Today there was a joint senate committee hearing on the prices of oil prices.(CSPAN 2 has the hearing on tonight.) Co-chaired by Sen. Ted Stevens (AK-R) and Sen. Pete Domenici (NM-R), the hearing had four oil executives (Hoffeister, Mulva, Pillari, O'Reilly, and Raymond). However, Sen. Stevens laid down some unusual rules: the oil executive would not have to take an oath to tell the truth and senators on the committee were restricted to 5 minutes each. Why would an oath not be administered? This way they would not be forced to tell the truth and possibly face future perjury charges if they had lied. Obviously, we will not get the truth because Sen. "Bridge to Nowhere" Stevens doesn't want to anger these oil executives. Why? What do they have hanging over his head? Political contributions?
A new poll by NBC News/The Wall Street Journal that was released today. Here is the most important paragraph from the article about the poll:
The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, released Wednesday night, finds that all five of Bush’s job approval ratings — on overall job performance, the economy, foreign policy, terrorism and Iraq — are at all-time lows in the survey. In addition, the CIA leak scandal seems to be taking a toll on the administration, with nearly 80 percent believing the indictment of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, is a serious matter, and with Bush experiencing a 17-point drop since January in those who see him as honest and straightforward.
In Ohio, State Senator Marc Dann is still trying to get to the bottom of the corruption within Gov. Bob Taft's office. From Vindy.com we have the following information:
Dann also says in a lawsuit against Taft that the Republican governor should allow himself and key current and former aides to be deposed in connection with the case.
But Taft has sought protection in the Ohio Supreme Court from the case, claiming executive privilege.
Those views will collide today as the high court holds oral arguments.
The suit by Dann, who has emerged as a leading critic of investment losses at the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation, seeks all weekly memos dating back to 1998 from the governor's office involving the BWC, the state's insurance fund for injured workers.
The BWC has lost about $300 million in various investments over the past few years. Dann has said he wants to know if or when Taft was ever informed of the BWC investment losses.
