I often find myself bewildered when I encounter people who claim to be libertarians or conservatives who have taken a nativist stand on immigration. Typically I encounter this in people from the far right of the Republican Party or from supporters of Ron Paul and in the context of the presidential candidacy of John McCain. [...]

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Saturday was a monster. All day long, shuttling back and forth from the leftist mecca of Netroots Nation to the rightist haven of the Defending the American Dream Summit. It was a day of peculiar encounters and discoveries, in which I think I got a real handle on what was going on at both events. [...]

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Earlier today on DailyKos a user outed me as a ‘spy’ at Netroots Nation, writing: “Blogcritic’s Dave Nalle files his first spy report. As he acknowledges right off the bat, he is there undercover to see what the other side is doing. He demonstrates his complete ignorance of the left blogosphere in his description of [...]

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Living just outside of the Peoples Republic of Austin I’m in a unique position to observe and study the world of the American left, while at enough of a distance to maintain some objectivity. That proximity sometimes brings with it unique opportunities. This week that means that I have a chance to attend Netroots Nation, [...]

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Ron Paul’s Revolution March swept into DC this past weekend, bringing the message of peace, freedom, conspiratorial craziness and Ron Paul to the home stomping grounds of “The Man”. I wasn’t able to attend, having lived in DC for many years and knowing better than to be there in mid-July. I discovered a desperate need [...]

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Former Senator and McCain campaign advisor Phil Gramm has obviously spent too much time out of office and in the private sector, because this week he committed the ultimate political crime. He told the truth. In an interview with the Washington Times he is being quoted as having said: “You’ve heard of mental depression;. this [...]

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After taking a couple of weeks in the glorious woods of Maine to recover from the nausea caused by considering the Texas Republican Platform, I’ve managed to repress the trauma and take another look at the document which represents the hopes and dreams of a hundred crazy special interest groups in all their fevered glory. [...]

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The United Nations is in an ongoing state of crisis. It is a crisis caused by corruption and incompetence, but at a deeper level it is a crisis of legitimacy. The UN lacks the basic ethical foundation to function with legitimate authority as a world peacekeeping body. They have turned a blind eye to genocide, [...]

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