One United States Senator has placed a "hold" on a bill that would make federal spending more transparent by establishing an open database of it. Which Senator has stopped this bill? We don't know…which is somehow appropriate. Why shouldn't a bill to let us know where our money is going be killed by a Senator who won't let us know who he is?
As it happens, this is an issue that unites a lot of activists on both the Left and the Right. Many in both camps see the need for this database and have joined together to try and figure out which Senator placed the secret hold. Each Senator's office is being contacted and asked for a clear denial.
As of this moment, we seem to be down to six suspects…six Senators who've declined to deny they did the deed. Smart money seems to be on Ted Stevens of Alaska. In case you aren't scoring at home, he's the Senator who's in charge of laws governing the Internet but who keeps making statements that makes it clear he doesn't have a clue what the Internet is. He's also the Senator who threw what the Washington Post called a "hissy fit" when it was proposed that his state not get $453 million dollars of federal funds in order to build a bridge that would only serve a handful of people.
Here's the current tally. You still have time to get a bet down.