Author Archives: Ed Kowalski

There is an irony in Zohran Mamdani’s story that is almost impossible to ignore. It begins not in New York City, but thousands of miles away in Uganda. In 1972, dictator Idi Amin ordered tens of thousands of Asians to leave the country. They were given roughly 90 days to pack what they could carryContinue reading “Mamdani’s Family Survived Socialism’s Warning. Did He Learn the Wrong Lesson?”

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about the Luigi Mangione case, and one question keeps coming up: How can someone potentially face both state and federal prosecution arising out of the same alleged killing? Doesn’t the Constitution prohibit double jeopardy? It sounds like it should. But under longstanding Supreme Court precedent, the answer isContinue reading “Luigi Mangione, Double Jeopardy and the Two-Prosecution Question”

$850 Million Later, Some Bills Fans Still Can’t See the Field There are certain things you would think $2.1 billion could buy. A decent football stadium, for instance. Maybe some bathrooms reasonably close to the people sitting in the upper deck. A video board large enough to see without binoculars. And, call me old-fashioned, butContinue reading “THE VALLEY VIEWPOINT”

My friend Claire recently attended the wedding of her niece. Her family was all there. Children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters—generations of one family gathered in the same place to celebrate two people beginning their life together. And somewhere in the middle of telling me about the weekend, Claire said something that stayedContinue reading “When a Parent Goes to a Wedding”

Sometimes you don’t need an investigative reporter to tell you what a political organization believes. Sometimes you just need to read its calendar. The Mid-Hudson Valley chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America has been organizing right here in Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties. And among the events appearing under its banner? “Cocktails withContinue reading “The Valley Viewpoint: Cocktails, Comrades and Socialism in the Hudson Valley”

During this year’s New York bar exam, according to multiple examinees, a candidate in the testing room appeared to suffer a serious medical emergency—and while people looked on in confusion and alarm, proctors allegedly instructed everyone to keep writing. Keep going. Don’t stop. Finish Question 14. That is the claim now under review by theContinue reading “The Bar Exam’s Most Important Question Wasn’t on the Test”

The older I get, the more convinced I become that generosity has very little to do with money. Last night, I found myself watching an old episode of ER. Dr. Mark Greene was dying, and in one of his final conversations with his daughter, he offered her a simple piece of advice: “Always be generous.”Continue reading “Generosity”

One of the most fascinating political stories unfolding in New York isn’t simply Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s agenda. It’s the reaction—or perhaps more accurately, the lack of reaction—from many of the business leaders who will be expected to operate under it. A recent New York Post editorial argues that despite Mayor Mamdani’s increasingly confrontational approach towardContinue reading “When Business Stops Speaking, Politics Starts Winning”

One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that campaigning and governing are two very different things. Campaigns are built on promises. Leadership is measured by what happens after the election is over. Last week, Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi announced the creation of the Smart Prosecution, Strategic Intelligence and Violence EliminationContinue reading “Leadership Is About More Than Winning Elections”

I’ve been thinking a lot about freedom lately—not as a political ideal or an abstract concept, but as something that quietly evolves over the course of a life. A friend recently shared his story with me. It didn’t feel rehearsed. It felt like someone opening an old photo album, one memory leading naturally to theContinue reading “Freedom, Revisited in Three Acts”

Over the past several months, I’ve taken the time to read many of the motions filed by Luigi Mangione’s attorneys. Good defense lawyers are supposed to challenge the government’s evidence. They are supposed to protect their client’s constitutional rights. That’s their job. But these filings go much further. They attempt to transform an accused killerContinue reading “The Dangerous Fiction of Robin Hood Justice”

There is an old saying among trial lawyers: People rarely lie in perfect harmony with the documents. That is why congressional hearings matter. They are not television productions designed to generate headlines. They are fact-finding exercises. Witnesses testify under oath, and every answer becomes part of a permanent record that can later be measured againstContinue reading “Fauci’s Testimony Raised More Questions Than It Answered”