The release of secret U.S. State Department diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks has prompted a draconian response, ranging from calls for founder Julian Assange's assassination to repeated attempts to shut down WikiLeaks and its satellite Web sites. Attacks from leading American political and media figures -- not to mention Assange's arrest -- suggest that it's a far graver sin to expose secrets than to govern under their aegis.

Is piercing the veil of government secrecy a good thing? Is WikiLeaks endangering national security, or providing a public service? Is an independent Web-based entity fulfilling the role that the American press has largely abdicated? With Joe on vacation, Abe looks at the fallout.