The "Slap in the Face" Edition
Rational Security
The Lawfare Institute
4.8 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 30 March 2022
⏱️ 68 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, Alan, Quinta and Scott were joined by RatSec 1.0 host and Lawfare editor-in-chief Benjamin Wittes! They hashed through some of the week's big national security news, including:
- “You’re Changing my Regime, What a Wonderful Way to Say How Much You Hate Me.” In recent remarks in Europe, President Biden appeared to call for the removal of Russian President Vladimir Putin–a statement he later reframed as an expression of “moral outrage,” not a call for regime change. Was this a deliberate move or a slip-up? And how significant is it?
- “People, Let Me Tell You ‘Bout My Best Friend.” Revelations about his wife Virginia Thomas’s role in the Jan. 6 insurrection have raised questions whether Justice Clarence Thomas should be recusing himself from more cases–including a case governing whether records that might well implicate his wife should be turned over to the Jan. 6 committee. Should Justice Thomas be recusing? And what should be done if he doesn’t?
- “Eastman’d and Down, Load it Up and Fuck It, We’re Gonna Do What They Say Can’t Be Done.” Both a federal judge and a former New York prosecutor have concluded that there are credible reasons to believe former President Trump has broken the law. But it’s unclear whether any local, state or federal investigations are likely to lead to criminal charges. Will Trump be held accountable for his actions?
For object lessons, Alan urged listeners to view North Korea's newest propaganda video for its ICBMs in all its glory. Quinta gave a strong endorsement to Taika Waititi's new pirate series, "Our Flag Means Death.” Scott gave an even stronger endorsement to the one kitchen unitasker he can stand. And Ben recommended the refreshingly sexless Finnish police procedural "Deadwind."
Be sure to visit our show page at www.lawfareblog.com and to follow us on Twitter at @RatlSecurity.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I can say there are a few things I care less about than this Oscars drama. |
| 0:07.0 | Really? I'm delighted by it. |
| 0:09.0 | I made everybody mad at me on Twitter by tweeting that I care even less about |
| 0:14.0 | the Oscars than I do about your wordle score. |
| 0:17.0 | For the record, I've been doing very well at wordle. |
| 0:21.0 | Oh my god. |
| 0:22.0 | I will say this is the first the first Oscars I watched in like maybe my whole |
| 0:27.0 | life certainly since I was a childhood simply because I wanted to see the live performances. |
| 0:31.0 | We don't talk about Bruno. |
| 0:32.0 | That's literally the only reason I did it because that song is in my brain constantly on |
| 0:36.0 | account of my toddler. |
| 0:37.0 | And it was terrible. |
| 0:38.0 | I thought that's what we were all going to be talking about today. |
| 0:40.0 | That's what I want to talk about the Oscars about how bad a performance that was. |
| 0:43.0 | But instead some other stuff happened. |
| 0:44.0 | So what are you going to do? |
| 0:46.0 | That was the slap in the face. |
| 0:48.0 | Lynn. |
| 0:49.0 | I don't expect it better from you. |
| 0:58.0 | Hello everyone. |
| 0:59.0 | Welcome to rational security 2.0 aka rational security. |
| 1:03.0 | The man with the golden reason. |
... |
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