The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. I have try mixing my own rants and ideas, with national issues, news items, and some very local groups and events in an attempt to both help shape debate and to help people find their own ways of getting involved.

This week I discuss a couple of major victories (one familiar to the dKos community, but only covering it now in my newsletter). I also continue to highlight the REAL Rudy Giuliani, countering some of his lies about 9/11/ I also do a roundup of local progressive events for places where I have had the most readers over the last couple of weeks. Don't forget to visit an advertiser or two and if you want more, please visit Culture Kitchen.

Just yesterday I delivered the bad news that a judge (a Bush appointee) denied the request of NASA scientists for protection against invasion of their personal privacy by the Federal Government. I mentioned that the case was under appeal. Those who have been following this story will know that this case directly affects my wife, who will also be required to waive her rights if she wants to work at a NASA facility even though none of the work she does is sensitive. This has been hanging over our heads for weeks now.

Well, in this case, the courts moved fast. The appeal has been successful and the Ninth Circuit Court has issued an injunction against the oppressive implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12.

The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. Having organized protests against the Republican Convention, I found I had a core of activists who were looking to me for support after Bush "won" re-"election". My carefully thought out suggestions as to where we could go from that defeat led to this more-or-less weekly newsletter.

This week I discuss a very personal conflict with Homeland Security, which involved first bad news, then, on appeal, excellent news. Sometimes our court system works! I also cover the response our troops have for Rush Limbaugh, responses to Bush's opposition to healthcare for American children, and I discuss the situation in Burma. I also am finally getting back to some more local stuff including local events in NYC, a brilliant plan for winning in Colorado, and some local Virginia and New Jersey stuff. If you go to any of these articles, please click on some advertisements because that helps me keep doing this!

The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. Having organized protests against the Republican Convention, I found I had a core of activists who were looking to me for support after Bush "won" re-"election". My carefully thought out suggestions as to where we could go from that defeat led to this more-or-less weekly newsletter.

This week I discuss a very personal conflict with Homeland Security. Yes...my wife is at the center of a battle for our Civil Liberties and my diary about that on Culture Kitchen went platinum with WELL over 12,000 reads in one week. I also cover recent Republican attacks on our troops, Rudy Giuliani's campaigns disguting exploitation of 9/11, and I put out a personal appeal to you to help us here in NYC take one more Congressional seat: NY-13.

This is taken (with links to the full thing) from a series on Culture Kitchen and Daily Gotham describing my own family's ongoing experience with Bush's paranoid America. The original story is a three-part (to date) story which has been picked up outside the blogsphere, but not so much within the blogshere.

Since parts are a Culture Kitchen exclusive, I will mainly excerpt here with links the original diaries. The basic jist of the series is this: every single Federal employee is now to be treated as if they work on sensitive projects requiring extensive background checks. All Federal employees are being asked to sign blanket waivers giving up their basic rights so that the government can investigate every aspect of their personal life should they deem it necessary for any reason. Keep reading...

Space station astronauts on a recent EVA removing what was originally described as an ammonia tank from the space station


Houston, TX (APE) - NASA authorities are today admitting that the ongoing investigation into alcohol consumption by astronauts is now to include current and former occupants of the international space Station.  NASA officials have stated that they wish to question the current occupants of the space station specifically over the recent EVA in which an "ammonia tank" was removed and controversially jettisoned into space as junk

I have been writing about right-wing attacks on science recently. What I haven't covered much is how Bush has been cutting back on science funding to the point where American scientists are hurting big time.

Well there is now a BIPARTISAN bill called PACE
(Preserving America's Competitive Advantage), which call for 10% annual increases in both the NSF and NASA basic science research budgets through 2013. The initiative also aims to encourage private sector research and boost science education, etc.