HIRE A VET: Just before Veterans Day, The Wall Street Journal noted that “the unemployment rate for former service members is 2.9%, a full point lower than the overall U.S. rate.” Employers are reportedly battling over the right to hire military veterans because of their reputations for “hard work, humility and attention to detail.” Reporter Callum Borchers’ admittedly unscientific research suggests that ex-drill sergeants do particularly well. While those turning in their uniforms for civilian employment often find steep learning curves, hiring officials say “they come with little sense of entitlement and can handle – or even crave – constructive criticism.
ELECT A VET: In the over eight years that The Dead Drop has been appearing on these pages – we have – many times examined the trends of military and intelligence community veterans running for elective office. With the 2024 elections less than a year off, it is time for our first installment for the upcoming electoral cycle. We learned this week, that Representative Abigail Spanberger (D, VA) who was once a CIA case officer, has decided not to run for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives – so that she can devote her time to running for Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2025. Virginia prohibits sitting governors from serving consecutive terms – so the incumbent, Glenn Younkin, will have to find some other employment beyond 2025. Just days after Spanberger revealed that she would not run for reelection to Congress, retired Army Colonel Yevgeny Vindman announced that he plans to run for her seat. Vindman, along with his better-known twin Alexander, got cross-threaded with the Trump administration over Ukraine. While on active duty, Vindman was a senior ethics official at the National Security Council. It is unclear whether ethics experience would be of use in Congress. In other veteran electoral news, we have learned that Jacob Chansley widely known as the “QAnon Shaman” who wore horns, face paint and no shirt while illegally occupying the Capitol on January 6, 2021 is looking to return to the scene of the crime. Chansley, a Navy veteran, is running for Congress as a libertarian in Arizona’s 8th Congressional district. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in 2021 but got out early and was sent to a halfway house in March of 2023. Now, he is looking at serving in another house – the House of Representatives…which probably is a better idea than invading it – and besides, Members of Congress only get two-year terms. Should he win – someone should remind him they have rules in the House – such as: “No shoes, no shirts, no service as a Member.”
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: We never would have predicted this – but two members of Congress with wildly divergent views on almost everything, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) joined forced last week in a letter to President Biden urging him to drop efforts to extradite and prosecute Julian Assange. The two, along with 14 other members of Congress came to the aid of the Australian founder of Wikileaks who was indicted during the Trump Administration for violating the Espionage Act. We have to admit, we didn’t see that one coming.
ACTING OUT: Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, appeared in a clip on state TV (captured by Russian Media Monitor Julia Davis) complaining about various Hollywood stars who have been expressing their opinions about Ukraine without knowing the (Russian version) of history. People like Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger, she said, only speak out about foreign policy if “they are paid handsomely for it.” She didn’t have any evidence, but then, who are we to interrupt a good disinformation campaign? From our armchair analysis point of view, in addition to having played God in the movies – we’re pretty sure Freeman has more money than God, so we think he’s unlikely to spout U.S. talking points just to keep food on the table. Davis noted that the Russians frequently accuse others of doing what they themselves are doing. No word on how much they are paying C-list celebrity Steven Seagal to spout Kremlin talking points. Just sayin’.
THE SECRET TO HAPPINESS: A new study from researchers at Columbia University concludes that if you know some good news – and can keep it secret for a while, it can have a positive impact on your mental health. About 2,500 people participated in a series of experiments and participants said that those who kept positive news a secret, felt more energized than those who did not. The U.K.’s Daily Mail (which is not particularly good at keeping secrets) said the findings were published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. No word on the impact of keeping negative news a secret. However, if you want to know about the possible impact of revealing those secrets – you can check with the aforementioned Julian Assange.
SHAMELESS (SELF-PROMOTION): The inside scoop on what’s new and exciting at The Cipher Brief:
‘THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD’: Okay, we’re not John le Carre, but our own version of that would be more like, ‘The Spy Who Decided to Talk’. Former Deputy Director of CIA for Operations David Marlowe made his debut in the pages of The Cipher Brief this week, after joining the expert ranks earlier this month. In a piece titled, , the 32-year Clandestine Services veteran had some things to say about recent comments calling the terrorist attack launched by Hamas on October 7 a failure of intelligence. This is one cable you don’t want to miss.
XI IN SAN FRANCISCO. WHAT’S NEXT?The Cipher Brief is welcoming Ambassador Joe Detrani and former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Dr. Michael Vickers to The Cipher Brief’s virtual studio next Tuesday, November 21, to talk about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the U.S. and what great global competition really looks like. For the straight-A students among you, we suggest you read Vickers’ book, By All Means Available: Memoirs of a Life in Intelligence, Special Operations, and Strategybefore joining the briefing to ask questions about how to better understand today’s increasingly complicated world. Cipher Brief COO Brad Christian, who isn’t easily impressed, just finished the book and is reportedly a little bit in awe of all Vickers has done in his career and how much it has intersected with other leaders he mentions in the book, including Ambassador Detrani. Check your email for the invite.
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting / weird stuff we discovered:
THEY SANK MY BATTLESHIP!: Rochester, NY has, for the past 25 years, been the home of the National Toy Hall of Fame. Each year, about five toys are granted access to the Hall – and hopes were high among certain aficionados that a quarter century of snubs would be overcome and that the board game “Battleship” would be granted toy immortality. Alas, hopes were dashed last week, when pretenders like the “Fisher-Price Corn Popper” and “Nerf foam toys” made it in, but finalist “Battleship’s” hopes were sunk. Although no consolation, among the other toys just missing the cut this year were finalists “Slime,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and Barbie’s boyfriend “Ken.” Other defense-related toys have previously been enshrined. We noted two years ago, that the Toy HoF seems to have played favorites with other (non-nautical) services. For example, the Army was represented by “GI Joe” which gained entry in 2004 and “Little Green Army Men” in 2014. The Air Force (we suppose) made the cut in 201,7 when the “paper airplane” was added to the fold. The Marines (in a sense) were honored by the addition of “crayons” in 1998 or (we are not making this up) by “sand” in 2021. Our friends in the intelligence community might claim the board game “Risk” selected in 2021, and the Magic 8 Ball which made the cut in 2018.
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