Category Archives: Uncategorized

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”

There are moments in life that don’t ask for speeches, clever observations, or any kind of polished response. They arrive quietly, unannounced, and the only thing they really require is that someone be there—fully, honestly, without flinching. Some moments don’t need words. They just need a witness. We spend so much of our lives tryingContinue reading “Some Moments Don’t Need Words – They Just Need a Witness”

For years now, New Yorkers have been told to pretend not to notice. Not the clouds of smoke hanging over playgrounds. Not the skunky haze drifting through sidewalks, parks, stoops, subway entrances, and open car windows. Not the fact that what was sold as “responsible legalization” quickly became public, unavoidable saturation. Everyone was supposed toContinue reading “Hallelujah – A City Finally Says What Everyone’s Been Smelling”

Earlier today, Hoboken City Hall raised the Palestinian flag—and immediately reached for the “nothing to see here” binder. According to the mayor, this was all very normal. Procedural. Almost boring. A routine act of cultural recognition, no different than raising the Italian flag, the Puerto Rican flag, the Progress Pride flag, or a ribbon forContinue reading “Nothing Political Here: Hoboken Raises a Flag, Discovers History Later”

Sometimes a story comes along that perfectly captures why so many Americans no longer trust the immigration system, the courts, or the people running either of them. The Kilmar Abrego Garcia ruling is one of those stories. Here’s the plain truth — the part nobody in the activist press will say out loud: Kilmar AbregoContinue reading “When Deportation Is Law… and a Judge Says ‘Not Anymore’”

A Valley Viewpoint Narrative There’s a certain crowd these days that loves to flatten everything into nothing. Break it down to molecules, atoms, fabric—reduce anything meaningful until it becomes meaningless. The American flag, they argue, is no different. “Just a symbol,” they say. Nothing sacred. Nothing special. Fly it, burn it, stomp on it—who cares?Continue reading “It’s Just a Symbol….Until It Isn’t”

THE VALLEY VIEWPOINT Here we go again. Another data point drops, this time from the Center for Immigration Studies, and suddenly the political class in Minnesota is clutching their pearls like they’ve just discovered gambling is happening in the casino. According to ten years of Census ACS data, 81 percent—yes, eighty-one—of Somali-headed households in MinnesotaContinue reading “Minnesota Math: When 81% on Welfare Becomes ‘Nothing to See Here’”

The Valley Viewpoint Only in Dutchess County can someone win an election on Tuesday, announce a run for higher office by Thursday, and walk it all back before the weekend brunch menus hit the table. Emma Arnoff’s post-election victory lap was so short it needed hazard lights. She had barely taken her hand off theContinue reading “Voters Elect Emma Arnoff to Serve — She Immediately Applies for a Different Job.”

A Valley Viewpoint Narrative: Kathy Hochul’s Leadership Crisis — Or Who’s Really Running New York? Every now and then, a political story comes along that doesn’t just raise eyebrows — it raises a far deeper question: Who exactly is in charge? That’s the question at the center of Michael Goodwin’s blistering op-ed in the NewContinue reading “NY ’s “Obedient”Governor”