See Mr Happy Traveler here? Know why he's happy? Because he just got one of the totally new and totally kewl "Passport Cards" that are really kewl because they fit in your wallet.

Seriously. That's the only upside.

So why does the government want you, us to have this? Hmm? Well, apparently, its got a cute little vicinity read Radio Frequency Identification chip built in (RFID) that totally allows you to enter from like 3 places in the world - as in, unless you are only coming in from mexico, canada or bermuda, you ALSO need a regular passport. See, im in the process of renewing my passport, and im learning all this. Basically, the government wants you to vokuntarilly put one of their RFID chips in your wallet, for little to no gain on your part;

"To facilitate the frequent travel of U.S. citizens living in border communities and to meet DHS's operational needs at land borders, the passport card contains a vicinity-read radio frequency identification (RFID) chip. This chip points to a stored record in secure government databases. There is no personal information written to the RFID chip itself."

but it goes on...

"With RFID technology, Customs and Border Protection inspectors will be able to access photographs and other biographical information stored in secure government databases before the traveler reaches the inspection station.

check it out here.