Can't get no respect

A fellow once noted that there’s only a one-foot difference between a pat on the back and a kick in the pants.

Congress seems to have backed the latter endorsement by apparently cutting funds from the fiscal 2011 budget that it would have spent during Public Service Recognition Week to tout the important roles performed by feds.

According to The Washington Post, the slashed amount was a relatively paltry $150,000 for educational displays on the National Mall.

Of course, that does not mean Public Service Recognition Week is canceled.

Other major sponsors — public service advocates like the Partnership for Public Service and the Public Employees Roundtable — still will conduct events such as a scheduled “town hall” featuring federal heavyweights including Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry and General Services Administration Administrator Martha Johnson. And the Washington Nationals still will play the San Francisco Giants during “Public Servant Day” at Nationals Park.

So somebody still loves you.

Just don’t look for your booth on the Mall.