Friday Round Up! 3/21/25

Yes, things are bad, but I have some palate cleansers for your Caturday.

I just got back from Kenya, and am doing a little regrouping before getting back to reality and digesting the latest nightmare. (I’m sorry to see that the last part of the previous week’s Round Up was a bit prescient — I didn’t think they’d move so quickly.) Renato and I will discuss the latest on the Alien Enemy Act in our next pod, but last week I called in from Nairobi to discuss the removals under the “foreign policy” provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act:

Meanwhile, scroll down for a gallery of some photos from my safari in the Masai Mara — I had lots of big cat sightings! (And check out a new event on the Upcoming Events schedule — I will be offering a one-hour primer on national security law, for paid subscribers who are interested in learning more about the scope of presidential power in this area. Be prepared to be depressed.)

Worth reading this week:

• Not exactly an article, but was glad to see The New York Times editorial board call on the legal profession to step up and defend the rule of law — and each other

Upcoming events:

• NEXT WEEK! Freedom Academy Book Club, Tuesday, March 25, 6 p.m. ET. I’m so excited that the Freedom Academy Book Club selection for this quarter is Breaking Twitter: Elon Musk and the Most Controversial Corporate Takeover in History by Ben Mezrich. You are likely already familiar with Ben’s work, as his book, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook was the basis for the hit movie The Social Network, and his more recent book, The Antisocial Network, was the basis for the hit movie Dumb Money. I can’t wait to discuss the parallels Ben sees between the the traits he unearthed about Musk while researching his book and what is happening now with his rampage through the federal government. The Freedom Academy Book Club discussions are open to all paid subscribers and recordings of the talks are posted after in case you can’t make it live!

• Zoom Office Hours on Tuesday, April 1, at 6 p.m. ET. We’ll discuss actions steps and responses to what is happening. Zoom link will be sent three hours before the discussion. This will not be recorded.

• NEW: National Security Law Primer, Tuesday, April 8, at 5 p.m. ET. I put together a short presentation for the U.S. Army Counterterrorism Conference last year, and realized that it might be relevant for a broader audience. Join me for a short presentation of some of the major historical precedents and post-9/11 cases and controversies that are likely to make an appearance in the coming months, followed by Q&A! This presentation will be recorded and posted for paid subscribers.

And now…ANIMAL PICTURES!

Plus a few of my other favorites, including from stop at the Kenya/Tanzania border, the Mara river, the Masai village, and my hot air balloon ride:

‘Rise like Lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number—
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you—
Ye are many—they are few.’

— The Masque of Anarchy by Percy Bysshe Shelley, stanza XXXVIII