Taren Sylvester

Due to mass confusion, clarifying again:

Tsunami Watch: Tsunami of indeterminate magnitude is possible; stand by.
Tsunami Advisory: Tsunami is likely *but will probably be small.* Evacuations unlikely.
Tsunami Warning: Tsunami is likely *and may be large.* Evacuations needed.

2025 Out Leaders Merging activism and education in the LGBTQIA+ security professional space.

Out in National Security and New America are pleased to honor the contributions of 30 LGBTQIA+ experts in U.S. national security and foreign policy.

www.outinnationalsecurity.org/honor-roll/2...

Honored to be included among this year's @outinnationalsecurity.org Out Leaders List! It is more important than ever to stand up for our community and stand behind the important work LGBTQIA+ people are doing across the national security space

European History 400-1400 seminar with @goingmedieval.bsky.social was the highlight of my time at KCL

As the sun peeks over the horizon, a small parcel of books from the interlibrary loan program appears on the roof of the wizard's tower.

'Equal dignity': U.S. map shows the impact of Obergefell v. Hodges decision "They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law," then-Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the June 26, 2015, ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. "The Constitution grants them that right."

10 years ago today, the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

"They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law," then-Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the ruling. "The Constitution grants them that right."

Germany Wants Recruits. But ‘No One Wants Their Children in the Army.’ Given the country’s past, cultural resistance to becoming a soldier is high. Can leaders change minds to meet a changing world?

In Germany, cultural resistance to becoming a soldier is high, given the militarism that fueled its calamitous history during World War II. Can German leaders change minds to meet a changing world?

Everything Lindsay said! Happy to share my recent @jpeaceresearch.bsky.social article with anyone who wants to learn more about the relationship between military recruitment practices and conflict initiation. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Not an original point but worth saying again - there is not a single element in this picture that identifies any of these folks as law enforcement agents. No badges, no uniforms, no vests. Out of context it just looks like a bunch of random guys are kidnapping a mayoral candidate.

Leader of top FEMA disaster coordination office resigns, as Trump moves to eliminate agency Jeremy Greenberg was in charge of coordinating federal help after hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes and other emergencies. He has resigned from leading FEMA's National Response Coordination Center.

Jeremy Greenberg was in charge of coordinating federal help after hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes and other emergencies. He has resigned from leading FEMA's National Response Coordination Center.

Trump Is Renaming 7 Army Installations. Here Are the Stories Behind the Names Being Scrubbed. President Donald Trump's announcement is the administration's latest move in its concerted effort to shift the people and values honored by the military.

Trump Is Renaming 7 Army Installations. Here Are the Stories Behind the Names Being Scrubbed. www.military.com/history/trum...

The total amount of public land that Trump wants to make available for sale is equivalent to more than TWICE the size of CALIFORNIA.

All to pay for tax cuts to some of the richest people in world history.

Is gun violence depressing military recruiting? Perhaps the problem is not that young people are insufficiently patriotic, but that they have been fighting a war, daily, for their entire lives.

Officials who care about national defense must care about gun violence first.

An interesting @defenseone.bsky.social piece in which Prof. Jacob Ware argues that "U.S. gun violence may be largely to blame for the lack of interest in joining the military."

www.defenseone.com/ideas/2025/0...

Don't get me wrong, I'm a ball of fears and frustrations -- am currently writing a book, after all -- but I reject attempts to frame historians' dislike of LLMs as fear/anxiety about their own skills, and not as a concern about what doing history -- the method, the ethos -- is.

Some thoughts about the military parade in my hometown of Washington DC today -- specifically, the route. Military parades in DC are quite rare. But when they happen, they have always begun, symbolically and geographically, at the Capitol and moved outward. 1/

This Thursday at 11:00 AM ET:

Join our expert panel for a discussion on the recent domestic deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles and the legal limits on executive power.

🎙️Carrie Cordero

🎙️Claire Finkelstein

🎙️‪@marknevitt.bsky.social‬

Shameful statement from a Secretary of Defense.

More than 1,200 allied troops died, with several countries having per-capita death rates comparable to that of American forces.

Genuinely made my day to see this pop up in my podcast feed yesterday!

Trump charts new territory in bypassing Newsom to deploy National Guard Legal experts questioned Trump’s response to unrest in L.A., saying he appears to be laying groundwork for more expansive use of the military to suppress dissent.

President Trump’s order to deploy the National Guard to L.A. is the first time in about 60 years that an American president has taken such action without a governor’s consent. It could be a chilling sign, experts said, that he is prepared to send troops into other cities in response to protests.

But it would be a mistake to focus too much on which statutory power is being used here. What matters it that Trump is federalizing the Guard for the purpose of policing Americans’ protest activity. That’s dangerous for both public safety and democracy. 8/19

Previous presidents have used this authority to call up Guard forces *in order to deploy them under the Insurrection Act.* 10 USC 12406 has not historically been treated or used as an independent authority. Trump’s move is vulnerable to legal challenge on that ground alone. 7/19

So, what does political science “know” about how militaries behave when asked to repress protesters? A few things seem to matter. Crowd size, crowd behavior, crowd composition relative to troops, troop role conception, professionalization, training, and chain of command.
I shall ‘splain.
6/

Ok, I’m no @profpaulpoast.bsky.social but I shall try to do a thread on militaries and protests. Apologies up front to all the brilliant scholars I accidentally leave out - am doing this from memory.
1/

If you're going to the World Pride street festival tomorrow, swing by the @outinnationalsecurity.org booth to say hi to me and learn about the fantastic work ONS is doing to advocate for queer natsec workers and military service members! 🏳️‍🌈🌏✨

And 13 different countries provided troops.

It was a pleasure to speak at #CNAS2025 about how the U.S. can use our lessons learned to help our NATO allies face the military manpower challenges of the modern age!

Key US weather monitoring offices understaffed as hurricane season starts National Weather Service offices in hurricane-prone areas are reeling from job cuts and a hiring freeze imposed by Trump

An in-depth look at the critically reduced state of the National Weather Service as we head into hurricane season, by @olliemilman.bsky.social.

Remaining meteorologists will do their best, but we've never been understaffed like this before.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Tune in tomorrow for the #CNAS2025 National Security Conference!

I’ll be discussing NATO manpower challenges at 11:10AM.
Watch virtually at @cnas.bsky.social

Nordic nations embrace total defense as the risk of sabotage and war rises The Nordic nations are embracing the concept of total defense, mobilizing the whole of society to defend against military and non-military threats, including asking ordinary people to have enough food...

Nordic nations are preparing the whole of society for anything from war to a Spanish power outage type scenario.

Civilians need 7 days of food and water while authorities and businesses in Norway are preparing to host the military & deter Russian sabotage.

apnews.com/article/norw...