By DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015) — In the vastly underrated made-for-TV movie Colossus: The Forbin Project, the formidable computer takes over control of the world’s nuclear weapons and, ultimately, of humanity itself. In unforgettable and chilling tones (supplied by the late, great voice-actor Paul Frees), Colossus tells the world that people are not losing their freedom. Rather, they are gaining security. Then Colossus boils the reason why down to its non-reducable essense:

“Freedom is an illusion.”

THE PLANET agrees. Humanity had not sufficiently matured to handle freedom. Since civilization’s dawn, we have handled that unpleasant reality through the imposition of regulations, rules, and laws. We all get that. Thus, when it comes to The First Amendment, we realize that freedom of speech, press, and assembly cannot be absolute. That said, THE PLANET also embraces the Jeffersonian ideal that if we must have rule, regulation, and law — that is, Government — let it always be spelled with a small “g”. Give us as little as necessary.

Mayor Goes Through Back Door to Squelch Dissent

This prelude brings us to the most recent crisis in the endless line of  mishaps, missteps, indiscretions, miscalculations, solecism, and gaucherie that have occurred since Dan Bianchi became mayor and used his back-door influence to install Melissa Mazzeo as his puppet queen to front the presidency of the Pittsfield City Council. Dictatorships can only work if they are benign. This one, however, has saddled Pittsfield citizens and taxpayers with incompetency of the worst kind: that of deliberation and not of sheer ineptness.

Council president Mazzeo wants to tighten the noose on what little there is of free speech at council meetings. The blunt move has the mayor’s fingerprints all over it. If you’ll recall, after THE PLANET‘s incredible string of exposes revealing the disastrous situation at Berkshire Works under the mismanagement of the mayor’s buddy from the south, William Monterosso, Bianchi formalized his own political paranoia and passed it along to city employees in the form of an imposed “press policy” whose net effect was to instill shrinking fear in all city department heads and workers. They were told not to talk to the press, and that all inquiries would be first referred to the mayor’s office, upon penalty of your job. That’s probably why ordinary citizens walk into city hall, they feel the bad vibes. That’s not how it should be for the OWNERs of government.

In his time in office, Bianchi has not held one press conference. He has practiced highly selective press relations, speaking only to those media that will publish his fantasies of fluff, puff, and fictive stuff. While he continues to ruin the city, he only wants favorable reviews of the paradisic nature of life in the Democratic Republic of North Podunk.

Bianchi won the corner office and imploded, falling prey to that most cliched disease of power: Rabbit ears. He wants everyone to love him. His reaction to criticism has been to develop a persecution complex. It’s like the softball complex without the drinking.

Aim Is to Silence Critics of the Mayor

Mazzeo is mouthing the directives of Bianchi. When the council voted 10-1 to ask the mayor to rescind his Administrative Order to re-restructure the Department of Public Services, Mazzeo was the only one to vote against it. Apparently, one must check integrity and self-respect at the door to be council president these days. Funny, THE PLANET doesn’t recall that price being paid by Kevin Sherman, Peter Marchetti, and Tom Hickey, to name a few.

Bianchi wants to silence all critics by focusing on one man,  Craig Gaetani, who has taken full advantage of the right of all citizens to petition government. Gaetani has been especially adept at making use of the Open Mic session of council meetings. He outmaneuvered Mazzeo with her own rules, and when Madame President became totally baffled at the March 24 meeting, she gaveled the meeting closed — She ordered the interruption, not Gaetani, because she, not Gaetani, couldn’t compete in political speed chess. Within her own rules, Gaetani played Mazzeo like a cheap Stradivarius.

Mazzeo  later conferred with police chief Mike Wynn to make sure the mayor’s uniformed police are present at all council meetings to add a stifling presence for any citizens who might, you know, “get outta line” and actually has an issue or two with the handling of the city. Police State, meet Bianchi’s Pittsfield.

To carry out this assault on the First Amendment, Mazzeo (mis)employs Section 20(f) of the state Open Meeting Law. It reads:

“No person shall address a meeting of a public body without permission of the chair, and all persons shall, at the request of the chair, be silent. No person shall disrupt the proceedings of a meeting of a public body. If, after clear warning from the chair, a person continues to disrupt the proceedings, the chair may order the person to withdraw from the meeting and if the person does not withdraw, the chair may authorize a constable or other officer to remove the person from the meeting.” 

Even a casual reading of the law compared with Mazzeo’s hasty (and false) application shows an unskilled amateur carrying water for an even more maladroit ham-hander. THE PLANET won’t bother continuing with this elementary civics lesson. Perhaps Mazzeo and the mayor can find it in an old version of Government for Dummies.

A Genuine Cold Spot

Danmel Bianazzeo — we get them mixed up — said “she wants to be sure everyone is aware that insulting comments, open campaigning for political office and speaking longer than the allotted time — especially when the council has a long agenda, as was the case on March 24 — she will first issue a warning and, if necessary, have the person removed from the meeting.” [source, “Pittsfield City Council president aims to curb meeting disruptions” by Jim Therrien, The Berkshire Eagle, 4-2-15)

This paragraph introduces a genuine cold spot into the heart of city hall that for Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski has become a haunted house. Walking into that building and into that council chambers has become like walking through a curtain of ice, to borrow a construction from The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

Unfettered free speech does not lie within the jurisdiction of the mayor, council president, or police chief. It lies within the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which all three have sworn to uphold. Folks, remember a time when oaths were taken as seriously as the contracts they are?

It is not for the mayor, the council president, the police chief, or anyone else to decide on what constitutes “insulting comments.”

MAzzeo’s worried about “insults?” Seriously? Her confidence can’t be that shaken. This has to come directly from the mayor. Insults can and must be part of the universe of public debate. If you don’t think so, watch our English brethren in Parliament conduct their Questions for the Prime Minister sessions! And who is to say what is an “insult” as opposed to allowable criticism? Certainly not Mazzeo.

Democracy is a rough-and-tumble sport. It can, does, and should carry  compliments as well as insults, a range of response that includes the most flattering of accolades to the most withering of denigrations. Nor can anyone, including the council president, prevent speech by subjectively determining it to be “campaigning for public office.” If that were the test, not one of our 11 Right Honorable Good Friends could utter a word.

Mazzeo et. al. obviously do not know that when Gaetani, Linda Tyer, or The Man in the Moon announce their candidacy for public office, they do not relinquish their constitutional rights. Moreover, citizens do not officially become candidates until they submit the required number of certified signatures. Mazzeo’s “rationale” is more an “irrationale,” her “logic” more like a lock box for idiots.

Is that an insult? Depends on your point of view, doesn’t it?

As for speaking “longer than the allotted time,” Madame President is uniform in her inconsistency and consistent in her illogic. Friends of the Mayor get much longer than the three minutes allowed by rules when they are kissing his rump. Foes of the Mayor are gaveled shut at 02:59:59 or sooner.

Obviously, THE PLANET’s Right Honorable Good Friends on the city council have a lot at stake if MAzzeo should be foolish enough to shill this type of crap for the mayor. If they reject this attempt to inhibit free speech, they will gain much good will and some votes. However, if they go along with this ugly passion play, woe be. This time, voters will remember, because we will not let them forget.

Mazzeo Responds to THE PLANET

THE PLANET sent the following message to Mazzeo:

——– 000 ——–

MELISSA
I have read about your comments on the current “open mic’ process at council meetings.
I strongly disagree with your stance, but want to give you the opportunity to defend. I have a small item on the Weekend Edition of my blog. I shall be commenting more at length next week.

Here are my questions, for the record:

* How do the rules you cite give you the right to limit free speech? 
* Free speech is just that. Free. My reading of the law does not give you the power to stifle political commentary, limit candidates from speaking (since they are still citizens and especially if they are not officially confirmed with certified signatures), or language that you deem disturbing. I have run this by First Amendment legal experts. They agree with me.

* Is this directed at Mr. Gaetani?
* Did the mayor order you to seek this action?
* Do you think this helps or hurts you, politically?

Feel free to add anything you wish. If you want to come on my TV show and defend your position, let me know.
Best,
DAN

——– 000 ——–

Here is her reply:

Dan,

——– 000 ——–

How Long Will You Take It?

This is Pittfield, a city that routinely steamrolls participation in government by ordinary citizens. Short of a legal challenge by someone with sharp-toothed lawyers, the gulag atmosphere continues to darken the skies of erstwhile citizen-owned government.

The only other force that can put an end to the nonsense is a show of force and will by you, the ordinary citizen and taxpayers. You must let your council and your mayor know that this measure is simply unacceptable. You must pressure them not to take this fatal step in the direction of a mini- “national security state” in what we used to know as the City of Pittsfield. As we said, there is a lot at stake.

One final question in this election year: Will you, the citizen and taxpayer, sit silently by? Will you, Mary Jane and Joe, keep swallowing this guff? And will you, The Candidate, also play patty cake with this assault on democracy?

——– ooo ——–

[ED NOTE: Finally, we apologize to our good friend and colleague Ben Garver, photographer extraordinaire of The Berkshire Eagle. We used his photo of Craig Gaetani yesterday but through oversight neglected to credit the picture. THE PLANET added a photo credit late in the day, and there is shall be for the duration.]

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“We got a thousand points of light for the homeless man.” — Neil Young, “Rockin’ in the Free World,” from the album Freedom,  (1989).

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.