Lee Billings
@leebillings.bsky.social
CHNOPS in ferruginous saline. Multicellular aerobic chemoheterotroph; symbiont of photosynthetic autotrophs. Descendant of stardust; aspiring good ancestor. Senior Editor, Scientific American. Signal: @lee_billings.81
*acting chief, not "interim," my bad
November 5, 2025 at 8:23 PM
*acting chief, not "interim," my bad
Reposted by Lee Billings
Terry Wallace's Facebook post continued.
![Post continued (4):
On October 28, President Trump announced that the U.S. would restart nuclear weapons tests: “Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.” Although his statement lacked clarity regarding what “immediate testing” would entail, it was widely assumed he meant explosive testing of weapons, thus breaking the 33-year moratorium. This assumption stemmed from the first Trump administration’s suggestion in 2019 that such testing was necessary. In January 2025, the Heritage Foundation released a paper titled “America Must Prepare to Test Nuclear Weapons” (Figure 2 shows a screenshot of the report cover). It is important to note that the Heritage Foundation is behind Project 2025, which the Trump Administration has followed closely.
The worldwide response to Trump’s announcement was uniform and best described as “outraged.” Moreover, U.S. experts stated that preparing for a safe underground test would require 18 to 36 months. However, this elicited a response from the Heritage Foundation, suggesting, “the President may order the above-ground testing of a nuclear weapon... And while the United States leaving the [Nuclear] Test Ban Treaty may not be optimal and may indeed have negative downstream effects, doing so may be necessary to stave off further adversarial escalation.”
Today, the Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, attempted to downplay the idea of explosive testing but could not clearly define what](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vlb3vmnxz6rqo652iwco7rgy/bafkreicz65by3hvjkit4a532ok4cekchkzsw4qlb2iccmt3bpcbgsraepu@jpeg)
November 4, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Terry Wallace's Facebook post continued.
Thank you, Heidi!!!
October 31, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Thank you, Heidi!!!
The U.S. stockpile stewardship program is unquestionably a better solution than detonating real nukes and sparking a destabilizing new era of testing around the globe amidst an amped-up arms race. There’s really nothing to be gained, which is the “baffling” part, Trump’s personal reasons aside.
October 30, 2025 at 11:15 PM
The U.S. stockpile stewardship program is unquestionably a better solution than detonating real nukes and sparking a destabilizing new era of testing around the globe amidst an amped-up arms race. There’s really nothing to be gained, which is the “baffling” part, Trump’s personal reasons aside.
It’s almost as if the classic “party of personal responsibility” slogan they’ve long used as a badge of honor doesn’t actually apply to them. But no, that couldn’t be—any political party so shamelessly steeped in hypocrisy couldn’t ever maintain a grip on the electorate. Unless… 🤦🏻♂️
October 29, 2025 at 9:03 PM
It’s almost as if the classic “party of personal responsibility” slogan they’ve long used as a badge of honor doesn’t actually apply to them. But no, that couldn’t be—any political party so shamelessly steeped in hypocrisy couldn’t ever maintain a grip on the electorate. Unless… 🤦🏻♂️