Joe Rogan saved free speech and other commentary – New York Post

Iconoclast: Joe Rogan Saves Free Speech

They can have Rogan or Young. Not both. That ultimatum from singing legend Neil Young to Spotify had a justifiable sense of certainty, quips The Hills Jonathan Turley. Spotify stuck with Rogan, and perhaps more importantly, free speech. But the choice between Rogans 11 million listeners or an aging rocker was economically clear. Spotifys music side isnt raking in much profit; Rogan and podcasts are a cash machine, with revenue up a staggering 627 percent. This is good news for free speech. Normally, companies see no profit in defending dissenting viewpoints. Now, for the first time, the economics may have actually worked against censorship and for free speech.

Libertarian: Public Health Camouflage

The pandemic era, argues Reasons Peter Suderman, has revealed a tendency to use public health as a pretext for some other goal that has little or nothing to do with public health. Neil Youngs fight with Spotify and New Yorks battle over to-go cocktails are both over non-COVID issues. Liquor-store lobbyists worked heavily against extending the [to -go cocktail] policy for selfish reasons but claim its a public-health issue. Young cited Joe Rogans chats with vax-deniers, but he took his music down from all streaming services in 2015, complaining that low-quality streaming devalued his music. Both used the totalizing emergency of the pandemic to cast their moves as pure and selfless when the reality is anything but.

Conservative: Dems To Pay for Border Bungles

The Biden administration doesnt seem much interested in the havoc on our southern border, notes Jason L. Riley at The Wall Street Journal, yet its worsening, and Republicans will make it a campaign theme for the midterms. People have seen record levels of illicit crossing, overflowing detention centers and, more recently, video footage of illegal immigrants being ferried (in the dead of night) across the country with disastrous results. Immigrants respond to incentives, and Dems have encouraged them to try their luck. President Donald Trumps rhetoric was often over-the-top, but his point (Americans should get to decide who comes here) resonated. Team Bidens failure to grasp this could cost Democrats dearly in November.

Foreign desk: Xi Must Win Olympics

If Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to stay in power to achieve his goal of being Dictator for Life he needs to win the 2022 Winter Games, asserts Gordon G. Chang at Newsweek. Xi seeks a precedent-breaking third term as general secretary of the Communist Party instead of following recent custom and retiring. That would batter the power of the party, which since the 1980s worked to establish rules, customs and guidelines to limit leaders, the result of elite horror at the near-absolute power of Mao Zedong. The partys next National Congress, likely this fall, will decide Xis fate. So Xi, whos personally supervising the Olympics, needs no scandals, no terrorism, no visible protests about Uyghurs or other issues. And most of all, given Chinas role in unleashing the global pandemic, it means Xis zero COVID strategy must work.

Analyst: Mike Pences Moment

Ex-prez Donald Trumps insistence that he won the 2020 election remains a serious problem for Republicans nationwide, explains Henry Olsen at The Washington Post. Candidates cant ignore him, so the GOP could be saddled with a large number of 2020 truthers in the midterms. And while the emperor has no clothes, it takes someone with the courage to say it out loud to break the spell. Ex-veep Mike Pence is the perfect person to do this, as the vast majority of Republicans and GOP officeholders respect him. And since hes now under direct attack from Trump, he is also the natural person to rebut Trumps false claims. He really only has two choices: Shrink into private life entirely or someday meet his fate as the man with the conviction and stature needed to engage with Trump in this battle.

Compiled by The Post Editorial Board

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Joe Rogan saved free speech and other commentary - New York Post