Follow-up on the news

Last week, we reported on legislation that would have created an easy to navigate database tracking about $2.5 trillion of government spending -- contracts, grants, insurance, loans and financial assistance. It was headed for almost certain passage until someone in the Senate resorted to secrecy to stop an open government bill. Now, you can learn what happened:

Perhaps there's hope for the battle for public disclosure in the U.S. Senate after all. Oh, the bill that would have created an easy to navigate database to keep track of $2.5 trillion in federal spending -- contracts, grants, insurance payments and the like -- still has an obstacle or two in the way of passage. But at least the culprits who resorted to secretly derailing it have been outed.

They're Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. Shame on them both.

The entire story is here. Interesting how such chicanery is bipartisan.