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:

This week’s featured read: "If We Are Brave" by Dr. Theodore R. Johnson — “A beautiful but harsh indictment of a nation that aspires to be a more perfect union yet has consistently and painfully fallen short.” 📚 Dive into our full list of summer reading at https://villagesquare.us/event/summer-swim/

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”

A bit of welcome news…

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

Thank you listeners! This year, our top played "Impromptu" episode on Spotify was "What do men want?" featuring @drtedj.bsky.social, @shadihamid.bsky.social and Richard Reeves, founder of the @aibm.bsky.social. 🎙️Revisit the conversation here: wapo.st/3ZCXi8J

"I don't have a take" should be on t-shirts throughout the land. Quote of the week.

"As it turns out, the skeptics back home had a better sense of the country’s politics," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. wapo.st/3ZvRKgd

Stories of families and friendships falling to pieces over politics made me want to pay closer attention to my own. So I headed to my hometown to sharpen my sense of things. wapo.st/3D3U3y5

Tonight or tomorrow, whatever. There's UNC basketball. #GoHeels

Join us online today! I'll be in conversation with political historian Leah Wright Rigueur & NYT political reporter Maya King. RSVP here www.newamerica.org/new-america/...

Five years ago, my former colleague at @brennancenter.bsky.social Liza Goitein wrote a prescient piece on how presidents use/abuse emergency powers. Worth revisiting: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Join Leah Wright Rigueur (Johns Hopkins & CNN), Maya King (NYT), and me for an online post-election analysis on Black voters - the reporting, polling, historical trends, and future. This Thursday, November 21, from 1-2 pm eastern. RSVP here! www.newamerica.org/new-america/...

This is a good read. On Black voters returning to pre-Obama levels of Republican support, it seems to me that generation is more of a factor than gender, class, or politics.

A question for the Bluesky backyard gardeners/floriculturists, any idea how fuchsias do indoors? I’m trying to keep this guy thriving over the winter #Hummingbirdfuchsia

“If We Are Brave: Essays from Black Americana” is an essay collection that explores Blackness and democracy, religion, affirmative action, police brutality, national anniversaries, and DuBois’ twoness. www.harpercollins.com/products/if-...

Happy Founders’ Day to the men of Omega Psi Phi 💜⚡️

I have something to write that’s hard so I read a lot of books and articles to get ready to write and anyway my garage is now organized for winter.

Hegseth could fire the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff, thereby precipitating the biggest crisis in civil-military relations in U.S. history. Trump seem intent on harnessing the military for his own purposes, such as rounding up millions of undocumented immigrants or repressing protests. bit.ly/4g7L2CL

Could things get any weirder? Megan McArdle, James Hohmann and Ted Johnson discuss Trump’s out-of-the-ordinary nominations: wapo.st/40P2k36

5 reads to understand the 2024 Black vote: - Black female candidates onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1... - 88-12 for Harris press.princeton.edu/books/hardco... - Regional differences tupress.temple.edu/books/the-gr... cont’d…

“Postracial” increasingly seems to be an imprecise way of saying post-Obama. The Obama effect on the nation’s electoral behavior has dissipated, and that’s benefited Trump and Republicans. There’s nothing postracial about any of that.

Just to clarify, a President cannot set up a real Department. This requires an Act of Congress. He can set up an office, or commission, but this will not be a real Department, and should not reported as such. But with Schedule F, they could fire a lot of career civil servants.

Donald Trump’s election might feel like déjà vu. But America is in a different place than it was eight years ago. Amanda Ripley, Matt Bai and Theodore Johnson talk through how they’re thinking about Trump’s second term: wapo.st/3Ar888c

This is a bad idea.

The 2024 election in a nutshell