2019
January
23
Wednesday

Monitor Daily Podcast

January 23, 2019
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Mark Sappenfield
Senior global correspondent

There are a few things we can say pretty clearly about the National Mall protest videos that have turned America’s umbrage meter to 11.

The first is that what you see is likely determined by who you are. Is a group of possibly racist Catholic high school students in “Make America Great Again” hats intimidating Native American protesters? Or are liberal sensitivities running amok, turning every perceived slight into a social media emergency?

The answer, as one story in the Atlantic argues, largely depends on “where you live, who you voted for in 2016, and your general take on a list of other issues.” This is what polarization looks like. When the country is so neatly sorted into two camps, everything is fuel for culture wars.

That leads to a second takeaway. All this makes us easier to manipulate. CNN is reporting that Twitter shut down the account that pushed the video viral. But even if a foreign troll isn’t responsible, there’s a warning. Videos do not establish fact. They convey the viewpoint of the person behind the lens. In an age when smartphones make us all videographers, that’s an important warning. “Above all,” the Atlantic author writes, “I’ll try to take the advice I give my kids daily: Put the phone down and go do something productive.”

Stay tuned to our coverage in coming days. Staff writer Christa Case Bryant is headed to Covington, Ky., the hometown of the boys in the protest, to see how the story looks from there.

Now, here are our five stories, which range from how “principle” is playing out in Congress to why racist place names can hang around for so long. We also look at how states are spending their windfall from legal pot. Is it doing what was promised?


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters
Customers line up to withdraw cash outside a bank in Harare, Zimbabwe, Jan. 19. The country is experiencing a severe cash crisis, with an internet shutdown intended to disrupt protests also affecting money transfers.

Marijuana revenue benefits schools – but its impact is limited

SOURCE:

Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute, Alaska Office of Management and Budget, Colorado Department of Revenue, Nevada Department of Taxation, Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, Oregon Department of Revenue

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Noble Ingram and Jacob Turcotte/Staff
Andy Newman/Holland America Line/AP
A woman gazes at Mount Denali in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska in August 2015. That month, President Obama announced that the former Mount McKinley’s name would be changed in order to restore a Native name with deep cultural significance.

Difference-maker

Alvin Buyinza/The Christian Science Monitor
Boston artist Paul Goodnight strives to convey the beauty of the African diaspora. He has also focused on the need for artists to develop business skills.

The Monitor's View

Reuters
Juan Guaido, President of Venezuela's National Assembly, joins the Jan. 23 rally against President Nicolas Maduro's government.

A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A message of love

Russell Cheyne/Reuters
A husky stands ready for a training run for this weekend’s annual Aviemore Sled Dog Rally in Feshiebridge, Scotland. The race, organized by the Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain, has been run since 1984.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Thank you for joining us today. Please come back tomorrow when staff writer Patrik Jonsson looks at the informal safety net springing up to support furloughed government workers across the United States. One result is a more nuanced and compassionate view of those who work in government.

More issues

2019
January
23
Wednesday
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