Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
@notabattlechick.bsky.social
5.5K followers 1.3K following 1.8K posts
Purple-haired civil servant. Public Diplomacy person. Historian. Author. Educator. Leader. Tar Heel. COVID Long-hauler. Doodler. Procedural-drama obsessed smart lady. Cat servant. 2x speed audiobook aficionado. Occasional trouble maker. All views my own.
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Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
gonzo.bsky.social
Latenite archival BabbyGonz time!
Tiny orange and white kitten on a table next to a lamp
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
ericmmurphy.bsky.social
A thought for journalists (looking at you, @nytimes.com):

If one source says it’s raining, & another source says it isn’t, you don’t report both uncritically. YOU GO THE HELL OUTSIDE & report how the assertions correspond to the evidence.

You’re reporters for fuck sake, not stenographers!
a man with an umbrella is walking through a puddle
ALT: a man with an umbrella is walking through a puddle
media.tenor.com
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
atrupar.com
STEPHANOPOULOS: I didn't insinuate anything. I asked you whether Tom Homan accepted $50k as was heard on an audio tape recorded by the FBI in September 2024. You did not answer the question. Thank you for your time.

VANCE: No, George, I sai--

STEPHANOPOULOS: We'll be right back
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
billkristolbulwark.bsky.social
Pope Leo quotes Hannah Arendt:

“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist."

www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...
Pope Leo calls for news agencies to stand as bulwark against "post-truths," lies and manipulation
Pope Leo XIV has encouraged international news agencies to stand firm as a bulwark against the "ancient art of lying" and manipulation.
www.cbsnews.com
notabattlechick.bsky.social
This is a false choice and a dangerous narrative. Federal government jobs are, actually, REAL JOBS. Not just federal jobs that are soldiering and copping. “Bureaucrat” is not a dirty word. Government does real work. Federal employees are actual humans, and Americans, even. Not that you’d know it.
atrupar.com
WELKER: During the 2019 shutdown when Trump was president, no federal workers were laid off. Why are these firings necessary?

VANCE: Who do we care more about- federal bureaucrats or the troops getting the payment they need?

WELKER: But layoffs are a priority?

VANCE: They have forced us to choose
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
mcopelov.bsky.social
On top of the endless performative public lying (bsky.app/profile/donm...), this is more of the endlessly offensive/inane “government jobs are not real jobs, except when they’re cops & soldiers” nonsense that every right-wing politician from Ronald Reagan to Scott Walker has been selling for years.
atrupar.com
WELKER: During the 2019 shutdown when Trump was president, no federal workers were laid off. Why are these firings necessary?

VANCE: Who do we care more about- federal bureaucrats or the troops getting the payment they need?

WELKER: But layoffs are a priority?

VANCE: They have forced us to choose
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
mcopelov.bsky.social
Nixon’s crimes look like harmless high school pranks compared to the now-daily unprecedented illegal & unconstitutional crimes being committed daily by this president & his staff
kjephd.bsky.social
Unconstitutionally taking money that the law says must be spent on one purpose & using it for something else—when it's to establish personalist control over the FUCKING MILITARY—is about as dangerous a constitutional crisis/failure as you can imagine

Via: www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
The Office of Management and Budget sent a notification to Congress about their intent to use research and development funds to pay members of the military, two sources with direct knowledge tell NBC News.

A spokesperson for the OMB confirmed to NBC News that it plans to use the research and development funds and that there are two years' worth of funds available within the Department of Defense.
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
bitesizetherapy.bsky.social
MARTIN SHORT: Who’s sexier, me or Steve Martin?

DIANE KEATON: I mean, you’re both idiots.
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
samhalpert.bsky.social
Dems floated a narrow bill to fund the military, which can’t move because the House isn’t in session. Meanwhile, DoD is now going to spend funds not appropriated by Congress to ensure military paychecks continue.

POTUS now both commands and provisions the military. Unconstitutional and SO dangerous
The Office of Management and Budget sent a notification to Congress about their intent to use research and development funds to pay members of the military, two sources with direct knowledge tell NBC News.
A spokesperson for the OMB confirmed to NBC
News that it plans to use the research and development funds and that there are two years' worth of funds available within the Department of Defense.
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
victorerikray.bsky.social
Attacks on the federal workforce are also attacks on Black workers, who are overrepresented in the public sector.

Black unemployment is 7.5%. I'm reminded of Coates' observation that Black Americans regularly experience conditions that would be considered a crisis if whites faced them.
Black Unemployment Is Surging Again. This Time Is Different.
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
dieworkwear.bsky.social
About a month ago, the Trump administration got rid of the de minimis exemption, whereby packages valued under $800 could slide in without import duties. Now there's a backlog as the government can't process all of this paperwork, leading to UPS just destroying packages
Business Insider headline reads: UPS is telling customers that their packages coming to the US are marked for destruction.
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
sarapartridge.bsky.social
There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
jamellebouie.net
a russ vought special
sarapartridge.bsky.social
There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
lenasun.bsky.social
Among other RIF notices at CDC:
—Center for Forecasting and Analytics;
—all of CDC Washington
—Office of Human Resources
—National Center for Injury Prevention and Control 3/4
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
lenasun.bsky.social
The CDC official who was leading the measles response and was RIFd has more than 28 yrs experience as the senior USG official leading outbreaks on Ebola, Marburg virus, and mpox. 2/4
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
lenasun.bsky.social
NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
mcopelov.bsky.social
It’s hard to know what purpose journalism serves anymore if it can’t consistently communicate to the public 1) whether something is actually happening/is a complete lie; & 2) whether something is obviously illegal or unconstitutional. And yet, here we are, in late 2025, &

<all together now>
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
sweetrhesus.bsky.social
Micromanagement is the micropenis of microaggression.
notabattlechick.bsky.social
Make the GOP own every single thing in this budget or keep the government shut down.

I say this as a currently furloughed federal employee.
kwcollins.bsky.social
The founders in fact did NOT create the filibuster, but they DID give the Senate and House each the power to set their own rules, which includes changing rules to allow passage of appropriations bills with simple majorities
ringwiss.bsky.social
“And that’s why we nuked it twice in the past month.”
Reposted by Dr. Jacqueline E. Whitt
kwcollins.bsky.social
The founders in fact did NOT create the filibuster, but they DID give the Senate and House each the power to set their own rules, which includes changing rules to allow passage of appropriations bills with simple majorities
ringwiss.bsky.social
“And that’s why we nuked it twice in the past month.”