Well it’s the end of another year but for me it’s not time to make resolutions but a time to look back on the previous year and wonder what the new year will bring.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is Catholic while pro-choice, has told the legislature that she will be signing the bill to allow medically assisted death in the state. It makes me wonder if she has forgotten that the Catholic Church holds an unequivocal position that both abortion and assisted death are morally unacceptable because they constitute the direct and intentional killing of innocent human life, which is a gift from God.

The governor showing that she has a heart like the Grinch vetoed legislation passed unanimously by the Assembly and State Senate that would have exempted fire trucks and ambulances from Thruway tolls when engaged in emergency services. Fire trucks are issued permits that exempt them from tolls, but ambulances must apply for reimbursement which can be a long and complicated process. Therefore ambulances when possible avoid the Thruway. So if a loved one is ill and the ambulance ride to Buffalo is a little bit longer than it should be, blame Hochul.

Gavin Newsom, unaware of his limitations, thinks he can win the Democratic nomination for President in 2028. However his problems on the campaign trail include explaining how California came to have the highest poverty rate in the nation and why so many Californians are abandoning the state. If he runs he will also have to explain why the highspeed rail system between Los Angeles and San Francisco is years behind schedule. Also how will he explain why progress on redeveloping those sections of Los Angeles destroyed by the January wildfires is almost nonexistent?

At this point what he has going for him is that Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg are the other top contenders. Both are nonentities and all they really have going for them is name recognition. Among other names are Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Andy Beshear of Kentucky. Both are reasonably moderate, good retail politicians and could surprise people.

We all remember how Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his fellow Democrats went to the wall and brought on a government shut down in order to extend those outlandish COVID subsidies to assist Obamacare recipients in paying their premiums, but how many are aware that persons making as much as $500,000 a year are eligible for those subsidies?

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently conducted an undercover investigation that revealed significant vulnerabilities to fraud in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) better known as Obamacare, by successfully enrolling nearly all of its fictitious applicants for subsidized coverage.  The federal Marketplace approved 19 out of 20 applications submitted for the 2025 plan year. As of September 2025, 18 of those 20 applicants still had active, subsidized coverage. I’m not sure which route they will take but it’s time for Senate Republicans to consider the “nuclear option” and pass healthcare legislation that will benefit the public and not the healthcare insurance companies

New York Attorney General Letitia James is threatening to remove members of school boards if they permit discussions or comments deemed discriminatory toward transgender students and those with a wider, more flexible understanding of gender in regard to facility use or athletic participation.  

Parents and school board members recently filed a federal lawsuit against James and other state officials. The plaintiffs argue the guidance violates their First Amendment free speech rights by compelling speech such as using preferred pronouns and censoring dissenting viewpoints. AG James’s position is that school board meetings are considered “limited public fora,” where certain types of discriminatory or harassing comments can be prohibited under state law.

I guess it will be up to the courts to decide but the Attorney General is a bully who lacks the judicial and legal temperament and qualities needed in an Attorney General as seen in her “kangaroo court” treatment of President Trump, his family and businesses. The electorate of New York would do well to consider her for removal in 2026.

A recent John D’Agostino column about poll results in a recent Editor’s corner surprised me a bit. While there might be bias in the poll it seems that upstate New York Republicans are no better than downstate Democrats when it comes to taxing the rich and corporations. It found that 78% of all New Yorkers across party lines support raising taxes on major corporations and the wealthiest 5% of taxpayers to address the likely funding cuts that are expected to take place in January.

Hiking corporate and business taxes would only be additional nails in the coffin of New York’s businesses climate and likely push many corporations already overburdened by extremely high taxes, burdensome regulations, expensive operating costs, and a difficult political and regulatory climate to leave for greener pastures.

Not only is our neighbor Pennsylvania growing faster than New York but so is once backward Mississippi which may come as a shock to complacent New Yorkers. They have improved their K-12 education system, cut taxes and regulations with the result that corporations are moving in or expanding there with young Mississippians finding jobs at home.

And forget about taxing the top 5% earners more heavily. They have been leaving the state for years and moving to states like Florida. They include Bills’ owner Terry Pegula, Tom Golisano of Rochester, philanthropist and the founder of Paychex Inc. and, and Robert Rich Jr. owner of the Buffalo Bisons and Chairman of the Board of Buffalo-based Rich Products who all maintain permanent residency in Florida to avoid New York State’s onerous taxes.

Happy New Year.

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com