Archive
Besides his books, Bill has written a variety of poems, short stories, opinion pieces, and more.
Homeless Republicans
Vermont’s last Republican Century ended in 1962 when Phil Hoff became the first democratic governor in a blue dog’s age. The Republican Party then bore little or no resemblance to...
“The Centre cannot hold…” Yeats
In these opening days of the new decade, I am haunted by Yeats’ ominous stanza in his poem The Second Coming: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed...
Government Accountability, Been There, Done That
If you go to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s website and click on “Reports” and type in the word “outcomes,” you’ll get a free copy of a report entitled “Reframing...
Stasis or Change?
Much of what I hear these days is, “I’m gonna vote for balance. If the legislature’s gonna be Democratic, I’ll vote for a Republican governor to keep them in check.”...
The Battle of Mastodons
The battle in Washington is not over a balanced budget. It is not between the rich and the poor. It’s not between business and consumers. It’s not about the environment....
The Free Market: An Enduring Myth
My libertarian and conservative friends love to cite the purifying qualities of the free market, operating like a natural stream-bed filter, removing weak business models, compressing economic fluctuations, and obviating...
Election Day 2010: Now it’s our turn
We are at a critical turning point in Vermont. We must confront who we are, who we want to be and what we believe in. As the nation at large...
Democracy, Money and Community
I was taught it’s not polite to talk about money, so here goes. Honesty, however, requires context. I grew up in a middle class family in Vermont. My stepfather’s family...
Political Pledges and Hucksters
Question… should political candidates take ideological pledges? If they do, don’t they then compromise their future leadership options? Leadership, after all, is about the agility of decision-making in real time...
Love’s Labor Lost?
Labor Day is the last, long weekend of summer and a signal that it’s time to get back to work….that is if one has work, which takes us to the...
American Autumn, Arab Spring?
I recently read an editorial juxtaposing two disparate yet related visions that have haunted me, as any good op-ed should. The writer alluded to the crowds in Cairo’s Tahrir Square...
“Job Creators?”
I was what conservative business interests would have you believe is a “job creator.” I, and several very smart managers ran, and some still do, a company that worked with...
