Growing up I remember my parents constantly had the radio on and frequently it was tuned to WGN. Nowadays most people know that WGN is where you go to watch the Cubs lose on TV and it is available on many cable systems. But WGN radio has been around forever too and if you are a Chicagoan then names like Jack Brickhouse, Harry Cary and Wally Phillips should be familiar. Another familiar name is Dr. Milt Rosenberg. He has been on the radio with his "Extension 720" program since I was in high school back in the early 70s'. His show is a high-minded talk program that brings in guests for extended discussion of interesting topics. Sometimes these topics are political, but just as often the show covers other ground from music to the arts to culture and science. Dr. Rosenberg is a host with a wide range of intellectual interests and his show reflects this. He is an academic in the best sense of that term because he is genuinely interested in ideas.
WGN was talk radio before there was talk radio such as we know it today. But it is important to note that WGN has always been non-confrontational in its approach. The shock jocks have never had a home on the station and it has tried to maintain a friendly middle of the road atmosphere that welcomes all who come to listen. (Where else can you listen to Orien Samulson's Farm Report?) Host Milt Rosenberg has a very genial demeanor on his program that is in line with this style. He is about as far from a bomb thrower as one can imagine. Some might even describe his on air personality as a bit less than exciting. But if you like in-depth interviews and discussion, then his show is worth a listen.
Now sometimes you get to a point where you think you have heard and seen it all. But listening to Thursday's "Extension 720 with Milt Rosenberg" was a rather new experience for me. It certainly wasn't your average WGN radio program. Milt's guest for the evening was Stanley Kurtz and he was there to discuss his ongoing investigation into The Chicago Annenberg Challenge archives that are housed at The University of Illinois at Chicago Library.
As you may have heard, the records of the CAC that are housed at UIC have become the center of a controversy that involves the Obama campaign. These records are important because the CAC was founded by Bill Ayers and because Barack Obama was the chairman. The CAC disbursed millions of dollars during its run and naturally there is a great deal of interest in this organization now that Obama is running for President. The CAC is, after all, the only executive experience that Obama has had, so it is important to see just what he did in that job. And because of Obama's ties to Bill Ayers, the unrepentant Weather Underground terrorist, any information that would shed more light on the relationship between Obama and Ayers is going to be of interest to those who are eager to learn more about Obama's past.
So it came as a bit of a shock to Milt Rosenberg that the station was quickly deluged with emails and calls denouncing him and his guest Stanley Kurtz on Thursday night. Apparently, the Obama campaign released an email to its goons telling them to call up the station and complain. And the calls from the Obama supporters had a robotic similarity in that they demanded to know why WGN "allowed" Stanley Kurtz to be on the air in the first place. They suggested that it would have been better if Milt Rosenberg and WGN would have refused to have Stanley Kurtz on the program and that it would be proper for a major radio station in a major market to censor ideas and opinions that they, the Obama supporters, did not like. Several of the callers put forth the argument that since Stanley Kurtz's views had already been refuted elsewhere, that there was no reason to have him on, although none of them could offer specifics when pressed by Dr. Rosenberg or Mr. Kurtz to support their side of the debate. Nearly every Obama caller insulted Milt by saying they now thought he was not very intelligent for having Mr. Kurtz on the air. Only one of the callers even tried to offer a systematic argument in favor of the CAC, and he was clear about not being an Obama supporter, although he considered himself to be a member of the left.
All in all it was a fascinating two hours that revealed a great deal about what we should expect from an Obama administration should The Anointed One be elected. Note that the Obama campaign is trying to get the Justice Department to silence any opposition that might have the temerity to call Barack's holiness into question. I guess that Obama has never heard of The First Amendment or free speech, and judging by the calls I listened to last night, neither have his followers. The Holy One does not appear to have any problem with using force to silence his opponents when it suits his purpose. But I guess that when you are The Chosen One the rules that apply to lesser mortals do not apply. So if you want to bully and intimidate your critics, the fact that you have A Higher Purpose That Must Not Be Stopped helps you to justify any actions that will get your enemies to shut up. If that involves force and thug tactics then so be it.
If you value your freedom to have an opinion without a gun pointed at your head, that should bother you a great deal.
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