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 the Republican led loss of privacy in America, bringing us down almost to the level of China in terms of Surveillance. I also discuss solar energy in America. I also do a roundup of local progressive events for places where I have had the most readers over the last couple of weeks including some events I am helping organize in NYC. Don't forget to visit an advertiser or two and if you want more, please visit Culture Kitchen.

What would you say if I told you the NSA's "Puzzle Palace" is getting ready to exceed its electrical capacity?  You know what happens when computers exceed their electrical capacity?  Here's a clue:  This could bring a whole new meaning to "dark ops".

I wish I was creative enough to have invented that plot device.  It sounds like something Kurt Vonnegut might write ... but you wouldn't expect him to actually publish it because no one would accept the premise.  Now you know why they say truth is stranger than fiction; it really is.  

You're not going to believe this but The National Security Agency is running out of juice!

Wait! There's more....

If you were unlucky enough that someone forced you to work today (as was I), then you might not have spent the lunch hour glued to CSPAN.  If you were home, and own one of them there television doohickies, then you were surely watching, because Al Gore was delivering a stem-winder.

Gore's speech, delivered at a bipartisan event sponsored by the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy and The Liberty Coalition, pulled no punches in it's appraisal of Bush's NSA wiretaps.

...the President of the United States has been breaking the law repeatedly and persistently.

The FISA wiretap warrants had a 72-hour retroactive availability.

This has been mentioned on many other blogs and websites, but I feel it's much too important to ignore, especially since every conservative pundit and every right-wing blogger has neglected to mention this. I don't know if this is due to ignorance or dishonesty, but either way, it really needs to be corrected.

Here's why this is important. The government basically gets three full days to eavesdrop on a subject before they have to file for a warrant. And when they finally get around to filing said warrant, it has (if past history is to be believed) around a 99.99% chance of going through. Ponder that for a moment. How hard is it to work within these guidelines? 72 hours of free wiretap authority and a court that's practically a rubber stamp? You'd have to try to break the law under these circumstances.

And yet, people are defending this. Why? That's not a rhetorical question. I really wish someone would tell me.