HAPPY THANKSGIVING, WHEREIN WE WELCOME LIFE’s TOTALITY
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, NOV. 23 AND BEYOND, 2016) — There are times when we must surrender, though not in defeat. THE PLANET speaks of the triumph of life’s end, that sum of all our days awaiting each one of us as victory in demise, a fall giving way to a rise. It is an occurrence that makes its way to us when it will and how. What else can we do but watch and learn, to be the steadying hand when we can and when we reach the limits, abide?
Abide.
So it is on this Thanksgiving eve and beyond. We give thanks for life itself and the many gifts we need not list. We give thanks to each and every one of you, dear readers, who have made way for a gander, a comment, a contemplation, a thought. Enjoy the day.
Enjoy the days while you yet can.
There is not time for anything else.
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Death is a brother,
not an Other,
a relative we welcome at the gate,
an immortal delivering a mortal fate
on terms we cannot set.
And in that warm greeting we give thanks for Life —
fleeting, receding —
not pleading for more, for less.
Those are not its terms.
It has written a Book we cannot write nor would,
nor can we edit or revise. Pages turn and comes our power.
The review is in our hands:
The beginning a support
on which our baby steps stand —
The ending that we devise.
We give thanks in the end
for loved ones and friends
with every breath in dearest kinship,
Brother Death.
— DAN VALENTI, In media res
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“I am thankful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” — Henry David Thoreau
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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And don’t forget. There will be three different sets of kids from three separate Mothers.
November 27, 2016
Re: Open letter to Rinaldo Del Gallo, III
Dear Rinaldo,
Your loss in the Berkshire-based State Senate primary was predictable from the start because the Good Old Boys chose Adam Hinds for the position from the beginning. You would have been an independent voice for the people of Western Massachusetts, while the G.O.B.’s wanted a political puppet they could control. You never stood a chance against the top-down, one political party system that runs Pittsfield politics!
The G.O.B.’s get “elected” by representing the vested interests that are sinking or tanking the local economy in Western Massachusetts. The vested interests always gets their cut of the loot, while the average working class taxpayers are losing in their financial net worth. To illustrate, every fiscal year, Pittsfield politics raises its operational budget by about 5% regardless of the economic realities the community faces, such as Sabic moving away, or Best Buy closing its store in the Berkshire Mall.
The bottom line is that the vested interests control the political system via the Good Old Boys political network. Pittsfield politics has been like this for decades, and they were not about to let someone like you upend their iron grip on political power!
Per your column on why Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump, I agree with you that Hillary represented the establishment, while Donald represented change. It is an interesting contrast from Pittsfield politics, where the establishment always wins.
Bernie Sanders is a Socialist, and after the presidential election, Sanders did not list himself as a Democrat as a U.S. Senator from Vermont. Yet, Bernie Sanders ran against Hillary as a Democrat for U.S. President. That frustrates me. Bernie Sanders would have been a Democrat as U.S. President, but he won’t be a Democrat as a U.S. Senator.
Hillary Clinton is a political centrist and sides with corporate wing of the Democratic Party, like her husband did in the 1990’s. She was in the pocket of Wall Street and wealthy financial interests. She made careless management decisions with her private email server as Secretary of State. She stood by her husband’s infidelity and bald faced lies about his promiscuous sexual history, yet she also represented the modern feminist movement to break the ultimate glass sealing by being the first woman U.S. President.
Donald Trump is a fascist. Both domestic and foreign leaders and journalists have used this term to describe the president-elect. His proposals are unconstitutional. He used sexist, racist, hateful, and violent speeches during his campaign. Fringe hate groups fully support him. Also, he, similar to Bill Clinton, is a moral hypocrite who has been married three times, and openly cheated on his first two wives. He declared his businesses bankrupt multiple times. He made money off of casino gambling, which is regressive taxation.
Both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump ran a populist campaign for the presidency. Hillary Clinton ran on continuing Obama’s public record on healthcare and progressive politics. Bernie Sanders’ promise was to radically grow the federal government’s share of the national economy to help the working class. Donald Trump’s promise is to diminish the federal government’s share of the national economy to help the working class. Both Sanders and Trump would massively grow the national debt by trillions of dollars!
The working class voters chose Donald Trump’s proposals to help their financial interests. The wealthy will pay less in taxes, so-called “entitlement” programs will be reformed, meaning budget cuts, and the Supreme Court will legislate morality in the name of big government. The Republican Party under Donald Trump will hope for economic growth of around 4% per year for the next 4 to 8 years, which will increase employment in the labor market.
The Republican Party will soon control the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government. Conservative policies will become law. The working class’ hopes for financial security hangs in the balance. Will the middle class finally make a comeback after four decades of financial losses? We can only watch what unfolds.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Melle
Mess with veterans benefits, ssi and private company agreements and see what happens.
Do you think China doesn’t have commitments to other countries other than us? trump will never be able to bring all of the companies back, not even a quarter of them. Nafta isn’t going anywhere and the Iran deal will stay put.
Trump casino and hotel Cuba
Budget goes up 5 %on the newly raised budget.Tyer will be gone ….imagine trying to sustain 8 straight years of 5 % budget hikes…3500 taxes will be 7k under these people….that is where we are going.Tyer should be recalled
If the pittsfield newspaper won’t report a attempted murder on Hotel on North we are allowed to deal in rumor.
Yeah, rumor on here is twice as good as being three weeks late in delivering the edited version.
Agree, Trump will be one of the first in U S to Cuba, one way or the other. Hedge King knows way around and doesn’t need Fredo.
Voodoo economics )
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Planet is great and smart.