Oh confidential documents... why do we love you so?

Is there anything quite as satisfying as looking at something marked "CONFIDENTIAL"?
Really tho, whether you're supposed to be reading it, or if you're not... it always breeds an extra sensory emotion not found in simply reading a memo.

I've found myself in this position a couple times, I remember when I was younger, and I used to love the internet because I could look up all sorts of "Classified" documents about Roswell, and Area 51 (that's all I can say here...shhh).
I loved the mystery of having access to documents that in all reality, had little to do with my everyday life. But what do we do when documents come to light, that DO have an impact, and why are such documents still the way we measure the severity of the scandal? We always go back to the internal memo, and the confidential documents to show that someone knew something, and chose to either do nothing, or the wrong thing. We look to court documents that we don't have any business looking at, simply because we can. www.thesmokinggun.com has all the info you would want if you're looking for that special little tidbit that gives you a step deeper into the shitstorm than E! tells you about your favorite celebutaint.
Needing a little bit more info about Heath Ledgers death than you'll find on CNN?... go there. If you want to see that latest mug shot of Ms. Lohan... gotcha!
But what if you're looking for whistle blower documents that could have serious implications on current officials? Documents that reach from beyond the closed doors of proceedings, to the core of us as citizens.

Enter wikileaks.org.

Don't worry... going there will not yield anything, instead, you have to go to the ip of the site: http://88.80.13.160/

This is because the site has been shut down by a California federal judge.
The real reasons are not expressed, I'm not really here to argue for or against the site in particular. What is interesting is even in the age of hidden cameras, taped phone calls, and pictures on the internet. We still find the secret document to be the ominous smoking gun in any situation. There is something academic about having read the evidence in which nothing was done. When you read the report about working conditions the same as the CEO that chose to do nothing, it angers you. It gives you that inside look into what information they may have had, and what history logs as their decision. Seeing an undercover video is almost to easy, because how could anyone not think it despicable. But when we have to imagine it, and come up with our own images, we feel like we not only know a different decision should have bene made, but that given the same info, we could have done a better job. It is a lofty goal for sure, but nonetheless, we put ourselves in that role.

It's no secret that we as a nation love our secrets. We love our hard copy, text on paper, CONFIDENTIAL, secrets... don't believe me? Just pick up that memo about the use of company paper, handed out to everyone, and see how special it feels reading it. Then go dredge up a copy of Donald Vance vs. Donald Rumsfeld, and see if that seems slightly more important, and less talked about.