BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION NOV. 20-22, 2020) — This weekend, we present a bit of a round-up, the odds and ends that invariably accumulate when doing journalism of this sort.

MORE COVID — In covering the COVID violations and appropriations with respect to Pittsfield’s taverns and eateries, THE PLANET has taken testimony from numerous sources representing the range of interests, from politicians to proprietors to patrons. We have been open to all information, trying as best as we can to verify, triangulate, and confirm. It is, as anyone in the news business knows, an inexact science. On multiple occasions, we have invited those who slammed our coverage — restaurant proprietors who have protested “thus too loudly — to submit their complaints in the form of a guest column. No one took us up on the offer. That must be allowed to speak for itself.

In this business, you put up or shut up. They have chosen the latter, and we respect that choice. We don’t agree with it, but we respect it. From the reluctance to “correct the record,” it is a reasonable assumption that THE PLANET‘s coverage has been, in essence and substance, accurate, a bit too close for comfort. In our coverage, have have once again run into an old foe, BLM Syndrome. Blame The Messenger occurs when the media nails wrongdoing, after which the guilty parties claim we created and are responsible for the bad news. It attributes to us far more “power” than we want or need, but it does serve as a confirmation that we got the story right.

With that, we share this communication from an employee of Proprietors Lounge, whose named has been withheld on request:

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I just wanted to comment on the Proprietors Lodge notes you recently posted.  I’d like my name to not be used but I’ve worked there part time since August (with time on my hands, my friend and I picked up a gig there).  I was not there for the wedding in July, in which they were cited for having 10 people over the limit and alleged mask issues.  They received a week suspension on their license and served that sentence in September.

Since I have been there, I’ve witnessed zero COVID regulation violations.  Tables are separated, staff wear masks, tables and chairs disinfected, paper menus thrown out immediately after use, signs everywhere for patrons to have masks on when not seated, no overcrowding, etc.

The noise, parking, etc complaints pre-date COVID. [They] have been addressed and continue to be addressed, so it’s not fair to bucket that into the recent conversation.

I just wanted to set the record straight, anonymously, because I see how hard the business is working to balance health with livelihood. I’m sure it’s a tough balancing act for the employers.  Even in my case, I’m speaking from my own experience and observations.  It’s hard enough work to remain hyper vigilant and run the business let alone respond to allegations.  I just want to make sure the COVID discussion is separate from other operating discussions that have taken place in the past and should not be piled on.

THE PLANET thanks our correspondent for this information. If true, we applaud the work being done there to achieve that “balancing act.” We’re grateful that we did not get into the restaurant or bar business.

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PITTSFIELD TOPS IN NATION — In our reading, we came across this dubious honor for the city of Pittsfield, posted on bonvoyaged.com. This ran under the title: “Most Miserable Cities: Fastest Shrinking Cities … Pittsfield Takes the Cake.”

The website lists dozens of cities — most in the South or Southwest — but Pittsfield “takes the cake.” Here’s what it says:

When the jobs in a city disappear, it’s typically only a matter of time before the people follow in search of better fortunes. Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was once a thriving city thanks to General Electric’s presence, but when the company decided to leave during the 1980s, people started leaving. Since General Electric left Pittsfield, the city has experienced a 26.5% decline in population as employment opportunities were found elsewhere. Pittsfield lost an estimated 7,000 residents between 2010 and 2018 … 

Not what you would call an inducement for a mass migration there. The website did not mention anything about “vibrant” or “dynamic.”

Was that an oversight?

There will be those who want to blame the precipitous decline of a once great small city on THE PLANET.

Go head. We big enough to take it and laugh at the load.

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DA D.A. AT IT ONCE AGAIN — Because of the astute monitoring of one of THE PLANET‘s readers —  part of a vast network of correspondents, Z-agents, gumshoes, and sources that make up The Secret Squadron — we have beat the pants off of all local media on an important story. At least we consider it important when we have a district attorney who consistently ignores her role and responsibilities as #1 public safety and criminal justice official in Berkshire County.

We received this from E. Wendt.

“District Attorney Harrington has committed multiple campaign violations and has been notified by the Mass. office of campaign finance. This followed notices on three occasions. After review, she has been notified future such violations will be referred to the Office of the Attorney General. I bring this up as a matter of public record here since there appears to be nowhere else to do so. Link to letter: http://files.ocpf.us/pdf/actions/harrington2020.pdf”

Make sure you click on the link.

Wendt’s post prompted this one, from someone with close connection to the D.A.’s office. Who knows? He or she might even be currently employed there! THE PLANET, of course, “ain’t sayin. ‘” This is from “Mistakes Were Made:”

“They should put “mistakenly” in quotes.
“She made that “mistake” like she “mistakenly” hasn’t tried a case yet.
“Like she “mistakenly” didn’t pay her taxes for three years.
“Like she “mistakenly” didn’t pay her speeding ticket.
“Like she “mistakenly” was driving on a suspended license.
“This looks more like “mistakenly” laundering money.
“Will she claim she “mistakenly” used her State office, computers, phones, copiers, and staff to run her campaign when Moonshot drops a dime?

“No DA Harrington, I ‘mistakenly’ had those drugs on me.

“This woman is an embarrassment to the county, her profession, and to any sensible person out there. Get her out of office.

“Watch. Andrea will be incredulous that they have to address this, they will concoct a story how it was Moonchild’s fault, ‘mistakes were made,” ‘I’m a low rate lawyer not an accountant,’ ‘I left finance issues in the hands of my campaign staff,’ ‘I was not personally involved in day-to-day financial decisions.’
“‘I’m not a crook.’
“Take your pick.”

As always, we welcome a response or rebuttal from the D.A.

We know she’s not speaking to THE PLANET, but our offer stands.

When the phone doesn’t ring, we’ll know it’s the D.A. not getting back to us.

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WHEN SHOTS RANG OUT — Our parents’ generation had Dec. 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor. Millennials have Sept. 11, 2001. THE PLANET has Nov. 22, 1963.

That was the day, of course, when gunmen murdered President John F. Kennedy in a crossfire while he rode in the presidential limo through downtown Dallas. It was that reverse moment from the Wizard of Oz, only this time the world went from living Technicolor to somber black and white. America never recovered from what was nothing less than a coup de tat.

Everyone who lived through that day, old enough to realize what had happened, knows precisely where they were and what they were doing.

Jack Kennedy didn’t serve long enough as president for a definitive judgment on what might have been, but the evidence is impressive. He:

• Worked with Congress to pass one of the biggest tax cuts in U.S. history, reviving the U.S. economy.
• Would have withdrawn American troops from the debacle in Vietnam. His plans for same undoubtedly P’d-off the CIA, Defense Department, and Pentagon warmongers. Also remember that LBJ, Jack’s VP, hated the president.
• Stared down the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War during October 1962. The Cuban Missile Crisis came within a thread of worldwide nuclear war. For that, JFK should be lionized well beyond all of his notable shortcomings.

Each year on The Dan Valenti Show, we would have a guest who was somehow personally involved in the Kennedy Assassination — authors, researchers, witnesses, doctors who treated the president in Trauma Room 1 at Parkland Memorial Hospital on that day. The most memorable was Dr. Malcolm Perry, who led the vast team of doctors and nurses who worked furiously in the ER to keep the president alive.

THE PLANET will never forget his testimony. Each person in that room, including Dr. Perry, he said, located Kennedy’s massive head would in the occipital parietal region. If you take your hand and place it over the right back of your head, that’s the area. All on the medical team said that entire part of the president’s head was missing. Miraculously, though, in the autopsy photos taken that night, that region of the head is entirely intact! For the record, the ER team also stated that the wound in the front of Kennedy’s throat was an entrance would, not an exit would. That, of course, makes a mockery of the Warren Commission’s “Magic Bullet” theory and the myth of the Lone Gunman.

The best book on the assassination was written by David Lifton, also a guest on my show. It’s called Best Evidence. It’s a worthwhile read for those who need a reason to be more disgusted with the United States, its politicians, and its governance.

On that happy note, THE PLANET wishes everyone a great weekend.

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“We are saddled with a culture that has fallen behind our technology” — Michelangelo Antonioni.

“OPEN THW WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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