The Oregonian's Washington man Jeff Kosseff has a long, in-depth article on Oregon's senior Senator, Ron Wyden, and his role on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. A must-read in Oregon and perhaps around the country, the article investigates the degree to which members of the panel can speak out in public. Kosseff leads as follows:

It was the mildest of criticism, offered in the most opaque terms.

Sen. Ron Wyden, during this month's debate on intelligence reform, said a "major acquisition program" was "too expensive" and "unnecessary."

But in the arcane world of intelligence spending, where billions are doled out with no public discussion, it was the equivalent of shouting fire in a crowded theater. Wyden is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which typically meets in top-secret, closed sessions.

Now, Wyden and two fellow Democrats who also vaguely attacked an unnamed intelligence program are facing criticism that they alluded to classified committee information.

A few days after Wyden's statement, The Washington Post reported that the program at issue was a $9.5 billion spy satellite system. For years, such programs have been debated and approved in secret.

What exactly did Wyden -- or the Committee's ranking member Jay Rockefeller or Minority Whip Dick Durbin -- do that could be ethically challenged?

"Anonymous defenders of a program that Senator Wyden believes to be a boondoggle are using the news media in an attempt to intimidate him and stifle appropriate debate in the United States Senate," Kardon said.

Kardon said that before Wyden submitted his statement, every word was approved for national security purposes by the Intelligence Committee staff of Sen. Pat Roberts, the Kansas Republican who is chairman of the committee.

If Wyden had his comments about this huge, wasteful program vetted by the senior staaff for the Committee Chairman, why are he and his Democratic colleagues really being hammered on this issue?

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., has another theory about why some large projects are kept secret.

"They're classified because they're hugely wasteful, unnecessary projects that are incredibly expensive, and they just want to keep that from the public," DeFazio said.

In his historic fairwell address, President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned the nation about the so-called "military industrial complex" which controlled the nation's politics. The pork-filled satellite program -- that doesn't even really add to the nation's spying capabilities as it can't see at night or under cover of clouds -- is a perfect example of the industry forcing Congress into submission. Kudos to Wyden for standing up to this giant.