Author Archives: Ed Kowalski

On Friday, Kathy Hochul didn’t just introduce an immigration bill — she planted a political flag. Her proposal would prohibit local police departments across New York from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on civil immigration enforcement and would block ICE from using local jails for civil detention. Hochul presented it as a moralContinue reading “Limiting ICE Cooperation: Policy Move or Political Message?”

There is a simpler explanation for the missing signature, one that requires no assumptions about motive or intent: perhaps the other legislator was never asked. The Town of LaGrange, NY is represented in the Dutchess County Legislature by Emma Arnoff, a Democrat representing District 2, and Michael Polasek, a Republican representing District 3. The letterContinue reading “The Question of the Unasked Signature”

One of the more eye-opening conversations I’ve had recently was with a 26-year-old employee who was about to age out of their parents’ health insurance. They came to me anxious and uncertain, saying, “I don’t know what to do.” What started as a routine benefits discussion quickly became a window into how broken and inaccessibleContinue reading “Helping a 26-Year-Old Employee Coming Off Their Parents’ Insurance—and Confronting the System”

The other day I found myself doing something I’m convinced only happens once every 25 years: shopping for a new mattress. This is not a casual errand. This is a life decision. Possibly an end-of-life decision. The sales guy was ecstatic. Truly alive. He walked me through every modern miracle known to sleep science—cooling gel,Continue reading “Why Mattress Shopping Should Come With a Therapist”

There is a sadness that comes not as a wave, but as a stillness. It arrives when you realize that a young life has ended and that no argument, no explanation, no justification can make sense of it. I feel that sadness for the young man who lost his life in Minnesota. Not as aContinue reading “When Leadership Fails, the Cost Is Human”

Today I feel older. Not injured. Not shaken. Just… aware. I was walking out to my car to clear off the snow—one of those ordinary winter tasks you don’t give a second thought to. I stepped into a snowbank, lost my footing, and went down. Not hard. No pain. No damage done. Just a brief,Continue reading “Apparently, I’m at the “Can I Help You?” Age”

I need to come clean about something. Not the floors — those are immaculate now — but me. I have an addiction to household appliances. It starts innocently. A toaster that promises even browning. A vacuum that claims to think. A blender that looks like it could survive a minor building collapse. I tell myselfContinue reading “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Household Appliances”

A Valley Viewpoint Narrative Snow is coming. Not the dramatic, end-of-days kind the weather maps like to tease, but enough to send a familiar signal across the Hudson Valley: better stop at Adams. And so we do. Carts fill with the usual winter standbys—bread, milk, soup, coffee, something sweet we didn’t plan to buy butContinue reading “Bread, Milk, and the People Who Make It Happen”

Members of the Legislature, This issue is not abstract for me. My niece was murdered in Westchester County by an illegal alien—someone who had no lawful right to be in this country. That fact is not offered as a slogan, a talking point, or a political weapon. It is the lived reality that informs everythingContinue reading “An Open Letter to the Dutchess County Legislature”

Here in Dutchess County, we’ve now reached a point that should give every voter pause: newly elected legislators—who have just raised their right hands and sworn to uphold the law—are standing in protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Let’s be clear about what that means. These officials aren’t private citizens blowing off steam. TheyContinue reading “A Valley Viewpoint: When Protest Replaces Responsibility”

A Valley Viewpoint Narrative I want to be very clear here, because this conversation cannot stay in the realm of abstractions and moral generalities. I’ve seen both sides of this debate—and mercy still requires justice. For me, this issue is not theoretical. It is not political theater. It is not a collection of statistics meantContinue reading “I’ve Seen Both Sides—and Mercy Still Requires Justice”

Pull up the old clips — including the one you just shared — and watch them back-to-back. What stands out isn’t soundbite politics. It’s clarity. You see Bill Clinton on the podium, looking straight at the camera in that Facebook video you pointed to. He begins with something that sounds simple… but increasingly rare inContinue reading “When Bill Clinton Didn’t Flinch on Illegal Immigration — Even on Camera”