It was back on April 29 when Sen. Clinton first promised to introduce a gas tax bill to the Senate:

Once upon a time (June 14, 2001), President Bush, Swedish Prime Minister & EU President Goran Persson, and European Commission President Roman Prodi held a summit. This is the meeting where Bush famously walked the US away from the Kyoto Treaty. Bush talked up Globalization, there was discussion about AIDS in Africa and Bush told them he was going to blow away the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missle treaty.

After the meeting, all three stepped out to the steps of Gunnebro Castle for photos and a press conference:

Persson, Bush and Prodi EU photo

None of our presidential candidates will be bothering to attend the DLC's National Conversation meeting in Tennessee this weekend.

DLC Founder Al From got together with AP's Ron Fournier to craft a sour-grapes whine fest critizing our presidential candidates, claiming we will lose the general election because nobody cares about the DLC anymore.

Yesterday, the US Energy Information Administration released their estimates of oil production, International Petroleum Monthly, which covers production through November, 2006. World production of oil, including lease condensate, was 73,410,000 barrels per day, down from the high 74,151,000 bpd which was set in May, 2005. A look at the production chart indicates more of an undulating plateau, but the overall direction over time is down.

In Hastert's brief, evasive press conference on Thursday, sharp reporters immediately zeroed in on Palmer's role in the Foley information flow. Did Hastert leap to the defense of his chief of staff's honor in the crucial credibility contest with Kirk Fordham? Did he say I know Scott Palmer and I know he's telling the truth? No. He avoided every question with Palmer's name in it. Hastert obviously does not want to talk about Scott Palmer.

There are plenty of odd couple Congressmen who have roomed together on Capitol Hill, but I have never heard of a chief of staff who rooms with his boss. It is beyond unusual. But it must have its advantages. Anything they forget to tell each other at the office, they have until bedtime to catch up on. And then there's breakfast for anything they forgot to tell each other before falling asleep. And then there's all day at the office. Hastert and Palmer are together more than any other co-workers in the Congress.

Japan's population is set to drop this year for the first time since records began more than a century ago, according to a government report. Deaths are expected to exceed births by 10,000, and inward migration will not make up the difference.

"Our country is now standing at a major turning point in terms of population," Health, Labour and Welfare Minister Jiro Kawasaki told a news conference.

Talkleft.com got me started today with an article Democrats No Longer Heart Joe Lieberman.

A fine article from Vital Trivia notes that, for the first time, spot prices for oil are below all futures contracts out to 2010.

Three OPEC InfoTreats await me, a follower of peak oil, each month: the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) production figures released early in the month; OPEC's own production figures, released mid-month; and the Middle East Economic Survey's figures, also released mid-month.

Today, the DOE's EIA released figures for May OPEC production. They're an exact copy of April's figures! Are they being cut-and-paste faked? Or are they simply lazy? Have they been making up their data all along? Not that there's anything I can do about it!

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is currently marking up Bush's latest 'energy' bill, the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Check the website on April 12 for the live RealMedia webcast.