tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post8476586695172542754..comments2024-03-18T21:09:10.627-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/19/24: Murderers' RowNeil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-3359555868082089292020-08-01T17:24:39.020-05:002020-08-01T17:24:39.020-05:00I've long believed that Greene decided when he...I've long believed that Greene decided when he switched to the Trib that he would drop that whole "voice of a generation" vibe he had at the Sun-Times and pander to the Trib readership that he saw as white, suburban and older. I'm sure that there were some at the Trib who were shocked, but they may've seen it as a way of keeping readers after Murdoch took over the Sun-Times.Mark J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05190217081206070769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-87365815246886552102020-07-29T22:16:11.662-05:002020-07-29T22:16:11.662-05:00I agree with 95% of what you wrote. Kass has alway...I agree with 95% of what you wrote. Kass has always been a hack. But folks like Peter Nickeas and a few others are why I'm happy to pay for the Trib as well as the Sun Times. Ted Slowik is great in the Southtown. Where my guy Phil Kadner came from. There is good stuff in every decent newspaper. It just isn't Kass. John K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12771002045339253123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-53886900147959901142020-07-28T18:26:00.149-05:002020-07-28T18:26:00.149-05:00I got suckered into Greene’s Baby Richard saga for...I got suckered into Greene’s Baby Richard saga for a time, until I realized I was reading the exact same phrase — “...was removed from the only home he had ever known...” — in every column.<br />My only guess as to his longevity is that his readers got lazy and allowed themselves to check their expectations of any meaningful writing at the page.SandyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14070366627628604352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-79102315658430510812020-07-28T16:25:07.922-05:002020-07-28T16:25:07.922-05:00Thank you for the relatively civil discourse on a ...Thank you for the relatively civil discourse on a very frought subject. I will be the first to acknowledge that I have ignorance, inherent bias and predjudices. Those who cannot admit to that are the ones to watch out for. Working to become more fair-minded and understand the point of view of others is an effort especially in a public forum. Thank you for your patience. FMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06829632906445535928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-87189580058180286272020-07-28T15:47:47.344-05:002020-07-28T15:47:47.344-05:00And Gene Lyon on Saturdays.And Gene Lyon on Saturdays.privatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18413982311699012802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-80328202630723340412020-07-28T15:40:06.927-05:002020-07-28T15:40:06.927-05:00The less said about Jack Kass, the better. For on...The less said about Jack Kass, the better. For one thing, his name is way too similar to my pseudonym...<br /><br />While this is a very interesting piece, I'm compelled to comment upon one sentence. "That's a shame, because the only reason to read the Tribune is for their non-Kass columnists..." IMHO, that's pointlessly mean. While praising the columnists, you didn't need to dump on the rest of the journalists at the Trib. I expect that from Joe Blow in Streamwood -- "Both these papers are rags -- the hell with them!" It's not a good look. <br /><br />More significantly, it's flatly untrue. We need all the reporting in Chicago we can get these days, and the folks at both papers do good work. I realize that the Tribune has been your competitor for decades -- but you're all in tiny boats in rough seas these days. Denigrating the other team isn't gonna get any more Yahoos to buy a Sun-Times. Jakashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-59918223937046343372020-07-28T15:10:32.216-05:002020-07-28T15:10:32.216-05:00George Soros isn't even part of "the New ...George Soros isn't even part of "the New York elite."J. Pabsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11566801024154623288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-85074954343630047992020-07-28T14:42:24.751-05:002020-07-28T14:42:24.751-05:00In the summer of '98, just after Frank Sinatra...In the summer of '98, just after Frank Sinatra died, HBO ran a made-for-cable film about the Rat Pack. Ray Liotta was Frank, Joe Mantegna was Dean, and Don Cheadle played Semmy Davis Jr. Cheadle danced in front of a huge neon sign spelling out just one word...the N-word...in a dream sequence. I think he may have won an award for that scene. It's the only thing I really remember about that production...how could you not?<br /><br />And that's how I feel whenever the online haters and wingnuts trot out the billboard with the S-word. When those bastards slap down the Soros card, they're playing the "Jew-hater" card, and I usually wade in, with both feet, and try to stomp them senseless. Once they start yammering about Soros, I know exactly what they're up to, and where they're coming from...the depths of anti-Semitic hell.<br /><br />I was still living in Chicago in the Eighties and early Nineties. I read the Trib every day. And I guess I either ignored Kass, or never read him at all. Can't remember a damn thing he wrote during that whole decade. Enough said.<br /><br />As for Bob Greene, I've already commented at EGD about his doofusness. It still amazes me that his newspoaper career lasted a third of a century, and that he wrote all those books. Amazing output and longevity, from such a Johnny One-Note. What the hell, I can be charitable--so make it two or three--or even four notes. But certainly no more. Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-3117514886558491352020-07-28T12:53:11.355-05:002020-07-28T12:53:11.355-05:00By doing just that. What exactly is Mr. Soros'...By doing just that. What exactly is Mr. Soros' crime? Maybe you can explain it. Focusing on George Soros is like singling out Israel as the one country in the world that shouldn't exist because of its unique crimes, then pretending that your rightly being called out as an anti-Semite means that Israel can't be criticized, which it can. But why am I doing this? There's a terrible passivity to people who won't recognize their own bigotry, FME, that's why I'm always trying to discourage you. It's a time waste, and tiresome. As the great Louis Armstrong did not actually say, "If you have to ask, you'll never know."Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-12735095431948126872020-07-28T11:56:54.300-05:002020-07-28T11:56:54.300-05:00Neil,this might be the perfect time to break out t...Neil,this might be the perfect time to break out the Louis Armstrong quote re: explaining Jazz, though FME may not understand<br /><br />Robert Y.auld bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05738276939260500986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-62006422855188310992020-07-28T11:49:08.128-05:002020-07-28T11:49:08.128-05:00Yes. A sincere question. Your suspicion is underst...Yes. A sincere question. Your suspicion is understandable but is part of the basis of my question. How does one suggest or allege impropriety on the part of mr. Soros without his heritage being drawn in and used much like the "race card"? When is it possible to speak of a person as simply a person and not be accused of attacking them because of identity politics?FMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06829632906445535928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-7503477249618783362020-07-28T11:00:55.579-05:002020-07-28T11:00:55.579-05:00Yes, Bob was unique. And thank God for that.Yes, Bob was unique. And thank God for that.Bitter Scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04645909858616987997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-90790174234551891882020-07-28T10:49:55.423-05:002020-07-28T10:49:55.423-05:00Spot on. Thank you.Spot on. Thank you.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00003372447323846636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-27614525022806607022020-07-28T10:19:32.755-05:002020-07-28T10:19:32.755-05:00nice takedown of kass, with the shiv sliding in at...nice takedown of kass, with the shiv sliding in at just the right angle. i do think though, that you're a bit too over enamored of the tribs' columnists-the only ones i find consistently thoughtful are chapman and the drama critic jones. huppke's ok, but recently, i sense that he'd be a bit better if he'd indulge in a little self editing. like your forays into the more obscure subjects btw.pgwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03804745965409667786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-90179125452191187242020-07-28T10:16:05.793-05:002020-07-28T10:16:05.793-05:00I cancelled my Tribune subscription long ago, when...I cancelled my Tribune subscription long ago, when their editorial page included Ted Nugent’s argument that Jesus loves guns. I know that that idiocy is easy to find on the internet, but hell if I was going to allow it in my front door. <br />Kass is less dangerous, I think, because he’s so hard to read. He might be saying something stupid but I can’t make it through a whole column to really tell. I’ve wondered if he gets paid by the word.J. Pabsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11566801024154623288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-56737687663691715482020-07-28T10:14:26.597-05:002020-07-28T10:14:26.597-05:00People mention this from time to time. But Bob was...People mention this from time to time. But Bob was deeply weird in a strange and compelling way. You would read his 100 columns about Baby Richard in a kind of thrall. Kass is in that slough of badness that isn't good enough to be interesting on its merits, or bad enough to be fascinating as a kind of performance art, the way Bob was. Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-36957933522434495832020-07-28T10:05:45.184-05:002020-07-28T10:05:45.184-05:00I was just thinking this the other day - the brill...I was just thinking this the other day - the brilliance of Bob Greene watch. Someone (Mr. Steinberg...) needs to seriously consider this.Jack of All Tiradeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00793541460471870149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-84619079747617007832020-07-28T10:01:11.053-05:002020-07-28T10:01:11.053-05:00"Is it possible to criticize a Jewish person ..."Is it possible to criticize a Jewish person without being anti-Semitic?" kind of tips your hand, FME. Is it a sincere question? The crux of Kass' argument, to the degree he has one, is that Jewish money underwrites the effort in the United States to be more lenient to prisoners. Must I diagram that? Jews are 1 percent of the population, maybe. They do succeed in numbers beyond that 1 percent, but it's still dwarfed by the greater society. So if I say, Jews control Hollywood because Natalie Portman, I'm being anti-Semitic. Does this help?<br />Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-28744026619054128322020-07-28T09:16:24.579-05:002020-07-28T09:16:24.579-05:00Really enjoyed today's column I love this insi...Really enjoyed today's column I love this inside baseball kind of stuff about the newspaper industry. Though it has faded from past glories it is an enormously important part of our Democratic process. Thanks for the insight. at the risk of being tossed behind the filter once again I would just like to ask a question. I've only read Mister kass on the rarest of occasions and not in a long time. Does he have a history of anti-semitism in his writing? And if you could suggest some source to best understand what denotes anti semitic writing . I understand the overarching concept I'm just confused about the particulars. I realize that you are Jewish and I know many people who are. There just seems to be a wide range of what people considered to be anti-semitic behavior on the part of people who criticize and include the ethno religious persuasion of their target. Is it possible to criticize a Jewish person without being anti-Semitic? Escaping stereotypes completely and overcoming inherent bias is incredibly difficult. How do we criticize people in proper and correct ways without casting a net that captures these negative, injurious tropes? as you have mentioned numerous times there is much that I don't understand. Just looking for a little help here. FMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06829632906445535928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-47530883781340438272020-07-28T08:53:01.621-05:002020-07-28T08:53:01.621-05:00Kass is the kind of guy who thinks you're the ...Kass is the kind of guy who thinks <i>you're</i> the racist for not laughing at his Obama Chia Pet Head jokes. It may be obscene what Alden is doing to the Trib's columnists, but at least Kass won't be profaning the spot made sacred by Mike Royko.Bitter Scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04645909858616987997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-36912813297986577022020-07-28T08:08:55.930-05:002020-07-28T08:08:55.930-05:00Love the slugger analogy. To take it a notch furt...Love the slugger analogy. To take it a notch further, I have to say that Neil carries a big 40 ounce bat himself, swings from both sides of the plate, will bunt when needed, cannily takes the extra base when the opportunity arises, and in an emergency might even pitch an inning or two, mixing medium-speed fast balls with a screwball or high arcing change of pace. A mighty member of a World Series Worthy Sun-Times crew.<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06215684866966011198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-76301946709929257482020-07-28T08:04:59.488-05:002020-07-28T08:04:59.488-05:00I hope skipping John Fountain was just a mere over...I hope skipping John Fountain was just a mere oversight. One of my favorites, especially when he writes about K-Town.Berniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17157600812959885192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-69500108961611630472020-07-28T07:47:05.039-05:002020-07-28T07:47:05.039-05:00I never found a "KassWatch" column that ...I never found a "KassWatch" column that would read John Kass for me so I wouldn't have to. Consequently, I'd have to give his columns a passing glance myself. Upon spotting Soros's name in that one, it was like hearing the screech of tires, and I had to look to see the crash. Man. I couldn't tell if he believed what he was writing, or if he was merely trying to do a localized, dressed-up version the standard drivel. Either way, here's hoping this is the beginning of the end for his columns.kganderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11005895232135682751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-11958998157649095442020-07-28T00:12:09.255-05:002020-07-28T00:12:09.255-05:00I always attempt to read Kass's columns, but m...I always attempt to read Kass's columns, but most of them are incoherent messes. He also has written some outright lies over the years, which probably means that he has some sort of contract where the Trib's editors can't change his columns. <br />Then there's his truly asinine moutza column every month. I wonder if he'll have the balls to give himself the moutza for his using that anti-Semitic trope about Soros. <br /><br />What was interesting about Feder's column about this were all the comments from people who claimed they didn't know Soros was Jewish. Since Soros's name constantly comes up from right wingers claiming he's behind every protest movement on the planet, I'm guessing that those commenters are lying. Clark St.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09634234069783123180noreply@blogger.com