Piercing Issue

Looks like the cover of the December issue of Government Executive has taken on a life of its own. You can't really see it in the online version, but the young woman on the cover, Kendra Kozak, happens to be wearing a small nose stud and multiple ear piercings. That look just didn't sit well with some readers, touching off a vigorous discussion in the the Letters to the Editor sections of the January and February issues of the magazine.

This weekend, the debate made its way to the pages of the Business section of the Washington Post, specifically Amy Joyce's "Life at Work" column, which noted that the "teeny, tiny nose stud caused a maelstrom that went on for two issues, starting with a retiree who wrote in to complain that the photo was offensive and embarrassing to civil servants." Oh c'mon people, can't we just all get along?