#Big Tech’s war on indie news and other commentary

From the left: Big Tech’s War on Indie News

“Major press outlets celebrated” videographer Jon Farina’s footage of the Jan. 6 Capitol assault, shown on the Status Coup site, reports Matt Taibbi at his TK News blog. But on Jan. 18, “another Farina live stream was shut down by YouTube, thanks to policies that will make it very difficult for non-corporate media” to do live reporting. He filmed a Virginia gun-rights protest that, despite media predictions, turned out to be “peaceful and unremarkable.” YouTube claimed the footage violated its “Firearms Policy,” relenting only after high-profile complaints — and never restored the content of other independents covering the rally. Such policies prevent live independent coverage of left-wing rallies, even as mainstream outlets broadcast the same scenes. Status Coup chief Jordan Chariton says “it’s basically a death sentence for outlets like ours.”

Campus watch: Administrators vs. the Classics

In the name of ending “white supremacy,” colleges across the Anglo-American world are eviscerating traditional offerings, including classical history and even Chaucer, warns Sumantra Maitra at The National Interest. Radicals are engaged in “a relentless assault in the name of diversity and inclusion, whether they are ‘decolonizing,’ or ‘disrupting texts,’ which are all clever ploys to dilute what might be considered an objectively superior canon” — and administrations, which have doubled in size, rarely resist because a “risk-averse bureaucracy” only cares about “self-sustaining and expanding” its own reach. Mediocre bureaucrats, with “limited intellect or appreciation about the historic tradition and purpose of higher-ed, are practically ignorant about what destruction they are bringing in.”

Scholar: House’s Hearing-Free Impeach Horror

“For the first time in history, the House sent an article of impeachment to the Senate without any hearing, any testimony or any response from the president,” observes Jonathan Turley at The Hill. Will the Senate “legitimize this radical departure from the traditions of both chambers”? Turley, like others, “called for the House to hold at least a day of hearings” to let President Donald Trump respond. “Yet the House refused.” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said “there was not a day to spare,” then “waited almost two weeks to submit the article to the Senate.” A hearing could’ve supplied evidence on, for example, “whether the National Guard was offered to Congress in advance or whether Trump obstructed any such assistance.” No wonder an acquittal is “likely.”

Pandemic journal: Opening Schools Can’t Wait

President Biden wants schools reopened in 100 days, notes Joel Zinberg at City Journal — but “why wait”? Evidence shows closures are “harmful” and “do little to protect against illness” in kids or teachers. They damage kids’ “academic progress, social development and mental health” and force parents to stop working to care for their children. Yet as early as last summer, the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded children aren’t at great risk or likely to spread COVID. This month, CDC researchers found little evidence of community transmission in schools. A Wisconsin study found COVID rates lower among kids and school staff than in the community. Sweden saw the same. To avoid further damage, we shouldn’t wait for teachers’ unions “to acquiesce” or “for Congress to approve more spending. Schools should reopen as soon as possible.”

Foreign desk: Nuke Deal’s Grave Risks

Rejoining the Iran nuclear deal “poses considerable risks to regional and even global security,” Amos Yadlin and Ebtesam al-Ketbi argue at Foreign Affairs. If President Biden insists on reviving it, he should at least take steps to “ensure that Tehran does not acquire nuclear weapons” and reassure regional allies “Washington will not gamble with their security.” The 2015 deal “proved flawed”; now Biden needs a revised version “to de-escalate tension, put Iran’s nuclear activity on pause and withhold enough concessions to give Iran incentive” to negotiate further. A second-stage deal must rein in “Iran’s nuclear program to the greatest extent possible.” To return to the old nuke deal at all is “highly risky.” Team Biden needs to remember: “Hope is not a strategy.”

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board