BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JULY 3, 2019) — They couldn’t fit on one stage, so 20 of the 24 trying to win the Democrat Party’s nomination for president found themselves on two stages, two consecutive nights. THE PLANET‘s first question concerns timing. We’re eight months before the […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JULY 1, 2019) — Until the late 1830s, daily newspapers were too expensive to build mass circulation. The Sun, New York City’s largest paper, for instance, had a circulation of about 2,600 and sold for six cents (source: The Atlantic), a prohibitive cost […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION JUNE 28-30, 2019) — The time has come again for THE PLANET to dish some “inside baseball.” This site has grown beyond our expectations. It has done so for one reason: content. Over the years, we have covered and uncovered stories […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JUNE 26th, 2019) — Perhaps the most enjoyable phase of THE PLANET‘s career came during the 1980s as a baseball writer covering MLB from Florida, producing newspaper articles, radio pieces, and books. We got to meet countless players, umpires, front office people, writers, broadcasters, […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JUNE 24, 2019) — What is a U.S. citizen? Who are they? No, it’s not an Abbott and Costello routine (“What’s on second, Who’s on first”). It should be clear. You’re a citizen if (a) you’re born in America or one of its […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND AND BEYOND EDITION, JUNE 21 to …) — A campfire. Snow-covered mountains reflecting in a lake that does not appear on a map. End of day. It’s amazing how a setting like this can free the mind and spirit. Thoughts wander, needing […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY ADD 1 DURING THE WEEK — Lost in the woods. What a feeling. You know the path is close, but where. First thing. Don’t panic. Second thing. Get your bearings. Third thing: Compose your plan. And you find your way. The tricky turns of the wilderness in […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION JUNE 14-6, 2019 AND BEYOND THE INFINITE) — Gone fishing. Have a great weekend, everybody. Have a great life. May it be full of camp fires, smores, and pan-sizzled salmon. ————————————————————————————————— “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JUNE 10, 2019) — Suppose you take a healthy interest in local government. Suppose, further, that you want to educate yourself about the city’s finances. THE PLANET realizes that these two suppositions, alone, are enough to put a private citizen on The Suits’ […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION JUNE 7-9, 2019) — In THE PLANET‘s column on the dry hydrants contributing to a destructive house fire on Tyler Street, we raised a number of questions regarding the strange doings at the Department of Public Works: Numerous and unexplained resignations. […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JUNE 5, 2019) — In THE PLANET‘s recent column on President Trump’s trade war with China, Indiana University economist and good friend Dr. Charles Trzcinka mentioned tech giant Huawei. Maybe you haven’t heard of them, but this Chinese company is the world’s largest telecom […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JUNE 3, 2019) — The rest of the world might have moved on from him, but for THE PLANET, the Passion of Julian Assange gets more troubling. Assange was arrested by British authorities and sentenced to a year for jumping bail, a set-up serving […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION MAY 31-JUNE 2, 2019) — If a fire fighter hooks a hose to a hydrant and nothing comes out, does it make a noise? Answer: No. It means the hydrant is located in Pittsfield. On Thursday last, fire consumed a home […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY MAY 29, 2019) — The deviled details of America’s current trade war with China may be difficult to understand, given the byzantine nature of tariff application, their varying rates, and a number of other factors. The beauty of the issue for THE PLANET, however, […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY MEMORIAL DAY, MAY 27, 2019) — Nothing long or ponderous today, just a remembrance of all veterans who died in service to the country. THE PLANET offers our respects and honors for their sacrifices, for which we shall ever be grateful. Probably few if […]
BY DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION MAY 24-26, 2019) — You missed it. You missed it because Downtown Pittsfield Inc. — that useless, vampiric drain of public money — has for Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski all the relevance of Shandoff’s, the Bridge Street Lunch, England’s, Rosenfeld’s, […]
