After a recent lull, the flow of out-of-state oil money into California to block the state's cutting edge greenhouse-gas law is ramping back up. The latest to contribute is Marathon Oil, based in Houston, which has kicked in $500,000. So many Texas oil companies showing so much interest in California's air -- isn't that special?

The bucks stop there: Marathon joins a roster of big spending out-of-staters pushing Proposition 23, which would keep the state from controlling greenhouse-gas emissions. Others in the group include San Antonio-based Valero ($4 million); San Antonio-based Tesoro ($1.5 million); Wichita, Kansas-based Flint Hills Resources, aka the Koch Brothers ($1 million); and the Smithville, Missouri-based Adam Smith Foundation ($498,000).