Rational Security 2.0: The 'C'mon Neil' Edition
Published by The Lawfare Institute
in Cooperation With
This week, Alan, Quinta and Scott were joined by Lawfare's new director of digital media, Claudia Swain! They talked through some of the week's biggest national security news, including:
- “It’s Not the Motion in the OSHA, It’s the Size of Your Popular Mandate.” The Supreme Court has invalidated the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s vaccination-or-test mandate for major employers. What will the Court’s decision mean for the Biden administration efforts to combat COVID?
- “We Met On OKstupid.” The Justice Department has indicted leaders of the Oath Keepers movement for seditious conspiracy, based in part on social media communications in which they actively recruited and planned for the violence of Jan. 6. What does the indictment tell us about the risk of domestic violent extremism?
- “Law & Order: DVE.” The Justice Department’s National Security Division just created a new unit committed to prosecuting domestic terrorism. What kind of lasting impact might this move have in preventing another Jan. 6?
For object lessons, Alan drew our attention to a story of rampant abuse of power being investigated by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency's inspector general: allegations that an employee printed off over 100 copies of their wedding program on a government computer. Quinta made the minor suggestion that the FBI should not Tweet about MLK Day, which commemorates the life of a man it unlawfully surveilled and tried to push toward suicide. Scott strongly celebrated the new show "We Are Lady Parts" about a female Muslim punk band in East London, as well as the album of original music its creators have released. And Claudia drew our attention to a story of international significance: the deregulation of French dressing, after a decades-long regulatory fight.