Because Democracy is Not Free — we all have to work at it
Last night, a twenty-something came to the door of a nearly forty-something to urge her to vote. The nearly forty-something is reminding the eighteen-and-over somethings to do the same. Let’s not lose our choir voices. addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fcivilservicechange.org%2F%3Fp%3D141′; addthis_title = ‘Preaching+to+the+Choir’; addthis_pub = ”;
The Washington Post ran a follow-up story on Lieutenant Elizabeth Whiteside, a woman whose story I mentioned earlier. Whiteside attempted suicide once again on Tuesday. She survived. On Wednesday, the Army decided it would drop criminal charges against her for her first attempt at suicide. Right call, wrong reason. I guess she’s better off alive than dead — [...]
After writing the post on federal salaries, I immediately thought about whom might have taken issue. Other than retired taxpayers and the self-employed, it could have been a wide range of readers. So, before you start in on me, I’ll say this: I would have temporarily given up pay raises. As a GS-13, I was [...]
Another of Stephen Barr’s columns on pay raises for federal employees came out today. It’s likely to be one of the most read emails in each agency. Here’s the absurdity in this one. Congress and the President approve raises for federal employees, but they don’t expressly fund them. That means that at first, non-defense Agencies have employees working without [...]
Another for the absurdity file: Henry Ford wrote of the Model T, “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.” Well, apparently that also applies to the Florida elections. Any voter can have any ballot that he wants so long as it is Republican. I’m [...]
One of the best things about this blog has been the network of people contacting me with stories, personal and otherwise, validating out-of-control federal service. Today’s mailbox contained several stories for me to read and thoughts to process. I’ve got a list of items on my to do list today, so I’ll start off by sending [...]
I had a recent experience that reminded me of this video. Sadly, there is always a little truth to each stereotype. Although it is easy to see how federal employees can become paralyzed from taking any type of action, in my post, “Keeping Your Professionalism,” I remind workers that independent thinking is still an asset. addthis_url = [...]
Apparently, Andrew Schultz from the Department of Labor was correct in assuming that he doesn’t have to lift anything but his telephone-dialing finger in this Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) case. Administrative Judge LuNell Anderson is sending out a notice approving a stay of discovery. Was it the Agency’s argument that this blog is a glowing review of federal service, [...]
Well, so much for wanting to give the Department of Labor (DOL) Solicitor’s Office (SOL) credit for not hindering Privacy Act access to my own individual file. I’ve taken a look at their letter dated November 30, 2007 and sure enough, without denying my request directly, William W. Thompson, II, Associate Solicitor for Management and Administrative Legal Services, denied it through [...]
I am consistently amazed at how many people follow this blog on a regular basis, and by how many of you have contacted me recently. Thank you. I know that when enough of us band together, exposure and education on federal sector issues will make a difference. The following post comes at a timely juncture. Following my praise [...]