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In defense of Micah Beckwith's Three-Fifths Compromise remarks

In defense of Micah Beckwith's Three-Fifths Compromise remarks

I am responding to the letter published May 11 in IndyStar maintaining Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith is lying about the Three-Fifths Compromise.
The reason it's called a compromise is the northern anti-slave states wanted no slave counted for representation, while the southern states wanted slaves to count fully, even though they'd have no right to vote.
Opinion: Micah Beckwith's 'history of what actually happened' is completely wrong
Without a compromise, there may not have been a United States, and slavery would still be around in the South today. Because of the compromise, the anti-slave states eventually outnumbered the slave states and politically gained the upper hand.
Of course, the nation still had to fight a bloody Civil War to end slavery completely. It's nonsense to claim the compromise was about protecting slavery.

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Six months after al-Assad's fall: Syria's tightrope walk to unity
Six months after al-Assad's fall: Syria's tightrope walk to unity

Yahoo

time11 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Six months after al-Assad's fall: Syria's tightrope walk to unity

Six months ago, the once seemingly impossible became reality: Syria's long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad was overthrown after years of brutal civil war. More than five decades of authoritarian rule by the al-Assad family came to an end. What remained was a fractured society - scarred by violence, riddled with mistrust, but also carrying a fragile hope for a new beginning. Today, the nation of roughly 23 million people is governed by a transitional administration led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, while al-Assad has fled to Moscow. A former leader of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), al-Sharaa and his alliance played a central role in toppling al-Assad on December 8. Upon assuming office, the new leadership promised "a Syria for all." But six months on, has that promise been kept? Minorities under pressure: fear and uncertainty Internationally, the treatment of minorities in the new Syria is being viewed with particular scepticism. Like al-Sharaa and his companions, the majority of Syrians are Sunni Muslims. However, recurring outbreaks of partly sectarian violence in recent months have fuelled fears among Druze, Alawites and Christians, for example. As recently as early May, Sunni fighters aligned with the transitional government launched attacks on members of the Druze community, resulting in dozens of deaths. Observers reported what they described as "massacres" in the coastal region as early as March. In response to assaults by Assad loyalists, the transitional government launched a military operation, during which hundreds of Alawites - al-Assad's own minority sect - were killed in the fighting. "There is fear, not only in the Druze community, but also among other minorities," Hammud al-Hinawi, a Druze sheikh and one of the top leaders of the religious community, told dpa. "If we don't learn to accept one another, regardless of our religion, we can never build a nation," said al-Hinawi. This is precisely what interim President al-Sharaa promised the population when he took power: a united Syria. "But one must always keep in mind that Syria was divided by the old regime," emphasized the Druze leader. Only "hand in hand" and without extremism from any side can a united country be built, he added. This includes the Kurds in the north-east, who had previously governed their region with a high degree of autonomy. A key step toward national unity came with an agreement between Kurdish leaders and the transitional government to fully integrate into state institutions. This would, in theory, grant al-Sharaa's administration authority over both civil and military structures in the north-east. However, key details of the deal remain unresolved. Kurdish representatives expressed cautious optimism: "Like other communities, we are concerned, but we will see whether the new rulers will keep their promises and give every Syrian - regardless of their origin - their homeland back." Back on the international stage The new leadership in Damascus has also made it a priority to distance itself from the legacy of the al-Assad regime and to rebuild international relations. Al-Assad had been largely isolated following the outbreak of civil war, with his government facing severe sanctions from much of the global community. The conflict began in 2011 with anti-government protests that were violently suppressed. It escalated into a full-scale civil war with international involvement, displacing some 14 million people and killing more than 300,000 civilians, according to UN estimates. Nearly six months after al-Assad's fall, his successor al-Sharaa - a former rebel commander and ex-member of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda - has already met with several world leaders, including US President Donald Trump. In Europe, he was received by French President Emmanuel Macron. In September, al-Sharaa is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Reconnecting to global financial networks Damascus has recently scored significant gains on the international stage, particularly in the area of sanctions relief. In mid-May, Syrians flooded the streets in celebration after Trump unexpectedly announced the complete lifting of US sanctions against the country. Just days later, the European Union followed suit. The Syrian Foreign Ministry hailed the move as another "historic step" for the new Syria. During the war, essential goods - ranging from medicine to fuel - were scarce, with imports nearly impossible under the weight of international sanctions. The country was also largely cut off from the global financial system, making money transfers to and from Syria virtually impossible. Observers say lifting the sanctions could gradually lower prices and allow urgently needed foreign capital to flow into the country - critical for both economic recovery and long-term reconstruction efforts. 90% of Syrians still dependent on aid Even six months after the ousting of al-Assad, Syria remains far from stable. According to UN data from April, around 400,000 Syrian refugees from neighbouring countries - and over one million internally displaced persons - have returned to their homes. The humanitarian situation remains dire. The UN estimates that around 90% of the population still relies on some form of humanitarian aid. After more than a decade of conflict, widespread poverty persists. Many Syrians say they continue to wrestle with uncertainty about their country's future. "There are days when we question whether this new Syria is any different," one returnee said. "But there are also days when we believe - step by step - we're moving in the right direction. Hope is still alive."

Trump travel ban targets nations mired in civil wars or armed conflicts
Trump travel ban targets nations mired in civil wars or armed conflicts

Washington Post

timea day ago

  • Washington Post

Trump travel ban targets nations mired in civil wars or armed conflicts

When President Donald Trump announced his new and expanded travel ban this week, the list of countries facing restrictions exhibited few obvious through lines. A closer look, though, reveals that many of the countries are united by a harsh recent history of civil war or armed conflict. Of the 12 countries from which travel is fully restricted, three are embroiled in bloody civil wars: Yemen, Myanmar and Sudan. Myanmar is considered among the most extreme conflicts in the world because of the number of armed groups involved in the civil war there, ranking behind only Gaza and the West Bank in an assessment by Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), a nonprofit analysis and crisis-mapping project. The country's military has faced an intense internal conflict since forcibly seizing power in 2021 and only controls about 21 percent of the country, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. ACLED lists Sudan as the eighth-most extreme conflict zone amid a ruinous civil war between the country's army and a rival paramilitary force. The fighting has led to more than 150,000 fatalities and a mass humanitarian crisis that numbers among the worst in the world. Yemen, considered by ACLED to have high but not extreme levels of conflict, has been threatened by the presence of Houthi militants. The Trump administration re-designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization in early March. These conflicts and others around the world have prompted mass migration from the violence and into neighboring countries or places deemed to be more stable — sometimes prompting political backlash aimed at refugees. In some cases, migrants don't have homes to return to or cannot return because of instability or the presence of a hostile regime. Many of the remaining countries on the total-ban list — Afghanistan, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya and Somalia — are also undergoing conflicts of varying degrees of intensity. In Haiti, the government is struggling to regain authority after gangs seized vast control of its capital, Port-au-Prince. Ten percent of the Haitian population has been displaced as a result of gang violence. Neighboring Dominican Republic implemented a plan in 2024 for mass deportations of Haitians back across the border. Haiti's Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement Thursday that it was working to find a swift solution to the ban, given the consequences on Haitian families living inside and outside the country. 'This decision comes at a moment when the Haitian government is striving, with the help of its international partners, to fight the insecurity and to strengthen border security,' it said. In Somalia, a fractious government emerging from a multi-decade legacy of civil war, is seeking assistance from international partners to fight against al-Shabab insurgents, who are global affiliates of al-Qaeda. The group, which previously led a fatal assault on a U.S. airfield in Kenya, has retaken crucial areas from Somali forces over the past three months. Farther north in Africa, Libya is at risk of political instability over its oil fields, just five years out from a six-year civil war that broke the country in two. In most cases, the White House cited visa overstays as the justification for putting countries on a full travel ban, including Muslim-majority nations such as Iran, Somalia and Yemen. While the overstay rate was high in some instances, the total number of visas issued was relatively small, The Washington Post reported. It was not immediately clear why some countries with higher overstay rates were left off. A handful of countries impacted by the ban — including Cuba, Venezuela and Iran — were tied together by historically adversarial relationships with the United States. Human rights organizations condemned the move, referencing the confusion and turmoil that was suffered under the first Trump administration's travel ban. 'This brings back all the tragic stories … people who were unable to see a dying relative or the birth of a new child and had to attend weddings on Zoom,' Jamal Abdi, the president of the National Iranian American Council, a U.S.-based advocacy group, previously told The Post.

ICE Barbie Offers Her Own Made-Up Definition of Habeas Corpus
ICE Barbie Offers Her Own Made-Up Definition of Habeas Corpus

Yahoo

time2 days ago

  • Yahoo

ICE Barbie Offers Her Own Made-Up Definition of Habeas Corpus

Kristi Noem gave an egregiously wrong definition of the legal principle habeas corpus while testifying to senators Tuesday. 'Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country,' President Donald Trump's homeland security secretary said. She was quickly cut off by the stunned senator who had asked her to define the term, Maggie Hassan. 'That's incorrect,' the New Hampshire Democrat said. Hassan explained that the well-known legal concept refers to a detained person's right to know why they are being held so they can challenge their imprisonment in court. The Trump administration is considering revoking habeas corpus, which is enshrined by the Constitution, allowing it to hold detainees without any recourse to challenge their detention. 'If not for that protection, the government could simply arrest people, including American citizens, and hold them indefinitely for no reason,' Hassan told Noem. 'Habeas corpus is the foundational right that separates free societies like America from police states like North Korea.' After schooling Noem, Hassan asked her if she supported habeas corpus. 'I support habeas corpus,' answered Noem, who was testifying to Congress about the Department of Homeland Security's budget. 'I also recognize that the president of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not.' Article I of the Constitution says that habeas corpus 'shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public safety may require it.' While the Constitution doesn't specify who holds the power to suspend habeas corpus, throughout the history of America, the power has belonged to Congress, not the president. Habeas corpus has only been suspended four times. It was suspended throughout the country during the Civil War, in eleven South Carolina counties controlled by the Ku Klux Klan during the Reconstruction, in the Philippines during its 1905 insurrection, and in Hawaii after the Pearl Harbor bombing in 1941. The Trump administration has faced legal pushback on its attempts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants and non-citizen activists without due process. Stephen Miller, one of Trump's top aides who is behind his mass deportation strategy, said earlier this month that habeas corpus was a 'privilege' that the administration is looking at suspending. Noem's agency has played a key role in carrying out the mass deportation plan. She has earned the nickname ICE Barbie for often donning garish outfits to cosplay as a boots-on-the-ground law enforcement officer.

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