Keeping Secrets

Bushco refuses to allow Congress to know their plans for what they will do following a terrorist attack.

The Oregonian: Oregonians called Peter DeFazio's office, worried there was a conspiracy buried in the classified portion of a White House plan for operating the government after a terrorist attack.

As a member of the U.S. House on the Homeland Security Committee, DeFazio, D-Ore., is permitted to enter a secure "bubbleroom" in the Capitol and examine classified material. So he asked the White House to see the secret documents.

On Wednesday, DeFazio got his answer: DENIED.

"I just can't believe they're going to deny a member of Congress the right of reviewing how they plan to conduct the government of the United States after a significant terrorist attack," DeFazio says.

Homeland Security Committee staffers told his office that the White House initially approved his request, but it was later quashed. DeFazio doesn't know who did it or why.

"We're talking about the continuity of the government of the United States of America," DeFazio says. "I would think that would be relevant to any member of Congress, let alone a member of the Homeland Security Committee." ...

Bushco's penchant for secrecy be damned, how the hell can they keep Congress in the dark about how the government is going to continue to function after a worst case scenario cripples the institution? It's at least a recipe for disaster, and at worst a model for imposing martial law or a coup d'etat.

I guess we'll just have to trust Bushco on this too, just like we have to do about everything else this admin can get away with keeping hidden. What could possibly go wrong?