It may seem like I’m beating a dead horse here, but unfortunately I’m one of those closet libertarian types. I wonder why won’t Bush allow a secret panel of the Senate Foreign Intelligence Committee to review the findings?

Of course for those of us who care about the rule of law the results really are secondary to the means if they were illegal especially when reasonable and efficient means (FISA) existed for the same purpose. But, if as the President contends these wiretaps provided us with needed information, and did not spy on Americans needlessly then why not allow the Senate to view the documents?

The idea that our government can’t operate with classified information is pretty ridiculous when Congress has been required to do so it has obliged. We still haven’t seen all the Abu Gharib photographs yet. If this program is so vital, so important, and so successful then Bush should prove to the Select Secret Committee just that, and do so through revealing the details to them confidentially. If, however, the Senate were to find evidence of abuse and illegality then they would and must come forward to their colleagues in the House revealing only the data that is illegal. The information that is useful for our protection would not need to be released anyway since it would prove nothing.

The ball is in your court Mr. President, why not prove just how useful your illegality is?