Even as U.S. officials consider charges against NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, progressives are rallying to his support. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee has begun a legal defense fund for him, and a White House petition has been created declaring Snowden "a national hero (who) should be immediately issued a full, free, and absolute pardon." It has already garnered over 36,500 signatures in a day, over half what it needs by July 9 to elicit a response from the Obama Administration. This story is just beginning.