2019
December
13
Friday

Monitor Daily Podcast

December 13, 2019
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Peter Grier
Washington editor

Our five stories today look at what’s next for young pro-European Union voters in Britain, now that Brexit seems inevitable; why Pete Buttigieg’s thin résumé doesn’t bother New Hampshire voters; whether internet access is a human right; how one educator lives an expansive interpretation of the commandment “Thou shalt not steal”; and how much one person can do to limit climate change – in a graphic.

The House of Representatives impeachment inquiry is sweeping toward its conclusion. The Judiciary Committee on Friday approved two impeachment articles via party-line vote. The full House will vote on them next week. If they pass – which seems likely – President Donald Trump will become just the third American chief executive to face a Senate trial and possible removal from office.

The president is virtually certain to win acquittal in the GOP-controlled Senate chamber.

But will the nature of American government change, even if the Oval Office does not?

Some experts worry that House impeachment could now become a normal partisan tool, for instance. In the past it’s been as rare as a white rhino. But in today’s bitter politics, a House controlled by one party could try to oust a president of the other party, just because it can.

Filibusters used to be rare, after all. Now they’re common.

Then there’s the relative power of the government’s branches.

No president has claimed absolute immunity from congressional investigation – before President Trump. His blanket refusal to provide documents or witnesses to the impeachment inquiry is unprecedented, said conservative lawyer Paul Rosenzweig on a conference call organized by the American Constitution Society. 

The second article of impeachment is titled “Obstruction of Congress.” If the president is not called to account on this, no congressional subpoena to the executive branch will ever again be enforceable, said Mr. Rosenzweig.

“We will have fundamentally reset the balance of power between what are supposed to be coequal branches of government,” he said.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Stefan Rousseau/Reuters
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is greeted by staff as he arrives back at Downing Street in London Dec. 13, 2019, after meeting Queen Elizabeth. The Conservative majority assures that Brexit will go ahead, putting an end to the hopes of many "remain" supporters.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff/File
People surf the web in an internet cafe that serves food and drinks in May 2013 in Melville, South Africa.

The Ten

How people use the Commandments in daily life
Sabina Louise Pierce/Special to The Christian Science Monitor
Catera Scott stands in the Harold O. Davis Memorial Baptist Church in Philadelphia, where her husband is pastor. Ms. Scott is assistant principal at a public charter school, where she has also taught math.

How much can one person do to limit climate change? A graphic.

Karen Norris, Sarah Matusek, Timmy Broderick/Staff

The Monitor's View

Reuters
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers a statement after winning the Dec. 12 general election.

A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A message of love

Taylor Weidman
Stepping into the streets of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, is like entering a time capsule to ancient Silk Road. Quaint guesthouses, carpet sellers, and restaurants serving hearty portions of the rice dish plov line the roads. Medieval bazaars, minarets, mosques, and madrassas eventually give way to the enormous fifth-century fortress known as the Ark of Bukhara. At Bukhara Silk Carpets, seen here, dozens of women hand-knot designs in the back of the store. A single carpet can take as long as two years to finish. – Taylor Weidman
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Be sure to come back on Monday, when we’ll have a report from Minneapolis on how one official is trying to nurture a citywide climate solution, one citizen at a time.

More issues

2019
December
13
Friday
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