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GUEST COLUMN: ‘BMC SENT HER HOME REGARDLESS … SHE DIED AFRAID AND ALONE’ … A COVID-19 STORY

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BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JAN. 20, 2021) — Today’s Inauguration Day. Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away that day engendered optimism and the belief in a fresh start, a day that welcomed We The People as leaders joined from both sides of the aisle. Today, Inauguration Day in America resembles something between a military encampment and a gulag. Tens of thousands of armed troops, police in riot gear, miles of fencing, countless concrete barriers, and tons of razor wire decorate this day.

But you know all about that, only too well, so THE PLANET turns to a more pressing and local story. We present this guest column.

———- ooo ———-

BMC Sent Her Home Regardless … She Died Afraid and Alone

By Rinaldo Del Gallo III

There is some news so basic, it should be reported.  Health care providers sending COVID patients home where COVID can kill and are killing vulnerable housemates should be a headliner.

I originally wrote this as a “column,” but realized that it is a pressing health concern and I am now sending it out as a press release.  Simply put, we are testing people for COVID-19, and sending them home when they test positive to vulnerable house members.  As a society, we seem to do no better than say, “Here’s some CDC guidance on how to isolate in your household.”  Unless we have bedrooms, basements, or “man caves” with their own bathrooms, isolation within a household is impractical.

About ten months ago, there was a serious dearth of testing. Now we have plenty of testing, but we are not using that information to prevent the loss of life.

Very recently, an old female friend of mine died, Mai Chung. Mai was from Vietnam, and a refuge from the Vietnam War. We used to date in the early 2000’s, and every couple of weeks or so over the last fifteen years she would bring me Vietnamese soups and other treats. Her sister acquired COVID-19, possibly at work, possibly at Planet Fitness. Though Mai’s sister tested positive, her brother says the Berkshire Medical Center sent her home regardless. Mai acquired it from her sister, and Mai died this morning, as I write this. My phone call to her with the sound of ventilators in the background, with her confiding in me that she was “really afraid” will forever haunt me. She died afraid and alone.

———- ooo ———-

It amazes me the extent we will go to avoid the spread of COVID-19. We shut down schools even though children are highly unlikely to die from the disease. We shut down the economy to a point of a great depression that rivals the 30’s. I do not write here to impugn or defend those efforts. But while we make massive sacrifices with questionable results, we seem to be incapable of doing the basics that would certainly save lives. The basics include identifying the infected and isolating them so it will not spread.

We are infected with a type of mindless stupidity. Governor Andrew Cuomo placed COVID patients in nursing homes well after it was well known the elderly are the most vulnerable. Governor Cuomo is directly responsible for countless nursing home deaths. The New York Post reports as recently as yesterday that he still refuses to disclose how many elderly died in New York state nursing homes on his watch. What do we do with such deadly incompetence? He was given an Emmy Award for his handling of COVID, an inestimably monstrously tone-deaf insult to those that died.

Obviously—and that is the word to use—obviously, people that still have an active stain of COVID should not be around others, let alone the vulnerable, such as people with weight issues, diabetes, Lyme disease, or advanced in years etcetera. When people test positive for COVID and they are knowingly sent home, inevitably people will die. Hospitals should know better.

Facts are pesky things. They do not care about your feelings. Facts will resolutely get in the way of the soundness of your opinions. It is a fact that Mai’s sister was sent home with COVID. Today, Mai’s sister holds on for her life at BMC. It is a fact that if Mai’s sister was not sent home and was put in a medical isolation unit, Mai would be alive as I type this sentence. It is a fact that it is well-known that COVID is highly contagious, and that if vulnerable people are exposed to it, it will kill. It is a fact that identifying and isolating would save lives, and would have saved Mai’s life. It is a fact that a policy of sending home COVID patients on a massive scale would inevitably result in the loss of life. It is a fact that to a person of ordinary intelligence and ordinary common sense, the natural and foreseeable consequence of sending people home with COVID would be the loss of life of the people they live with.

Now for the opinions. This is not acceptable. We should be doing far better, especially this late in the game. I have seen open parks close due to COVID, where passage of the disease is near nonexistent. And yet while we undertake these pointless exercises, instead of isolating actual COVID patients, we send them to their homes where they will inevitably kill the vulnerable. People shrug their shoulders, say “What are you gonna do?,” and act as if reference to the CDC website to try to safely live with COVID patients in our homes is some type of acceptable alternative to a medical isolation unit.

I have heard plenty of “can’t do” attitudes about how we cannot isolate everyone we know has COVID, along with references to CDC protocols—you know, from the same people that initially told us that there was no benefit to wearing a mask because they didn’t want them flying off of shelves. To people that naysay having hospital isolation units for those that have COVID, you are literally part of the problem, and not the solution. The Chris Cuomo’s of the world have huge basements in a mansion with bathrooms and exercise equipment, where food can be left just outside the door. For the other 99.99% of America, we must use common spaces and bathrooms.

Ideally, we would have isolation units at hospitals for people that contract COVID, and while we can debate whether we want to make this mandatory, it clearly should be an option for those that chose.  But we should be doing everything possible–commandeering hotels, schools, empty buildings–any suitable habitation, for purposes of isolating those with covid.  This should at the very least be available for those that want it.

The other choice is death.

———- ooo ———-

THE PLANET thanks our contributor for this timely piece. We invite anyone who has something to say to submit columns to this address for possible publication. Keep them timely, original, and well written, and you’ll get published.

————————————————————————————————————

“Growing old’s like being increasingly penalized for a crime you didn’t commit”Novelist Anthony Powell.

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

The views and opinions expressed in the comment section or in the text other than those of PLANET VALENTI are not necessarily endorsed by the operators of this website. PLANET VALENTI assumes no responsibility for such views and opinions, and it reserves the right to remove or edit any comment, including but not limited to those that violate the website’s Rules of Conduct and its editorial policies. PLANET VALENTI shall not be held responsible for the consequences that may result from any posted comment or outside opinion or commentary as provided in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and this website’s terms of service. All users of this website — including readers, commentators, contributors, or anyone else making use of its information, hereby agree to these conditions by virtue of and contained in this notice. When PLANET VALENTI ends with the words “The Usual Disclaimer,” that phrase shall be understood to refer to the full text of this disclaimer. Copyright (c) 2020 by Dan Valenti.

 

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TellitLikeitIs
TellitLikeitIs
3 years ago

I am sincerely sorry for your loss of your friend, Mr. Del Gallo.

Jonathan Melle
Jonathan Melle
3 years ago

Rinaldo Del Gallo III would have been one of the good guys in politics and government, but he isn’t an insider who takes orders from the corrupt Big Wheels in Boston so instead he writes thoughtful op-ed pieces to share his political views with the public. I thought Rinaldo’s support of Alex Morse for U.S. Congress last year made many good points about how out of touch K Street’s PAC-Man Richie Neal is with the people who live in his Western Massachusetts legislative district. What the Massachusetts Democratic Party did to Alex Morse was homophobic, conspiratorial, and mean-spirited. Congressman Richard E. Neal allegedly ran a smear campaign in 2020 without leaving behind his own fingerprints/DNA to intimidate Alex Morse and any future candidates from challenging his out of touch and entrenched over 3 decade long public record on Capitol Hill. The Holyoke Soldiers Home debacle is the WORST state government mismanagement episode in the history of Massachusetts! 78 Veterans died of COVID-19 there so far, while Governor Charlie Baker (or “Faker”) took zero accountability for what happened. I believe Baker should have resigned his office in disgrace. I remember when my dad was a Berkshire County Commissioner from 1997 – mid-2000, and Charlie Baker was the bureaucrat in Beacon Hill back then who oversaw the financing of Boston’s “Big Dig”, which had billions of dollars in cost overruns. I cannot believe Charlie Baker’s financial mismanagement of the deadly and constantly leaking with millions of gallons of dirty water “Big Dig” did not stop him from being elected Governor in 2014, but Charlie Baker is a Boston insider unlike Rinaldo. Lastly, I am sorry to read of Rinaldo’s loss of his former partner to COVID-19.

Pat
Pat
3 years ago

There was no mention of the age of the 2 women who have COVID-19. If one of them was 65 or over, she should have been a good candidate for the antibody treatment and in order to get it, you can’t be a patient already in the hospital. The antibody treatment is available now and isn’t being promoted as it should be although it is being used on some nursing home patients like in the latest huge outbreak of COVID at Springside Nursing Home here in Pittsfield.

Pat
Pat
3 years ago

My relative also died scared, alone, and suffering from the virus and she was hospitalized early when there should have been a chance of saving her, but sadly there was no effective treatment at the hospital and she just got worse and eventually died. The antibody treatment wasn’t available at the time and the therapeutics they were using were not able to save her. I do understand though why you felt the COVID positive sister should have been separated from an older sister who would be more vulnerable to the virus. There should be places other than hospitals for patients with milder symptoms at first to prevent them from spreading the virus to relatives.

Werkinprayer
Werkinprayer
Reply to  Pat
3 years ago

You can make friends of your enemy’s, it’s impossible.

Health Proxy
Health Proxy
3 years ago

They don’t know what to do until it’s too late. I was leaking cerebrospinal fluid for 20 days trauma doctors told me three times a day to stand up and walk, do it for my kids – dural tear C1 – T1. I fainted every f* time & vomit all over myself. Staff let some homeless guy from the YMCA sit in my hospital room, I was heavily sedated in ICU – I still have no idea who he was. [Always take care of yourself, no one else gives a shit anymore, be prepared]. Just because there’s a hospital – does not mean quality care. Health Systems is not seperate from the corruption, lawyers wives are nurses, clinicians etc. Judges wives are, who knows? Come to tjink of it 5hat really triggers my shit.

Page/Plant
Page/Plant
3 years ago

Then as it was, then again it will be
And though the course may change sometimes
Rivers always reach the sea
Blind stars of fortune, each have several rays
On the wings of maybe, down in birds of prey
Kind of makes me feel sometimes, didn’t have to grow
But as the eagle leaves the nest, it’s got so far to go
Changes fill my time, baby, that’s alright with me
In the midst I think of you, and how it used to be
Did you ever really need somebody
And really need ’em bad
Did you ever really want somebody
The best love you ever had
Do you ever remember me, baby
Did it feel so good
‘Cause it was just the first time
And you knew you would
Through the eyes an’ I sparkle
Senses growing keen
Taste your love along the way
See your feathers preen
Kind of makes makes me feel sometimes
Didn’t have to grow
We are eagles of one nest
The nest is in our soul
Vixen in my dreams, with great surprise to me
Never thought I’d see your face
The way it used to be
Oh darlin’, oh darlin’
I’m never gonna leave you
I never gonna leave
Holdin’ on, ten years gone
Ten years gone, holdin’ on, ten years gone
Ten years gone, holdin’ on

Mr. Worldwide
Mr. Worldwide
3 years ago

Rinaldo I am sorry for your loss.

With that said, It is a fact that if everyone in Berkshire County that has COVID was in the hospital that they would be sleeping on top of each other. There just isn’t enough room in the hospitals. Rinaldo doesn’t address that issue.

Rinaldo doesn’t know for sure his friend wouldn’t have caught COVID from some other place. It is a fact he doesn’t know for sure that she got it from her sister. It is a fact that he doesn’t know that maybe his friend had it first and gave it to her sister. Symptoms show up at different raters of time from initial infection.

My point to all of this is stop finger pointing.

Bull Durham
Bull Durham
3 years ago

It is very sad that Mr. Del Gallo has lost a friend, much like 186 other families and loved ones across the county, as of today, and nearly 400,000 others across the nation due to this insidious virus. But I feel compelled to point out that his theory that everyone who tests positive be admitted to an isolation unit in a hospital is flawed on a number of levels. NO hospital in the nation has that kind of capability, and it’s so easy for him to blame the people at BMC who have had to cope with this awful situation since March of last year. Doctors and nurses go home every day impacted greatly by the loss of any patient, and he is demeaning them by blaming her loss on them.

Without citing this individual person, if an individual goes to any ER with symptoms, that initially can be mild, and tests positive, if they have mild symptoms AT THAT TIME, they are sent home with instructions on how to isolate in the home. If that individual then advances to a more serious form of the illness, they should return to the hospital, and would be admitted based on that severity. Based on what he has said here and on his own social media, it appears she did return and was admitted, and sadly passed away.

There are no treatments for COVID-19. There are some options being used, such as intensive oxygen therapy and Remdesivir, but neither are proven in all cases to provide recovery. Monoclonal therapy, which by the way Pat, has been publicized widely despite your feeling otherwise (and has been used by BMC far more than ANY other hospital in the state) would likely not have been allowed for her use as it is based on specific eligibility that she may not have fallen under.

Mr. Del Gallo is in pain, and I am very sorry for his loss, but given the staggering number of people who have been impacted by COVID-19, it’s just not right to blame local caregivers for any individual loss.

SuperStooge
SuperStooge
Reply to  Bull Durham
3 years ago

Oh cool, lady Gaga,oh cool

Tony B
Tony B
Reply to  danvalenti
3 years ago

I mean, are you actually offering BMC an invitation or just mentioning it in a random comment?

Tony B
Tony B
Reply to  danvalenti
3 years ago

Who did you offer the invitation to?

Werkinprayer
Werkinprayer
Reply to  Bull Durham
3 years ago

President Biden just doesn’t get it A ton of us do not want SOCiAlism. They dont want tax money going to Pakistan to study mudslides ,they dont want Iran blackmailing us, anD they dont want illegals here if they’re not Legal.

Tony B
Tony B
Reply to  Werkinprayer
3 years ago

If you think Joe Biden is a socialist, you either haven’t been paying attention for the last 40 years or you’ve swallowed the propaganda hook, line, and sinker.

12 Gauge
12 Gauge
Reply to  Tony B
3 years ago

Joe’s just a moron. He’s trying for imbecile.

Curly
Curly
Reply to  danvalenti
3 years ago

 sointly

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  12 Gauge
3 years ago

Fox news Q info.Joe Biden is a fantastic proffessional President.They will not be disrespecting the American people.

Werkinprayer
Werkinprayer
Reply to  Bull Durham
3 years ago

So BarthBrooks comes to the podium with a mask on takes it off sings a song then handshakes maskless? And leaves maskless. Just like the Tyered Dancers. Hypocracy democratic hypocracy. Joes too old!

Hendrix
Hendrix
3 years ago

If your looking on information to protect you and your family, don’t bother going to our local leaders. We just called in the national guard as a result of over 100 positive cases at Springside and are still dealing with the fallout from Hillcrest. Rather then focus on these dire issues locally I see nothing but national posts about the inauguration. Imagine you owned a business and nearly every employee/customer tested positive. Would the leaders of the organization be posting on FB about national politics? No, they would be demanding accountability and coming up with solutions.

I would love to be able to publicly ask TFB and Hinds if they feel like they deserved the 7% raise they just received as their constituents businesses are failing, people under state care are dying at an alarming rate, and schools have remained closed since March. Is anyone on this forum brave enough to publicly ask them that question? I know my business and livelihood would be at risk asking something so simple.

Pat
Pat
Reply to  Hendrix
3 years ago

They are just watching our elderly die. There is so much more that local leaders could have done to get effective therapeutics to our elderly and protect them in these nursing homes.

TellitLikeitIs
TellitLikeitIs
Reply to  Pat
3 years ago

And if was all Trumps fault yesterday then it’s all Biden’s fault tomorrow

Tony B
Tony B
Reply to  danvalenti
3 years ago

Not true at all DAN.

Tony B
Tony B
Reply to  danvalenti
3 years ago

What part of it was true? Please specify.

Thomas More
Thomas More
Reply to  Tony B
3 years ago

can’t we please keep this going? It’s Dan’s turn. Why Dan got a thumbs up and Tony got three thumbs down escapes me. It might be a relief or a break from the name callers that seem to dominate the blog.

Trump Vaccine
Trump Vaccine
3 years ago

How long before Melle starts with the Lovely Kamala crap?

TellitLikeitIs
TellitLikeitIs
Reply to  Trump Vaccine
3 years ago

Hopefully never and by the way she ain’t black

Agent 86
Agent 86
Reply to  danvalenti
3 years ago

She just called me about my car warranty

Tony B
Tony B
Reply to  TellitLikeitIs
3 years ago

Her father is Jamaican. She’s black.

PJMH
PJMH
Reply to  danvalenti
3 years ago

Nailed it. I went to HS with her younger sister, Maya. Great young lady, super bright, and has had a successful career in her own right.

Tony B
Tony B
Reply to  danvalenti
3 years ago

Your disdain for anyone more successful than you is blatantly obvious. The clearly racist TellitLikeitIs says she’s not black, I point out that she’s obviously black, and you feel the need to chip in with a random fact from one line of his Wikipedia page. What does that have to do with Kamala being black? Nothing. Is Kamala a Marxist? Clearly not.

Anyway, unlike making some amateurish gossip blog, Kamala’s father actually made something of himself:

“Harris was an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 1966 to 1967 and at Northwestern University from 1967 to 1968. He moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison as an associate professor in 1968. In 1972, he joined the faculty of Stanford University as a professor of economics, and became the first Black scholar to be granted tenure in Stanford’s Department of Economics.[11] At various times he was a visiting fellow in Cambridge University and Delhi School of Economics; and visiting professor at Yale University.[3][9] He served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Economic Literature and of Social and Economic Studies.[12][13] He is a longtime member of the American Economic Association.[14]

Harris directed the Consortium Graduate School of Social Sciences at the University of the West Indies in 1986–1987, and he was a Fulbright Scholar in Brazil in 1990 and 1991, and in Mexico in 1992. In 1998, he retired from Stanford, becoming a professor emeritus.[9]

At Stanford, Harris’s doctoral students have included Steven Fazzari, a Professor of Economics at Washington University in St. Louis,[10] and Robert A. Blecker, a professor of economics at American University in Washington, D.C.[11] He helped to develop the new program in Alternative Approaches to Economic Analysis as a field of graduate study.[9] For many years he also taught the undergraduate course Theory of Capitalist Development. He took early retirement from Stanford in 1998 in order to pursue his interest in developing public policies to promote economic growth and advance social equity.[15][16][17]”

ShirlYNuts
ShirlYNuts
Reply to  Tony B
3 years ago

How isn’t she marxist

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  ShirlYNuts
3 years ago

This question is not a good question

Tony B
Tony B
Reply to  ShirlYNuts
3 years ago

How is she marxist?

ShirlYNuts
ShirlYNuts
Reply to  Tony B
3 years ago

So instead of San Fran Ho she has to be JamIn Ho

Hendrix
Hendrix
3 years ago

Sorry for the double post, I really try to avoid posting multiple times in the same writeup, but I just read an article in iberkshires that has me so outraged I couldn’t resist.

“Police Capt. Thomas Grady was notified by the Licensing Board clerk that Trattoria Rustica did not pay the license fees due Jan 1. On Jan. 9, Lt. Jeffrey Bradford went into the restaurant while on patrol after seeing it was open. Bradford introduced himself and notified Manzo that he was going to have notified Grady and the Licensing Board that there were a few patrons drinking wine in the establishment.
 
Chairman Thomas Campoli explained that serving alcohol without a license is a situation that is covered by criminal law in Massachusetts and punishable by fines no less than $100 and no more than $1,000 or by prison for no more than a year.”

Is this real life? A city that has seen closure after closure and has done NOTHING to help restaurants who have been mandated to close now wants to try and push another out of the city? Also, is it normal procedure for a patrol officer to randomly walk into a private business and then tattle that people are eating or drinking in said establishment? Could my tax dollars please get put to better use? I would feel much better if Lt. Bradford stopped over on the west side of town during patrol or down North St where rampant drug use, violent crime, and prostitution occur, not checking in on a restaurant where a couple of people are drinking wine. Why haven’t we suspended the required fees for these restaurants anyway? Its like charging someone for a fishing license, but not letting them use a pole or bait.

A quote from the owner:

“I had no money, I am doing 25 percent of business I had no money at all,” he said. “You know me, everybody knows me, I am a one-man-band, I try the best I can.

This is how the city treats a business that has had no violations that I recall and an owner who is committed to trying to make it here. Meanwhile, you can head on over to Methuselah owned by a city councilor and party without masks with people from the licensing board. I have never been so sick about what is going on in this community lately.

James
James
Reply to  Hendrix
3 years ago

Sorry, nope. Obey the law or work to change it. Blaming the cop for doing his job is pretty weak, IMO.

Gobsig
Gobsig
Reply to  Hendrix
3 years ago

Calling Karen Bradford.

Gobsig
Gobsig
Reply to  Hendrix
3 years ago

Will Trattoria get the same break Squeaky got for driving without a license?

Tony B
Tony B
Reply to  Gobsig
3 years ago

Two very different violations.

Gobsig
Gobsig
Reply to  Tony B
3 years ago

Thanks Barry

Merry & Bright
Merry & Bright
Reply to  Hendrix
3 years ago

Hendrix, it is called Pittsfield Priorities. This Administration has played so many head games with restaurant owners it is no wonder he can’t afford his license fee. Meanwhile as I have stated before, towns and cities all around us have given a break to their restaurant owners. Don’t forget this Administration needs their play money. Captain Grady and Lt. Bradford feel important walking in and closing this establishment instead of getting their butts out onto the Pittsfield roads and start citing people that are blatantly breaking traffic rules. Today I was almost t-boned by a jerk driving at least 75 miles per hour through a red light on Merrill Road and New York Avenue. Pittsfield cruiser was sitting at the light, watched the whole darn thing happen and didn’t even attempt to stop this jerk. But then again it was almost 4 o’clock so he probably didn’t want to be late leaving his shift. Like I said, Pittsfield Priorities.

Tony B
Tony B
Reply to  Hendrix
3 years ago

I mean, to serve liquor you have to have a liquor license. That’s pretty cut and dry. And the police officer actually was near North Street and on the west side of town if he was near T. Rustica.

Tony Barry
Tony Barry
Reply to  Tony B
3 years ago

I mean, to drive you have to have a drivers license. That’s pretty cut and dry. And the police officer actually pulled her over for the violation of driving the wrong way down a one way street.

Hendrix
Hendrix
Reply to  Tony B
3 years ago

“Thankfully, Manzo received grant money that made him able to pay the fees, but he said he has remortgaged his house and is doing everything he can to stay afloat during these unprecedented times.
 
The restaurateur also said he is doing mostly takeout sales for which alcohol is not offered.”

I think it is pretty obvious to everyone that you need a license to sell liquor, my point wasn’t to lay fault with the officer (although I do think the optics of it are bad and I wish we would have the same energy and initiative when it came to other more serious crime matters in the city) but to simply say couldn’t there have have been a more proactive plan for this? Could we have waived fees in a year of mandated shutdowns, reduced capacity, and having to pay more for basic supplies to operate like other communities. Owners are going to remember this and I anticipate a lot of open space becoming available even after this pandemic ends.

ShirlYNuts
ShirlYNuts
Reply to  Tony B
3 years ago

They have a license so we’re they given a warning? It seems like from what I have read they have been working on what they had to

Tony Barry
Tony Barry
Reply to  danvalenti
3 years ago

Funny that over 7000 patrol hours are spent each month on North Street by patrol vehicles but they don’t seem to see violations at Methuselah’s.

Benigno Numine
Benigno Numine
Reply to  danvalenti
3 years ago

There must be someone local we could name Pittsfield’s version of Ripley’s after.

Be The Change
Be The Change
Reply to  Benigno Numine
3 years ago

Rutherford

ShirlYNuts
ShirlYNuts
Reply to  Tony Barry
3 years ago

except for the camera man and anyone who goes there

Benigno Numine
Benigno Numine
Reply to  danvalenti
3 years ago

How did Bradford know that their license wasn’t current?

Tony Barry
Tony Barry
Reply to  Benigno Numine
3 years ago

Because he was told to go there by a “tip” from Lampiasi.

It’s her smoke and mirrors game to draw attention away from her and Yuki.

Gobsig
Gobsig
3 years ago

“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
― H.L. Mencken

The day has come.

Pat
Pat
Reply to  Gobsig
3 years ago

Biden can barely speak, seems confused, and his energy level is non-existent. The Berkshire Eagle can’t stop gushing though. The boring broadsheet runs an article that says Biden predicted 400,000 deaths from COVID by his inauguration, and the man is a genius because he was right. No mention that the high death count has a lot to do with the lifesaving antibodies being ignored by the media and the CDC to keep the death count high. Are we losing our elderly to make Joe look good when we know he can barely stay awake and form a coherent sentence?

Tony B
Tony B
Reply to  Pat
3 years ago

Weird, because Trump can’t string two words together, can’t drink water, is the dumbest person to ever hold public office (according to his own staffers and cabinet members) and he literally has a hairpiece and spray tans. What a weird person to fall in love with.

Agent 86
Agent 86
Reply to  Tony B
3 years ago

Trump Derangement Syndrome is tough to overcome

Rut Abutted
Rut Abutted
Reply to  Tony B
3 years ago

Are you sure your not talking about the Stooge?

Spagirlfrommass
Spagirlfrommass
Reply to  Tony B
3 years ago

It is pretty pathetic what a dumb bastard Trump really is.

Spider
Spider
3 years ago

I just watched the first press conference with the new WH Press Secretary, Jen Psaki (?). She called on Jim Costa (who hated Trump) several times and kept calling him Peter. She was probably thinking of Peter Doucey of Fox News who she finally called on.

Tony Not Barry C
Tony Not Barry C
Reply to  Spider
3 years ago

She knows who he was she did that on purpose to try snd shift to make it look like she was calling a Fox News reporter. She worked at CNN instead of working with Biden.

ShirlYNuts
ShirlYNuts
Reply to  Spider
3 years ago

And she or CNN said truth was coming back to the room. I guess everyone in the room is a doubting Peter

Tony B
Tony B
3 years ago

In the last seven days alone, there have been 246 people who tested positive at BMC. In the past 14 days, there have been 625 positive tests. I am sorry for your loss, I truly am. However, there is simply no feasible way for 246 people to be quarantined in a hospital. That would quite literally shut everything else down. It’s not simply being a naysayer.

Jonathan Melle
Jonathan Melle
3 years ago

I read the iBerkshires’ news article about Pittsfield politics shafting the local people in favor of the lovely Linda’s failed administration. It sounds like the Tyer administration is hostile towards the outgoing City Councilors Chris Connell and Kevin Morandi for these two men asking questions and voting against some of their legislative line items. Chris Connell said that he was removed from the Financial Subcommittee for political reasons. I have written over and over again that Pittsfield politics finances are totally predictable year in and year out, and that Matt Kerwood uses creative accounting schemes to shuffle money around various city accounts to build his +$10 million slush fund, while Pittsfield politics has hundreds of millions of dollars in public debts and other liabilities. The proverbial little guys named Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski always pay around 5% municipal tax hikes, costly increases in fees, and at least $10 million or more in new municipal debts every fiscal year. Pittsfield politics’ tax base shrinks every year for decades on end, while its tax, fee, and debt/liability burden always grows. It is a recipe for financial disaster, but don’t tell that to Mayor Linda Tyer and her toadies on the City Council and School Committee unless you are willing to assume the position and take their retribution day in and day out. It amazes me that over the 45.5 years of my life, women always say that they want to be political and business leaders, but when they fail, they usually don’t take accountability for what went wrong on their watch, and when men like Connell and Morandi point it out to them, they face hostilities, retribution, and cries of sexism. Mark Tully has pointed out on this blog that Pittsfield politics 3 highest tax hikes and municipal budgets has occured on Mayor Linda Tyer’s watch, while Pittsfield has the second highest business tax rate in Massachusetts. In closing, instead of Connell and Morandi opting not to run for their 6th term on the Pittsfield City Council, I believe the entire Tyer administration should have been the ones to resign in disgrace for all of their failures running Pittsfield politics while being hostile and retaliatory towards their political opponents!

Knew Humpyshire
Knew Humpyshire
Reply to  Jonathan Melle
3 years ago

Took you long enough.

Pat
Pat
3 years ago

Left groups have an insurrection on election day which the media conveniently ignores. They were attacking federal office buildings, but not a peep from Nancy Pelosi or Joe Biden. The groups are anti Joe Biden and do not want him as president.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/anti-biden-antifa-portland-police

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Pat
3 years ago

Trump let down all the Qanon as they waited for dopey to declare Marshall law. SidneyLowe Rudy Giuliani Roger Stone My Pillow guy Senator Hawley and Cruz Tucker Hannity Limbaugh Beck with the Conferate flag lovers waited for him to do it.Trump threw you all under the Bus….Sorry Pat…how much cash have you sent him…..5 k in 4 years I will bet. He will soon need more money for his New Patriot Party…he keeps hope alive for all his racist,skinheads ,Nazis,fringe ,Q …Lol …I will admit he has a great business model

Trump Derangement Syndrome
Trump Derangement Syndrome
Reply to  The school committee
3 years ago

Ha, ha, Donald dances in your head.

Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
3 years ago

First Republic, RIP.

Viva la Republica Banana!

I want to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Trump for sparing us four (if not eight) years of that Hillary Clinton, and the whole brood of Dimorats with her.

So I’m grateful for that, at least.

Bethany Trudeau
Bethany Trudeau
3 years ago

WTBR’s Morning Drive with the DA regarding “Justice for All”…. 30 minutes in, still waiting for her to say something, anything. There’s another waste of my time. Really you & janet, & everyone under the Bridge, you support someone who f* her student, you lost me. You f* lost me.. D O N E. 0 faith. If Berkshire County commits suicide it is because you’re a liar not because we are frail. And that’s WHO I AM.

Last edited 3 years ago by Bethany Trudeau
Mr. Fritz
Mr. Fritz
3 years ago

Senile China Joe with the nuclear codes – pretty scarey!
He has already killed off the pipeline with the stroke of a pen which will damage our energy independence & cause oil & gas prices to rise. He has stopped construction of the border wall as thousands of Central Americans are heading to ‘Merica for their free Biden goodies.
He’s already eliminated 52,000 jobs with these two executive orders during the pandemic when many are already out of work.
Joe Biden, making ‘Merica last!

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/01/woo-hoo-biden-kills-off-estimated-52100-jobs-first-day-president-pandemic/

Tight Lion
Tight Lion
Reply to  Mr. Fritz
3 years ago

Who’s Trump? ,,….just sayin.

Tight Lion
Tight Lion
Reply to  Mr. Fritz
3 years ago

I thoroughly enjoyed the News Hour program on pctv today,and am encouraged that the water rates can be significantly lowered without the freeloaders who want to tax us another 80 million. We Can’t afford it. Please City Councilors,let the gentleman who wants to reduce the rates going forward do the job. That would be the correct and prudent idea.
In my opinion.

ShirlYNuts
ShirlYNuts
Reply to  Mr. Fritz
3 years ago

Gas prices up 15 cents already

ShirlYNuts
ShirlYNuts
3 years ago

Ronaldo, sorry for your loss, these are truly trying times.It sounds like you both enjoyed each other. This reinforces that we must be in charge of our lives, which includes healthcare. You must demand things but you must also educate yourself so you know the options. Again sorry for your loss, my prayers will be with you and her sister who is still fighting this awful virus

ShirlYNuts
ShirlYNuts
3 years ago

Just read the Eagle and it again is filled with vile hate. Why can’t we just have a paper that reports the facts instead of using opinions and hate speech

Benigno Numine
Benigno Numine
Reply to  ShirlYNuts
3 years ago

Ask Fred

ShirlYNuts
ShirlYNuts
3 years ago

Very strange message coming out of Boston. Even though our COVID numbers are higher than when this thing started in the Spring they are opening things up. Here in Berkshire County our Nursing Homes are under siege, hospitals are full and the rolling averages that they talked about having to be under 2% are over 5%. What is going on? I don’t know why they are changing what they told us they were going to do to stop this disease. It seems like they just want it to keep spreading

This Just In
This Just In
3 years ago

Schumer makes speech and pulls a boner