Since its founding, new immigrant arrivals have always helped shape the country's cultural, economic and political realities. But there has always been opposition, often ugly, to the immigration presence in the U.S.A.

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America's Democratic Collapse
By Chris Hedges, Truthdig
In a dramatic speech, Chris Hedges warns that the nation is on the verge of becoming a full-blown corporate state. Read more »

Shocking Bush 'Pep Talk' to His War Cabinet on Iraq: 'We Are Going to Wipe Them out!'
By Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com
"Kill them." Gen. Ricardo Sanchez's memoirs contain a transcript from a bloodthirsty and over the top private speech by Bush. Read more »

Rumors of War: Is Bush Gearing Up to Attack Iran?
By Conn Hallinan, Portside
Something is afoot. Just what is not clear, but recent moves by the White House strongly suggest that Bush will attack Iran in the near future. Read more »

Obama in a Blowout: The Presidential Election Will Not Be Close
By Guy T. Saperstein, AlterNet
Charisma, change and vision vs. a gaffe-prone spent force: Obama will beat McCain and win 300 to 350 electoral votes. Read more »

Getting Past the 'Protein Myth' That Keeps People from Quitting Meat and Dairy
By Kathy Freston, Huffington Post
The way Americans obsess about protein, you'd think protein deficiency was the number one health problem in America. Of course it's not. Read more »

Too Much Stuff! America's New Love Affair With Self-Storage
By Martin John Brown, AlterNet
Americans are putting more and more stuff into self-storage purgatory. It's now a $22 billion-per-year industry, but what does it mean for the soul? Read more »

All Indicators Point to a Softening of America's Harsh Marijuana Laws
By Alexander Zaitchik, AlterNet
With key medical marijuana ballot initiatives likely to pass, and a more pot-friendly majority in Congress, there is room for optimism. Read more »

Obama Says He Won, But Clinton Does Not Concede
By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet
Even as Obama wins dozens of superdelegates, Clinton says she will review her options for "the best interests of our party and our country." Read more »

Maine Jury Says It's Legal to Protest an Illegal War
By Penny Coleman, AlterNet
A rare bit of good news for the anti-war movement goes largely ignored by the media. Read more »

The Right to Bear Arms: A View from Canada
By Tim O'Driscoll, AlterNet
The Second Amendment: Twenty-seven ill-chosen words, three badly-placed commas, one unrivaled legislative botch-up. Read more »