'Just got back from breakfast with Barbara Boxer. It was me and 7 or 8 other members of the California press, mainly from the SF Chronicle, gathered in her office.

...

All I gotta say is: Who do I have to kill to get this job. No, I'm serious. Who do I have to kill.

Roll outta bed, head over to the hill, spend an hour with your Senator talking about issues that millions of people back home are curious about, over free coffee and bagels. Go write about it.

Seriously, who do I have to fuckin' kill.

And btw Boxer's press secretary? Smokin' hot. No, maybe you didn't hear me: Smokin' hot. And, she worked for Wellstone before coming to Boxer. I think I'm in love.

(Again, this is the critical inside information you won't find in the mainstream press.)

Who do I have to kill. Who's getting off'ed.

I don't even know if I'll turn the breakfast session into a story - maybe a blurb - but it was incredibly interesting. Lots of insight on everything ranging from Iraq to social security to the latest immigration initiatives moving through the Senate. And I think I held my own OK, being the new fish in town. I only had a few of those internal Chris Farley moments, the one where he's interviewing Paul McCartney:

"Um, um you remember when you bitch-slapped Condi Rice at her nomination hearing?"

"Yes, Dickie, I do."

"That was SO friggin' COOL!!"

"Well thank you Dickie, I appreciate that."

It gets better: By luck of the draw, my "mentor" this quarter is none other than renowned USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan. It was a pretty decent score. I mean, the star power is cool...but hopefully I can parlay this into a good job-search connection.

Maybe I'll even ask her who I have to kill to get the DC correspondent job, and if she doesn't slowly back away from the table then I'll be in business!

***************************************

Anyways, marvel at my latest wonder in today's Santa Barbara News-Press. An (alarming, IMHO) follow-up to the whole drilling clusterfuck:

Lawmakers debate offshore drilling

4/20/05
By DICKIE CRONKITE
NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

WASHINGTON -- A high-ranking Interior Department official said Tuesday that the Bush administration is willing to consider lifting the federal ban on new offshore drilling.

"This administration is very mindful of the states' needs," R.M. "Johnnie" Burton told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. She said she believes the administration would seriously consider withdrawing its moratorium if Congress first signaled it would do so, as well.

In response, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., reaffirmed her strong support for the ban. "With respect to California, we are adamant about maintaining the moratorium," she said.

"We are all too familiar with the consequences and what happened in 1969," she said, referring to the devastating Santa Barbara Channel spill after the Platform A blowout.

She was in the minority, however.

Most senators on the committee, including Mary Landrieu, D-La.; Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; and Richard Burr, R-N.C., urged that the moratorium be lifted and states be given added control over offshore drilling and exploration.

"States should have the ability to proceed on their own," Mr. Burr said.

Lawmakers summoned administration officials as well as representatives from the Sierra Club and Noble Energy Inc. to consider the future of deepwater oil and gas production as they draft this year's energy bill.

Mr. Alexander has introduced legislation, prompted by record oil and natural gas prices, that would include lifting the moratorium.

"As these tens of thousands of jobs move overseas and farmers' prices . . . and heating prices go higher, somebody's going to ask us, ÔWhat did you do to increase the supply of natural gas?' " Mr. Alexander said.

Ms. Landrieu was outspoken in her support for more drilling and exploration. She called the oceans a "new frontier" while acknowledging "there have been some mistakes made" in the past.

According to Ms. Landrieu, the outer continental shelf has generated $145 billion for the Treasury from offshore oil and gas production. She called it second-biggest source of federal revenue after the income tax.

"This is not pocket change," Ms. Landrieu said. "America is desperate for revenues and resources. If we do this correctly, we can provide riches and investments for our nation."


Debbie Boger, a deputy legislative director at the Sierra Club, told the committee that in spite of the technological advancements during the past few decades, oil and gas drilling poses serious environmental consequences.

These consequences, she said, include damage to marine life, onshore damage associated with pipelines, water and air pollution, and increased global warming.

Ms. Burton told Ms. Feinstein that the administration has agreed to buy back the 36 undeveloped federal oil and gas leases off the Central Coast, and has been in negotiations with the owners for three years.

"So far we haven't been able to reach this agreement," she said, adding that the government and the owners differ on how much the leases are worth.


Dickie Cronkite writes for Medill News Service from Washington, D.C. E-mail him at *****@ newspress.com.