Ten Things For Which I'm Thankful

Some of them entirely serious

Good Evening:

Orchid sitting in front of a screened window with a Ukrainian flag flying outside.

1. I am thankful for precision in language and properly-constructed, grammatically-correct sentences.

2. I am thankful for the many things better left unsaid that are, in fact, left unsaid.

3. I am thankful for vaccines and antibiotics and, more generally, for drugs and medical devices that are safe and effective.

4. I am thankful for those whose moral performances I underestimated.

5. I am thankful for the occasional silence of fools.

6. I am thankful for the distinction between storage and memory.

7. I am thankful that my resentments do not govern me.

8. I am thankful that I live in a free society whose electorate can select its own leaders, leaders whose wisdom then guides us as a people to the future we have chosen and therefore deserve.

9. I am thankful that so many Americans take their responsibilities as citizens seriously.

10. I am thankful for redundancies and resiliencies.

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On #DogShirtTV this morning, the estimable Holly Berkley Fletcher and I embraced our inner middle-school queen bees. We started out talking about how Ric Grenell totally spread rumors about me asking some random girl for foot pics. But pretty soon we were reading these creepy notes a different girl got caught passing Donald Trump during class. I know that sounds kinda sus, but seriously, these notes are, like, creepy af.

Also, George Will is totally just the nicest guy:

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Today On Lawfare

Harmonizing Cybersecurity Incident Disclosure After Loper Bright

Francesca Lockhart and Karl Lockhart point out the lack of coordination in cybersecurity incident disclosure, suggesting that existing regulation fails to provide useful information to the public, overburdens companies, and poses national security risks. The Lockharts suggest that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) current rulemaking proposal under the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act (CIRCIA) may provide a more harmonized cybersecurity incident disclosure framework, especially in light of the Loper Bright decision:

The unharmonized coverage and requirements under the existing regulatory environment are particularly problematic when compared with CISA’s current rulemaking under CIRCIA. CISA’s rules—which in their proposed form would mandate cyber incident reporting to CISA for critical infrastructure entities—will be promulgated under CIRCIA’s clear authority and are a better-suited regulatory vehicle than those we’ve described because both they and the overseeing agency are specifically created for cybersecurity protection. CISA has the expertise and ability to use the information from entities’ reports effectively. It will serve as a central clearinghouse and track patterns in reported cyber incidents to respond to threats and allocate resources, without wading into debate over whether disclosures are in investors’ interest to know.

Is Europe About to Slow the Pace on Digital Regulations?

Itsiq Benizri and Ekaterina Fakirova examine former President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi’s report, evaluating his theory that the EU’s comprehensive digital regulation may be acting as a barrier to Europe’s progress in the digital revolution. Benizri and Fakirova suggest that the Draghi report is unlikely to produce regulatory change as a result of its timing and a lack of political will:

Draghi’s report explains that the future of Europe’s competitiveness largely depends on closing the innovation gap with the U.S. and China. Currently, among leading companies in software and internet, EU firms represent just 7 percent of research and development (R&D) expenditure, compared with 71 percent for the U.S. and 15 percent for China. Among leading companies producing technology hardware and electronic equipment, the EU accounts for only 12 percent of R&D expenditures as compared with 40 percent for the U.S. and 19 percent for China. Closing such a gap—according to Draghi—entails accelerating technological and scientific innovation, improving the transition from innovation to commercialization, removing obstacles that prevent innovative companies from growing and securing financing, and making concerted efforts to address skills gaps.

Podcasts

Lawfare Daily: Deploying the Military at the Southern Border, with Chris Mirasola: I sit down with Chris Mirasola to discuss the legal and practical considerations surrounding a president’s ability to deploy the military at the U.S. southern border, including the implications of declaring a national emergency, the existing legal framework and historical context, the National Guard, building detention facilities, the Insurrection Act, and more:

Chatter: 1876, Election Security, and National Security, with Rachel Shelden: David Priess is joined by Rachel Shelden to talk about the disputed presidential election of 1876. The discussion includes how the aftermath of the election prevented another civil war in 1877, what Reconstruction looked like by 1876, what happened on election day and night, Congress’s handling of contradictory election returns from three states, the creation and operation of the special commission created to resolve the issue, how Rutherford B. Hayes ultimately prevailed, and more:

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Today’s #BeastOfTheDay is a kookaburra attempting to establish a squatter’s rights claim over a car window: