What do the Committee on the Present Danger and the Natural Resources Defense Council have in common? They both endorse Set America Free, an "energy security" plan put forward by the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security and other conservative think tanks. Now, "many of the leading neoconservatives who pushed hard for the Iraq war are going green." Prius owner James Woolsey and bio-fuel enthusiast Frank Gaffney, among others, "want to weaken the Saudis, the Iranians, and the Syrians while also strengthening the Israelis. Whether these ends are achieved with M-16s or hybrid automobiles doesn't seem to matter to them."

"Jonathan L. Snare has been named to head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration," writes Molly Ivins. "He used to be the lobbyist for Metabolife, the ephedra diet pill that attracted so much unpleasant attention. Ephedrine was finally barred in 2003 after the Food and Drug Administration decided it had caused 155 deaths. I guess we're lucky Bush didn't put Snare at the FDA." Snare is the second industry insider appointed to a high-level OSHA position by Bush, according to Ivins. "The assistant secretary is John Henshaw, a former health and safety chief for the chemical company Monsanto. In 40 months on the job, Henshaw axed three dozen proposed regulations."

For years, marketers have known that "sociable, influential early adopters," or connectors, can drive sales. In California this month, "100 of Silicon Valley's top venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, lawyers, bloggers and promoters will begin receiving cool new stuff for free. ... These movers and shakers promise to sample the products and offer feedback to their manufacturers. The companies hope that, if the mood strikes, the Silicon Valley 100 will chat up, blog on, or just plain recommend the products to friends and colleagues, generating that most invaluable of currencies: buzz." Journalist and blogger Dan Gillmor calls the organized buzz effort "oddly creepy" and asks for disclosure.