COURT ORDEAL WORTH IT FOR AFFIRMING THE STRENGTH OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT … PLANET SHARES ‘LETTERS TO THE EDITOR’ ON ‘NILAN v. VALENTI’ … plus … QUICK HITS AND HOT LICKS TAKES UP A BUNCH OF LOCAL (LOCO) ISSUES

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COURT ORDEAL WORTH IT FOR AFFIRMING THE STRENGTH OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT … PLANET SHARES ‘LETTERS TO THE EDITOR’ ON ‘NILAN v. VALENTI’ … plus … QUICK HITS AND HOT LICKS TAKES UP A BUNCH OF LOCAL (LOCO) ISSUES

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, JULY 16, 2012) — The preponderance of media coverage in Nilan v. Valenti focused almost exclusively on application of The First Amendment, particularly as it relates to cyberspace. The First Amendment guarantees five freedoms to citizens of the nation: * Freedom of Religion […]

July 15, 2012 57 Comments

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!!PLANET EXCLUSIVE!! PETER MOORE’s FAMILY SPEAKS …THE BATTLE OF LETTERS or WHAT’S A JOURNALIST? WHO’S A JOURNALIST? THE PLANET RESPONDS TO BB EDITORIAL … plus … TWO CASES IN POINT THAT PUTS ‘FREE SPEECH’ TO A TEST (DO YOU DARE TAKE IT?)

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2012) — THE PLANET heard from a spokesman for the family of Peter Moore, victim of the negligent driving of Meredith Nilan. Moore’s laborious recovery from his near-fatal injuries continues on schedule, energized by the fuel injection of family love and the determination of a strong man, who wants […]

July 12, 2012 98 Comments

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!UPDATE! PLANET REPUBLISHES JAN. 23 POST ON NILAN-MOORE …MORE ON ONLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FIRST AMENDMENT CASES TO COME DOWN THE PIKE IN YEARS … THE PLANET SHARES ATTORNEY DEL GALLO’S WINNING BRIEF … or … INSIDE BASEBALL ON A HUGE RULING ON FREEDOM IN AMERICA

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary ADD 1 THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012 — Today we activate from the Phantom Zone of cyberspace one our early columns on the Nilan-Moore Case. We shall be taking this piecemeal approach to the republishing of most of the columns and information we initially redacted in response to […]

July 11, 2012 130 Comments

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SOME THOUGHTS THE DAY AFTER … JUDGE VACATES GAG ORDER IMPOSED ON THE PLANET … FIRST AMENDMENT AND FREE SPEECH WIN THE DAY IN DISTRICT COURT

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, JULY 9, LATE IN THE EVENING, THEN LATER THE NEXT DAY, JULY 10, 2012) — There will be much, much more to say about our day in court yesterday, and as much as THE PLANET is eager now-and-pronto to write volumes on this, we […]

July 9, 2012 111 Comments

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SHORT-TERM THINKING, OVER-ESTIMATING DEMAND, UNDERESTIMATING COSTS PRODUCE ARTS GLUT … WILL IT SPELL DOOM FOR PITTSFIELD? … plus … UNEARTHING AN IMPORTANT CLUE TO THE CITY’S FUTURE

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, JULY 6, 2012) — Yesterday, as we have done on numerous occasions prior, THE PLANET discussed the folly of relying upon a recreation-and-resort economy as a city’s economic cost center. Most of the jobs of such an economy are service-type positions that pay […]

July 6, 2012 68 Comments

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PARADE AFTERMATH: TRASH OF THE CANDY-WRAPPER KIND AND THE HUMAN KIND … KNIFE FIGHT MARS PARADE CONCLUSION … COOL WORK BY PITTSFIELD COPS PREVENTS A TRAGEDY … THOSE ‘MEAN STREETS,’ THEY AREN’T MEANT FOR YOU, JOE AND MARY JANE KAPANSKI

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, JULY 5, 2012) — THE PLANET received several posts and letters on the Pittsfield Fourth of July parade. One came from someone who was attending, wrote that “it sux,” and said he was leaving. A couple others expressed disappointment as well, with the quality. […]

July 5, 2012 49 Comments

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WORDS MATTER, AS ONE WHO HAS PAID THE PRICE CAN TELL YOU … IT’S NOT ‘TORTURE,’ IT’s THE USE OF ‘ENHANCED INTERROGATION TECHNIQIUES … TRASH-O-RAMA TO HIT NORTH STREET TOMORROW, BUT PLANET’s ‘RICK’ HAS A BETTER IDEA … plus … SUNS SPLIT

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, JULY 3, 2012) — Words matter. Last night at the college, my ENG 102 advanced composition class spent time on this theme, which we call “The Politics of Language, after our textbook chapter and echoing George Orwell famous essay, “Politics and the English […]

July 3, 2012 37 Comments

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POETRY MONDAY TAKES US ALL THE WAY, WITHOUT DR. RUTH … QUICK HITS AND HOT LICKS LOOK AT ZONING, ADULT CENTER LEASE, A BIANCHI-MARCHETTI THAW, CHICKENS, & MORE … plus … SIR TIBERIUS PRESENTS HIS LATEST MASTERPIECE

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012) — On poetry Tuesday, the day before the Fourth of July and the annual $85,000 exercise in excess known as the Pittsfield Ringer’s Parade, THE PLANET presents this verse, which we find perfect for the day’s heat and the evening’s recline: […]

July 2, 2012 36 Comments

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!EXCLUSIVE! WE HEAR FROM PETER MOORE VIA FAMILY SPOKESPERSON … PLANET RESPONDS TO BB EDITORIAL … LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ON ‘NILAN v. VALENTI’: THANKS TO ALL … FIRST AMENDMENT IS AMERICA ‘AS’ AMERICA, or A REFLECTION ON THE MOST IMPORTANT 45 WORDS IN THE BODY OF THE U.S.’s FOUNDING DOCUMENTS

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY JULY 13, 2012) — First, we share this exclusive on Peter Moore, the victim of Meredith Nilan’s negligent driving on Dec. 8, 2012. He’s the victim in the sad affair, remember? A spokesman for the Moore family noted that supreme irony of the […]

July 1, 2012 1 Comment

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SUPREME COURT DECISION ON OBAMACARE ALL ABOUT ROBERTS, ‘HIS OWN MAN’ … COURT GIVES WE THE PEOPLE HUGE FIRST AMENDMENT FREE SPEECH WIN … SPEAKING OF WINS, A WIN FOR BIANCHI … plus … SUNS LOSE AT BWP

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary ADD#1 FRIDAY JUNE 29, LATER IN THE DAY — Readers may be interested in our ADD #2 addition to yesterday’s column that reported our compliance with the judge’s ruling. ——————————————————- (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 2012) — Now back to our usually scheduled programming, before we […]

June 29, 2012 59 Comments

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PLANET COMPLIES WITH ORDER OF THE COURT CONCERNING ENTRIES ON BLOG … ‘WE ARE A NATION OF LAWS,’ AND THAT IS ALMOST ALWAYS AN INVIOLATE PRINCIPLE

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary ADD#2, JUNE 29, 2012 — You will notice that we took down many of the comments left at the end of this story. We do that after applying a broad standard to the judge’s injunction that THE PLANET not write about the case at issue. The action […]

June 28, 2012 5 Comments

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SANDUSKY VERDICT RAISES THIRD-RAIL QUESTION LOCALLY: WHAT IS THE TRUTH ABOUT ALL THE CHILD MOLESTATION RUMORS? … IT’S TIME FOR PITTSFIELD AND BERKSHIRE COUNTY TO FACE UP TO THIS ISSUE … IF THERE HAS BEEN AN ORGANIZED RING INVOLVING KEY PUBLIC FIGURES, IT NEEDS TO BE EXPOSED AND PROSECUTED; IF NOT, THE RUMORS MUST BE PUT TO REST ONCE AND FOR ALL

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEws and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 2012) — Is it Berkshire County’s equivalent of the alligators that supposedly swim in the NYC sewers? Or is there a reason Ed Norton carries a speargun into the sewers? Urban myth or sad truth? It’s the question that no one […]

June 27, 2012 6 Comments

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COUNCIL MEETING TONIGHT ON METH ISSUE … YON, CLAIRMONT WANT EXECUTIVE SESSION … HEARTBREAK PILL, or, A TALE OF METHADONE AND DEATH … THE STORY IS FINALLY TOLD IN NEW TV SERIES: “THE HOUSEWIVES OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY” … plus … NEW FEATURE: ‘THE PLANET DEFINITION’

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2012) — At tonight’s city council meeting, my Right Honorable Good Friends will witness a citizens protest from folks who don’t want a methadone clinic located in a residential neighborhood. THE PLANET plans on being there, either in person or through […]

June 26, 2012 25 Comments

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RESPITE FROM THE RAT RACE, BUT FIRST … ANTI-NEIGHBORHOOD METH CLINIC PROTEST SET FOR TUESDAY’S COUNCIL MEETING … GUESS WHO’S COMING TO BH&O BUILDING ON DAN FOX DRIVE?… plus … THE RESTORATIONS OF POETRY, FEATURING THE DIVINE EDGAR AND SOME CAT NAMED DAN VALENTI

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2012) — With all the “deeds of the children of the night” being exposed on a regular basis from THE PLANET‘s work on behalf of The People of Berkshire County, let us step back, breath fresh air, and cleanse ourselves with […]

June 25, 2012 42 Comments

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!EXCLUSIVES! PLANET BREAKS TWO BIG STORIES: BHS to ‘GOBBLE UP’ BERKSHIRE HEMATOLOGY & ONCOLOGY ON DAN FOX DRIVE, SOURCES SAY … THE PLANET LETS YOU IN ON THE COURT-ORDERED ‘GREETING CARD’ (LITERALLY) MEREDITH NILAN SENT TO PETER MOORE … LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ON A VARIETY OF LOCAL TOPICS … plus … QUICK HITS AND HOT LICKS

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2012) — THE PLANET has learned from a reliable source within the health industry that the Berkshire Hematology and Oncology (BH&O) business located on Dan Fox Drive sometime early next year will be absorbed by the growing Berkshire Health Systems (BHS) […]

June 22, 2012 85 Comments

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RALLY AGAINST METHADONE CLINIC TODAY AT PARK SQ. @ 5 P.M. … AT THE START OF SUMMER, THE PLANET REMEMBERS SHERM FELLER … TOM MOORE, PETER’S FATHER, OPENS UP ON MEREDITH NILAN PROSECUTION, BLAMES D.A. … THE COLOSSAL FAILURE KNOWN AS THE ‘WAR ON DRUGS’ … plus … A LOOK AT SPECTRUM HEALTH SYSTEMS’ TAX FILING FOR 2009: ‘THAR’S GOLD IN THEM THAR METH CLINICS’

By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2012) — Before we welcome you to summer, let us share this quick announcement: Tonight, at 5 p.m. at Park Square, those who are against locating a methadone clinic next to Dwyer Funeral Home, near two schools, and in the middle […]

June 20, 2012 59 Comments

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