Green Options

Hosting a national radio talk-show, Steele offered a curious interpretation of history, climatology, and coalition building.

Brandon Darby, co-founder of Common Grounds, has publicly admitted to working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and being responsible for the arrest of two activists from Austin, Texas. On Monday he wrote an open letter in explanation of his actions, though the letter does not disclose many details.

In the letter, Darby defends his choice to work for the FBI, admitting that he was not approached by them, but that he actually took the initiative himself when he began disagreeing with his affinity group’s tactics and increased militancy. He wrote that the government is not out to silence dissent or take down activists, but that they merely intend to stop crimes from taking place.

In what is either another sign that the McCain camp is angling for more distance from George W. Bush, or that they are trying to reframe the nuclear issue in a different light, speechwriters for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin inserted the phonetically modified neologism, “new-clear,” in place of the word “nuclear,” on Wednesday night. I should also mention that Ms. Palin’s speech was written by one of President Bush’s speechwriters.

On Wednesday night, there were basically two messages coming from Republicans in St. Paul: 1. CEOs and mayors make great presidents; 2. Increasing domestic oil drilling will immediately lower gas prices. The ladder was summed up by the GOP’s newest catchphrase.

While there were few bold new propositions in the 2008 Republican Party platform, the Platform Committee did attempt to narrow some of the gaps between traditional Republican positions and some of John McCain’s positions. One of the most notable differences is McCain’s position on climate change viz. the Republican Party’s traditional position.

On Monday night, three colleagues of mine from the Kentucky Kernel were arrested while documenting the protests outside the Republican National Convention. Nothing indicates that any of the three were actually participating in the protests, much less violating any laws that would warrant their arrest.