Archive
Besides his books, Bill has written a variety of poems, short stories, opinion pieces, and more.
Understanding and Reducing Poverty
In Vermont’s early years, poverty was managed by an elected “Overseer of the Poor” until we passed the Social Welfare Act of 1967, which formally relieved communities of responsibility for...
Who Will Save Us from Ourselves?
As humans, we’re living in a time when our evolutionary capacity as humans to understand, regulate, and use technological innovation in a way beneficial to mankind and our planetary home...
The Vegas Shootout: Yes, Let’s Politicize it.
When I was eight, I took the NRA safety and target training at a camp in Maine. Two years later, my parents gave me a Winchester .22 long rifle. We...
Comments to VT Assoc. of School Boards and VT Superintendents – Montpelier 2/5/2015
Many thanks for inviting me here today. You all have taken on what I believe to be the most important work in front of Vermonters. Our children are our future...
Common Sense: Criminal Background Checks
I got my first gun when I was eleven. I’d taken the NRA safety course at Camp Timanous in Maine and, as a reward, was given a Winchester .22 rifle...
A Child’s Christmas in Wales and America
For some of us, Christmas still brings to mind Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales recorded for the BBC in 1942. But we’ve become so enthralled by the frenzy of credit-fed...
Thanks and Giving
I’ve often wondered why Thanksgiving means so much to us as a family. But we’ve always treasured this historic holiday about our founding as a nation, whereas for us Christmas...
The Comforts of a Mediocre Education
It’s no secret that many colleges and prep schools are in financial trouble. Accrediting organizations predict a significant number of institutional failures in the next decade. We even feel the...
Political Leadership: Service or Career?
The well-being of citizens and their economy are interdependent and a functioning democracy balances and sustains the natural confluence of both. Otherwise, democracy may weaken and even fail. Today in...
Ourselves, our children
At seventy-two, I often hear myself say, “Well, when I was young…” followed by some judgment about the behavior of today’s kids. I seem to remember my parent’s expectations of...
Tax Breaks: Why and for Whom?
Common sense names don’t work for politicians. What you or I would call “tax exemptions,” they call “tax expenditures.” Let me explain. The government needs a defined amount of money...
Our 4-Speed Legislature
The legislature has a four-speed gear box: inaction, study, nibble around the edges, and overdrive. The under-utilized overdrive gear brings forth bold action and initiates substantive change. The perennial re-appearance...
