‘THE GRANGER MEMO, PART 3’, plus ODDS AND ITEMS: THE PLANET DOES VOX, NPR’s COMMERCIAL RACKET, ‘The BERRY CHRONICLES II,’ & $5-A-GALLON GAS COMING? WHAT DO YOU SAY?
BY DAN VALENTI
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, APRIL 26, 2011, FIRST ADD) — No, SteroidsGate has not gone away. Stories like that don’t take time off, although journalists do.
SteroidsGate and The Granger Memo
The Planet now presents for the first time at this website (published first by The Pittsfield Gazette in Dan Valenti’s opinion column) part three of “The Granger Memo.” For clarity, we have included the entire text, including the previously published first two parts. This will help people to understand the full document, in context.
“The Granger Memo” was a document Pittsfield Police Department Capt. David Granger sent under his name via e-mail to PPD officers earlier this month in response to press coverage, particularly by this web site, of SteroidsGate, a term we’ve coined as applied to the various investigations into the use of steroids by local law enforcement officials, particularly within the PPD.
Capt. Granger headed the department’s internal probe early last month at the request of Chief Mike Wynn. The five-day investigation concluded that plainclothes officer and drug unit investigator David Kirchner, also a member of the Berkshire County Drug Task Force, had acted criminally and in a manner unbecoming a PPD officer with regards to his dealings with illegal steroids.
Favorable Treatment for Kirchner? PPD Insiders Say Yes, Command Says No
Kirchner was busted back to uniform and assigned to a beat after first serving a five-day suspension without pay. Sources within the PPD, including those from whom The Planet obtained The Granger Memo, insist Kircher received favorable treatment for what he knows about the inner workings of the department, which they claim is of a compromising nature. Both Capt. Granger and Police Chief Mike Wynn dispute that charge, blaming it on what they call malcontents from within the ranks.
To the best of The Planet’s knowledge, there are two investigation ongoing into SteroidsGate, one local (the PPD won’t identity the agency) and one federal (US Postal Service and Drug Enforcement Administration). To date, Officer Kirchner has not been charged by the courts with any crime.
THE GRANGER MEMO, BY CAPT. DAVID GRANGER, SENT TO PPD STAFF, MID-APRIL 2011:
Typically I would not comment in a department e-mail regarding what is posted on Blogs or in the paper, but the person or persons behind the various unauthorized releases of information, particularly to Valenti, deserve comment and the officers of this department deserve to have their command staff defend them.First when someone tells the truth it is never an issue or a problem, no matter if the truth is good or bad for the individual or the department. I have always supported what is fair, right and proper and encourage any member of the department to do the same. If you lie, falsify reports and act improperly you get what is deemed appropriate punishment by the Chief, the City Labor Attorney and the appointing authority. The record of discipline (which has been reviewed by Civil Service) has been fair and consistent over the years and I support this.
But I will never support half truths, distorted facts, made up lies and personal vendettas against individuals and character assassination, particularly when they come from a fellow worker(s) and are portrayed in the manner they have been on Valenti’s blog. (fortunately not many intelligent people read or associate themselves for long with a blog as malicious and self serving as his)
It is unfortunate that officers make mistakes and engage in improper behavior at times but officers are human beings and just like all human beings they make mistakes and engage in improper behavior at times. This is not an excuse but the reality of the world we live in. Society is imperfect at times, officers come from society, so therefore officers will be imperfect at times.
The real problem is the behavior that this person or persons are engaging in doesn’t just affect the officer or officers written about, it affects their entire family and the families of all officers. I single out and concentrate on the sworn members of the department because each unauthorized internal release of information has been directed at sworn officers and has been used to paint all officers with the same brush.
You see each officer here has relatives and friends. Mothers, fathers, wives, children (many of which are old enough to read the blogs and papers), brothers, sisters and extended families. Often times these untruths, half truths, distorted facts, lies and personal vendettas cause far greater harm and distress to the families of the officer than they do the officer.
Most veteran officers are numb to this because the department, like every other business, has problems from time to time and unfortunately when a police officer makes a mistake he or she ends up on the front of the paper, which is not typically what happens in other businesses. The higher standard in which society holds police officers can have a punishing affect on the families who see their son, daughter, mother, brother, father or sister in a different light.
The spreading of lies, half truths, distorted facts and the personal vendetta against certain members of the department serves only to further punish the families of police officers. Police officers deal with conflict daily their families typically don’t.
These problems that arise from time to time get all the attention and all the press. While the thousand upon thousands of cases that are successfully investigated and the thousands of positive interactions with the public go mostly un-noticed and unappreciated, particularly by a person or persons that would engage in unauthorized release of information that contain distorted facts, half truths, lies and personal vendettas against members of the department.
You have to ask yourself what type of person would do this? Typically someone that engages in this type of behavior is a coward and gutless. I would submit, just my personal opinion here, that this individual suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder. (think excessive admiration of oneself at the expense of all others)
Typically someone with NPD has a grandiose sense of self-importance, exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements, requires excessive admiration, is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others, I could go on and on, but I digress.
Suffice to say that the individual(s) has some problems and personal issues in his/her life and when the camouflage is pulled away more than likely would reveal a train wreck of a life.
Over the history of the Pittsfield Police Department there have been numerous problems and scandals in each decade. This is no different than the numerous scandals and problems that have occurred with politicians, other city agencies, non-for- profits, and private businesses. It happens everywhere it just doesn’t get reported everywhere.
Through it all the women and men of the Pittsfield Police Department have come to work, done their job, and done it exceedingly well the majority of the time. When I choose to retire it will have been an honor to have worked and lived my professional life with the majority of the men and women of the Pittsfield Police. I am proud of what my fellow officers have done and they have my unending admiration for what they put up with and go through on a daily basis.
I would stake the record of accomplishments of the women and men of the Pittsfield Police Department against any like police department in the country. They have accomplished all they have in a “shit hole” of a facility with at times sub-par equipment and with under staffed and at times an under performing support staff. (Again for the record I am addressing sworn officers only because that is who is being attacked. There are and have been many fine civilian support staff in the department that have contributed to the officers accomplishments over the years)
As for the officer(s) or civilian(s) member(s) of the department that are maliciously spreading lies, half-truths, distorted facts and are engaged in personal vendettas against other members of the department you discredit and dishonor all the hard working, honest members of the department.
If you have issues there are appropriate and legal ways to address problems. The Chief is exceedingly open to listening to all complaints. There are the unions, the labor boards, the courts, the DA, civil service, arbitration, the city council, etc. Any one of the union presidents can voice their opinion based on fact in a public forum. There are proper ways to address any complaint if that is what you are looking for, which I don’t believe this individual(s) cares about.
To engage in character assassination on a blog (Valenti’s blog and the previous one you were on with the Berkshire Eagle) just shows what type of person you are. A malicious person that deals primarily in half-truths, distorted facts, lies and character assassination behind the scenes. In other words a coward.
The last incident given out to the blog was filled with half-truths, distorted facts and bold face lies. It reveals your personal agenda against one individual. The case, which includes the facts and the truth is with the DA’s Office, the court and the defendants attorney. It is their job to decide this case in court not your job to use it to advance your personal vendetta.
I am all for the truth and have no problem with reporting the truth. I stand by my commitment to do what is right, fair and proper for the individual when I can and for the department when I should.
This e-mail is my opinion only and is being sent to defend the officers that I proudly serve with. If there are issues by all means report them and address them through the many channels available to all employees of the Pittsfield Police Department.
A person(s) that to engages in character assassination, half-truths, lies and distorted facts doing it anonymously behind the scenes is a person(s) without honor and without integrity. Just another internet “thug” behind the scenes, but a coward in the open.
Should the person(s) engaging in the unauthorized release of information, character assassination, half-truths, distorted facts and lies have any issues with my opinion please feel free to come see me. I doubt you will. I would think you would be more comfortable attacking me behind the scenes or maybe my wife or children. My mother is 87 and would make an easy target for you. Maybe she did something wrong in her life that you could distort and throw on the blog and try to use to discredit me.
To the honest and hardworking officers of the Pittsfield Police Department it is my honor and privilege to serve with you. Hold your head up high and be proud of all that you do and accomplish. You have my respect and that of many, many others including your families, friends, peers and the majority of the public.
Capt Granger
END OF GRANGER MEMO* * * * * * * * * * *The Planet continues to work on this story.
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The Planet Appears on Vox with Kratka
— The Planet taped a show with Larry Kratka this morning to be aired at 11:33 a.m. on WBEC Vox AM 1420. We covered a range of topics, including the Pittsfield Colonials, the political situation in Pittsfield for Campaign 2011, and we plugged the upcoming forum The Planet is moderating, 7-8 p.m., at the Lenox Library, Tuesday, May 3.
NPR: More “ads” than “Commercial” Radio
— Driving into and out of Pittsfield, we listened to WAMC for some public radio, including the BBC, which is one of our favs. However, and there always is a however with NPR and its affiliate WAMC, the torrent of commercials — oh, we mean, “underwriters” — is cloying, annoying, and toying with our collective senses of broadcast purity. What does that mean. For years, public radio has been claiming moral high ground because it is “non-commercial.” That claim is a farce and now an outright lie. Underwriters (actually, “advertisers”) are flogged constantly, and not just with a mention. They get a mention, contact info, and blurbs — ad copy. It shoots down the case for federal funding of public radio. If the product is valuable, which we think it is, just make it commercial, like everything else is in public life these days.
“The Berry Chronicles: Part II in the Works”; BB, Take Cover
— The Planet has received an avalanche of feedback on “The Berry Chronicles.” That’s, wethinks, is a story with legs. Berry has posted on this site two more intriguing comments about life at the Boring Broadsheet. They shall form the basis of upcoming posts, along with revealing information The Planet continues to gather from the ever-increasingly frustrated BB editorial staff. The newsroom knows its a puppet of Andy Mick’s office. For any true newspaper guy or gal, that’s akin to a sentence at St. Laurent off the coast of French Guiana back in the day. The rest of the world knows the spot as Devil’s Island.
Later Today, “The Granger Memo,” Part 3
— Later in one of our adds today, the highly anticipated “Granger Memo,” Part 3. That will be the final installment of the memo PPD Capt. David Granger sent out to officers in light of this website’s reporting on SteroidsGate. We continue to harvest information from with the PPD, and, like chess, we will share as it benefits the position not of The Planet, not of the PPD, but of The Little Guy in town, who, everywhere he turns, is getting hammered today.
Will Berkshire County See $5 a Gallon for Gas? TEll us What You Think
— Speaking of getting hammered, The Planet saw $3.91 a gallon for regular gasoline at the BP station on the Pittsfield-Lenox Road, Rt. 7. Larry Kratka topped that, telling us of a $3.95 mark at a gas station on Merrill Road. What are the odds, or the over-under, on $5 by July 4? Any takers?
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BACK LATER. “OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE,” AND LOVE TO ALL.
And Obama shirks any responsibility. Did you see the Eagle editorial about SUV’s?
Pretty soon, I won’t be able to drive around Southern New Hampshire at a rate of $5 per gallon by July 4, 2011. Maybe I will buy an electric car for my next car.
Thanks you, Dan, for moderating the Berkshire Greens PAC candidate forum in Lenox next week and for giving it a plug on the radio today. Here’s a link to the information. All four Select Committee candidates are confirmed.
http://www.green-rainbow.org/content/berkshire-greens-pac-sponsors-candidate-forum
We’ll be encouraging Greens in Pittsfield and North Adams to continue the example of grassroots democracy during city elections later on this year.
Berkshire Greens — is this some sort of joke?
You got this inept Socialist Obama in The White House; Nancy Pelosi as House Minority Leader; and Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader.
Just what the hell else do you leftist kooks want?
GMH
That’s the best you can offer. Name calling. Fact is, while you post from afar, electronically, the Berkshire Greens, a PAC, is getting involved, helping to shape policy and determine outcomes. “Leftist kooks.”? The finger you point of pointing back at yourself when you go off in such irrationality. Calm down, GMH, and reason it out for a chance. The tinted lenses through which you see distort too much of your world view.
@Scott Laugenour,
Just who is it that will be footing the bill for the Greens’ proposed social justice programs?
Dan.
I love your blog. If you were on a stage, I’d throw my panties at you.
Keep up the good work!
Dan, can I sing back-up vocals for you? Panties being thrown at you, wow!!
ANGELA
Honey, Mrs. Planet says no.
We shall hold auditions for the job at Cigar Night, that we would love to do for and with an enterprising, upscale restaurant.
The phase will now be “Delusions Of Granger”.
Sorry *PHRASE.
Valenti had several conservations today and lunch at Blantye on ann fitzparick with the mayor. There are many who are disappointed at the mayor for abandoning the progressive agenda set by forward thinking forces. We would include Andy Mick, the fine publisher of the Berkshire Eagle, one of the best newspapers of its size in America, We don’t know what the svengali hold valenti has over the mayor, but its almost spell like. We mean that literally.
PB:
We leave your ridiculous posts up only to shed light on the embarrassment that it will bring to such opposition.
Dan What the hell is PB on PCB’s ??????
The best little paper for the best little city what do you expect??? (not!)
Missed the Councilberto meeting did Columbus sink????
@ S L-
We live in a Republic. The founders set this nation up for greatness.
We don’t want any of your “grass roots democracy”, which breeds rule of man over rule of Law.
Let’s stick with the program, it works.
Not commenting on any of your policies, just your use of language.
@ PB-
What is wrong with your brain? You need help.
JUST SAYING
thank you. Yes, there’s a creepy element about PB’s posts. We keep them up simply to let people know what The Planet has to deal with. Believing in spells and stuff like that. You saw his words. Thinks we have cast spells, literally. What can we say except let PB’s sorry words speak for themselves. We believe PB is a series of people who are posting for hidden reasons. Yes, we have all the e-mail address. We can trace every person that posts to the Planet via e-signatures embedded … well, I don’t get all the technical aspects, but leave it at that. It seems ridiculous even to have to say The Planet has no “Svengali” power of the corner office or anybody else for that matter. Sheesh! Too odd, as my friend JF would say.
Its very easy to make an email and use an unsecured wi fi source for a connection. Not everyone registers their computer with their real name when they buy it.
SCOTT
As we have learned (and still are) in our stint as a webmaster, literally every e-mail leaves electronic tracers or prints. Whether one registers a computer or not, when one is purchased, that machine is accounted for electronically and its purchaser is recorded. There are numerous ways people don’t even know about to trace IDs.
So you can’t buy a computer with cash and say your name is Joe Smith from 01201??? Good to know. Most ISP providers will not disclose info on it’s clients with out a court order. But you’re right there are plenty of ways people don’t know about that allows you to trace them.
Yes, that’s been one of the most interesting revelations of doing the website and being a webmaster. We employ “geeks” to handle the deep, esoteric technical issues, but we are constantly asking questions and learning. There ARE ways to track everything, including every comment to this site. Computers have layers of progressively more complex “identifiers.” We have no interest in penetrating the anonymity of those who want to remain anonymous, but it’s good to know that should there be a reason to trace a post, it can be done.
True! Even the “security” of facebook isn’t all that secure. I am not a computer whiz, and even I can figure out the basic computing codes to trace back to the IP address. Not rocket science. This message goes out to those who are fumbling for ways to harrass victims using fake facebook profiles and emails, “you have been traced. Everything done on a computer can be traced.” The truth shall set you free….Pass it on!
i love scribner
P B// don’t quit your day job.
You know what Jimmy says in Goodfellas, Planet..”You may know who we are, but we know who you are….great line.
…the difference here is, we love the Planet!
Berkshire Greens-good people who are thoughtful, kind, respectful and simply want to make a difference. Thank you for giving them your consideration Dan and not wearing partisan goggles. The Greens’ priorities-green jobs, tax fairness, single payer health care and peace. How can you argue with that? If we ended these wars; multimillion dollar corporations paid their fair share; and we eliminated health insurance profits, our country would be a better place indeed.
Agree, Gail. The Greens make a case I’ve made many times: I do not have political blinders or loyalties. I am sort of a “libertarian” that loves many of the green issues: jobs, single payer, and peace, for example. I have found every Berkshire Green to be a person of belief and integrity. We have had disagreements on some issues, but I’ve never been deluded to think I have The Truth, as so many partisan types do. The Planet will be working with the Greens for the Lenox debate on Tuesday, May 3, 7 p.m. Lenox Library and we hope on many more occasions this campaign season.
Berkshire Greens are truly ridiculous.
Good people no doubt, but incredibly misguided
Explain how single-payer health care can work, let alone be ‘fair’.
Regarding corporations paying a ‘fair share’ of taxes (as well as every other American paying a ‘fair share’): Propose a federal tax rate you consider ‘fair’ and which will be the absolute top rate now and forever (barring war or national emergency).
Regarding double taxation of corporations on profits and separately on shareowner dividends: Explain what you propose to do about this major inequity?
Further, if you don’t believe in profits, that’s called Socialism, name one country where that has ever worked — then please move there.
Dan,
I am a true believer in the libertarian way. Less elected officials messing with us is better. Less taxes, less regulation= more freedom, more rights for the producer, less power to the takers.
However after checking out the greens…. I think they are more about control and regulation, Heller branded em kooks, I think they are worse, they are insidious liberals trying to destroy our way of life. They want to promote their agenda in a way that people feel like they are doing good. They are lying, their agenda is against the working producer.
@ S L-
Your greens are not for America, I have checked your policies, you hate us, the money makers, the producers, the providers….. Where will your socialist programs lead?… Right into the trash heap of history.
I’m a “libertarian” with a small “l” but range widely upon specific issues. That’s for your view.
@just saying,
Note that no one has responded so far to the simple questions in my post above:
How can single-payer health care work, let alone be ‘fair’?
Propose a federal tax rate Greens consider ‘fair’ and which will be the absolute top rate?
How do Greens propose to deal with the inequity of double taxation of corporations on profits and separately on shareowner dividends?
Isn’t that what you want single payer anyway because why should you pay for some poor kid with bums for parents health insurance? I think theres enough to go around now and it should be free for everyone I mean with us being the highest taxed in the world an all already.
When something is free, you get the quality for which you pay.
Of course the rich will still have the opportunity to buy the best doctors they can afford tell me whats so great about mass health now? Everyone is entitled to basic health care.
The Federal Government should provide for the defense of the country, and not the offense, as it now does. It should also provide for the security of its citizens. That includes the right to “free” health care. You pay for it buy cutting the Pentagon’s budget at least in half and don’t stop there. Eliminate the Department of Education. We’re only getting started. You can have small government providing big on those two security fronts: national defense and universal health care.
You should read Paul Hawkin’s “The Ecology Of Commerce.” No one want’s to destroy free trade they just want to regulate it in a way that stops the degradation of of the earth but will still promote growth people are just too stubborn and stuck in their ways to see it. Look at interface they are the world leading carpet manufacturer in the U.S. and they will be completely sustainable by 2012 and get this they’re still growing and profiting even more because their process creates renewable sources for the demand and potential “waste” is no longer waste because it can be sold to other companies who can potentially use it as energy or in their products.
Excellent post. Unrestrained commerce that destroys people and environments is a 19th and 20th century business mode. Outmoded, susceptible to greed, and not a good way to do business. Profit and care are not mutually exclusive. That’s what the Greens are arguing. Examine their arguments. That’s what The Planet is doing, instead of others who would ignorantly dismiss based on bumper sticker slogars from the rabid right.
The only reason the right cries for deregulation is because they have a financial interest in it. Ignorance is bliss. We need to do away with the two party system and put forth the well being of humanity if we want to continue to sustain life here. I wish it was as simple as regulating light bulb usage.
@Scott and @Dan Valenti,
Oh, you mean by regulating for example the Internet by taxing on-line commerce?
Is that an example of the Greens’ idea of constructive regulation?
Or how does outlawing 100-watt incandescent light bulbs help the planet in any way shape or form when the recommended replacement, compact fluorescents, are chemically toxic?
Plus, who is to decide what is “degradation of the earth”?
One can make the case that plants that produce poisonous Oxygen have degraded the Earth and made the place uninhabitable for species that used to thrive in a low oxygen environment.
Further, you Greens have failed to answer my specific questions above regarding health care and taxation:
I’ll repeat those questions again:
How can single-payer health care work, let alone be ‘fair’?
Propose a federal tax rate Greens consider ‘fair’ and which will be the absolute top rate?
How do Greens propose to deal with the inequity of double taxation of corporations on profits and separately on shareowner dividends?
GM your arguments have no basis have you ever heard the cycle of life? The earth doesn’t take out or put in more then it can handle we should operate more like nature yes. You should at least read the book and tell me what you think instead of just assuming.
@Scvott,
Who are you or author Paul Hawkin to say what the Earth can or cannot “handle”?
What further regulations could Paul Hawkin or you possible want that is not already stifling American commerce?
As it is now there is not one good reason, for example, not to drill for crude oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge or in the Gulf of Mexico or on the Eastern shore of Maryland.
Would you so-called ‘Greens’ be in favor of that?
@Scott and Dan Valenti,
What, in the Greens’ philosophy, is consistent with the U.S. Constitution?
You give as an example ‘Interface’, the carpet manufacturer.
Did they come about creating, manufacturing, and marketing their carpet products by regulation and governmental edict or via the free market system?
GM they did it because they saw that it was what was best for the company and the environment. You act as if forced regulations are Liberal only like the right doesn’t force anyone to do anything but thats not the argument. Why would we propose to regulate a light source that comes from an independent renewable source? In fact it is the right that is making it impossible to move forward because they’re all getting filthy rich off of oil. It’s time to advance humanity.
@Scott,
You write:
“Why would we propose to regulate a light source that comes from an independent renewable source? In fact it is the right that is making it impossible to move forward because they’re all getting filthy rich off of oil. It’s time to advance humanity.”
Where is it written that a light source must come from an independent renewable source, and how is it you know how crude oil is created?
Since when is it a crime for Al Gore to get filthy rich off of oil and coal via trading carbon credits?
And, are you seriously claiming that humanity is not advanced by accumulation of wealth?
Was Michelangelo hired by the impoverished to paint the Sistine Chapel?
Was Beethoven hired by peasants to compose symphonies in their honor?
Did poor people contract Christopher Columbus to sail in pursuit of trade routes and colonization?
What’s your beef about the human desire to be rich?
How do you feel about the second amendment and my right to protect my property and family from intrusion by toxic waste and corporations who only care about money and their bottom line?
All for it. More important than guns, or as Woody Allen spells it in “Take the Money and Run,” “gubs.”
@Scott,
Your question displays a fundamental lack of understanding not only for what the U.S. Constitution actually says, but also for what legal rights you actually have under the law.
If your private property or use of same has been negatively impacted in any way by a third party’s actions or toxic wastes, you have every right to seek legal redress in state and/or federal court.
Not only would you eventually win in a tort action involving illegal disposal of toxic waste on your property, but you might even be able to collect treble the amount of what your damages would normally or otherwise be.
But it doesn’t sound as if you even were aware of any of that.
You should start by reading up on Tort Law.
Here are some basic facts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort_law
In Re: Corporations, Money, and “their bottom line”:
Just what, in your view, should corporations “care about”?
On another topic but somewhat related U.S. currency is crashing it may be a good idea to learn how to sustain life with renewable energy my seed bank will be worth more then your house soon of course it depends on whether or not you value possessions over life which seems to be the case for a lot of people.
@Scott,
Sorry to inform you, but your seed bank will be worth less than what I paid retail for three packs of seeds today at the dollar store. (Three for a buck.)
With Obamaflation, you’d be wiser to put your money at present into commodities and inflation-proof industries:
Oil, Gold mining, Railroads, etc.
You’ll note that Warren Buffett recently bought Burlington Northern in order to sink as much Berkshire Hathaway cash as possible into hard assets that can ride out inflationary times.
Don’t recall Buffett buying up any seed banks, but you might want to write him and ask.
He’s a friendly guy, I’m sure he’d answer your letter.
The Planet has followed Buffet’s investment philosophy with great success:
When everyone panics, buy. When everyone’s buying, sell. That, and not market “timing,” is to consistently buy low and sell high: Think in an opposite, against the grain, counterintuitive manner. Works every time.
GM you demand answers to your questions where did you go? Dan my question was a trick as it was an answer at the same time to Glen in reference to his constitution inquiry.
SCOTT
Thanks. Am sympatico.
Yeah, what a great trick, you sure fooled me.
You city fellers are all alike.