Tiger GPS: Government and Public Service Blog

WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, JOE DIMAGGIO? by Robert J. Pape, Jr.

The question first presented by Simon and Garfunkel came to mind recently as I was reflecting on the issues facing our community, state and nation and the inability of our elected officials to work together toward a common goal. It seems politics today has gotten personal and perhaps spiteful. It has prevented, for the most […]

STRAW FLEXIBILITY by Chris Neeley

There is a movement afoot in the United States to ban the use of plastic drinking straws by consumers of liquid products. This is understandable considering the large volume of straws that end up in landfills, along our road sides and highways and even in our waters. In fact, it is estimated that more than […]

#MeTOO BACK TO THE FUTURE by James Shelley

Equality of citizens under the law of the United States is a successive policy that has been growing and changing in slight ways since before there was a constitution. From the pilgrims to Me Too, equal rights have been continually fought over. As we advance as society so too must our policies and laws. Sitting […]

IN FOOD WE TRUST by Meredith Wright

As a born and raised South Carolinian, I know first-hand that there are a variety of southern traditions that we pass down through generations.  Food centered traditions are an important part of southern life, and it would not be so dear to our mother’s hearts if the food were not considered special, or unique to […]

COPS EYE VIEW: IN THE LINE OF DUTY by Danny McGuire

This post first appeared in Ten Two News online on March 13, 2018. Reprinted here upon the author’s request and consent. I had planned my next column to continue my thoughts on police perspectives; however, something happened during the writing phase which changed my thoughts and plans. Chicago Police Cmdr. Paul Bauer was shot and […]

“SPECIAL PLEADERS” AND PUBLIC POLICY by Kara Meetze

“At times the halls of power are so glutted with special pleaders that government itself seems to be gagging.” (Thomas, 1986, p. 26) This quote brings to mind imagery of lawmakers being so bombarded by special pleaders that they are in essence on a gag order under which they are essentially prohibited from sharing the details and information […]

SANCTUARY CITIES? by Ed Pearce

As we recognize throughout our policy study, there are usually clear separations in political views with policy agendas. Views on immigration are no different. A June 2015 PEW Research Center trends study found that 71% of Republicans say immigrants in the U.S. are making crime worse, compared to just 34% of Democrats. The same view […]

THE SUCCESSIVE APPROXIMATION OF THE LGBT POLICY LANDSCAPE by Jon Luttrell

“Policy is not made once and for all; it is made and remade endlessly. Policy-making is a process of successive approximation to some desired objectives in which what is desired itself continues to change under reconsideration” – Charles E. Lindblom In the formative days of our country, the notion of same-sex marriage would have been as […]

RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY, IN SCIENCE’S CLOTHING by Amber Mann

“I ask the chair, you know what this is? It’s a snowball, just from outside here. So it’s very, very cold out. Very unseasonal,” James Inhofe, Republican senator from Oklahoma, said shortly before he infamously threw a snowball in the Senate Chamber (as reported by Slate in February 2015). Inhofe’s performance that day was in the context […]