It’s a democratic republic in structure and process, but it governs with diminishing regard for the people and behaves like it’s afraid of the president — a republic in name only. Today’s precedents set the baseline for tomorrow, leaving the republic intact in structure but brittle in essence.

"In practice, citizenship's legal meaning and the rights it confers have been eclipsed by partisan judgments about who belongs," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. https://wapo.st/4sHdoKT

Citizenship did not protect Renee Good from those who wear the shield. Democracies can survive policy fights and constitutional debates. But they cannot survive when citizenship no longer imposes obligations — on institutions, on the state, or on those who wield force in its name. wapo.st/49AsFEv

My column made it to late night!! 😂

"Grappling with the morality of a mission is part of life in uniform," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. "Questioning the legality of operations shouldn’t be." https://wapo.st/3LgHiVF

"Sometimes service requires acting in gray areas — moral ones, certainly, but democratic ones, too. Increasingly, the military is asked to conduct operations w/o congressional authorization or public debate. The democratic costs of that arrangement are real, as are the human costs." wapo.st/3YppRVR

The “Redemeers” in the South were proficient at this. See Massacres at Colfax, Tulsa, Elaine, and so on.

They telegraphed the whole thing months ago. The operation in Venezuela wasn't a policy choice - it was an ego stroke. (gift link) wapo.st/4ptASAy

I was *just* briefing some folks on why I think this matters for organizing.

"The country has yet to understand these changes and runs the risk of collapsing distinct histories into a singular Black experience, exacerbating rather than reducing racial tensions, and clinging to a caricature of what it means to be Black in America." Very informative piece.

“The country has yet to understand these changes and runs the risk of collapsing distinct histories into a singular Black experience, exacerbating rather than reducing racial tensions, and clinging to a caricature of what it means to be Black in America.”

When the pursuit of glory is a preoccupation...

🧵Ecstatic + GRATEFUL to share the cover of my first book, The Price of Exclusion: The Pursuit of Healthcare in A Segregated Nation (HarperCollins June 2026). I can’t wait to share this in community with you. Pre-orders are available today, wherever books are sold : bookshop.org/beta-search?...

"If this month is any indication, artificial intelligence has disrupted yet another part of American life: electoral politics." The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:

All politics is local … but the desire for economic security - or, at the very least, predictability - is universal.

"There are certainly deceitful people and practices, but the far more common find among the nearly 7 million disabled veterans, which includes me, are people who want to understand the available benefits and accept no more," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. "And no less."

"If [Trump] gets his way, the country’s government will consist of little more than a presidency with two servile branches" The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:

The stories I could tell about “consultants” trying to sell me the pathway for increasing my 30% disability rating to 100% www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Tomorrow! The lineup of arts, policy, and scholarship is incredible: www.newamerica.org/conference/t...

"The result is a democracy with historically high levels of participation, but a republic that’s far less representative" @drtedj.bsky.social writes. https://wapo.st/43wGPUW

How Trump uses American civil religion to focus everything on him. wapo.st/3W33yUL

The Secretary of Defense was lecturing military leaders about the warrior ethos when he should have been ensuring military pay was exempted from the government shutdown.

Ted Johnson: Hegseth said the military would be color-blind, but also that anyone with chronic razor bumps will be kicked out; coincidentally, two-thirds of the service members who hold such shaving waivers are Black. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Trump has a long record of prioritizing appearance & complicity over competence. Hegseth is cast in this mold, forgoing explanations of changes to defense strategy & the use of U.S. cities as training grounds for the more pressing issue of obsessing over clean-shaven killers who look good in uniform

Trump managed to stumble into gains with a changing Black electorate wapo.st/4mBGeIq

"While arming the Guard may be a political decision, telling troops whom to shoot — even if they don’t — has ramifications far beyond politics." Some lessons from history and from my time in the military, on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

"Politicians often use the Guard as an instrument of executive prerogative. It has long been this way, meaning the mission sometimes changes w/ the wind. ... While arming the Guard is a political decision, telling troops whom to shoot — even if they don’t — has ramifications far beyond politics."

I'll say it a thousand times -- any account of the past that only celebrates the good parts of a nation without reckoning with the bad is not what we call "history" It is propaganda, pure and simple.

As America approaches its 250th birthday, @drtedj.bsky.social reflects on what our past celebrations say about who we are, and who we still hope to be. Read more from @washingtonpost.com here:

Half the time I post something related to race on this website I get someone in the comments like, “yeah america is a racist country what do you expect.” I’m starting to think folks like this are bots or ops designed to make people feel helpless. Think we should call it “doomsplaining”

Walter Kimbrough @hiphopprez.bsky.social and I chatted about HBCUs and how they’ve managed the Trump White House.

"Real patriots know there is room for both shame and pride; they meet the former with a fighting spirit and the latter with a celebratory one."

A love letter, on the anniversary of my mother’s passing

On the latest episode of How To Fix It, columnist @drtedj.bsky.social joins John Avlon to discuss how American pride has been weaponized, why civic education has crumbled, and how citizens can reclaim a more inclusive, aspirational patriotism: www.thebulwark.com/p/reclaiming...

The Platinum Plan of the first Trump administration would be flagged for violating the anti-DEI policies of the second. wapo.st/4iAvkAA

Officials at the U.S. Naval Academy confirmed that nearly 1,000 books were flagged for potentially violating Trump’s executive order that requires schools to promote “patriotic education” and avoid those deemed to champion diversity, equity and inclusion. From Theodore Johnson: wapo.st/4id1eD7

"Capitalism has gotten a hold of the wellness industry and blown it up," @drtedj.bsky.social said in a conversation with @drewlgoins.bsky.social and @mollyroberts.bsky.social. "The money is never in fixing what’s broken. It’s in the practice of addressing things that you don’t like about yourself."

"Our politics will need to grow up quickly if our boys are to become good men," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. wapo.st/3Rt0VZW

Young people are not becoming more MAGA/conservative - they either 1) voted against the incumbent party due to the economy or 2) they voted against (or not at all) Harris/Dems agenda that some deemed too left or not left enough for their taste. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/o...

“In my corner of America, there’s a common feeling emerging about the viral videos of constituents angrily confronting congressional Republicans: THAT’S WHAT THEY GET.” wapo.st/3DxlOzO

Today marks the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma. In commemoration, I wrote the foreword for the voting rights symposium in the latest Harvard Civil Rights Law Review. journals.law.harvard.edu/crcl/wp-cont...

I discussed Pentagon policy, military service, and the wrecking ball approach to diversity initiatives with @pbsnews.org this week. youtu.be/KAMfEihDLUY?...

Trump chuckles it up at The White House for Black History Month one day - and the next fires Chairman CQ Brown without cause and bans Black History Month at the Pentagon.

“The military’s approach to diversity might need refocusing, but the programs have been integral to readiness, innovation and the avoidance of groupthink. They can also help counter biases that service members might carry with them in uniform.” www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

My Navy career began as part of an affirmative action recruitment initiative - but now I'd be considered a DEI hire??? Trying to make sense of this in my latest column wapo.st/3QA9xhb

“A swaggering executive with an entourage of yes-men in every corner of government is the exact person the Constitution was designed to keep from the presidency.” wapo.st/4aGrdks

Trump being inaugurated on MLK Day is a trip wapo.st/42jPfiI

A Parent’s Christmas

I sat down with Judy Woodruff, @hcrichardson.bsky.social and Judge Michael Luttig to discuss democracy and the nation’s next steps on PBS NewsHour last night. youtu.be/7jGl3wdEZNM?...

South Carolina's Ashlyn Watkins gets blocked, runs back down the floor and steals the ball back, takes it to the other end and dunks it