Category Archives: Uncategorized

One of the things I remember from my Jesuit education is the idea of accompaniment—walking with someone, being present, and not allowing another person to face something difficult alone. As I’ve gotten older, I think I understand that lesson differently. For me, the ministry of presence can be very simple. And sometimes, it isn’t particularly glamorous.Continue reading “The Ministry of Presence”

I was going through some old newspaper columns today when I pulled out one I had been saving for years. The story had appeared on the front page of both the Detroit Free Press and USA Today. The headline read: “Study: 25 Percent of Americans Have No One to Confide In.” I stopped and readContinue reading “The Friendships That Have Time to Breathe”

Sometimes the most important lessons have very little to do with the law. In a recent Law.com reflection, an attorney recalled an encounter with the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. When Scalia entered the room, the assembled lawyers remained seated. He noticed. After looking down for a moment, Scalia expressed his disappointment. These attorneys,Continue reading “Justice Scalia, a Room Full of Lawyers and the Respect We’ve Forgotten”

We are just a few weeks away from the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001. Twenty-five years. It is difficult to comprehend how much life has happened since that morning—how many people have entered my life, how many have left it and how much I have changed along the way. Yet some memories of thatContinue reading “Hail and Farewell: Remembering My Xavier Brothers”

Democratic leaders love describing their party as a “big tent”—a broad, welcoming coalition with room for people of every race, religion, background and point of view. It sounds wonderful. It is also increasingly difficult to believe. A genuinely big political tent would contain people who disagree with one another. It would welcome the union workerContinue reading “The Democrats’ “Big Tent” Baloney”

It’s campaign season again. Across the Hudson Valley, elected officials—and those hoping to move into higher office—are inviting local business owners to forums, roundtables and listening sessions. The stated purpose is almost always the same: Tell us what businesses need to succeed. The latest invitation comes from Pleasant Valley Town Councilmember Meghan Borland, who isContinue reading “Another Business Forum—But Will Anyone Listen?”

The most disturbing question raised by the Lindsay Clancy case may not be whether she was too mentally ill to be held criminally responsible. It may be how a woman could repeatedly seek psychiatric help, encounter numerous professionals, receive multiple medications—and still deteriorate so completely that three children lost their lives. Cora, Dawson and CallanContinue reading “Lindsay Clancy Asked for Help. The Mental-Health System Gave Her Appointments.”

How a Federal Civil Court Turned Privacy Into Punishment In a case that should alarm anyone who values civil liberties, a federal court imposed shackles, sanctions, and silence on a woman who never committed a crime—because she pushed back against overreach. Jennifer Kowalski, a former Prudential employee, became the target of escalating judicial punishment afterContinue reading “Shackled, Sanctioned, and Silenced”

When someone is experiencing a mental-health crisis, the presence of a trained behavioral-health professional alongside law enforcement can mean the difference between treatment and incarceration, de-escalation and confrontation—even life and death. That is why Putnam County should find a way to preserve its Co-Responder Team. The program began in 2024 with the help of aContinue reading “Putnam County Should Not Allow Its Co-Responder Team to Disappear”

Yesterday, while driving home from my office in Jersey, I spent nearly an hour on the phone with my long-lost cousin Geraldine. Somehow, it felt like only a few minutes. We talked, laughed, and shared old family stories—the kind of memories that can instantly transport you to another time and place. I was so gratefulContinue reading “A Conversation That Felt Like Home”

When I heard about the death of actress Hayden Panettiere, my first response was not as a fan of television or film. It was as a father. I thought about how young thirty-six truly is. I thought about her daughter, her father, and everyone who loved her away from the cameras. Most of all, IContinue reading “When a Parent Hears That Another Child Is Gone”

There is something almost magical about modern delivery. Tap a screen in the morning. A package appears at your door that evening. Most of us never stop to consider the complicated network of warehouses, drivers, small businesses, software and deadlines that made it happen. New York City government has. And now it wants to rebuildContinue reading “Mamdani Takes On Amazon—but Who Will Pay for the Package?”