Once upon a time Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) opposed a number of bills because he thought (1) they duplicated an existing federal program and/or (2) they called for additional funding without cutting spending elsewhere. This made him noble.

Senate rules require unanimous agreement to consider legislation; when one senator objects, a supermajority of 60 must vote to push the bill onward. Sen. Coburn was the senator that objected to these bills. This made him both noble and crafty.

But Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) finally had enough of Sen. Coburn this week. Sen. Reid pushed 36 bills with holds from Sen. Coburn together into S. 3249, the so-called "Coburn omnibus", now up for debate this weekend in a special Saturday session.

Washington Watch has assembled a wonderful guide to the measures in this omnibus. I'd encourage you to check it out and pick your favorite way that your tax dollars are being spent.