt you, which is why it is so critical to start augmenting / migrating at least some of your news viewing to independent, quality, web news sources that are not members of the billionaire press, so you know what's really going on around you.

Billionaires Have Taken Over TV News & Seem to Use it to Manage Audience Perceptions

The Billionaire Press is an important self-enrichment tool. Now more than ever, the billionaires are using mass media to manipulate their American TV viewing audiences. TV watchers, particularly older ones, have yet to wake up and recognize what's been happening which is why many appear somewhat clueless as to what's going on in our society. They might be able to give you great detail about the P. Diddy Combs trial, but they can't tell you jack about the NYC mayoral candidates - except what they had drummed into their skulls, by the billionaire funded Mamdani attack ads.

This is why TV viewers vote for politicians like Eric Adams, Andrew Cuomo and Donald Trump. These politicians appear to be fighting hard for the billionaire class, who fund their campaigns. These are the same politicians who give ample cheap lip service to the working and middle classes, via open mic, disinformational TV News interviews provided free by the billionaire press. The non-Fact checked interview is how billionaire TV News manipulates their viewers' perceptions for these alleged crooked politicians. See our report of about a year ago, wherein CNN anchors Dana Bash and Jake Tapper hosted the first nationally televised disinformational presidential debate by allowing 39 disinformational false or misleading statements to be made, without correction over national TV. Previously, the FCC had rules in place disallowing the dissemination of incorrect information on TV, but the billionaires' politicians rewrote those rules for them - almost exactly as was done in George Orwell's book, Animal Farm.

Institutions are Run by People - And as We are Still a Democracy - THIS MEANS YOU

And while our governmental institutions were founded by historical figures like George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Ben Franklin; and kept evolving by people like Abraham Lincoln, Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt; our institutions are only as good as the people currently running them. 

And right now, many of the people running them - like Trump, Cuomo and Adams - are either convicted criminals or alleged criminals who have thus far eluded conviction. One thing is clear about all of them, is that while they may do little things for us here and there to keep up appearances, they primarily 'get big stuff done' for the rich and powerful who fund their campaigns. Too often this involves taking land, money, power and other resources from the rest of us.

Please do your Part - Start by Paying Closer Attention Using the Web

So, over this July 4th weekend, I ask of you to start reconsidering when, where, how and FROM WHOM you get your information, particularly before stepping into the voting booth this November.  We will only remain a government by, for and of 'The People' if the people of today's America wake up and start exercising more control over from where and from whom they get their voting related information.  'We The People' have been losing ground - aka our place in society - since about 1980, which coincides with press lord, Rupert Murdoch's, arrival in our country, and his early meddling in our democracy, using his manipulative mass media outlets [Fox News, NY Post & the Wall Street Journal]. Back in the 1980's and 1990's Murdoch was the pioneer of Goebbels-style use of mass media within our democracy. But today he is in the company of many, many others.

Gotham Buzz Planning to do a bit More to Help

We're working on some things to step up our efforts to help you keep better informed, by using the web. You will see some of this evolve slowly, over the coming 6 - 18 months.  The following information sources [TBD] should help get you started, with more to follow over time.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and best wishes for a good 4th of July weekend.