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It’s Time for the Four-Year Term for Governor and Legislators
It’s time again for my biennial screed against Vermont’s two-year term for elected executive and legislative positions. I’ve watched the damage done by this narrow time horizon play out… Read More
Education
Comments to Vermont Adult Learning Graduates 9/16/22
We’re here tonight to celebrate you and your achievements. Yes, I did come to celebrate with you and to share some thoughts but I also came to learn from you… Read More
Policy & Politics
Don’t defund the police, fire, and rescue, consolidate and fund them cost-efficiently
Last Monday, VTDigger reported on a convocation on “Crime and Punishment” in Burlington City Hall held by a group called “The Keep Vermont Safe Coalition.” I flattered myself by imagining… Read More
Policy & Politics
Philanthropy: The Darkside of Giving...Getting
We like to think of philanthropy as pure altruism… making a gift, and it often is, but philanthropy also has its dark side. Criminal Theft and Deception Among the darkest… Read More
Elegies
After the inaugural run of the new Burlington - New York Amtrak service on July 29th, 2022, an elegy… 1953 - A Vermont Train Journey
4-8-2 600 Montreal–New York Ambassador at White River Jct., Vt., Aug. 27, 1951. Photo by Jim Shaughnessy Traces of opalescent light emblazon the western horizon as we drive south along… Read More
Criminal Justice
Crime and Punishment
The many challenges Vermont currently faces demand courage, bold thinking, and leadership if they’re to be solved. In the past, we’ve occasionally had a leader emerge with the courage… Read More
Health Care
Vermont Healthcare: A Ship at Sea
I was asked recently if there was a simple way to keep track of how our healthcare system measures up? My “simple” answer was, “Yes, count the number of people… Read More
Policy & Politics
Temptation in the Supreme Court
I have a love-hate relationship with religion. Born of a German-Jewish father and a mother of Dutch background and atheist tradition who married a Morrisville, Vermont Catholic after being widowed… Read More
Social Culture
Will Artificial Intelligence make human life better or business more profitable?
I struggle with the concept of artificial intelligence(AI). Perhaps because in my 77 years I’ve had to cope with what intelligence I can perceive and distill from teachers, friends, art,… Read More
Humor & Satire
News flash: MAGA Republicans take on new patriotic challenges in support of democracy
Louisiana just joined 17 other states in banning transgender women and girls from competing on female sports teams. The Louisiana ban includes all public, private elementary and secondary schools and… Read More
Policy & Politics
Complex Systems(II), Simple Solutions
Elmore Community School In an earlier column, I looked at the difficulty of addressing Vermont’s complex systems with our limited leadership and dated governance tools. As technology and information systems further complicate our… Read More
Uncategorized
Road Safety for Fauna: A Primer
Gray squirrels: Be decisive don’t zig-zag down the road directly in front of your automotive pursuer. Make up your mind and run to one side or the other. Red Squirrels… Read More
