Yes, John, what about the children?

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?

_________________
You know me like that.

He is correct in his assessment. The truth of the matter is the only one who is going to win is Mike North. They will vote in his favor and he will have gotten his name in newspapers and TV.

I promise you there was not a single person of Asian heritage who played in Senn park when Mike was growing up.

Why? Is Mike on the 'roids?

_________________

Maybe I am missing something. The field is already there, right? How is NOT naming it after North going to hurt the kids?

That was a "mail it in" column by Kass. He really didn't say anything. He just through in Buzz words and phrases. It's always easy to end an article with "the kids are the ones that suffer" But you're right. What the hell does that mean?

If Pappy's real motivation is to help the kids he can do that regardless of what they call the damn park. Plus how many aricles is Pappy going to be quoted as saying "I'm a street kid. I didn't know. Nobody told me." For the love of god it's tiresome.

"And, he (North) asks that his buddies supporting him--including the Asian guys he grew up with playing softball at that park--don't overreact on his behalf."

Also guessing not many of my Chinamen will be there. Unless my phone rings.

MN "Hey Tam, this is Mike"
TZ"Mike who?"
MN"North, Northy, The Mikester, Papi, pasty"
TZ"Nope"
MN"Ok, well anyways, you still asian?"
TZ"Let me check, yes, Yes I am"
MN"OK great, remember that time I gave you $1 to buy lunch"
TZ"Actually, you forced me to give you a dollar"
MN"Whatever, that don't matter"
MN"Look, I need you at this meeting tonight to vote for me so they can name a field after me."
TZ"Where is this vote?"
MN"OK great, thanks a lot buddy, Jen will fill you in on the details"
TZ"where? hello?"

_________________
"Acccchhooooo"

I thought it was weird that the reasoning behind naming the field for him was that he would then take care of it. Isn't that bass-ackwords reasoning?

_________________
You know me like that.

The Ass is not a kid he's a grown Man !!!

The problem is that Kass treats this insult from last summer as a one-time only deal. It wasn't. It is only the latest in a long history of derogatory and stupid remarks. North isn't a role model to children or adults.

_________________
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. ~ Benjamin Franklin

This column is brutal. Here is a copy of the e-mail I sent to Mr. Kass:

=========

Dear Mr. Kass,

I read your January 10, 2007 column regarding Mike North and the naming of the Senn High School ball field, and I felt compelled to send you a note. While you used Mr. North's plight to shed light on probable political motivations, your column appears to minimize Mike North's culpability in this matter. The incident you refer to was indeed offensive, but that is not the entire story here.

During his Chicago broadcast career, Mr. North has offered numerous ethnic slurs and offended many with these types of 'unknowing' characterizations. Further, after saying these 'stupid things', Mr. North's initial reaction has been consistently to reject the notion that his comments could be construed as offensive. Mr. North followed this same pattern with respect to incident you describe in your column, but reversed course several days later in response to management pressure. Only then did Mr. North read a stilted, insincere, and qualified apology that was diminished further by his claim he did not know his terminology was offensive. Since that time, he and his co-workers have made light of the apology, further diminishing its value, by making sarcastic reference to other things he did not know were wrong.

My point here is that in my view, Mr. North is not role model; and in light of his transgressions, he truly is not worthy of the honor of having a community field named after him. Sometimes, even when politics is involved, there are legitimate reasons for a course of action. In this case, given the weight of Mr. North's pattern of unbecoming conduct, you ignored the obvious to highlight a lesser point. (Note, the real story here is how was Mr. North selected for this honor in the first place!)

As a final note, Mr. Kass, you conclude your column by noting that you know who loses here -- 'the kids.' I am wondering if you can elaborate on how actually the 'kids' lose if the field is not in fact named after Mike North? Has he committed to some type of guaranteed, continuing financial support to assure future field maintenance and repair? Or are you simply concerned that not naming the field after Mr. North would conceal the message that "It is OK to drop out of school, because you still could get lucky?" (A message that Mike North himself would reject as the 'pussification of America,' but that is another story for another day!)

Thank you in advance for your time and your reply.

I question the whole political angle. I'm sure this uproar was moitvated by other reasons than just the North comment.
But I also believe initial proposal for the naming of the field wasn't created by the dutiful citizens in the Senn district.
Bebe orchestrated this, and it's a little coincidental that this was taking place at this time. North's ratings aren't the greatest, and the furor over being extremely overpaid has also been bandied about Chicago. I'm sure Bebe wasn't doing this as propaganda.
It's just funny that the columnist didn't bring to light why the field was going to be named for North in the first place.

_________________
President of Blake Shetlon fan club