Author Archives: Ed Kowalski

A Valley Viewpoint Narrative There’s a quiet rebellion underway in America’s courts — and it’s not the romantic, principled kind some would like you to believe. More than 100 federal judges — including several appointed by Republican presidents — have stepped in to block the Trump administration’s mandatory-detention policy for individuals in deportation proceedings. MoreContinue reading “When the Robes Become the Resistance”

A Valley Viewpoint Narrative You can learn a lot about the future of a community by watching who shows up to vote when nobody’s looking. Here in the Hudson Valley, we pride ourselves on being plugged-in — engaged, opinionated, committed to our towns, our schools, and our sense of place. But the numbers tell aContinue reading “When Democracy Becomes Optional”

A Valley Viewpoint Narrative When history looks back on the Biden presidency, it won’t just record a leader who faded. It will record a party that knew — and continued anyway. A presidency not defined by bold leadership or principled stands, but by the decision to prop up a man in decline because his frailtyContinue reading “The Biden Cover Up”

A Valley Viewpoint Narrative Every now and then, a story cuts through the political fog and reminds us why public trust isn’t lost in a single moment — it’s eroded drip-by-drip. This week, that drip came from the Brooklyn courthouse, where the supposed guardians of justice are meant to stand above the political hustle. TheContinue reading “When Justice Becomes a Family Business”

We imagine careers — and life — as linear. As if the path is supposed to look like this:Study → Get hired → Get promoted → Lead → Retire. But real life doesn’t run in straight lines.It loops. It stalls. It breaks. It rebuilds.It asks you to bet on yourself again… and again. And thenContinue reading “The Path”

It’s that time of year when coat drives start popping up — cardboard boxes in church lobbies, collection bins in school hallways, radio announcements asking people to help keep kids warm. And every year, without fail, I go back to one memory. Grammar school. Winter settling in. The kind of cold that bites a littleContinue reading “The Coat”

As last week closed—a week where we marked the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and a week where we also watched, stunned, as Charlie Kirk was assassinated before our eyes—I wanted to share these words. Lord, take me where you want me to go.Let me meet who you want me to meet.Tell me whatContinue reading “Lord, take me where you want me to go.” — Words we need now as much as ever”

BREAKING NEWS: Ohio Judge Caught Celebrating Charlie Kirk’s Murder Hamilton County Judge Ted Berry is under fire after vile public posts applauding the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The fallout has already begun: the Joe Burrow Foundation cut ties immediately, removing him from its advisory board. Berry’s own words leave no room for dispute:• “Rest inContinue reading “Trust in the Courts at Stake: Judge Berry Must Step Down or Be Removed.”

Toby’s eyes are where the world softens. They are not loud or dazzling, not made to catch attention, but they hold me with a gentleness that nothing else does. Brown and steady, warm as earth, they rest on me as if to say: you are here, and that is enough. There is no hurry inContinue reading “Toby’s Eyes”

If I Could Go Back If I could travel back in time, I wouldn’t go to some famous moment in history. I’d go home. Back to my parents’ kitchen table, to sit across from them—not as their child, but as the adult I am now, carrying the weight of the world we’re living in. I’dContinue reading “Back in time”

Was I Having a Stroke, or Just an Idiot? Driving home from work the other night, I noticed it was darker than usual. Not “daylight saving time” darker, not “storm clouds rolling in” darker — mood lighting in a cheap steakhouse darker. Immediately, I thought: Great. My headlights are dying. So I did the responsibleContinue reading “I’m having a Stroke”

One day, our laughter will echo only in someone’s heart. The stories we told will return in fragments, and the love we shared will live on as memory. Time moves swiftly, and moments slip quietly into yesterday. Yet even in loss, we are reminded of the gift of now—the chance to be kind, to loveContinue reading “God Speed, Charlie Kirk”