If Trump resumes nuclear testing, it would be a gift to China. The US has conducted over 1,000 nuclear tests; China has done just 45. Beijing has much more to gain from new nuclear tests than Washington. For Trump, this would be the height of stupidity. thehill.com/policy/inter...

Progressive Analilia Mejia Declares 'People-Powered Victory' in New Jersey as AIPAC Spending Backfires www.commondreams.org/news/analili...

“Making misogynist and racist comments to shift media attention away from their corruption and incompetence is a common [authoritarian] tactic.” @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social. By coincidence, I am reading her vital book, Strongmen, and this quote jumped out today from her chapter on propaganda.

This is a good start from Democratic leadership with demands that would halt the regime’s terror campaign and protect our communities. But we need to know where Schumer and Jeffries stand on DHS funding levels. ICE and CBP are already flush with cash — what are Democrats going to do about that?

“We are not, at the moment, under this administration, a force for good in the world. Quite the contrary, we are one of the greatest threats the planet faces,” @djrothkopf.bsky.social. Consider this when deciding if we should give Trump all the weapons he wants. open.substack.com/pub/davidrot...

Would you make nuclear weapons for Hitler? Of course not. Would you for Victor Orban? For Modi? For Trump? We cannot act like America is the same as it was. Our policy is not just about what you need to fight or deter, but what would an unstable authoritarian do with the weapons you build or fund?

You knew this was coming, didn’t you? The Dems lay out absurdly minimalist demands on ICE…and then cave on even those.

If you think of Bezos as Trump’s oligarchic partner, today’s news makes sense. Trump with his partners has now muzzled two of America’s great media institutions: CBS and the Washington Post. Neither will now seriously criticize his authoritarian regime. He’s just getting started.

The rise of authoritarianism in the nuclear-armed states ushers in the most dangerous period of the Nuclear Age. Seven of the nine nuclear-armed states now have authoritarian leaders. At the beginning of this century there were only one: China. open.substack.com/pub/joecirin...

We must stop thinking of nuclear weapons as a realm apart from the multiple, metastasizing crises authoritarians create. As if nuclear strategy can exist apart from the chaos and wars these autocrats engender. joecirincione.substack.com/p/the-greate...

Arms control is the latest casualty of authoritarians who reject restraints of any kind on their rule. open.substack.com/pub/joecirin...

Trump says he worries about "nuclear" as the world's biggest problem, but he's letting the last major arms treaty - one even the Russians want - lapse. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Bob Kagan has written a very important article. If the Trump/Putin/Xi strategy prevails, the world will be exponentially more dangerous; military spending will soar. He leaves out the nuclear risks. In this world, nuclear war becomes not just more likely but inevitable. apple.news/AoVKCM026TGy...

My position has been clear and is unchanged: I will not vote for one more dime to fund Trump's lawless DHS. I voted NO.

Frozen Tidal Basin

Where the hell is the "Board of Peace?” Over 500 Palestinians have been killed since the “ceasefire.” This comes days after the IDF itself admitted the Palestinian death toll is over 70,000.  The use of American taxpayer-funded weapons makes us complicit.  Stop the slaughter.

Join The Public Theater along with artists, elected officials, and community leaders, as we read seminal texts from the founding of our nation…as a living call to action.” publictheater.org/productions/...

When I was doing a congressional investigation into problems with the Patriot missile, we asked the Army for after action reports from the Gulf War. They showed up at my door with twenty-five boxes of mostly useless stuff and a sliver of solid data. That’s what Trump’s DOJ did today.

You know things are bad when Trump has to release the Epstein files to distract from the streets of Minneapolis.

What is it about the brave protesters and monitors in Minnesota that has changed what America (and apparently Trump) thinks about ICE's thuggish tactics? @ElieNYC.bksy.social on why the change. bit.ly/Click-2-Listen YouTu.be/G1U4u1QufDY

It'll be the biggest protest in American history because people are going to make it the biggest protest in American history. Nokings.org has all the info you need for 3/28, and more ICE watch trainings coming next week!

After Nixon’s Kent State (and before that, Jackson State) massacre, Crosby, Still, Nash & Young recorded the powerful protest song, “Ohio.” Today, one of the most highly regarded popular singers in America dropped this modern anthem. youtu.be/wWKSoxG1K7w

After Nixon’s Kent State (and before that, Jackson State) massacre, Crosby, Still, Nash & Young recorded the powerful protest song, “Ohio.” Today, one of the most highly regarded popular singers in America dropped this modern anthem. youtu.be/wWKSoxG1K7w

thank you to the folks at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists for allowing me to question the premise this year

@joecirin.bsky.social really nailed one of the big risks that it's hard to wrap your mind around when talking about the possible end of the world in 2026

The way that political violence backfires is when it prompts more people to get involved. Now is the time for action.

Worse than ignorant. This is a blatant lie. This is the head of the absurdly named Golden Dome claiming that there are no technical challenges to nation missile defense. It's just a matter of rapidly manufacturing the interceptors. Complete nonsense. Golden Dome will never work, let alone by 2028.

J Street has directly and intentionally aligned their work with the anti-authoritarian protests growing in America. It is a model for how those concerned with arms control and national security issues should merge their efforts with this powerful movement.

ICE will not receive one more dime of taxpayer money from Senate Democrats. Senator @vanhollen.senate.gov lays out how Senate Democrats are protesting the proposed DHS funding bill https://contrarian.substack.com/p/not-a-dime-for-ice-lawlessness

The only ways to "lower the temperature" in the conflict between this administration and the American people is for our government to stop murdering us, stop kidnapping innocent people, stop terrorizing our cities, stop serially violating the law and stop lying about what they are doing.

This is ok tho

AOC: "An ICE officer had violently pushed a woman to the ground and he had come over to help get her up and that is what precipitated this incident that very quickly led to an execution in the streets. What we are seeing here is a momentous pivotal moment for the United States."

It is like a knife in my heart when I see what these thugs are doing to decent and loving people. He was trying to help a woman who had been violently pushed to the ground. And paid for that with his life, murdered by violent and vicious criminals masquerading as law-enforcement.

This is a lawless administration. Trump is trying to consolidate an authoritarian regime, domestically and globally. We must learn from Minnesota and from the Greenland debacle. The only fight is the fight against Trumpian authoritarianism. The only response must be resistance.

“How could Europeans ever rely on America as an ally if the American people could elect a man like Trump? How could they not view America as having gone from being their most important friend to being one of the greatest threats they face?“ Exactly. davidrothkopf.substack.com/p/davos-was-...

I’m sorry but all our straining to figure out why Trump focused on Greenland has left out the most obvious. It was a diversion from his refusal to release the Epstein files. Nothing has been released in weeks. I fear that now that he has lived up to his TACO reputation, a new crisis will erupt.

Why are we spending $2 Trillion on new nuclear weapons we do not need? This is not an accident. Big Nuclear learned from Big Oil and Big Tobacco. Here's a part of our discussion. For the full story, go here: joecirincione.substack.com/publish/post...

I had a wonderful discussion with Annelise Riles yesterday on the new threats of "Nuclear Weapons in the Age of Authoritarianism." Please take a look. joecirincione.substack.com/p/todays-nuc...

A mentally unstable man can start a nuclear war whenever he wants. No one can stop him. As soon as we regain political power, we must change this. We can do this. Watch this short video. For the full discussion, please to here: s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/fp-export/pr...

DHS spending bill passed 220-207 7 Democrats voted in favor: Henry Cuellar Don Davis Laura Gilles Marie Gluesenkamp Perez Jared Golden Vicente Gonzalez Tom Suozzi Massie voted No Andy Harris didn't vote Might not have passed if every Democrat voted No, but leadership wasn't whipping them to do so

I had a great conversation with professor Annelise Riles today on Substack. Here is a short clip of one of the key issues raised in our discussion of “Nuclear Weapons in the Age of Authoritarianism.” We’ll post the full discussion soon.

Annelise Riles and I will go LIVE on Substack to discuss today's nuclear risks...and what we can do about them. Join us today at 1:30pm ET right here: open.substack.com/live-stream/...

If you are tired of timid US newspaper headlines that sane-wash our idiot president’s speeches and false claims…read @theguardian.com. Perhaps the best newspaper in the world today. Fearless reporting. Straight news. Comprehensive coverage. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

This is new for me. A live Substack discussion hosted by myself and nuclear diplomacy expert Annelise Riles. Come to the Substack app on Thursday, January 22 at 1:30pm ET and help us discuss the dangers of "Nuclear Weapons in the Age of Authoritarianism." substackcdn.com/image/fetch/...

Our Mad King just announced that there is peace in the Middle East. That would be news to everyone living in the Middle East. It is glaringly obvious that Trump is in severe mental decline.

Among the many lies that a low-energy, meandering, mumbling president is telling the press corps right now is that military strikes on Iran "obliterated" that nation's nuclear capabilities. Absolutely not true. Set back, yes. Obliterated? Ludicrous. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...