Honoring the Wampanoags Today and Moving Toward a More Perfect Union

| Present

As a spiritual practice, and for positive mental health, it is good to give thanks – to express gratitude, whether to a powerful God, our guardian angels, our families and friends, and our teachers and other generous givers of wisdom. We can perhaps also add so many other people – and even inanimate “beings” – […]

Giving Thanks for Our Native American Neighbors

| Present

In this season of Thanksgiving, and as we head into the holiday season, two recent developments from the little state of Vermont are noteworthy. Earlier this year, the Vermont Legislature passed a law designating the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, replacing the traditional designation of Columbus Day. Republican Governor Phil Scott signed […]

Index to the Fourth Year

| Future,Past,Present

Thank you as always for checking in with WisdomWordsPPF!  Below is a guide to the past year of blog posts. Here are the other indices: First year (October 2015-October 2016); Second year (October 2016-October 2017); Third year (October 2017-October 2018). US Politics, Trump Administration, 2018 and 2020 Elections Buyer’s Remorse and Self-Forgiveness: Humble Suggestions for […]

Chanukah Observances in Southern Vermont With a Social Justice Focus

| Present

We are currently honoring the eight-day observance of the Jewish holiday, Chanukah (also spelled Hanukkah), December 2 through 9. Chanukah traces its history back to the second century Before the Common Era (BCE). At that time, the Jews were under the authority of Antiochus III, the Seleucid king of Syria. His son, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, […]

Index to the Third Year

| Future,Past,Present

Thank you as always for checking in with WisdomWordsPPF!  Here is a guide to the past year of blog posts (note that some posts appear in several categories). If you want a guide to the first year (October 2015-October 2016), you can find it here, and a guide to the second year (October 2016-October 2017) […]

Gun Laws in Vermont: Actions Taken in the 2018 Legislative Session

| Present

Rural Vermont with a culture of hunting, although generally left-leaning politically, has not been in the forefront of gun control legislation or other progressive measures on the gun issue. When he ran for President in 2016, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders came under great scrutiny from Hillary Clinton and others on the left for his stances […]

Business Meets Social Responsibility

| Present

It is possible – and highly desirable – for the business community to have an ethos of social responsibility, in addition to profit motivation. The mission of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR), a statewide, nonprofit business association, is “to foster a business ethic in Vermont that recognizes the opportunity and responsibility of the business […]

“What do you Pay for Health Care?”

| Present

“Employer-provided health care is the biggest obstacle to grassroots movement for single-payer in America. Because if you ask most Americans, ‘What do you pay for health care a year?’ They’ll go, ‘I don’t know. My employer provides it. I just have a little bit taken out of my check.’” This was former Vermont Governor Peter […]