KWANZAA! KA-CHINGA! A GUEST COLUMN
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE THE WEEKEND EDITION, DEC. 26, 2025) — Today THE PLANET presents a guest column by freelance writer Dod Grile, a San Franciscan known for his acerbic but honest observations about the human species and his passions for the San Francisco Giants. He knew Willie Mays personally. He has local ties to The Berkshires.
We will also note that on any guest columns, the opinions expressed are those of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the views of THE PLANET.
SPECIAL TO THE PLANET
BY DOD GRILE
Beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday (12/27) at Zion Lutheran Church (74 First St., Pittsfield), Kwanzaa will be celebrated. Sponsors include the local chapter of the NCAA, the Women of Color Giving Circle (WOCGC), and the R.O.P.E. (Rites of Passage and Empowerment) group (for “young women of color and young people identifying as female or non-binary).
It will set you back $25 to get in or two for $40. White dollars are especially welcome … at full price, of course.
Kwanzaa!
Ka-chinga!
———- ooo ———-
You might of heard about R.O.P.E., better known as ROPE-A-DOPE. R.O.P.E. is one of the many freebies founder Shirley Edgerton has hammered out of white politicians, conning them into giving her sizable chunks of the public treasury to promote a racist ideology. Look, when you disperse and receive public funds on the basis of race, it’s racism. Of course, this description doesn’t jive with the group’s official mission. From its website: “It is designed to help participants discover their inner voice.” The common-sense world calls this “brainwashing through identity politics.”
Kwanzaa founder Maulana Karenga, aka Ron Everett, during his felony trial. He was accused and convicted of imprisoning and torturing two black women.
Ms. Edgerton practices a lot of Kujichagulia (“self promotion”). She is also the founder of WOCGC, another phony-baloney shakedown based on gender and skin color. Her biography on the R.O.P.E. page says “In addition to her responsibilities to R.O.P.E. and YA, she is working part-time with the Pittsfield School Department to support the recruitment of teachers of color, diversity training, and in-school mentoring programs for the students.” Nice work if you can get it. Cultural Competency Coach, that is. Much more important, you see, than reading, writing, math, and critical thinking.
Why doesn’t the city acknowledge reality and instead of Kwanzaa, call it the Shirley Edgerton Extravaganza Taunting Honkies (SEETH)?
The taunt comes with the timing of Kwanzaa, planned by its founder to begin as a week-long celebration beginning the day after Christmas.
———- ooo ———-
Speaking of its founder, he is militant black activist 84-year-old Maulana Karenga, born Ronald M. Everett. You can’t spell “Maulana” without “Maul.”
He began Kwanzaa in 1966 as a means to advance his own political agenda. Ex-post-facto, we could call this an “Edgerism.” Some has suspected that Everett became jealous of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and others; Kwanzaa, they say, became a way to promote himself as a Mr. Big in the Black Power movement. About five years later, Karenga along with several followers was convicted of felony and imprisoned. He was found guilty of assaulting and torturing two women from his organization after being convinced they were trying to poison him.
What did Everett and his cronies do to these two black women? From Wikipedia:
In 1971, Karenga was sentenced to one to ten years in prison on counts of felony assault and false imprisonment.[22] A May 14, 1971, article in the Los Angeles Times described the testimony of one of the women:
Deborah Jones, who once was given the Swahili title of an African queen, said she and Gail Davis were whipped with an electrical cord and beaten with a karate baton after being ordered to remove their clothes. She testified that a hot soldering iron was placed in Miss Davis’ mouth and placed against Miss Davis’ face and that one of her own big toes was tightened in a vise. Karenga, head of US, also put detergent and running hoses in their mouths, she said. They also were hit on the heads with toasters.[23]
Not surprisingly, “Dr.” Karenga mentions none of this in his biography or on his website.
Remember, it’s all about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
———————————————————————
“Without education, you’re not going anywhere in this world” — Malcolm X.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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I will hand it to Shirley Edgerton for mastering the art of the “shakin’down da honkey.” She has discovered that using the black race card is the money-magnet to fleece older, white liberals, especially those in political power in blue states.
When I began my research into the voyages of the “SS Minow-Shirl Shakedown,” it seemed to originate under Mayor Rolodex Ruberto and continues on “da honkey shakedown,” as I type this post.
Here are her missions and the results of those missions:
The SS Minow-Shirl Shakedown conducted her maiden voyage to North Carolina. The mission, recruiting black teachers for the Bitchfield Scohol Department.
Result-Failure.
A taxpayer paid family vacation to NC. Not one black teacher recruited or even interviewed for any job.
The SS Minow-Shirl Shakedown’s next voyage was chartered under Mayor Linda “Flat” Tyer-Clairmont. The mission of the Shirl Shakedown was to sail into the $100,000 a year job plus benefits, as the Cultural Competency Coach, and push her racist ideology on white children and helped to create the Bitchfield Pubic Scohol’s (D)idn’t (E)arn (I)t program.
Result-Failure.
White school children were made to conform to her “teachings” or labeled a “racist.” The DEI program has led the scohol into scandal beginning with Da Dancin Dean, Lavonte Wiggins. Da Dancin Dean was GIVEN a $100,000 a year job as a scohol administrator, but allegedly pi$$ed it all away dealing cocaine on school hours (maybe school ground? TBD). PHS Principal Alison “Sheppard’s Pie” Sheppard, in addition to assigning students detention, allegedly enjoyed sending pu$$y pics to students of color.
The SS Minow-Shirl Shakedown made the score of a lifetime on her next voyage during the “COVID plandemic.” The federal government, under the Autopen/Harris Administration released unprecedented amounts of taxpayer money to state and local governments during the plandemic, known as the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). This money was designed to boost economies and to help with the infrastructure of that government entity (i.e.-wastewater plant).
The SS Minow Shirl-Shakedown fleeced the city taxpayers of the “Flat” Tyer-Clairmont administration for $500,000 of taxpayer money, grifted as an ARPA payment for her ROPES course.
Result-Failure which should result in criminal charges. Shirl took her family and friends on an all-expense paid vacation to Africa to “explore her roots.”
En route to Ghana, a group of young scholars from Pittsfield had a fateful meeting with rapper Ja Rule | Central Berkshires | berkshireeagle.com
This accounts for well over $1,000,000 of money and grifts given to Shirley Edgerton by Pittsfield “leaders,” for what?
Does Shirley ever talk about black-on-black violence?
Or her family’s lineage to drug dealing and criminal activity in Pittsfield and other states in the US?
She’s really good about telling me how I’m racist by default. Simply by being born a white male. Unless of course my white hand is holding a fist full of money that I’m handing over to her.
It seems to be, da more green handed over to Shirl, da less racist dat honkey be.
That’s right. Enough ARPA money pissed away to hire a Bill Bratton and build a new police station and have millions left over. A failed school administration and a couple horrendous mayoral administrations. Taxes through the roof. A bum on every corner, and a chicken in every pot of every grifter. And ow pissing away more Kapanski cash for Wahaconah Park
Cant leave out two ton Bloviate out of this equation. Remember the dance party at Pitt park a few years ago? Right around voting season.
Markus, this isn’t “analysis.” It’s a racial fantasy dressed up as grievance.
What you’ve written isn’t oversight, accountability, or fiscal concern — it’s dehumanization. You reduce a Black woman to caricature, mock her speech, sexualize and racialize her existence, and then congratulate yourself for “asking questions.” That’s not courage. That’s cruelty with a thesaurus.
If you had real concerns about budgets, contracts, or outcomes, you’d cite audits, documents, or processes — not lean on slurs, stereotypes, and grotesque insinuations about race, sex, and criminality. You didn’t critique policy; you attacked identity.
And let’s be honest about the tell here:
You don’t object to public money being misspent. You object to who you think touched it.
Notice how quickly your argument collapses into “black-on-black violence,” family lineage, and who you imagine is “holding money.” That’s not civic discourse. That’s resentment looking for permission.
If you’re serious about accountability, start with facts.
If you’re serious about ethics, drop the racism.
And if you think this rant makes you look principled, you may want to reread it — slowly.
Because what it actually exposes isn’t corruption.
It’s you.
Using the handle “Markus Aurelius” to write something like this isn’t edgy or clever — it’s a complete self-own.
Marcus Aurelius wrote about discipline, restraint, humility, and responsibility to the common good. He warned explicitly against cruelty, ego, and the need to degrade others to feel powerful. His philosophy was rooted in reason, moral clarity, and respect for human dignity — even in disagreement.
What you posted is the opposite of all of that.
There’s no stoicism here. No reason. No ethics. Just sneering, racial caricature, sexualized insults, and grievance masquerading as critique. You didn’t channel a philosopher-emperor — you vandalized his name.
If Marcus Aurelius were alive, he wouldn’t argue with you. He’d be embarrassed that his words were dragged into service of something this small, mean, and undisciplined.
Wearing a thinker’s name doesn’t make the thoughts noble.
Sometimes it just makes the contrast impossible to ignore.
Notice how this liberal-loon immediately labels me, attempts to shame me, and like a true racist, even tossed the “racist” card on the table.
Of course she didn’t dispute one thing I wrote about Shirley’s fraudulent use of taxpayer money. I believe she even wrote about what I would like my taxpayer money spent on. Even though VV’s never met me.
Can I give you a piece of advice cupcake.
Learn the meaning of brevity.
This isn’t freshman English 101 and nobody cares to read a doctoral dissertation EVERY time you post.
I’ll give you that you are educated. But like fellow poster Kindergarden, you both are fu@kin’ dumb when it comes to real world events.
Kindergarden was at least a college prof. He just couldn’t take the heat of pushback from fellow posters. Much like yourself.
But he kept his cool. You get worked up too easily to teach or hold any type of managerial position. Unless you’re of course you’re Mayor Lumpy’s alter ego. Are you?
I’m guessing you’re in a sh!t job you hate with that useless BA in “Women’s Studies” or “Ethic Studies?”
Tell me I’m wrong VV.
How about a day to honor the Kapanski’s?
They have to pay for all of the politics and its special interests in Pittsfield and beyond.
Those 2-Pete’s Pittsfield politics are very expensive to the ATM’s otherwise known as taxpayers.
can you help me get a two pete pound free government bag to?
To do “dat”, buy the 1st Pete a case of beer, the 2nd Pete a Voltron toy, and Kufflinks a book cooker.
“Pittsfield politics heading into the calendar year 2026”
By Jon Melle, December 27, 2025
The phrase “2-Pete’s Pittsfield politics pounds people’s purses” is a critical slogan used by local commenters and bloggers in 2025 to describe the fiscal policies of Mayor Peter Marchetti and City Council President Pete White. It is a recurring slogan used by local political commentator Jon Melle and frequently posted on the Planet Valenti blog throughout 2025 to criticize the fiscal policies of Pittsfield, Massachusetts FAILED leadership. The alliteration is used to argue that current municipal spending and tax policies are “pounding” (negatively impacting) the finances of local residents.
The “2-Petes” refer specifically to these two leaders, who have significant influence over the city’s budget and tax rates.
Key Political Figures
Pete White (Council President): Currently serves as a Councilor At-Large and was re-elected in November 2025. He previously served as the Ward 2 Councilor (2010–2011). Pete White is a long-serving member of the Pittsfield City Council.
Peter Marchetti (Mayor): The current Mayor of Pittsfield, who previously served as City Council President alongside Pete White before taking office.
Tax Impact: Critics use the phrase “Pounding People’s Purses” to argue that “predictable Pittsfield politics” is driving municipal spending to record levels, leading to higher tax burdens for residents.
Pittsfield already uses the maximum allowed residential tax shift of 1.75% to move some of the tax burden onto commercial and industrial properties, meaning they cannot increase this percentage further to help residents. The city uses the maximum possible tax shift (1.75) to give residents the largest break allowed by law, which places a heavier burden on commercial properties.
Pittsfield’s residential property tax rate is generally higher than those of many other communities in Massachusetts, while its commercial rate is among the highest in the state. Pittsfield’s fiscal year 2025 commercial rate was $37.96, which was among the highest in the state, just below Holyoke at $38.55.
Ward 1 City Councilor Kenneth Warren has often been a vocal critic of the current administration’s fiscal proposals during his tenure on the council. Previously, it was then Ward 2 City Councilor Charles Ivar Kronick when Linda Tyer was the Mayor of Pittsfield, and Peter Marchetti was the President of the Pittsfield City Council.
Property Taxes and Fees: Jon Melle characterizes the administration’s tax policies as a “War against the Underclass,” arguing that rising property taxes and fees—such as those for water and sewer—are used to fund a “slush fund for city bigwigs” (political insiders and their special interests) while threatening the homeownership of middle-class residents.
Wahconah Park Renovation: Jon Melle advocates for cancelling or significantly scaling back the $30 million renovation project, which he views as a “luxury” the city cannot afford during a financial crisis.
Jon Melle has consistently used his platform on Planet Valenti to advocate for drastic fiscal reform in Pittsfield. His central recommendation for 2025 is to slash the city’s municipal operating budget by approximately $62 million to bring it in line with the spending levels of peer cities like Westfield.
Spot on column!
Shame on Zion Lutheran for hosting this crap. But then, the Lutheran Church in Minnesota was being paid thousands for each Somalian they “placed” in the community. And we all know the problems with fraud that are going on there!
Bottom line is…..not every church preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Food banks are profitable.
Eyeroll*
No, they’re not.
Food banks are nonprofits. By law, they cannot operate for profit. Any funds they receive are required to be spent on food, storage, transportation, staff, and distribution — not pocketed.
If you think one is “profitable,” point to the Form 990 and show misuse of funds.
You might want to take a stroll over to YouTube and watch Nick Shirley’s recent trip to Minnesota and see the Somalian fraud up close
Helpful critique here: kindly start with last sentence and drop the eyeroll. Then you can have a debate.
I agree that DB needs to explain and argue the point, but we know going in that people do get rich managing non profits and public projects. So there is often “profit”.
I don’t expect food banks to be a likely place for abuse unless there is no food to dispense after funds received.
From NYPOST
“Omar (D-MN) went from nearly broke to being worth up to $30 million in just a year — as a massive, up to $9 billion fraud scheme involving the Somali community in her district unfolded right under her nose in Minnesota.
Close to 90 people have been charged so far, including at least three with direct ties to the lefty Squad member, though she has not been charged.
It was Somalia-born Omar — who was seen in a resurfaced video last month dishing out food in a restaurant now at the heart of the scandal — who introduced the legislation critics say paved the way for what the feds have called the largest fraud of the pandemic.
The Jimmy Choo wearing socialist introduced the MEALS Act in Congress in 2020, relaxing oversight of government sponsored children’s meals programs during the pandemic, which critics say allowed fraudsters to claim they served millions of meals without verification, while pocketing millions of dollars in government subsidies.”
Hunger persists where fraud is unchallenged.
There it is, verse and chapter. Perhaps that will satisfy VEN. … Then again …
Lots of money pouring to poverty; a few got very rich very fast and not a mouth is fed.
Did you know that Vladimir Putin made his earliest fortune during his mayorship of St. Petersburg stealing food for money?
For sake of debate, I have an answer
Or, we could skip the debating part of debate and just use the thumbs down/up button.
You jump from a local event to sweeping claims about Somalian refugees, unnamed fraud, and entire faith communities — without evidence, without specifics, and without any apparent understanding of how refugee placement or church funding actually works.
That isn’t discernment — it’s prejudice dressed up as piety.
And invoking the Gospel while casting collective blame on immigrants is a strange choice, given that the central figure of Christianity preached compassion, humility, and care for the stranger.
Disagreement is fair. Bigotry by implication is not.
Hey lefty lady,
From now on I’ll back up my remarks with articles JUST FOR YOU, since you are not able to do your own research. Both Lutheran & Catholic charities have been in the news for raking in big bucks by sponsoring ILLEGAL aliens in communities throughout the U.S.
Illegal immigrants are here ILLEGALLY, they are breaking current immigration law and therefore will absolutely get no compassion from me.
The fraud is very clearly named. There are charges even. Like 9 billion dollars vanished to Somalia which is more than that country’s GDP. It’s like a giant black hole appeared and sucked everything into it.
Imagine how many times that can happen before something really awful happens.
December 26, 2025
Hello blogger Dan Valenti,
I hope that you and your loved ones (and all of the Planet Valenti blog readers) had a Merry Christmas and/or a Happy Holidays season.
ICE plans to put one of their new immigrants holding facilities in Merrimack, NH, which borders the town that I live in. It would be the only immigrants holding facility in New England.
https://indepthnh.org/2025/12/25/sen-mcgough-too-early-to-discuss-report-on-ice-plans-to-hold-immigrants-in-merrimack-nh/
New Hampshire State Senator Tim McGough, Republican, is my State Senator where I live. He did NOT oppose the new ICE immigrants holding facility in Merrimack, NH.
My thoughts on it all is that the federal government is spending billions of dollars on ICE, but the area where I live is dealing with significant federal cuts to social services programs and social insurance programs alike, such as Medicaid, SNAP, homeless programs, public education, and so on.
The area where I live may have the only ICE immigrants holding facility in all of New England, but we also lost large amounts of federal dollars to help the people who are most in need just like everywhere else in the U.S.A.
Trump’s “ICE Age” is cold-hearted to all of the above subjects in my political letter.
Best wishes,
Jon Melle
Maybe the cuts to social services is directly caused by drains by illegal aliens who were promised aid.
I am 100% behind this.
I’m glad to see my tax dollars going to good use and locking up illegal aliens for future deportation, rather than giving my tax dollars to illegal aliens for Medicaid, SNAP, “houseless” programs, so they can sit on their a$$ while I go to work and support them.
JM, you are aware entering the USA illegally is against the law. Just because Autopen/Harris illegally dumped them all over the US didn’t give them the right to be here and/or US citizenship.
As I wrote to you the other day, YOU democRATS CREATED this mess.
President Trump is cleaning it up, as HE WAS OVERWHELMING ELECTED TO DO (MAGA).
Have you ever thought about volunteering to help out Tricia Farley-Country Buffet’s (d-illegal aliens) reelection campaign?
You two share the same sentiment towards illegal aliens. You both believe illegal aliens should get priority over hardworking, tax paying, Americans. She probably gets a few more kickbacks than you will. She is their state rep in MA after all. She did get them DL’s to help them vot…..I mean drive voters to the last presidential election.
Here’s a song in honor of the new detention facility being built in your neighborhood:
Vanilla Ice – Ice Ice Baby (Official Music Video)
JM didn’t cause it. You know that; just as you know you can’t change it as you live in Massachusetts.
He has no power, and you have no influence over representation.
Build it bigger and lock up more. Cut the Medicaid for the illegals too and their kids and all able bodied folk like you Melle. Eliminate SNAP all together. Get a job! Buy your groceries with your own money.
Where’s the conversation on the Epstein files, Dan — or do “hard truths” stop when they point toward your political hero?
It’s striking how this blog goes silent on that subject. You demand courage, skepticism, and fearlessness from everyone else, yet won’t even open a discussion when the evidence becomes uncomfortable.
You preach facts, truth, and accountability — but there’s been no debate here. No questioning. No scrutiny. Just absence. That’s not journalism. That’s selective outrage.
And let’s be clear about what that silence communicates. For people who claim to care about law, morality, and protecting the vulnerable, the refusal to even acknowledge publicly reported allegations, testimony, and court filings involving sexual abuse and trafficking of minors is telling.
Silence isn’t neutrality.
It’s a choice.
And it reveals exactly who matters more than the victims to this group. Eww.
Ball is still in your court.
Let’s take a walk down memory lane together Vale and as my elementary school teachers used to say, “put on your thinking cap.”
*Bathhouse Barry Obama illegally spied on a duly-elected American President and American citizens.
*The deep state released the China virus to help steal the 2020 presidential election from President Trunp.
*Nancy Pelosi staged J6 to divert Americas attention away from the election theft. **pipe bomber recently arrested after 4+ years**
*They tried to assassinate Trump twice
*They locked him up on bogus charges.
*They (democRATS) ILLEGALLY raided Mar-A-Lago (no probable cause to do so).
*They raided the lady’s underwear drawer, looking for Crossfire Hurricane documents.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Now VV, you really believe if Trump WAS on the Epstein list the democRATS wouldn’t have released his name on the list prominently and then charged him with child sex crimes in the US by Merrick Garland’s DOJ?
Keep in mind, this is the same DOJ that Garland authorized DEADLY FORCE against President Trump.
*Why didn’t Autopen/Harris release the Epstein files when they were in office? They held the power congress at the time too.
If you really believe Trump is in those files, I’ve got some great ocean front property in Nebraska for you Vale. Interested?
MARK
And it’s a mighty big iceberg to which you refer, the tip of which, as your post points out, has a jabbing-sharp tip.
It’s intended likely to divert DOJ business off recent fraud and crimes committed by reps and their agents. There will be no trials, no justice served to victims, and the pimps are dead and jailed. A touch of embarrassment for some who are already long outed such as Clinton makes their sacrificial move.
The objective of the drive for disclosing docs – millions of them – is to decapitate the DOJ.
Yes, SIR CHAZ. It’s a smokescreen as well as a diversion. Some people either don’t grasp that or, if they do, see in it ideological fodder rather than the reality of the situation.
It’s intended to draw investigatory resources off things like campaign fraud, illegal investigative practices, and other crimes.
Do we all remember what Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky did in the Oval Office (aka the Oral Orifice)?
Do we all remember when Hillary Clinton stated that she is not Tammy Wynette because she does not Stand by her Man?
Do we all know that Bill Clinton is in the Epstein Files?
I kinda think that voters like guys like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, but it could just be one of those coincidences, too.
The thing he did was not in the Oval Office and appears to be mostly ML stalking him. It took place in a hearing under perjury where he committed perjury. It was a then a low bar for impeachment, but now it looks really tall given the last three ones. Impeachment for firing an asshole who ate all the blueberry muffins?
He never was charged or investigated for the rapes.
What one believes is what one believes. Who am i to disagree. Enjoy yourself.