2020
February
20
Thursday

Monitor Daily Podcast

February 20, 2020
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Linda Feldmann
Washington Bureau Chief

Today’s stories explore the rising political influence of Latinos, electoral disillusionment in Iran, life in an increasingly overcrowded refugee camp, equity in college admissions, and a scientist who finds beauty in unlikely places. But first, a look at last night’s presidential debate.

Last night’s Democratic debate was fantastic – not because any particular candidate “won” or “lost,” but because the candidates took the gloves off and went after each other. In the process, we the people learned something. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren showed us her fighting spirit is back as she went after Michael Bloomberg on his nondisclosure agreements and past coarse language about women. The former New York mayor reminded us that debating is not his forte, as Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden went after him on stop and frisk. 

The mega-billionaire Mr. Bloomberg, appearing in his first presidential debate, and Senator Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, brought to life the class warfare afoot in the Democratic Party. And we learned that Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, two Midwesterners who scored well in Iowa and New Hampshire, don’t like each other much. By attacking each other, they only helped Mr. Sanders, the Democratic front-runner. 

Grilling candidates on their pasts, including financial and medical records, and surfacing differences in thought are what political debates are all about – and a service to voters. Debates are not exercises in finding common ground. One of the six people onstage in Las Vegas will go up against President Donald Trump in the fall, and whoever that is will face the battle of a lifetime. Wednesday night was just a warmup.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
People clap for Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren at the Mi Familia Vota community event at the Cardenas Market in Las Vegas on Feb. 17, 2020.

Outreach to Latino voters has often been a late-stage activity for Democratic campaigns. That’s changing visibly In Nevada, the first primary contest in a majority-minority state.

Vahid Salemi/AP
A banner showing Shahabeddin Adib Yazdi, a candidate in Friday's parliamentary election, hangs on a street in downtown Tehran, Iran, Feb. 17, 2020. Iranian authorities have barred thousands of candidates from running, mainly reformists and moderates, potentially swinging the election toward hard-liners. Despite leaders' appeals, voter turnout is expected to be low.

Voting represents more than making a choice; it’s an affirmation of faith in “the system.” But in Iran this year, an increasingly dejected citizenry, and insecure leadership, are lowering projections for turnout.

Nick Squires
Khairullah Sabri (foreground) is living with his wife and two children in Lesbos, Greece, after having fled Afghanistan. Like thousands of others, they are staying outside the refugee camp itself, which is already several times over capacity.

How does Greece, still in economic recovery, handle being host to its largest influx of refugees since the peak of the crisis almost five years ago? Our reporter visits a choke point, the island of Lesbos.

How should U.S. colleges convey fairness and gain the public’s trust? As they look for ways to have more inclusive campuses, some schools are considering whether to keep legacy admissions.

Beyond the microscope

The people driving discovery

Most of life on Earth goes unseen. It’s too small, out of view, or simply overlooked by humans. So scientists like Jennifer Macalady work to bring it to light. This story is part of “Beyond the Microscope,” an occasional series on the people and stories driving discovery.


The Monitor's View

Reuters
Chen Hui poses for a selfie in a protective suit with another volunteer as they deliver food to workers building a hospital in Hubei province, China, Feb. 11.

The magnitude of the coronavirus outbreak in China, measured by the millions of people still under quarantine, has triggered a remarkable magnanimity. In January, after doctors in Hubei province made urgent pleas on social media for protective gear and medical supplies, Chinese citizens poured in massive donations. Many Chinese volunteered to aid sick people.

In fact, the level of charity has been so overwhelming that the Communist Party has tried to put a stop to it, or at least redirect it. On Jan. 26, it required all donations to go through only five government-controlled charities. The private generosity had become an embarrassing sign of a rising distrust in the ruling party and its response to the health crisis. The party fears a crisis over its long-held authoritarian leadership.

The distrust burst onto social media platforms like Weibo and WeChat with stories of official cover-ups of the outbreak and the inefficient distribution of medical supplies. People were angry that donations to the party-controlled charities were simply handed over to the government and not given directly to hospitals. Three officials from the Hubei Red Cross were punished for “mishandling donations for the coronavirus.”

Ge Yunsong, a Peking University law professor, posted an article asking the government to end its monopoly on philanthropy. Hospitals and individuals, he wrote, “also enjoy the right to receive donations.”

As in nature, love abhors a vacuum of love. The Chinese people have risen up with loving hearts to fill an absence of trust in their leaders. One way or another, the high level of charity in China will reach those laid low by the coronavirus.


A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

Each weekday, the Monitor includes one clearly labeled religious article offering spiritual insight on contemporary issues, including the news. The publication – in its various forms – is produced for anyone who cares about the progress of the human endeavor around the world and seeks news reported with compassion, intelligence, and an essentially constructive lens. For many, that caring has religious roots. For many, it does not. The Monitor has always embraced both audiences. The Monitor is owned by a church – The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston – whose founder was concerned with both the state of the world and the quality of available news.

Sometimes qualities of good leadership can seem elusive. But a humble desire to follow God’s leading empowers us to demonstrate more trustworthy, wise, and grace-filled leadership.


A message of love

Lisi Niesner/Reuters
Dancers with the State Opera ballet perform during a dress rehearsal for the traditional Opera Ball in Vienna Feb. 19, 2020.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thanks for joining us today. Come back tomorrow when we’ll take you on the road with Poems on Wheels, a program that enriches the lives of homebound seniors with a bit of poetry.

More issues

2020
February
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