| To some liberals, it's a stand against misinformation at a time when an average of 2,400 people a day are still dying of covid-19 in America — with the evidence showing that many or most of those are unvaccinated. To conservatives (and some liberals, too) it's a free-speech issue — and yet another example of the political left trying to crack down on discourse that falls outside what they consider acceptable. (Or maybe just a chance to stick it to the liberals. See this House GOP tweet.) The Joe Rogan/Spotify vs. Neil Young/liberal rock icons battle is heated, tangled and a reflection of how much our society is struggling to balance freedom with keeping people safe. Here's what's happening Rogan is probably the most famous podcaster ever. And Spotify is happy to host him — it spent a lot of money to have him exclusively, as The Post's Travis M. Andrews has pointed out. Rogan isn't afraid of having guests who air unconventional or controversial views. Recently, he hosted a guest who aired bogus vaccine conspiracy claims and questioned whether children and teens should get the shots. Hundreds of medical professionals have called him out for using what they say is misleading language. He is far from the only voice doing this, but as far as podcasters go, he's the most prominent. Young has long been a champion of liberal causes, and last week he announced: "They can have Rogan or Young. Not both." Spotify quickly chose Rogan, removing Young's catalogue. But then other artists — such as Joni Mitchell — joined in, and it became a cultural flash point.  Joe Rogan. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images) | By Monday, Spotify had tried to split the difference by announcing it would launch some efforts to combat coronavirus misinformation. Rogan said he'd keep having fringe actors on but would try to balance it out with mainstream views. This is not a debate going away in America Facebook and YouTube and Twitter and Google and arguably Spotify have at times neglected to acknowledge the powerful ways they shape society, at a time when we are dealing with a pandemic and a fraying democracy. When these companies do take action, to some Americans they overcorrect — a Republican member of Congress just called YouTube "un-American" for removing a video in which he repeats a false Trump election claim. To others, they haven't done enough — Twitter has stopped enforcing its election-lie policy, saying the 2020 election is over. (Side note: Legally speaking, these companies aren't violating anyone's constitutional right to free speech, because the First Amendment was designed to prevent Congress or states from blocking people's right to expression. It doesn't govern private companies, which can do whatever they want.) What's really interesting is that unlike, say, vaccine or masking rules, this public health battle is largely out of politicians' hands and controlled by tech giants. Who are the Republicans who might vote for Biden's Supreme Court pick?  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is atop the list. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) | Supreme Court battles are, like so much in politics these days, tribal warfare. So it's pretty much a given that most Senate Republicans will vote against President Biden's pick, whoever she is. There's already an effort underway to say that because she will be a Black woman, she will be a beneficiary of affirmative action (rather than, you know, of her qualifications for the job). But it's possible this Supreme Court nomination could be slightly less partisan than some of those under President Donald Trump, who skated by with just one or two votes to spare. Here are the Republican senators who might vote for Biden's pick. Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.): He's a big Trump supporter, but he just praised someone who might be on Biden's shortlist, J. Michelle Childs, a judge from his home state. "I cannot say anything bad about Michelle Childs," he said this weekend. "She is an awesome person." He also is the only current senator who has voted for every single Supreme Court nominee, a relic of when senators were deferential to the president on this. Maybe Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.): If — and it's a big if — Biden nominates Childs, Scott would probably be under pressure to support a judge from his home state. Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska): They are the usual suspects for crossing the aisle. And, according to a Politico analysis, they've voted to confirm at least 60 percent of Biden's lower-court judges. Collins voted for every single Supreme Court nominee before her exception for Trump's last one, Amy Coney Barrett, essentially saying she thought her party was too hypocritical in rushing that nomination through right before an election. | 
Email 
No comments:
Post a Comment