Senate confirms first woman to serve on Joint Chiefs of Staff

A Department of Veterans Affairs office that investigates whistleblower retaliation cases said VA leadership is acting on more of its recommendations. When the VA’s Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection (OAWP) recommended discipline in whistleblower retaliation cases, management took action 68% of the time in fiscal 2021. That is now up to 92% percent. But House lawmakers said VA employees can take their complaints to the Office of Special Counsel and see better results. “I’m still left wondering if OAWP’s juice is worth the squeeze,” said Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.),…

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Mr. One Percent

Photographs by Cody O’Loughlin Updated at 1:38pm ET on November 3, 2023 the phrase one percent could be used to describe Doug Burgum’s socioeconomic status and, less gloriously, his national-polling average. On a recent Thursday night in New Hampshire, the North Dakota governor squared up to the reality of his presidential campaign: “The first question I get is ‘When are you going to drop out?’” He was speaking to about 100 people in a private back room at Stark Brewing Company, in downtown Manchester. Republicans had come together to celebrate…

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The Politically Incorrect Reality About How to Boost Access to American Dream

If you want to increase access to the American dream, there’s one simple trick.  But there’s a catch: It’s not a very politically correct reality.  Simply put, to optimize any kid’s chance at success, he needs to grow up with married parents.  A new book, “The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind,” shows just how starkly a child’s life can be affected based on whether he grows up with married parents or a single parent.  “[M]ounds of social science evidence … shows how the odds…

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Happy 25th Anniversary, MoveOn! Highlights from our Member Summit in Atlanta

MoveOn Executive Director Rahna Epting shares the election plan for 2024. Credit: MoveOn Happy birthday to MoveOn! We’ve officially reached 25 years of people-powered progress! This past weekend, we hosted the MoveOn 25 Member Summit in Atlanta to celebrate MoveOn’s 25th birthday while also connecting and organizing ahead of the 2024 election. It was our first time coming together in person in 5 years and we took full advantage of the opportunity to celebrate our work together and build the power we need to win the White House and Senate,…

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When to express an opinion and when to zip it up, when on the job

Whether its the war in Ukraine, the war in Israel, the House speaker race or any of a zillion controversial topics, everyone has an opinion. As federal employees, can you express your opinions out loud and not get fired for it? For advice, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with federal employment attorney John Mahoney. Interview Transcript:  Tom Temin This question, I guess, is coming up in a lot of offices. It’s not exactly Hatch Act issue, but if you loudly and express an opinion and Lord knows there’s…

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