Ingrid Taylar

📷 wildlife photographer + writer | ocean naturalist + nature geek | documenting California wildlife for 18+ yrs 🌊

[Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 @cmclymer]

I spent all day today wondering if the sitting President of the United States would use nuclear weapons on a country of 90 million people—the vast majority of whom he claims to be liberating—just because he’s angry over that totalitarian regime thoroughly embarrassing him over his unnecessary, illegal, and disastrous war of choice.

Just as our country was waking up to go to our jobs and take our kids to school and run errands and do all the typical things that need to be done on a Tuesday morning, Trump dangled this threat:

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

He threatened nuclear strikes because he isn’t getting his way in a war that never should have been escalated in the first place.

I spent all day talking to colleagues and friends about what this could mean and wondering what needs to be done to put a stop to this because—surprise—we take it seriously when a deeply unstable person with the power to launch nuclear weapons claims he will do so.

I wondered why so many people in politics and media are apparently unaware that POTUS has sole authority over the launch of nuclear weapons and does not need clearance from Congress or the courts—even for a preemptive strike—and the only thing standing between Trump and that decision are his military commanders maybe, hopefully—who the hell is certain anymore—refusing that order.

I watched as too many journalists—so fearful are they of offending their Access Daddy and his acolytes—pretended that this threat reflective of a brain-addled, narcissistic sociopath was another political parlor game to be navigated with musings on what Democrats should be doing while Republicans are running the whole goddamn show.

I watched as yet more journalists chirped about their bullshit phone calls with Trump, which were, per usual, entirely neutered of meaningful substance.

I watched as so much of the left side of the American political spectrum bickered and bitched with each other and were at each other’s throats over what should be done while we’re out of power, just as Trump was betting and hoping we would.

I wondered if tonight would be the beginning of a broader war with nuclear weapons that would throw the world into violent chaos from which we’d never recover.

You ask me if I’m relieved over this supposed “two-week ceasefire” as Trump yet again postpones his ultimatums, manipulates markets to enrich himself and his cronies, and needlessly scares the shit out of the American people and the world?

No, I am not relieved. I am angry. I am enraged. The thoughts going through my head at this very moment cannot be uttered.

This is not sustainable. We should not have to live in perpetual fear like this.

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Link to full essay available here for easier sharing: https://t.co/GT2pzqiHFt

[Ruth Ben-Ghiat @ruthbenghiat]

When historians write about this time they will explore why no one stopped him: why no one in his govt or the GOP or the elites in finance that prop him back pretending they don't see the disintegration or not caring as long as they make $ did anything meaningful.

[Steven Beschloss @StevenBeschloss]

Honestly, I long for the day again when I can wake in the morning and not have to brace myself from some new horror committed by a man and his regime who are feeding themselves on the ruins of public liberty.

[Jon Favreau @jonfavs]

This is an extraordinary interview that I truly wish every American would watch. It really broke me.
https://t.co/a6FPuP9QGJ

[Brian Allen @allenanalysis]

NEW: Maura Healey just said what Washington’s been dodging:

Kristi Noem needs to go.
Trump needs to end these ICE operations.

And Congress needs to hold them accountable.

That’s a governor drawing a line and daring the federal government to cross it again.

[nxthompson @nxthompson]

An extraordinary paragraph. https://t.co/4FH7q8XzSU

[Steven Beschloss @StevenBeschloss]

No matter how long I live after we get through this dark chapter, I will never get over the immorality, the amorality, the corruption, the criminality and the cruelty in service to one of the worst humans to ever walk the earth.

[Governor Newsom Press Office @GovPressOffice]

Greg Bovino is walking the streets of America dressed up as a Nazi.

His uniform looks like SS garb he bought from eBay.

[Max Kozlov @maxdkozlov]

"This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board." —@_david_ho_

https://t.co/YVuyoyunwQ

[FOX 9 @FOX9]

Jesse Ventura shared his thoughts about the ICE shooting in Minneapolis and a confrontation between ICE officers and staff at Roosevelt High School on Wednesday.

[Mohamad Safa @mhdksafa]

If the United States saw what the United States is doing in the United States, the United States would invade the United States to liberate the United States from the tyranny of the United States

[Warren Gunnels @GunnelsWarren]

The biggest scam we’ve seen is Elon Musk, the wealthiest man alive worth $677 billion, pretending to be a self-made billionaire when he’d be worth ZERO without $38 billion in corporate welfare and a workforce he ruthlessly exploits.

[TCM @tcm]

As the year comes to a close, TCM remembers the actors, filmmakers and creatives we lost this year.

Gone, but never forgotten.

Song title and artist: "In the Western Wind and the Sunrise" by Dave Simonett and the Sunrise.

[Bob Mumgaard @BobMumgaard]

It's an extremely sad day in fusion today with the death of MIT’s Nuno Loureiro. The big machines, extreme conditions, geostrategy, funding, or beautifying physics often take center stage. This is unfortunate because it is the PEOPLE who make progress happen. In fusion it's a small group of them, and any one of them makes a huge difference. We lost one of the best ones today.

Nuno was an insightful physicist, a far-seeing leader, a mentor, and most of all a great person to sit down with and talk about anything hard and nuanced and important and impactful. I and many others will miss this. My heart goes out to his family and colleagues across the many areas he made a difference.

https://t.co/W0EWgBQlHX

[Sarah Kendzior @sarahkendzior]

Live in a way that would break an algorithm: https://t.co/ZNA7KlLuuz

[Public Health - Seattle & King County @KCPubHealth]

Reposted from @NWSSeattle: FLASH FLOOD WARNING for residents and businesses east of the Green River in the Orillia area in Tukwila, Renton and Kent.

Due to breach in the Desimone Levee, this area is under a GO NOW evacuation notice. Leave immediately if you are in this area.

[Canada Hates Trump @AntiTrumpCanada]

Donald Trump isn’t just the worst president ever, he’s the worst American in history. He’s a malignant narcissist, a sociopath and a sadist who’s incapable of feeling empathy and cannot fake humanity. Attacking the dead is who he is. There is no cure for this level of evil.

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

As you process the devastating news that another tragic shooting may have taken the lives of innocent students at Brown University, remember the shooter didn't act alone.

He was assisted by 220 House members, 53 Senators, 6 Supreme Court justices, 1 President, and the NRA.

[Acyn @Acyn]

Magaziner: How many US military veterans have you deported?

Noem: Sir, we have not deported U.S. Citizens or military veterans.

Magaziner: We are joined on zoom by a gentleman who is army combat veteran who was shot twice while serving our country in Panama in 1989. Earlier this year, you deported him to Korea. Can you please tell Mr. Park why you deported him?

[Sam Stein @samstein]

Read every word of this, from @monacharen