I'm stressed out waiting for the nuclear tweet from Trump. I'm sitting here, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Will tomorrow might bring news of indictments from Mueller? Will it be the announcement that leads to horrible news--a Trump nuclear tweet?
We now know how Trump responds to bad news. His actions remind me of stories from people who had rageaholic parents. As kids they walked on tiptoes so they wouldn't set off dad. They changed their behavior because they had no control over their parent's.
What should you do if you know something is coming that will trigger a dangerous, irrational act by someone? If you know someone is going to react in a way that can be lethal to others, shouldn't you prepare for it? For example, let's say you are part of a group of adults whose duty it is to check the misuse of power. Shouldn't you act now, before it happens?
Shouldn't you take steps to remove easy access to weapons? 
BTW, Fox News won't tell you but my friend Lee Fang did, Keane has been on the board of directors of General Dynamics since 2004 and, according to the company’s most recent proxy statement, received $257,884 in compensation (including “stock awards”) in 2016. Keane is also a special adviser to Academi, the contractor formerly known as Blackwater. It was founded by Erik Prince, Betsy Devos' brother.
We know cornered or wounded animals are dangerous, especially to the people nearby. But their violent response is local. Humans who are cornered or wounded can also be dangerous and now the destruction can happen over great distances because of the tools we have created. BTW, I use the term "nuclear tweet" because it's graphic, but the chances of a cyber attack following a tweet is a more likely scenario.
Psychiatrists often need to make determinations about a patient's mental state. They ask, "Is this person a danger to themselves or others?" If the answer is yes, the doctors are supposed to act in a way that protects both the patient and the people who might be harmed. It's their duty.
In time travel movies if you travel to the past and make a change, it can change the future. But you don't have to be a time traveler to predict how some people will act, just a good observer.
We don't follow the precautionary principle here in the US., instead we allow the tragic incident(s) to happen and then say, "Nobody could have predicted."
When I correctly predicted how certain politicians would respond to an action, I patted myself on the back and Karoli gave me a cookie. But my friend Cliff Schecter, from the UnPresidented podcast says it's actually pretty easy to predict the future, it just doesn't get you anything, unless you use that insight to change the outcome.
People have already predicted how Trump will react. The GOP leaders know what triggers Trump and how he will react. Instead of stopping him, they are rushing the tax bill through hoping it will pass and get signed before Trump's nuclear tweet.
They have a duty to act to protect us, but they haven't. They want the crisis to happen so they can take advantage of it. Should we allow them to put Americans-- and the world--in harm's way just because of their desire for profit?
If the Republicans' failure to act brings us to the darkest timeline they should pay a price now, before losing an elected position next fall.
Every time a disaster is averted, we should ask:
- Why did it get this far?
- Who failed the American people by bringing us to the brink of disaster?
- What steps should be taken so that our future doesn't rest in the tiny hands of one man?
Here are a few suggestions:
