John Bell Hood, the Confederate general who is the namesake of the most populous U.S. military base in the world (and who apparently wasn't much of the general) is the focus for today's #stampoftheday. Hood isn't on the stamp itself, which is an 8-cent stamp, issued in 1893, picturing General William Tecumsah Sherman, the Union general …
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Two timely policy questions—"make or buy?" and "can public-sector employees innovate?" - are conveyed by the two seemingly prosaic stamps that make up today's #stampoftheday offerings. The stamps are a 6-cent stamp picturing James Garfield issued on July 18, 1894 and a 1-cent stamp picturing Benjamin Franklin issued on July 18, 1924. In earlier posts, I've …
The Seneca Falls Convention, an historic gathering that produced one of the most important documents in the long fight for women's rights, is the focus of today's #stampoftheday, a 3-cent stamp celebrating "100 Years of Progress of Women" issued on July 19, 1948, the 100th anniversary of that 2-day gathering in western New York State. …
Today is one of those days when the #stampoftheday provides an uncanny connection to current events. The stamp is a 22-cent stamp from 1942 picturing Grover Cleveland, the only man to serve two non-consecutive terms as president from 1884-1888 and 1892-1896. The connection to current events is that in July 1894, Cleveland, against the wishes of …
The once settled question of whether and how America should provide military support for democratically elected governments in western Europe is highlighted in today's #stampoftheday, a 3-cent stamp issued in 1952 celebrating NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization). The treaty establishing NATO, which was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered into outside of …
Ducks, Little Orphan Annie, and a once-famous but now obscure Indiana writer take the stage as today's #stampoftheday, a 10-cent stamp, issued in 1940, featuring James Whitcomb Riley, a writer and poet who died on July 22, 1916. Although the stamp was part of the series of 35 stamps honoring "Famous Americans" issued in 1940, I'd …
Ulysses S. Grant, who died on July 23, 1885 days after he finished writing his widely acclaimed autobiography, today makes an encore appearance in today's #stampoftheday, which is an 18-cent stamp issued in 1938. While I wrote about Grant in May, I'm returning to him because in mid-June, protestors in San Francisco tore down a statue …
Unlike the past few days, when I really had to dig around to find a good #stampoftheday, there's a wealth of easy and wonderful choices for today's stamp. There's a 2-cent stamp featuring the Grand Canyon issued on July 24, 1934 that was part of a series of 10 stamps issued that year that pictured notable …
Competence in government, particularly the difference that talented people can make if given the authority and the resources, is the theme of today's #stampoftheday (actually #stampsoftheday). The three stamps themselves honor three major Revolutionary War milestones. The first is a 3-cent stamp, issued in 1955, commemorating the capture of Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain by American …