While we’ve been implying, insinuating and plain old accusing — and even encouraging readers to call their senators — turns out the whole S. 2590 porky mystery was solved two weeks ago.

Tom Coburn, one of the few living “fiscal conservatives” and the guy who introduced the bill along with Dem glamour boy Barack Obama, just flat out told an audience back home in Oklahoma that pork-slobberin’ Alaskan Ted “Series of Tubes” Stevens had put the hold on the government-transparency bill.

Read Coburn’s actual words, along with myriad other words, after the jump.

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* Republicans in Congress settle on $70B tax-cut package as proposal for $100 gas vouchers withers; Bush “implored lawmakers to deliver an agreement he could tout.” [WP, WP, NYT]
* Immigration rallies apparently made little influence on Congress. [NYT]
* Democrats aim to pick up House seats in the Northeast. [NYT]
* Bush may have sung a Spanish version of the national anthem at a campaign event. [WP]
* House votes on lobbying reform today. [USAT]
* Administration is testing “antisatellite weapons.” [NYT]
* Democrats threaten to filibuster one, maybe two, conservative judicial nominations. [WP]
* Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is on a one-man mission to eliminate earmarks from the emergency spending bill. [WP]
* The Supreme Court under John Roberts has become more contemplative and patient. [NYT]
* Blogosphere bloviates about Stephen Colbert’s performance. [NYT]

* Josh Bolten seeks “fresh start” for the White House. McClellan: “This is a time to reenergize and renew our commitment to help the president advance his agenda.” [WP, NYT, W$J]
* Mississippi senators are criticized for allocating $700M from war funding to relocate brand-new freight rail line. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.): “American taxpayers are generous and are happy to restore damaged property, but it is wrong for senators to turn this tragedy into a giveaway for economic developers.” [WP]
* Sen. Hillary Clinton raised $6M in the first quarter and holds $20M in the bank; Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) has $7.2M on hand. [WP]
* Rumsfeld says calls for his retirement will fade. [NYT]
* Gay families attend White House Easter egg roll; few complaints about missing the Bushes. [USAT]
* States are showing some fiscal restraint; surpluses seen in 42 states. [USAT]
* National Archives pledges new era of “transparency”; Archives had “secret agreement” with the CIA to withhold documents. [WP, NYT]
* Mike Gravel, former Democratic senator from Alaska, officially announces bid for ‘08 presidential nomination. [WP]

* Reliable Source: Laura and Barbara Bush travel to Rome to visit with the Pope and Silvio Berlusconi before attending the Olympics; Jenna is staying home to teach. . . Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich booed at basketball game. . . Reese Witherspoon stops by Burger King near the White House. [WP]
* Under the Dome: Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) is popular among “jocks-turned-GOP pols”. . . Tony Blair blames troubles on “The West Wing.” [The Hill]
* Inside the Beltway: King Abdullah II “likes to walk around” the Georgetown Safeway. [WT]
* Rush & Molloy: McCain flack complains director of “Why We Fight” documentary “intentionally twisted” the senator’s quotes about Cheney. . . McCain and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) lunch and laugh with Richard Gere. [NYDN]
* Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Bill Weld lunches with John Ashcroft. . . Nora Ephron: “[Chris Matthews] is a perfect example - although obviously exaggerated - of what happens to men in the presence of Senator McCain. They lose their minds. They suck up. They turn absolutely giddy. They ask questions they don’t care about the answers to. It’s Valentine’s Day.” [NYDN]

* Sens. Kerry and Kennedy may attempt to filibuster Alito; Dems Ben Nelson (Neb.), Robert Byrd (W.Va.), and Tim Johnson (S.D.) announce support of Alito’s confirmation. [WP, NYT, LAT]
* Bush distances himself from Jack Abramoff during news conference; offers defense of NSA eavesdropping and stance on Katrina inquiry. [WP, NYT, LAT, USAT, WT]
* Admin has used “at least two separate rationales for why they did not ask for statutory authority” for NSA eavesdropping program. [WP]
* Public opinion of NSA eavesdropping is “nuanced and remains highly unresolved,” according to NYT-CBS poll; disapproval of Congress and the Republican Party are both high. 61% are concerned about losing civil liberties. [NYT]
* If tax cuts are allowed to expire in 2010, deficit will turn to surplus in 2012. [USAT]
* Lewis Libby’s lawyer asks Patrick Fitzgerald for documents “related to what journalists knew from any source” about Valerie Plame. [WP, NYT]

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• Cheney has “waged an intense” private campaign to reject changes to the guidelines concerning detainee treatment; the position is facing increased opposition from other officials and lawmakers. [WP]
• Senators express concern about misuse of the Patriot Act. Tom Coburn: “We should not ever give up freedom on the basis of fear, and any freedom that we give up should be limited in time and limited in scope.” [NYT, WP]
• Bush, in Brazil: “Our goal is to promote opportunity for people throughout the Americas, whether you live in Minnesota or Brazil, and the best way to do this is by expanding free and fair trade.” On the protests: “I expect there to be dissent. That’s what freedom is all about.” [WP, USAT, ]
• Latin America Summit proved to be no reprieve for Bush; on the first day, he did not return to his hotel until after midnight. [WP]
• New York Times on Alito: “An examination of several chapters in his life suggests he is conservative by temperament, upbringing and experience - conditions that appear to have shaped his approach to life and his work more than any narrow ideological niche.” Los Angeles Times: Alito’s “15 years’ worth of legal opinions do not promise fealty to any ideology.” [NYT, LAT]

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• Reliable Source: Bono lunched with Bush yesterday. . . Ana Marie Cox on upcoming novel: “I now realize that it’s impossible to create any Washington character without somebody thinking it’s them. I shouldn’t have written a novel, I should have written an index.” [WP]
• Under the Dome: Coburn (R-Okla.) says “it’s ok if the Republicans lose control” in ‘06 and that “Republicans allow the next generation to pay for” their spending. . . Senators enjoy screening of “Good Night and Good Luck.” [The Hill]
• Inside the Beltway: Hillary, Bill Bennett, Bob Bennett, Porter Goss and others will attend tonight’s reception for Louis Freeh. . . Bush, Laura and Nancy Reagan will attend tomorrow’s opening of the Air Force One Pavilion at the Reagan library. [WT]
• Liz Smith: Bush’s “government is simply reeling with rumor. It’s like the old days of Watergate with almost as much at stake.” [NYP]

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. . . but, Jesus, they could do better than this: MORE »

The dominant metaphor at the Roberts hearings is baseball, but to judge by the questions being asked by most Republicans, the ball involved here is very, very soft. We’re not sure, in fact, that this particularly featherweight item, once tossed, would even hit the ground:

COBURN: Right. I’m not asking you about legal significance. Would you agree that the opposite of being dead is being alive? MORE »