No doubt by now you've heard all about Rep. Joe Barton of Arlington (who has a 2 p.m. meeting scheduled with Mayor Tom Leppert on Monday) telling BP chief exec Tony Hayward how sorry he is --
how so so so so so sorry he is -- that President Obama shook him down for a $20 billion "slush fund." And by slush fund, he meant dough to be doled out to those in the Gulf Coast whose lives have been ruined by the BP oil spill.
Which, turns out, is but one locally connected highlight, or the opposite of, during yesterday's House committee hearing: There was also Argyle's own Rex Tillerson explaining to Congress why Irving-based ExxonMobil's -- and all the other major oil and gas providers' --
oil spill contingency plan looks just like BP's, so much so
all of their cut-and-paste plans include an emergency-contact phone number for a marine biology prof out of Miami named Dr. Peter Lutz,
who died five years ago. Tillerson's unexpected rationale for Lutz remaining on the contact list "wins today's award for chutzpah," in the words of the UK
Guardian's Richard Adams.
Jon Stewart recapped both
Smokey Joe and Tillerson's steps into the sticky shit on
The Daily Show last night:
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print Article
![A Man Was Gunned Down Last Night in Southlake's Town Square [Updated]](http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/common/assets/701554.75x75.jpg)
