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BTG’s ‘EARNEST’: ‘I AM HE AS YOU ARE HE AS YOU ARE ME AND WE ARE ALL TOGETHER’

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BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI ARTS 

EDITOR’S NOTE — THE PLANET presents what we hope will be the first of periodic theater and art reviews. For the 2021 inaugural effort, we are pleased to announce the signing of the world famous critic, the Max Factor of the  footlights, the Poobah of Paragraphs. We speak of none other than the esteemed Sir Donald Turpentine, Knight of the Bath, S.O.S. Sir Donald, as every theatergoer knows, ranks equal with the likes of John Simon, Rex Reed, and the estimable Leonard Pinth Garnell. It cost THE PLANET a small fortune to get Sir Donald on board, but what won’t we do for our readers? Enjoy!

———- ooo ———-

‘Earnest’ Gets Downright Important in BTG Production

By Sir Donald Turpentine

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY JUNE 24, 2021) — “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.”

Thus wrote that noted theater cirtic-cum-prognosticator John Winston Lennon in his song “I Am the Walrus.” Little did he know but for the importance of being earnest.

Lennon must have been channeling The Berkshire Theater Group’s current production of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” now running through July 10 at the Unicorn Theater in Stockbridge. The  mix of farce and THEE-AH-TAH blend into a fine, organized madness that allows the theatergoer the distinction of entering not a maze but a labyrinth.

Maze v. labyrinth. The difference? A maze occupies one level. A labyrinth contains many levels, like a stack of hot cakes, 3D chess, or, more to the point in this adroit production, joke upon quip upon witticism, to the merriment if not the lucidity of all. Or is it ludicrous-idity?

The play wears a finely woven but veneer of humor under which one can see a devastating condemnation of England’s social caste system. It’s comedy used to demolish the rickety into ruin. Not that this production threw a complete game. More on that later.

The cast of BTG’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”

There’s no point in recounting the farcical plot. Here’s the view from 30,000 feet: Wilde uses some of the wittiest lines ever written to blow raspberries at Victorian-era hypocrisy and its discretionary squeeze on manners, marriage, social standing, and identity. This play is a brilliant example of damning with faint (and feint) praise, one productively milked by director David Auburn.

Having seen this show in several productions over the years plus read it several times as an example of crystalline prose, the major directorial pitfall is that of stressing the comedy at the expense of the Wilde’s steely-eyed critique of his era’s arbitrary social imprisonments. That excoriation should affect the laughing audience almost as a back door to tragedy.

Unfortunately, Act I of this three-act masterpiece fell into the trap and, worse still, the emphasis on comedy was stressed … and stressing. Somehow, the troupe came out flat. The good news is that things picked up in a sizzling Act II before settling into a split-the-difference finale.

———- ooo ———-

The play’s humor serves as the platform for Wilde’s social lamentation and not the other way around. Auburn’s interpretation reflects this, and it would have pleased Wilde, who thought it the only way into the directorial center of the play. Auburn gets it, earnestly. It’s hard to tell, but this writer’s guess would be to put the finger on the company for the curtain opener, which solicited few laughs and came out as flat as the spare on Jed Clampett’s jalopy.

Okay, some plot points for those who have never seen “Earnest” or who having seen it need a brief refresher.

To relive himself of his stifling social obligations as well as a caring for his ward and niece Cecily Cardew, duty-bound Hertfordshire squire Jack Worthing (Mitchell Winter) invents a fictitious, rabble-rousing “brother” he names Ernest. Jack creates the doppelgänger to escape his land-owing duties in Hertfordshire, where he lives in his inherited estate, Woolton Manor. Whenever he wants to venture into London for fun and frolics, Jack says he has to leave Woolton and go there to get brother Ernest out of another jam. Raspberry, we presume.

Shawn Fagan as Algernon, left, and Mitchell Winter as Jack.

The play opens in the London flat of Ernest’s friend in hi jinx, Algernon Moncrief (Shawn Fagan). Way leads to way, and after the three elipses … both Jack and Algernon pretend that they are “Ernest Worthing,” a man who doesn’t exist. They do this for the most fateful reason of all: love, respectively (if not respectfully) to win the hands of Gwendolyn Fairfax, Algernon’s cousin (Rebecca Brooksher) and Cecily Cardew, Jack’s niece (Claire Saunders).

The matrimonial intentions meet their match in the arduous Lady Bracknell, Gwendolyn’s towering mother (Harriet Harris) Suffice it to say, love conquers deceit and timidity, and by play’s end all is well, with Jack having learned, “the importance of being earnest.” Pun intended.

———- ooo ———-

The theme of doubles and double lives abound in Wilde’s canon, from Dorian’s Jeckyll-Hyde in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” to Sir Robert Chiltern in “An Ideal Husband.” Scholars and critics explain this in terms of Wilde’s homosexuality, which he had to hide and for which he suffered a life-sapping imprisonment.

Perhaps, but a quick survey of 19th century literature reveals the use of doubling and double lives more as a literary device than a sigil of tortured self identity (for example, Poe’s story “William Wilson,” and Shelley’s “Prometheus Ubound”). The use of doubles furnishes an invaluable tool through which a writer can explore humankind’s bipolar nature — the Jungian split of good and evil, saint and sinner. “Earnest” bears this out, especially in the BTG production. Doubles portend a heavy element, even in this light atmosphere.

Credit can be spread thin in this production, but if there’s a thick layer, it goes to director Auburn. From the get go, we suspect, he had to work around if not solve the mistakes of casting director Alan Filderman. Cast it well, and your more than half the way there. Filderman scores with the characters Algernon, Lady Bracknell, Prism, Rev. Chasuble, and Reed/Merriman. He whiffs on Cecily, Gwendolyn, and Jack.

Mitchell Winter’s Jack, like the postman, rings twice in chimes that split in the middle of the scale. Winter injects the role with enough gusto, alright, which leads to a more than a quibble. There’s not enough of difference between his portrayal of to-the-manor born Jack on the one hand the carousing “Ernest” on the other. He plays them as the same character. The problem is that they are not. The “Ernest” we see in Act I should be as different from Squire Jack in Act II as Sonia Sotomayor is from Amy Coney Barrett of The Supremes.

As an ensemble piece, I would be hesitant to say the play revolves around Jack, but he’s clearly the protagonist. Unless the actor playing Jack can pull off a convincing Hertfordshire gentleman, his Ernest dissolves into farce — but not the kind Wilde would want, that is, farcical dismissal. Winter’s discontent as Jack/Ernest, however, comes up just short.

Shawn Fagan’s Moncrieff delivers a walking epigram, a self-absorbed lightweight whose wit prompts him to laugh at his own jokes. Unlike most people who do this, we let Moncrieff get away with it because we laugh with and not at him. Symbolically, Fagan digs out the weight of Moncrief, not in any virtuous manner but in his utter disdain for Victorian social straight jackets, similar to the cynical Lord Henry Woolton in Wilde’s “Dorian Gray.” Moncrieff can’t be cutting enough. In a comedy, this has its limits, unlike Woolton in “Gray.” Nonetheless, Fagan manages to wring out ample share of this bite without biting off more than he can chew the scenes. Well done.

The linchpin female character is Lady Bracknell. The play’s happy ending turns on her discovery that Jack is not the orphan she believes but the lost son of her late sister. Again, you have to be there for the plot twists. Harriet Harris delivers a perfectly domineering Lady, dropping bosomy crumbs from the upper crust as if she lived in a toaster. Her “Vavoom” in delivering fury shakes the rafters. Lovely. She’s a cultured broad, and the younger member of the company might want to take notes when Harris is on stage. Superb.

Gwendolyn and Cecily, the play’s female leads, prove smarter than the men. Ah, but isn’t that always the case. They figure out the subterfuge with “Ernest” and corner the guys. Yeah, dog bites man and woe be the poor bastards at the hands of these women scorned.

Fashionable, trendy Gwendolyn portends the woman of the near future, ready for emancipation and poised to go a long way, baby. Her fixation with the name “Ernest” suggests a hidden desire to label the elusive quantity she seeks in a male partner. What man could possible satisfy this Virginia Slim? Rebecca Brooksher conveys high maintenance in a low maintenance performance. Brooksher makes a perfectly reedy Gwendolyn. Unfortunately, Gwendolyn is not the role for reedy. It takes an actress who can convey more self-assuredness that Brooksher shows. She might have faded into the scenery at time, except that there wasn’t much scenery. This isn’t what you want from a liberated woman.

Claire Saunders’ naive Cecily brings the right amount of fatuousness but overdoes the girlishness.  Should we make allowances? After all, Cecily’s only 18 and fantasizes about meeting the proverbial “bad boy,” a female inclination that remains with us to this day. They think they’re going to “change” the wayward child.

Right.

Saunders needs more seasoning, including vocal work. Her delivery machine-guns too heavilyy and shrill with “little girl” innocence. Saunders doesn’t seem to realize that she needn’t sell the part in such an obvious manner. Rather than let Wilde do the heavy lifting with the radiant lines, she seems to think she must add salt, pepper, spice, and hot sauce where none is needed. Saunders comes close to ruining the dish. Fortunately, she doesn’t quite get there, saved by a dazzling smile. Now if it were possible for a transfusion — Saunders overbite into Brooksher, and Brooksher’s reediness into Saunders, we might have the correct flavor.

Saunders’ other problem occurs in pacing. She has “hurry-up-itis.” At times she races through her lines as if she’s getting paid by the word. Someone sign her up with a lifetime membership in Bob and Ray’s STA (the Slow Talkers of America).  Experience may yet bring out Saunders’ large potential; otherwise, she might want to stick with Citibank commercials.

This sheltered girl is tutored by the dull, boring Miss Prism (Corinna May). Prism, aptly named, focuses the disparate colors into a single white unification: It turns out she’s the one who made the mistake of leaving baby Jack in a satchel at Victoria Station, confiding the baby with the manuscript of her unpublished romance novel. Don’t you hate it when that happens?

Theater veteran May makes the most of her lines, extracting the content like a Vitamix as opposed to a juicer. I guess you have to own a Vitamix to get this. Sorry. Google it. May sparkles in the small but pivotal role. Once again, experience shows, as it does with David Atkins and Matt Sullivan.

Corinna May as Miss Prism and David Atkins as the Rev. Canon Chasuble.

Rounding out the cast are Atkins as the Rev. Canon Chasuble and Sullivan as Lane/Merriman, the butler. Along with Miss Prism, these minor roles serve as a kind of Greek chorus for Wilde. Through them and as an augmentation to Algernon’s social disdain, Wilde can freely comment on Victorian hypocrisy as it manifests in the social caste system, religion, morality, and determining what is “proper.”

Atkins shows what a veteran can do with a supporting role. As the country vicar, he’s a Pez dispenser of platitude and propriety. Underneath it all, though, he’s flesh and blood. He has it for Miss Prism but he can’t show it, kept trapped by his turned-around collar. Atkins brilliantly conveys the subterranean roil that brews underneath the proper exterior. He also has the bizarre task of christening both Jack and Algernon with the new name of “Ernest.” Each man has a different reason for the moniker. What’s in a name? Sometimes hilarity. Sometimes confusion. Sometimes just a handy and clever plot device. Atkins bring out the “straight man” aspect of the Rev. Mr. Chausable to a level that would do Bud Abbott justice.

Sullivan fulfills the dual role (again, doubles) of manservant to Jack as Merriman and Algernon as Lane. He doesn’t have  many lines, for Merriman/Lane is a reactive role, one that Sullivan play with enjoyable effectiveness and skill. Tip to audience members: Once in a while avoid the temptation to look at the main action and watch how Sullivan reacts to the scene. Same with Atkins. It’s part of the subtle fun of theatergoing, where a camera does not confine you to only one way of seeing. You can look wherever you want, and it’s often in the “unimportant” background doings that one can sense the morale, if you will, of the production. Sullivan coughs with the best, handy, when you’re trying to alert your boss of arriving trouble.

———- ooo ———-

Is a subtle emphasis on the hidden seriousness in Wilde’s hilarious play part of Auburn’s vision for the play? Don’t know. We didn’t have a chance to ask. I’m guessing “yes.” After all, what’s a director but an interpreter of a blueprint, in this case a script? The director has a set of instructions furnished by the playwright. It’s up to him or her to put the piece together into a coherent and entertaining whole. Some assembly required. Dreaded words those, as any parent can attest. Directors, too.

Auburn set the right tones and feeling for “Earnest,” something that happens in rehearsals, especially early on — or doesn’t. It’s the only way an ad hoc ensemble can come together and work as a team, that is, a series of character-driven augmentations and supplements that act as foils for each member — perfect for a play that delves so much in reflections and doubles, each making the other and the next look good. You can see when it misses (Act I) and when it hits and clicks (Act II).

One of the challenges of “Earnest” is deciding how the characters will move on, off, and through stage. The director decides on that when he “blocks” the play — who stands and moves where, when, and how. I get the feelings that Auburn had to tinker with this right up to curtain on opening night and maybe after, for that’s where BTG’s “Earnest” again wrinkles its cravat. Isadora Wolfe is listed as the “movement director,” but the action in “Earnest” isn’t dancing. It’s farce. One senses the trouble Auburn and Wolfe had, as if they couldn’t solve the traffic flow.

Bill Clarke’s sparse set might be related to the blocking headaches. Clarke gives too much openness to the happenings. At times the characters seem to drift, especially during the faster places. Not conducive. This isn’t “Godspell.” Curtained  backdrops with lighting effects (clouds and trees for for outdoors, windows for inside), nor does a richly upholstered settee, chairs, tables, and hassocks adrift in too much space.

Not much of to be seen manor anywhere. Nor grass. Nor chirping birds. Nor swinging bachelor pad. One expects more — and less of the same, as all the settings look alike.  The lighting (Daniel J. Kotlowitz) distracted at times, calling attention to itself on the curtains, but the sound (Name Here) worked well in amplifying the mood, as did the sumptuous costuming (Hunter Kaczorowski). As a bonus, check out the music they play before, after, and during the two intermissions: “Henry the Eighth,” (Herman’s Hermits), “She’s A Rainbow” (Rolling Stones), and “All the Young Dudes” (Mott the Hoople).

It was nice being able to once again congregate for live theater. Goodbye, we hope, to COVID. The unctuous “err on the side of caution” post-COVID requirement for masks seemed a bit much, but the THE PLANET understands. The antiseptic bottles throughout the theater were a thoughtful touch.

All in all, ’twas a up-and-down night at the Unicorn. In the vernacular of the play, we might sum it up this way: “As the director sows, so shall he leap.”

———- ooo ———-

Sir Donald Turpentine, Knight of the Bath and Sissy of the Shower, is the world’s most sought-after theater critic.

—————————————————————————————————-

“No politician is honest, nor is there one champion of justice at whose side he may fight and be saved”Plato, in The Republic.

“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 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.

 

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Jonathan Melle
Jonathan Melle
2 years ago

I read that Beacon Hill won’t pass the Fiscal Year 2022 Massachusetts State Budget on time before July 1, 2021. Governor Charlie Baker and Beacon Hill Lawmakers have billions of dollars from their slush funds and Biden Buck$, but they are still sitting on their hands while many Massachusetts taxpayers are struggling to stay afloat. What does Governor Charlie Baker and Beacon Hill lawmakers do all day? They cannot say they don’t have the money like they did last year when they took an extra 5 months and 11 days to pass the state budget. Where will all of the billions of extra dollars the state government is sitting on go to?

In New Hampshire, the people and taxpayers are protesting the state budget in Concord. NH State lawmakers attached a school voucher bill to the state budget that could cost New Hampshire federal funding for public education, unconstitutional bans of discussions of racism and sexism, and an unconstitutional abortion provision that has no exception for rape, incest, and the condition of the fetus. Governor Chris Sununu said he will still sign the state budget. In New Hampshire state government, the Governor and state lawmakers are willing to turn away federal funding for public education, and pass unconstitutional state laws on free speech and limited abortion rights for women.

In the Swamp, President Joe Biden spent $6 trillion federal dollars in his first hundred days in the Oval Office. Biden and the Democrats on Capitol Hill still want to spend trillions of federal dollars more on their stalled infrastructure and job bills. Biden filed a $6 trillion federal budget proposal for fiscal year 2022 that begins on October 1, 2021. Where does all of the federal dollars come from? Where are the federal dollars going? Why is Wall Street at record highs, while Main Street is at record lows? How high will U.S. inflation rise in 2021 and 2022? Will wages rise with inflation?

Pittsfield’s problems have been decades-long, and the current Democrats have not helped matters there. Of course, there are many proverbial “Pittsfields” out there. We live in an age of huge economic inequality. Things have gotten worse for the underclass and working class because the government stopped investing in the people in the 1970s. Instead, the people are only costs to be controlled in big business and big government’s billion and trillion dollar budgets. The American Dream of Social Mobility has been killed by class warfare over the past 50 years and counting. The economic system is rigged in favor of Wall Street and the super wealthy. The rest of us are screwed.

PAC Man Richie Neal only represents the well heeled corporate K Street lobbyist firms. Maryland Markey only speaks hot air about saving the world from global warming with his $100 trillion Green New Deal he knows will never pass in the Swamp. Elizabeth Warren says she fights for the underclass and working class, but she also tells us that the economic system is rigged for the top one percent. Kamala Harris called Joe Biden a racist, but now she is his loyal Vice President. She has changed most of her political views to fit her political career ambitions. Joe Biden and his Biden “Crime” Family are all worth tens of millions of dollars each after Hunter Biden went to China, Russia, Ukraine and took home hundreds of millions of dollars that he is being investigated for his alleged money laundering schemes.

– Jonathan Melle

Post Script: Governor Charlie Baker must be running for reelection in 2022. It is not every year that he proposes a two month sales tax holiday. I wonder what else he will think of between now and election day in November of 2022?

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Jonathan Melle
2 years ago

School choice was a right wing desire to get white urban students to white schools in white suburbs and it worked.They ran to other districts because mommy could drive them there.Biden will do away with this segregation

Jonathan Melle
Jonathan Melle
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

Are you indirectly writing about Pittsfield State Representative Trippy Country Buffet sending her own children to Lenox public schools because her family is too good for Pittsfield public schools?

Markus Aurelius
Markus Aurelius
Reply to  Jonathan Melle
2 years ago

But do you honestly blame her? If your kids are good students and have college plans, I would stay far way from Pittsfield schools.

I’m not a fan in the least of Tricia Farley-Country-Buffet (D), but I do agree with her on this.

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Markus Aurelius
2 years ago

That ridiculous

Pointstoponder
Pointstoponder
Reply to  Markus Aurelius
2 years ago

If you love your kids you want them to go to a decent school. Tricia is no genius but she can tell a crappy education system from a better one.

Pittsfields school system seems to focus more on generating more money for itself than actual education. So Tricia is right to get the hell out of that bad plan.

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Jonathan Melle
2 years ago

Yes and the hundreds of others

Dementia Joe
Dementia Joe
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

“Unless we do something about this, my children are going to grow up in a jungle, the jungle being a racial jungle with tensions having built so high that it is going to explode at some point. We have got to make some move on this.”

Joe Biden….1977

Last edited 2 years ago by Dementia Joe
The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Dementia Joe
2 years ago

He was right,racist are exploding under diaper Don….he wanted a race war.Biden does not want are race war.Americans love Joe

Acute Angina
Acute Angina
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

Pittsfield schools are full of drugs and the thugs who sell them. The thugs control these schools not the school Department. Who wants their kids in dangerous schools? Only fools like TSC. Maybe he was a school thug in his day.

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Acute Angina
2 years ago

So you believe there are no drugs in Lenox or Monument Mountain.Deny deny

Acute Angina
Acute Angina
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

Is that what I wrote blind liberal buffoon?

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Jonathan Melle
2 years ago

Those Federal dollars come from the same place Trump,McConnell McCarthy got them.Infastructure never happened until now.Trump gave 2 trillion in tax gifts to the rich.Biden is going to start rebuilding America….Trump was a builder lol

Fizzlehead
Fizzlehead
2 years ago

From todays Eagle.

Pittsfield has been ranked as the best city for young families in Massachusetts, according to a new report by a Cambridge-based insurance comparison website. 
Cities identified in the report by Insurify were ranked based on real estate “hotness,” inventory trends, outdoor activity accessibility, diversity in schools, crime rates and safe driving practices. 
“For young families on the house hunt, Pittsfield should be at the top of their list,” a spokeswoman for Insurify wrote in an email. 

This story is right out of Walt Disney’s fairytale inventory. And for any local politician, media outlet or cultural bullshit artist to promote such utter misinformation should be punishable by banishment. This is disgusting and makes you wonder if you can trust anything you read in local media.

Auto Phil
Auto Phil
Reply to  Fizzlehead
2 years ago

Also on the list – Baltimore MD and Charlottesville VA.

Baltimore has one of the highest crime rates of any city in the country. And Charlottesville…well we know what goes on there…

This list is based purely on housing market trends with points added for good scores in the other depts. (Not deducted though, which is an important distinction to make). And interesting that employment data was not included.

So Pittsfield has a hot housing market. Great. At least we got that going for us.

Soooo Hot
Soooo Hot
Reply to  Auto Phil
2 years ago

“Developer” is the only one buying, not families – that is why the market is “hot”. Fact checker, do yo thang ~ those names are made of STRAW TOO. 300 acres of prime land, in an estate, to be settled, with a Berkshire Attorney – think about it – attorney buys it under a false name – he is air B&B”ing your family’s most cherish possession, called home. Straw fam bought it at a fair price >$100k under value – 3 barrels of whiskey and an pony. GTFOH. Settle your own estates ppl, they are thieves. Record your parcel before it’s too late.

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Soooo Hot
2 years ago

Houses are selling in less than a few weeks.Pittsfield is cheap and nice.Lenox is very expensive and a nice town with lots to do.Then you have Stockbridge thats extreme and nothing to do.

Fizzlehead
Fizzlehead
Reply to  Auto Phil
2 years ago

We just had a huge uproar about all the shootings. Biggest drug bust in 15 years. Rampant homelessness and mental health issues. Roads falling apart and trash all over the place. Runaway tax increases due to handouts to the rich. Schools close to worst in the state.
The mayor should come out with a rebuttal. And the Berkshire Eagle should apologize for misleading its customers. But these people are so sure that their constituency is beyond stupid that they automatically think they will believe it. They lie right to your face. Would they do that if they really cared about you??

Markus Aurelius
Markus Aurelius
Reply to  Fizzlehead
2 years ago

As I read all of this, all I can think of is the words Mayor Linda Tyer has repeatedly uttered: “vibrant, dynamic, (and now) inclusive.”

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Fizzlehead
2 years ago

No urban school district can be compared to a suburb

kltpzyxm
kltpzyxm
Reply to  Auto Phil
2 years ago

Accept the positive press and work with it.

Markus Aurelius
Markus Aurelius
Reply to  kltpzyxm
2 years ago

So, Flogging Mol…..I mean Barry, are you going to put your big boy britches on and walk Bradford Street at 11:30PM and tell us how safe it is?

You should video it and talk about how “vibrant, dynamic, and inclusive,” it is while you walk around.

Oh and by the way, those might not be firecrackers going off around you. It could be the “vibrant, dynamic, and certainly inclusive,” bullets flying from all of your wife’s accepted grant money and the “fine citizens,” that come with it. Just saying Bare Bar.

Be safe and we look forward to your video.

Last edited 2 years ago by Markus Aurelius
Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider
Reply to  Markus Aurelius
2 years ago

Maybe he can bring the Stooge with him as his bodyguard!!!!

Agent 86
Agent 86
Reply to  kltpzyxm
2 years ago

Accept the bullshit and don’t ask questions. Big Brother will tell you what’s good you despicable thought criminal.

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Auto Phil
2 years ago

One things for sure you folks hate the City of Pittsfield.

Annulgas
Annulgas
Reply to  Fizzlehead
2 years ago

Safe driving practices?? It is Russian roulette every time you leave your driveway and every cop and politician in the city knows that. There seem to be no rules at all on the Pittsfield roadways. Especially at intersections where red light running is as common as eye blinking.

LegalEagle
LegalEagle
Reply to  Fizzlehead
2 years ago

Maybe they meant young families looking to get into the drug business? The schools alone would disqualify us. This is not a credible study and no credible journalist would use it.

Fat Tyer
Fat Tyer
Reply to  Fizzlehead
2 years ago

Insurify is a website that ranks insurance. What they say about quality of living is meaningless.

This is more about where insurance companies pay out the least claims and where houses are cheap. Houses are cheap because no one wants to live in a $hit hole where shootings happen multiple times a month. Where schools are ranked at some of the lowest levels in the state. I’m sure there are some really cheap homes in Baltimore and Detroit too.

kltpzyxm
kltpzyxm
Reply to  Fat Tyer
2 years ago

If the Pitt gets positive press that is a good thing.

Pointstoponder
Pointstoponder
Reply to  kltpzyxm
2 years ago

Trump gets positive press from Fox news all day long. Is that a good thing?

kltpzyxm
kltpzyxm
Reply to  Pointstoponder
2 years ago

It’s good for him.

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Fizzlehead
2 years ago

Apparently people in the realestate market dont agree with you.The facts also dont back you up as the DATA is the opposite of this boards Trump /Fox think

Fizzlehead
Fizzlehead
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

Real estate people? Isn’t Trump a real estate people?

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Fizzlehead
2 years ago

Realestate..lol…7 bankruptcies…charities, casino’s, hotel,apartments, universities, vodka, golf courses….money laundered President

kltpzyxm
kltpzyxm
Reply to  Fizzlehead
2 years ago

I say run with it. The Pitt needs all the positive press it can muster.

Fat Tyer
Fat Tyer
Reply to  kltpzyxm
2 years ago

If the press is a lie, it’s useless. Lure people into a horrible place to live

Pointstoponder
Pointstoponder
Reply to  kltpzyxm
2 years ago

Well then here is more positive news.
Narcan has saved over 100 lives in Pittsfield so far this year. (due to overdoses)
50 healthy babies were born in Pittsfield this year. (due to unwanted pregnancies’ amoung teenagers)
Airbags saved 75 lives in Pittsfield so far this year. (they deployed due to accidents by crazy red light running drivers)
Can’t wait to pack up my kids and move to Pittsfield, Ma. It’s fucken heaven there. (so they say)

Mad Trapper
Mad Trapper
2 years ago

USA Military under Xiden, Russia and China laughing their ……off

https://www.rt.com/usa/527308-nellis-airforce-drag-show/

Drag queen show was ‘essential to morale, cohesion and readiness,’ US Air Force base tells media23 Jun, 2021 00:30 / Updated 1 day ago

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Mad Trapper
2 years ago

The joint chiefs want to be informed.Unlike the uninformed Trumpers at FOX Fascism media propaganda they appreciate knowing as much history as they can.These guys are always woke to everything unlike Trumpers who stay intellectually asleep.Get woke enlightened educated or be comfortable in your sleepy life.

Mad Trapper
Mad Trapper
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

I’d not want to be in a foxhole, with anybody like You.

Last edited 2 years ago by Mad Trapper
Fizzlehead
Fizzlehead
Reply to  Mad Trapper
2 years ago

Cuz you would feel safe with people like Trump and Giuliani right? Experienced warriors, heh heh.

Mad Trapper
Mad Trapper
Reply to  Fizzlehead
2 years ago

My azzhokle is still virgin, it will stay that way.

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Mad Trapper
2 years ago

????????

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Mad Trapper
2 years ago

Foxhole?

Agent 86
Agent 86
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

TSC, what is fascism?

Mad Trapper
Mad Trapper
Reply to  Agent 86
2 years ago

He don’t know

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Mad Trapper
2 years ago

You believe Trumps the President so enough said about who knows what.

Agent 86
Agent 86
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

In your own words please buffoon

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Agent 86
2 years ago

Authoritarian who uses race and nationalism to blame things on to create an enemy of minorities who must be stopped in order to manipulate and lie to a group of dumb ass very scared people of 1 think.White europeans good and south Americans bad.A dictator who undermines DEMOCRACY,JOURNALISM saying their GOVERNMENT can not be trusted only Trump can be trusted…..Say who the president is.Im betting you wont.

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Agent 86
2 years ago

WW2 was fought to destroy fascism so out of respect to those that fought that War please look it up so that you can identify the fascist in America….so far you cant.

Mad Trapper
Mad Trapper
2 years ago
Shirleyknuts
Shirleyknuts
2 years ago

Dan thanks for the review, I have enjoyed this play in the past and may attempt to go if I have time. Another farcical play that is happening in real time is the Massachusetts government fight over billions of dollars of surplus. They can’t get their drooling hands on it fast enough! My only question is back when the Massachusetts Miracle imploded and the citizens came to the rescue voting in to increase the tax rate until the state gets back on their feet, when is the state on their feet? The state, aka Democrats, have yet to keep their promise to lower the tax rate back to where it was 5%. I think the state should be made to lower it to 4% for the next 20 years for all the years the lied to the taxpayers!! What would be a better time then now, when you have billions of surplus dollars, to give back to the taxpayers of Massachusetts!!

kltpzyxm
kltpzyxm
Reply to  Shirleyknuts
2 years ago

I agree.

Jonathan Melle
Jonathan Melle
Reply to  Shirleyknuts
2 years ago

Beacon Hill can take their billions of Biden Buck$ and vote themselves more pay raises, pay Dan Bosley his two state pensions and perks along with his 6-figure per year lobbyist salary, slap a surtax on Massachusetts’ nearly 20,000 millionaires a few years from now, pass yet another late state budget, give sinecures to their relatives and crony campaign donors, give more marijuana dispensary permits to the politically connected greed-balls, keep Boston’s Democratic Party leaders in place for a few more years after they ran an ugly homophobic smear campaign against Alex Morse last year in 2020, sell more lottery tickets to the underclass and working poor, continue to screw over the people and taxpayers, while treating themselves to lobster or steak dinners at expensive Boston restaurants, plan their next decade as corrupt career politicians feeding at the public trough, and shutting out the public from the all of their corrupt sausage making to continue to give tens of billions of tax breaks per year to politically connected big business. Did I miss anything?

J2S
J2S
Reply to  Jonathan Melle
2 years ago

Yeah, you missed the part of people keep voting the same people in over and over. Complain and Remain seems to be the ticket for those who vote for a complete one party rule all of the time.

Mr. Fritz
Mr. Fritz
Reply to  Jonathan Melle
2 years ago

Good riddance to Morse. I’m sure he loves his new town.

Pointstoponder
Pointstoponder
Reply to  Shirleyknuts
2 years ago

any chance they could use some of that surplus to fix the Holmes road bridge?

Mad Trapper
Mad Trapper
Reply to  Pointstoponder
2 years ago

LAME Excuse from MASS DPW is the power lines running along rail track.

Is it two or three years now?

In 1942 they built a highway to Alaska through wilderness, in 6 months.

Jonathan Melle
Jonathan Melle
Reply to  danvalenti
2 years ago

Are you indirectly writing about Mayor Linda Tyer and Matt Kerwood sitting on tens of millions of city government and public school district slush fund and Biden Buck$ dollars, while Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski will pay for Pittsfield politics’ always predictable 5 percent increase in municipal spending starting next week on July 1, 2021? Is Pittsfield politics a farce or a shakedown operation to screw over the proverbial Kapanski family? Perhaps it is both!

Annulgas
Annulgas
Reply to  Jonathan Melle
2 years ago

Big article in todays paper saying how wonderful Pittsfield is and that just to prove it they were going to do a forensic audit to fine tune wasteful expenditures like all well run cities.
OOPS, no that is not true. Pittsfield is actually doing everything it can to AVOID a forensic audit. My bad.

DEA Knows
DEA Knows
2 years ago

In law enforcement this is what’s called a “show bust” or “publicity bust”

It’s done normally to
Look tough on crime
Distract from bad press
To boost numbers and show voters you are “tough on crime” before an election.

How can you tell? The drug weights are highly over inflated. The compare numbers to years prior.
They take pictures of guns, drugs, and money.

So let’s look at these pictures
comment image

So all of a sudden drug dealers are using rimfire 10/22’s and long guns with scopes to inflict terror on the streets?
That scary looking black gun is a ruger 10/22 in a tactical pistol style stock.
Most of the other guns, long guns in 22LR and some shotguns. This ain’t the Wild West, lever actions need not apply.
These are guns in a house, stored improperly, found during a raid. They probably belong to someone who is an apartment mate of one of these idiots. These are not “street guns”. None of the shotguns are even sawed off/down.

comment image

This is even more of a joke. That’s not even a kilo of cocaine. Heck the state police does this level of work between Springfield and Pittsfield on a weekly basis.
This is retail end drugs, these are drugs packaged for retail sale.
Notice they put the hundreds up front to conceal the 1’s and 5’s?

Granted the DA doesn’t know that, she thinks this is a big deal. It’s estimated by those that really know that over 200 lbs of coke run though Pittsfield in a week. That over 25k doses of heroin are running though the streets at any given time.
Are gangbangers really using scoped rimfire rifles and air guns for street battles? No.

So all this is is a political game, if it took them six months to get this “daily” use amount of drugs off the streets of Pittsfield, it shows we need more cops and a much more competent DA and Police Chief

Markus Aurelius
Markus Aurelius
Reply to  DEA Knows
2 years ago

DEA, may I suggest you take a math class. 1,752 grams of cocaine is 3 lbs and 13.8 ounces of cocaine. That’s close to two kilos of cocaine. A kilo is 2.2 pounds, FYI.

This is not a daily amount of drugs seized by MSP daily. This is a huge haul of drugs and weapons. Not to mention, almost 3 ounces of heroin.

Plus, google search a couple of those names. Reggie Ellerbee did over a decade in prison for shooting a guy execution style back in the mid 2000’s, in Pittsfield. These are dangerous drug dealers who need to be off the streets.

Good job.

Now, I want to see DA Wrong Way do a photo-op and press release with ALL of the photos of the suspects involved in this. I’m sure she won’t, because it doesn’t quite fit the narrative.

Annulgas
Annulgas
Reply to  danvalenti
2 years ago

Should she get the kudos if all the perps are back home for the weekend smoking doobies on the front porch?

JoePesci
JoePesci
Reply to  danvalenti
2 years ago

Dan, the investigation and arrests had nothing to do with the DA and usually do not. Although it is her job to prosecute and not pontificate about the root causes of drug use. She is a total disgrace and by the way, why do the cops feel the need to show off the goods? Answer, they don’t. It’s the politicians such as Tyer and Harrington that like to play show and tell.

NETFLIX OG
NETFLIX OG
Reply to  DEA Knows
2 years ago

How do you explain the arrests, if this is fake, are they paid actors ? Willing to risk they name for a payout? Sonja/Annie, actors? Vandalism, actors,
Simon’s Rock, actors ?

Last edited 2 years ago by NETFLIX OG
Pointstoponder
Pointstoponder
Reply to  DEA Knows
2 years ago

I think he is right about the guns. Most gang bangers would not know what most of them are. They are for hunting rabbits and target practicing.

Auto Phil
Auto Phil
Reply to  DEA Knows
2 years ago

I agree with your assessment of the motherload. Overall a drop in the hat for drugs and the guns are certainly part of some collector’s collection, not street guns.

What is particularly interesting about this arrest is the inclusion of one particular person who is rumored on the street to have been involved in a number of the recent murders over the past few years.

Mad Trapper
Mad Trapper
Reply to  DEA Knows
2 years ago

In a legal mASSachusetts gun sale, I doubt Dave’s would pay $500 for all ten pieces of that crap.

Shop at Dave’s, they are not DICKS.

Last edited 2 years ago by Mad Trapper
Fat Tyer
Fat Tyer
2 years ago

Two more shootings last night, another running gun battle.
The city is so vibrant and dynamic.
Is it gun shots or fireworks season is really hopping this year!
Why didn’t they put cameras where they mounted the shot spotters?

Hendrix
Hendrix
Reply to  Fat Tyer
2 years ago

The hell you talking about? Barry was out at 3AM once at Cumbies and there was no shooting. That is all I needed to see to know that the city is perfectly safe.

Agent 86
Agent 86
Reply to  Hendrix
2 years ago

Was his nitwit sidekick Shawshank with him?

Agent 86
Agent 86
Reply to  Agent 86
2 years ago

forgive me. shawshank is a half wit

Pointstoponder
Pointstoponder
Reply to  Fat Tyer
2 years ago

Did any of them have .22 cals with scopes?

Fat Tyer
Fat Tyer
Reply to  Pointstoponder
2 years ago

No the police said 9mm or 40caliber

J2S
J2S
Reply to  Fat Tyer
2 years ago

At least give cameras a try. They have them over traffic lights for violations.

kltpzyxm
kltpzyxm
Reply to  Fat Tyer
2 years ago

They don’t cover the same area. Cameras cover line-of-sight. Spotters pick up 3D sound waves and infer shot location based on frequency analysis of the sound wave pattern.

Agent 86
Agent 86
Reply to  kltpzyxm
2 years ago

And they demonstrate that the average knucklehead doesn’t stick around after discharging their illegal weapon.

Fat Tyer
Fat Tyer
Reply to  kltpzyxm
2 years ago

The point is to spot via sound and see via the cameras.
So many crimes are solved now because of cameras.
As soon as shot spotter goes off they should be recording in a four block radius.

kltpzyxm
kltpzyxm
Reply to  Fat Tyer
2 years ago

Good idea.

Diverse/Inclusive
Diverse/Inclusive
2 years ago

Berkshire Eagle ~

Police arrested Reginald Ellerbee, 40, of Pittsfield; Tonia Maxwell, 42, of North Adams; Domonique Gary, 35, of Northampton; Zahir Allah, 40, of Springfield; Alexius Vaughan, 28, of Pittsfield; Wisdom Ellerbee, 39, of North Adams; Valente Ellerbee, 36, of Pittsfield; Joseph Rock, 63, of Clarksburg; and Robert Williams, 36, of Pittsfield.

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Diverse/Inclusive
2 years ago

PITTSFIELD police always get their man.Every name on that list has been in the trouble forever.

DA Duh
DA Duh
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

They busted three confidential informants that they’ve let run all over town for years. How many of the guys bested are CI’s registered with the DA’s office. How soon before they are back out because the DA needed some good press to distract what’s happening today right now with the MA bar

Kermit Frog
Kermit Frog
2 years ago

I loved this review. Bravo.

There really has been no one to replace Pauline Kael. Maybe your road to millions is a compilation of Netflix program reviews? We can save it for next National bunker situation, which may not be far away from looking at Taiwan.

Jerry Packard
Jerry Packard
Reply to  Kermit Frog
2 years ago

Yes, we need to resolutely stand by Taiwan.

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  danvalenti
2 years ago

Not with Trump telling the world he will be president in 37 days.Trumps insurection and 1st coup on 1/6/2021 is the most destabilizing action in a world of misfit republican voters.Believe me the world is keeping all eyes on Trump behavior with 10s of millions of sheep wanting to make America white…..This is a war on ignorance which supoorts diaper Don

Muther Patriciah
Muther Patriciah
Reply to  Kermit Frog
2 years ago

Dan, I’m not the Writer you’re looking for but know food. Get up to the old Reilly’s now Lakeside,great atomosphere and food. Stop up.

Two Cents
Two Cents
Reply to  Muther Patriciah
2 years ago

I only eat where Peter White tells me. Thank god her never learned to cook!

Cucaracha
Cucaracha
Reply to  Two Cents
2 years ago

Yes, Pete White privilege knows the best greasy spoons.

Kermit Frog
Kermit Frog
Reply to  Kermit Frog
2 years ago

No sarcasm in my appreciation. Really fun and intelligent, loved that Dan can do politics, sports and theater.

Fred Rutherford
Fred Rutherford
2 years ago

All the world is a stage. There’s one leaving town in an hour. We can only hope that
linda is on it.

Pat
Pat
2 years ago

Great Review of this play. It makes me want to go see it.

Pat
Pat
2 years ago

What the far left is doing with meat. They want red meat to just be an expensive delicacy that most of us will not be able to afford. Only the rich will be able to buy meat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQTbpJl2-Ho

Pointstoponder
Pointstoponder
Reply to  Pat
2 years ago

Pat I hear they are going to be coming after peoples hearing aides next. They are going to control people by making them learn sign language and then signing so fast they can’t keep up. It is just awful what the liberal leftist cancel culture Biden lovers are doing to America.

kltpzyxm
kltpzyxm
Reply to  Pointstoponder
2 years ago

Good one.

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

Covid inflation Pat….relax as we are back in business. Thanks Joe.We are experiencing good inflation….the market and economy are on fire.GDP is expected to be 11.5 % then backing down to 6% for the next 3 years of Biden….we are on FIRE Pat we liberals are doing Capitalism right.Go find yourself another insurection led by a bought off tool of Putin…lol

Independent Fact Checker
Independent Fact Checker
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

False information.

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Independent Fact Checker
2 years ago

Your 401k will be on Fire

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

Meat has been very high for 4 years

Jonathan Melle
Jonathan Melle
2 years ago

Rudy Giuliani suspended from practicing law in New York STATE over false statements about Trump election lossA New York court suspended Rudy Giuliani from practicing law in New York state due to making “false and misleading statements” about the election loss of Donald Trump in 2020.

Based on that logic, ALL politicians should have their law licenses suspended in New York State because ALL politicians are LIARS who LIE to the people for a living of sitting on their big FAT ASSES for decades of corruption and speaking out of both sides of their mouths to take in as much campaign cash as possible!!!!

Per Chance
Per Chance
Reply to  Jonathan Melle
2 years ago

Does he know Fred Rutherford ?

Jonathan Melle
Jonathan Melle
Reply to  danvalenti
2 years ago

Why does Hunter Biden get to break all of the laws out there – known crack cocaine addict, alleged money laundering from China, allegedly giving his father (Joe Biden) millions of dollars, allegedly paying sex workers for sex, allegedly lying to a family court Judge about the child he fathered with a stripper, and so on – without facing any legal consequences, but Rudy Giuliani has his law license suspended for lying about the 2020 election? Does the U.S. and New York State Constitutions protect Rudy Giuliana’s free speech? Don’t ALL politicians LIE for a living? JOKE: How do you know when a politician is lying: PUNCHLINE: The politician’s lips are moving!

Ham Anex
Ham Anex
Reply to  Jonathan Melle
2 years ago

Democrats don’t have to follow your stinkin laws

Mad Trapper
Mad Trapper
Reply to  Per Chance
2 years ago

All the Liberal numnuts do.

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Jonathan Melle
2 years ago

Lying for Trump will ruin your life.Rudy had the world by the balls and fd it up big.Hes a crook.

Mr. Fritz
Mr. Fritz
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

Rudy was the best mayor NYC ever had. He cleaned it up. The last string of Dem mayors have run it into the ground. Dangerous precedent by the NY judge in stripping him of his law license. The whole state sucks!

Mad Trapper
Mad Trapper
Reply to  Mr. Fritz
2 years ago

Mario killed thousands due his COVID drug addicts in nursing homes ploicy.

SOB should be hung, in public

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  danvalenti
2 years ago

40 years ago NYC

kltpzyxm
kltpzyxm
Reply to  danvalenti
2 years ago

His SNL appearance was tops.

Dementia Joe
Dementia Joe
2 years ago

Biden wants to use atomic bombs on 2nd Amendment advocates.

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Dementia Joe
2 years ago

Republican need guns for their race war

Dementia Joe
Dementia Joe
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

Biden gonna nuke your ass

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Dementia Joe
2 years ago

?

That girl
That girl
2 years ago

My husband took me to see this, and if he didn’t explain the story to me ahead of time I would never have followed. The play itself really didn’t tell the story, rather it seemed to express some parts of it according to the director’s version. I thought the acting was good (not perfect) and I never would have known that “Earnest” was a wild man (or, relief of the hum drum responsible man that he was on the daily). I giggled at times, the relationship between the two men was believable and at times quite funny. The outfits were gorgeous. I was a bit impatient with act 1, but act 2 was better. At the end of act 3 I was wishing my husband didn’t tell me what he paid for the tickets!

And I want to say, it was hard sitting there for 2.5 hours with a mask on (and glasses).

Over all it was good, but not for $75 a piece.

Mad Trapper
Mad Trapper
Reply to  danvalenti
2 years ago

Dan,

Thanks for a change of things. I don’t do “arts”, current arts don’t do much for me either.

Long time ago we had The Music Inn, Woody’s, Bucksteep Manor, a few bars that did live music…………long gone. Last time I went to Tanglewood, was 76 for Jackson Browne.

I suspect the Berkshires will die soon living on an “arts” economy, vibrant and dynamic!

Last edited 2 years ago by Mad Trapper
Mr. Fritz
Mr. Fritz
Reply to  Mad Trapper
2 years ago

Couldn’t agree more, Trapper. Local high school productions are the only “theater” I attend. Last Tanglewood I attended was movie night featuring Josh Groban. Sat in traffic two hours trying to get in, Groban sang 3 songs, then it took another two hours to drive back to Pittsfield. When I lived in the Pitt, I also went to see Cats at the Colonial. Too bad their programming has hit the skids.

kltpzyxm
kltpzyxm
Reply to  Mad Trapper
2 years ago

Yay Woody’s, yay Jackson Browne. The Berkshires are set to thrive by all the $$ that will be pumped in by the influx of tourists, bedroom commuters from NYC and retirees. Smart money goes here.

J2S
J2S
Reply to  Mad Trapper
2 years ago

Trap,Remember them all! Good times. Knew Bobby well. These guys filled the establishments along with some others.

https://www.berkshireeagle.com/arts_and_culture/entertainment/north-adams-band-paraffin-makes-a-one-night-only-comeback/article_890bfca8-b66a-52cf-8371-
e4eab972de6f.html

The school committee
The school committee
2 years ago

Are you guys waiting for Fox /Russia to explain Bidens infastructure deal for you.Its great news for America….Fox hates America

Mad Trapper
Mad Trapper
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

ROFL!!!!!

Mad Trapper
Mad Trapper
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

Xiden did an oil pipeline for Russia, and killed one for Americans.

You hate America/Americans

The school committee
The school committee
Reply to  Mad Trapper
2 years ago

Nonsense

Independent Fact Checker
Independent Fact Checker
Reply to  Mad Trapper
2 years ago

Totally true.

Independent Fact Checker
Independent Fact Checker
Reply to  The school committee
2 years ago

Fake information.

Jonathan Melle
Jonathan Melle
2 years ago

What happened to freedom of speech? Rudy Giuliani has every right to say what he believes, even if it is a (big) lie. So does everyone else out there. I would like to see Rinaldo Del Gallo III defend Rudy Giuliani’s right to free speech in the State of New York. Didn’t Dan Valenti go through something similar when he blogged about Cliffy Nilan’s beautiful adult daughter Meredith Nilan’s auto accident where I man was injured. Dan Valenti was ordered by a Massachusetts court of law to remove his blog posts about the beautiful Meredith Nilan, and Dan Valenti complied. Rinaldo Del Gallo III defended Dan Valenti’s right to blog about Cliffy and his beautiful adult daughter Meredith because the state and national constitutions entitles Dan Valenti to free speech on his blog. I thought I could go around saying the sky is red during the day and white and then blue at night, and my erroneous statements are legal under my entitlement to free speech. If Hunter Biden can write a book this year of 2021 saying he broke all sorts of state and federal laws and make millions of dollars doing so, then why can’t Rudy Giuliani falsely say the 2020 election was stolen?