If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isnt. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldnt be. And what it wouldnt be, it would. You see?Alice in Lewis CarolsAlices Adventures in WonderlandI have been imagining Lewis Carols nonsensical upside-down world of Wonderland, where right is wrong and good is bad, where characters shrink, grow, and disappear quicker than a wink of an eye, where the Mad Hatter sings a happy unbirthday to you, and the Cheshire Cat correctly reminds us that Were all mad here.This strange world has resounded in the political discourse of the entire Trumpian era as the administration and the Republican Party lie, ghost, and gas light its followers into believing their so-called populist agenda. Related Destroying bodily autonomy is a critical piece of the white Christian nationalist playbook The Supreme Courts anti-trans ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti is a symptom of white Christian nationalists growing power. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today Looking into the Republican Partys so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, I seriously wonder what supporters find so beautiful about the bill. Frankly, I cannot see anything even hinting at beauty in any of its over 900 blood-stained pages.As the plague of gun violence continues across the United States and as the tragic murders of two brave firefighters and serious injuries to a third by a sniper in Idaho hit the airwaves on Sunday, the Senate was undertaking the process of passing the Republican and Trump-sponsored One Big Beautiful Bill, which if passed would loosengun regulations on silencers and short-barreled rifles and would eliminate a $200 tax on these items as well as on shotguns.Fortunately for those of us who care about gun safety, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that the House bill, which removed silencers and short-barreled firearms from the National Firearms Act of 1934, must be taken out of the bill as it violates the so-called Byrd Rule. Named after former Sen. Robert Byrd, the rule limits items that can be included in budget reconciliation legislation. It blocks extraneous matters from being inserted into reconciliation bills, which are provisions that do not clearly affect the budget. Congress adopted the rule in 1985 and amended it in 1990.Congress passed the National Firearms Act to initiate gun registration, background checks, and fees for these weapons since the rate of danger and use in crimes of these weapons was of high magnitude. This version of the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill the Republicans recently passed in the House by a single vote, which now is being debated in the Senate, cuts essential services like the SNAP program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), formerly called Food Stamps for people in need of food assistance. Approximatelyone in eight Americansreceive nutrition assistance through SNAP, and most of them are children. Though the president and most congressional Republicans promisedad nauseamnot to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in the current budget, surprise of all surprises, the House Republicans cut $600 billion to Medicaid and to the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The bill makes significant reductionsto Medicaidby imposingwork requirements, mostly unreasonable and unrealistic, on many of those receiving benefits.They also reduced the availability of government-sponsored loans to middle- and working-class college students, thereby pushing deserving people out of earning a degree.The Republican bill will also raise household electricity costs by cutting federal investments in wind, solar, and energy batteries, and will increase the possibility of failures in the many outdated energy grids. At the same time, the fossil fuels industry will continue toreceive billions in subsidies. The bill also includes a reckless and dangerous rollback of green energy tax breaksfrom the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act.The Republicans are making these cuts as the Earth undergoes increasingly higher temperatures, more severe and longer duration storms, rising ocean temperatures and tides, increases in the extinction of animal species, climate-related human mass migrations, and an ever bleaker prospect for all human life. It also cuts Meals on Wheels, a vital lifeline program for seniors and people with disabilities.While taking from the poorest and most needy, the bill provides amulti trillion-dollar tax breaks packagewith the majority going to the richest among us. The bill makes permanent the $4.5 trillion in enormous tax breaks for the rich, which was passed in Donald Trumps first regime. If passed, the bill will initiate the largest transfer of wealth to the top percentile in the history of the United States.The massive budget package adds $350 billion in new spending, with approximately $150 billion set aside for the Pentagon, which includes funding Trumps new Golden Dome defense shield. The remainder goes to Trumps draconian and often illegalmass deportationand border security agenda. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that this bill, in its current version, will result in approximately 12 million fewer people having access to health care coverage, and 3 million fewer people a month receiving SNAP benefits. In addition, it will increase federal deficits by $3.8 trillion over the decade, adding to the already out-of-boundsnations $36 trillion debt.So, Trump and his Republican congressional sycophants who branded themselves as conservative populists are most certainly extremely popular among the super-rich, but what about all the middle-, working-class, and poor people who voted for them expecting the promise of a better economic future: of higher wages in better US-based jobs; of better and more affordable healthcare, groceries, and energy costs? What about them?So, the One Big Beautiful Bill is basically doublespeak in the Alice in Wonderland style. While the bill is certainly Big, its beauty is only in the eye of the richest beholders.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.