ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Twenty-seven years ago, the U.S. Postal Service opened a new post office building in Mesquite, Nevada, a city of just under 21,000 some 90 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Apart from a plaque at the entrance denoting its construction in 1994, the facility isn’t much different from thousands of others in the United States today.
This wasn’t always the case, as historian Cameron Blevins points out in “Paper Trails: The US Post and the Making of the American West.” From the mid-1800s to well past the turn of the century, postal operations were highly political, semi-privatized, and provided what the author calls a “gossamer network” of outlets uniting a diverse and sometimes unstable frontier.
BOOK REVIEW: Paper Trails - Washington Times
washingtontimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtontimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Bill Buell’s Electric City Archives: Chester Arthur Zoom session set; New look at Union Col.-connected pres. | The Daily Gazette
SECTIONS
Schenectady
Bill Buell’s Electric City Archives: Chester Arthur Zoom session set; New look at Union Col.-connected pres.
Shares0
Those of us who know the entire Chester Alan Arthur story – and that group includes Schenectady history buffs as well as most anyone with an emotional connection to Union College – can’t help but like him.
His life and career had some ups and downs, but it’s indisputable that when faced with some big decisions, the man – he was not always an astute politician – responded in exemplary fashion. That’s how many fans of Arthur view him, and after a decade of research on the man, author Jerry Mikorenda feels pretty much the same way. A Brooklyn native, Long Island resident and 1978 University at Albany graduate, Mikorenda will discuss Arthur Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a zoom lecture for the Schenectady Coun
The Grant administration was possibly the most corrupt in our nation’s history. So much graft and bribery occurred under his watch that “Grantism” is how some came to describe greed and corruption. Major scandals rocked his administration, including “Black Friday,” a scheme to corner the gold market in which his brother-in-law was involved (Grant did act to foil the scheme, but not before thousands were harmed). The “Whiskey Ring, “scandal saw over 100 federal officials convicted in connection with the selling of whiskey stamps to distillers at huge discounts (Grant sullied his reputation by shielding his personal secretary). The “Credit Mobilier,” scam in which a phony company was set up to help construct the transcontinental railway, but in reality, bilked the government out of $20 million with Grant’s vice president, Schuyler Colfax, taking bribes. One of the worst was the “Indian Ring,” scandal where Secretary of War William Belknap took bribes from c
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. Career civil servants are the backbone of the Federal workforce, providing the expertise and experience necessary for the critical functioning of the Federal Government. It is the policy of the United States to protect, empower, and rebuild the career Federal workforce. It is also the policy of the United States to encourage union organizing and collective bargaining. The Federal Government should serve as a model employer.
Sec. 2. Revocation of Schedule F. (a) The creation of a new Schedule F excepted service category in Executive Order 13957 of October 21, 2020 (Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service), not only was unnecessary to the conditions of good administration, but also undermined the foundations of the civil service and its merit system principles, which were essential to the Pendleton Civ
vimarsana © 2020. All Rights Reserved.