In this age of internet-enabled politics the smoke-filled backrooms of politics as usual are having a hard time keeping the answer to "cui bono" a secret.
One site has observed that currently the government has no "system for assimilating, organizing, and releasing information on the hundreds of billions of tax dollars that are spent each year on federal grants and contracts."
As the Judicial Watch blog points out: "Management, fraud, and corruption thrive in a closed system where information is unavailable to the public.
On April 6, Sen. Tom Coburn introduced a bill (s.2590) that would require the government create a searchable web site, similiar to Google, that would list the name and amount of any federal grant, contract or other award of money amounting to $25,000 or more.
However, despite bi-partisan support, The Federal Times has reported that one senator has a "secret hold" on the bill. According to unofficial Senate parliamentary tradition, a single senator can anonymously delay action.
Fortunately, the whole political world is now searching for the senator that put a hold on the bill. A phenomenon impossible without the technological advances in communications due to the internet.
Sen. "Series of Tubes" Stevens appears to be the odds on favourite.
If public pressure fails, the Senate Majority Leader can overcome the hold by forcing the issue onto the floor and passing by 60+ votes.
I hope a few more years of the spotlight turned on will provide us with many more victories and rid us of these dinosaurs forever.
