WInner and Associates
Vice President at Winner and Associates, a strategic communications and public affairs firm in Los Angeles, California; former associate at the White House Office of Public Engagement during Obama's first 100 days; co-founder of 008 and Generation Obama, the volunteer arm of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign
'Kony 2012' and Youth Activism In a week's time, the video Kony 2012 has jumped from zero to 76 million views on the Internet. Produced by a group called Invisible Children , its stated aim is to stop a brutal war lord named Joseph Kony and his “Lord's Resistance Army” from recruiting tens of thousands of Ugandan child soldiers to murder their parents and other civilians, creating havoc with no political purpose. The video promises that viewers can "change the world" by creating "awareness." We look at the source of the half-hour production's appeal and why it might be counter-productive.
Can a Viral Video Change the World? Kony 2012 went online just a week ago, and it's already chalked up 76 million views on You Tube, raising more than $10 million. Produced by a group called Invisible Children , it claims that widespread "awareness" can stop brutal Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and his "Lord's Resistance Army" from kidnapping tens of thousands of children and turning them into soldiers, to murder their parents and other civilians and create havoc with no political purpose. Millions of young viewers are now focused on Central Africa, but some experts call it the wrong message at the wrong time. Why is Kony 2012 so appealing? How did it get so big so fast? Why do critics call "awareness campaigns" a form of "slacktivism?"
Can Obama Woo Back the Grassroots? The big story of the 2008 presidential campaign was the massive, grassroots army of some 13 million volunteers that Barack Obama recruited with the promise of change. The big question of 2009 was how those political soldiers could help accomplish the goals they fought for. Now, more and more of those supporters say they're being left out of the action by a White House that's all too comfortable with Wall Street and Washington's ways. Did Obama raise unrealistic expectations? Has he missed the opportunity to build a movement, or is governing just different from running a campaign? We hear from grassroots supporters, both current and former.
The Beer Summit: Race and Reconciliation Civil rights leaders applauded Barack Obama for saying the Cambridge police " acted stupidly ." The police union demanded an apology. President Obama invited Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley to have "a drink at the end of the day…for a friendly, thoughtful conversation." Crowley says there were no apologies, but no tension either and that "two gentlemen agreed to disagree on a particular issue." A spokesman for Gates says, "The differences are not that far apart… we learned some things and we can make important changes." Did last night's " Beer Summit " start to clear the air about racial profiling? Did it quell the media firestorm over the President's comment? What did it reveal about the leadership style of a former community organizer facing Congressional partisanship and intractable conflicts all over the world?
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?