New America Foundation
Theodore Johnson is a fellow at New America Foundation.
Johnson is a former writer for the Atlantic with a focus on race and politics and a former professor of public policy at Georgetown University. He is a former speechwriter for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a retired commander in the United States Navy.
What is patriotism in the Trump Era? Pro-quarterback and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick has been named GQ Magazine's "Citizen of the Year." However, he wouldn't make the president's cut for what makes a patriot. So, what is being patriotic really about? And how has President Trump tried to change the perception of who is and isn't a patriot?
Does Black Lives Matter have staying power? "Black Lives Matter" was a phrase used on Facebook after the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012. Then it became a hashtag that's become a nationwide network using social media, making race an unavoidable topic of conversation in the last days of the Obama Administration. Protesters show up on TV news: denouncing police shootings, interrupting speakers, and blocking streets and highways. There's still no particular leader, but now the network is one of 60 black-led organizations formally demanding specific changes in public policy. Some claim it's indirectly responsible for the killings of police. Others call it the latest phase in the civil rights movement.
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.
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
