Friday Fab Five: Glass Jaws, Smack-Talk, and Philosophical Musings

Why not take a quick break from the Madness? It’s the…

Friday Fab Five!

That special time when we feature five memorable moments from the previous week that were especially awesome.

The Most Commented Blog of the Week goes to On public comment and public officials — PJ Crowley, Stanley McChrystal and glass jaws by Stephen Collins. One of our many Aussie contributors, Stephen gives his “frank and fearless” advice regarding a couple of prominent US public officials and the difference between personal and professional opinions.

The noises being made about open government and the right for public servants to express opinions seems to have an “only if we like it” caveat.

This begs the question, do our democracies, even in a time of a strongly stated support for open government and Government 2.0, have something of a glass jaw when it comes to criticism?

While for any public servant, the expression of personal and professional views needs to be balanced against those comments’ capacity to bring disrepute to the governments they serve, surely modern democracies ought to be robust and resilient enough to withstand uncomfortable and divergent views from within without the knee-jerk “jump or be pushed” that seems to have taken place in these cases. -Stephen Collins

The Top Forum this week was GovMadness 2011: Which Agency/City Wins in Head-to-Head Competition? Yes, it is that time of year again, but rather than settle for the same ol’ boring basketball brackets, GovLoop took matters into their own hands and created GovMadness. Andy K’s forum was started with the sole purpose of discussing top picks and talking smack, govie style. Here’s what people are saying:

So I chose Washington, DC beating GSA in the championships not only because I work and live there, but because they’re both pretty awesome. I chose DC over GSA because it constantly wins top 5 best cities for everything including #1 most socially networked city. -Kevin Dubs

Well… You don’t really need to hear me talkin’ smack. Let’s just talk facts… What agency was determined “The Best Place to Work in the Federal Government?” :o] -Rohn Brown

Clearly the Nuclear Regulatory Commission WINS IT ALL! -Jeri Buchholz

I hate to be the bearer of bad news regarding your picks, but after watching the news, and this will be news for some time, the finals will come down to Dept of Education and San Antonio. Of course, San Antonio will be the ultimate winner!! -Chris Knox

Still haven’t made your picks? Don’t worry, GovMadness action will be happening until April 4. Check it out here!

Most Active Group goes to none other than GovLeaders. Instigated by the simple question, “what’s your favorite leadership book?” GovLeaders has seen quite a bit of activity this week. Interested in receiving help like this, as well as access to a host of other resources? GovLeaders is here to help current and aspiring leaders grow and become experts in government leadership.

Quote of the Week comes from Jenyfer Johnson on the discussion Has the threat of a shutdown affected your commitment to public service? A dedicated and experienced public servant, Jenyfer shares with us a solid and inspiring perspective on why she continues to serve even with the looming threat of a government shutdown:

I’m an old-timer who has been through the past shutdowns so I am rather philosophical about the potential of this threat. If it happens, so be it…my family will deal (my husband and I are both civil service). If it doesn’t happen, I will continue to work. The commitment to my job is the same right up until I am told to go home, that is what I do, that is what I am committed to do and what I am paid to do.

I try to spend my time worrying about the things that I can change/effect and HAVE to worry about. I’m too old and been working too long (27+ years) to let it get in the way of what I have to do! -Jenyfer Johnson

And finally, Rockstar of the Week goes to Michael Walsh. Michael is the fearless leader behind popular groups such as the Open Source CMS Club and the WordPress Club, both of which have seen their fair share of action this past week. Throw in a wildly popular recent discussion on Plone: Why Cyber Security Matters for Open Source CMS, and you’ve got yourself a GovLoop Rockstar!

Thanks for reading everybody, and have an awesome weekend!