Spying on reporters

Alberto Gonzales has offered up some rather infuriating opinions:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Sunday he believes journalists can be prosecuted for publishing classified information, citing an obligation to national security.

Off the top of your head, can you name a single instance where publication of such material harmed national security? I can name quite a few examples of material that was classified to prevent embarassment to (or prosecution of) those in authority: The Cointelpro papers, the Pentagon papers, abusive testing of soldiers, unsafe handling of nuclear materials, CBW tests on civilian populations, MKULTRA, the CIA's collusion with the mafia -- or more recently, the revelations about NSA spying.

No reporter in his right mind wants to pubish material that could place soldiers in jeopardy. (Some have argued that Geraldo Rivera once came close to doing just that -- but please note the "in his right mind" qualifier.)

Also:

The nation's top law enforcer also said the government will not hesitate to track telephone calls made by reporters as part of a criminal leak investigation...

The story goes on to mention the Plame probe. Cute, huh? The Bushites use a crime they committed as an excuse to intimidate journalists....