The new chairman of the House Oversight Committee has vowed to use his subpoena powers to "investigate" climate scientists, denouncing federal funding of their work as part of a "tsunami of opacity, waste, fraud and abuse." Insisting that the planet is only going through a temporary and natural "warming cycle," Issa points to the bogus "climategate" scandal as evidence that scientists "played fast and loose with both the truth and our money." Money is certainly something Issa knows well: His car-alarm empire has made him one of the richest members of Congress, with an estimated fortune of $160 million. And while he has absolutely no background in science, he has a unique set of credentials for ferreting out wrongdoing: He has been charged twice with auto theft and once with carrying a concealed weapon, and owned a factory destroyed by suspected arson.

The Spill, The Scandal and the President