All Blog Posts Tagged 'civil' (13)

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It’s Not What You Think

 

Since last weekend, the internet has been aflutter with news that many states have petitioned the White House for permission to secede from the union. No state has officially done any such thing. This is what’s going on.

 

To date, there are forty-eight petitions asking President Obama to approve the secession of 40…

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Photo credit: Luis Gomez Photos

 

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting two young entrepreneurs--the co-founders of the super-hip, new event crowdfunding startup,…

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Jonathan Breul retires today from his role as executive director of the IBM Center.  He has had a long and storied career in public service over the past four decades, where he has left a lasting mark.

 

I’ve worked with Jonathan directly or indirectly over the past 30 years.  His retirement is a good inflection point from which to look back at what he has contributed during the course of his career of public service as well as his role as executive director of the IBM…

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Does the Federal Government need to rebrand itself, as some have recently suggested, due to low public approval, politically-charged rhetoric, and negative stereotypes of Federal employees?

I think not.  Rather, I stipulate that:

1) Rebranding Feds is…

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  December 15, 2011 marked the 220^th anniversary of our Bill of Rights. As usual, it passed without much fanfare, yet it’s been protecting American rights for more than two centuries. The Bill of Rights is part of the Constitution--our nation’s primary legal document--and they are…

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Nearly three thousand federal civil servants have died in the line of duty since 1992.  They represent a wide range of federal agencies, yet the federal government has no program or policy in place to provide a U.S. burial flag for these fallen heroes.  This glaring omission was the subject of an Op-Ed in The Washington Post on April 30th (see below).…

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The role of the Internet as a platform for collective action grows. A survey released this week by the Pew Research Center's Internet and Life Project shed light on the social side of the Internet. The results offered insight into the differences between the connected and the disconnected, revealing that Internet…

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In a recent discussion about civics and civil society, one of my colleagues referenced a line by Rap artist, Nasir Jones, a/k/a Nas from his song, “Hate Me Now” that states: People "fear what they don't understand, hate what they can't conquer.”



On this day of national recognition for Dr. Martin Luther…

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True Confession: Yes, I'm bureaucrat. I prefer the term, civil servant -- though that implies work is civil, doesn't it? Au contraire. If I could give you one visual image to describe my experience in the government, it would be this one of Catherine Zeta-Jones from the 1999 movie "Entrapment":…



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Here's an upcoming APWA course that GovLoop members who are involved in the transportation, civil engineering, or utility function of government may want to attend. It is very timely given the stimulus funding for infrastructure improvements.



"Right-of-way…your way or the highway. Are you in control of your right-of-way? Do telecoms drill through your sewer manholes? Does your pavement look like a candy striped ribbon?



Many municipalities would like to improve their… Continue

A local newspaper has published the inspiring story of Richard Fitzgerald, an employee of the town of Arlington, Massachusetts. His is truly a case of "you do what you can and you do what you have to."



Who is Arlington's longest-working town employee? - Arlington, MA - The Arlington Advocate

"Known as Fitzy to his friends and co-workers at the DPW,…

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Next week, we’ll know who the next President will be. And he’ll have to hit the ground running to deal with the mega-challenges he’ll face.



His first task will be to put in place his team of executives to run agencies that oftentimes dwarf even Fortune 50 companies. How do they get up to speed?



Incoming agency executives in the next President’s administration must focus on ensuring success in key management areas, and respond to six imperatives, in order to ensure their… Continue