Author Archives: Ed Kowalski

Beacon Chose Leadership. Poughkeepsie Chose Excuses. If Beacon can reinvent itself, then Poughkeepsie has no excuse for standing still.Both are river cities.Both were built by industry.Both sit on one of the most beautiful stretches of the Hudson.Yet one chose to lead—and the other keeps waiting.Beacon didn’t get lucky. Beacon was led.Its elected officials made deliberate,Continue reading “Beacon Chose Leadership Poughkeepsie Chose Excuses”

Here’s the part you’re not supposed to say out loud: Most of America doesn’t look like the crime statistics you hear quoted on cable news. A relatively small number of cities drive a disproportionate share of the nation’s homicides—and they’ve been run under the same political leadership and policy assumptions for decades. That doesn’t meanContinue reading “Concentrated Violence, Concentrated Failure”

On December 18, 2025, a Milwaukee County jury did something refreshingly old-fashioned: it applied the law. The result? Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan—yes, that Judge Dugan—was convicted of felony obstruction of justice for allegedly helping a Mexican immigrant slip past federal ICE agents who were waiting outside her courtroom like extras in a very unamused episodeContinue reading “Obstruction in a Robe is still Obstruction”

New York didn’t just cross a line. It erased it. Governor Kathy Hochul says she’s reached a deal to legalize medically assisted suicide for the terminally ill. The language is antiseptic—Medical Aid in Dying. The rhetoric is soaked in compassion. The intent, we’re told, is mercy. But let’s stop pretending this is a gentle policyContinue reading “NY State Now Has an Opinion on When You Should Die”

Cardinal Timothy Dolan will be remembered as one of the most visible Catholic leaders of his generation — a cleric who understood cameras, cultivated access, and wore New York comfortably. But visibility is not leadership. And charm is not accountability. Throughout his tenure as Archbishop of New York, Dolan perfected the performance of pastoral presence.Continue reading “Prayers in Public, Paperwork in Private”

There are moments when the presidency is tested not by policy or power, but by restraint. This was one of them—and the President failed it. Following the violent deaths of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, the nation did not hear words of condolence from its highest office. There was no acknowledgment of grief, noContinue reading “When the Presidency Loses Its Voice”

On a recent visit to the cemetery where my parents are buried, I was reminded of a mildly bothersome fact: I still haven’t chosen my own final resting place. Last December, my cousin Kevin and I took a drive up to Auriesville, New York, to visit the Jesuit cemetery. As I’ve written before, it’s aContinue reading “Final Resting Place…TBD”

Every time the Supreme Court reminds Washington that the Constitution still exists, the same chorus erupts. Experts are clutching pearls. Editorial boards are lighting candles. We’re told democracy is dying because federal agencies might—might—have to answer to someone who actually ran for office. This week’s outrage, fueled by rulings curbing bureaucratic power and cases likeContinue reading “The Bureaucrats Are Mad Again”

A Valley Viewpoint Narrative There are places in America we still instinctively think of as insulated from chaos. Elite campuses. Ivy League schools. Old brick buildings where ideas are debated, not bullets. Brown University was supposed to be one of those places. On Saturday, that illusion shattered. Reports out of Providence confirm a shooting onContinue reading “When the Unthinkable Reaches Even Brown”

Frankie Flowers has been arrested again. This time, the charges are assault, criminal obstruction of breathing, and endangering the welfare of a child — all stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident in Dutchess County. Flowers was arraigned, released on bail, and placed under electronic monitoring and probation supervision. That alone should end any attemptContinue reading “Frankie Flowers and the Lie of “Community Figure” Immunity”