China — The Trillion Dollar Question: How long can they have it both ways?
Answer: Not as long as it appears. First, a confession. The PolicySmith was nearing completion of this essay that was to lay out the case for the erosion and eventual implosion of the China model. Recent developments there indicate a compelling case could and should be made that China is experiencing grave difficulties. The imminent.. read more →
Moving Past Climate Derangement Syndrome
This site has discussed at length chicanery, hypocrisy and distortions of all stripes in the free-for-all on climate. This blog entry was to be another revelation of more drivel from news sources, more science grist for the mill and so on. That is until my editor, my son with whom I am well pleased, pointed.. read more →
Victory, Alaska!
Note to PolicySmith followers: This post concludes our first calendar year. Thank you for your interest. There will be less frequent entries in the coming several months as we take some time away. Look for a return in early spring. Have a safe and prosperous 2018. The wild ride of this calendar year closes with.. read more →
Bolsheviks at 100 – The legacy of Soviet wreckage buddies up to the Saudis
The one-trick pony that is Russia’s economy is, in late November, reportedly in discussions with the Saudis about oil and production cutbacks. Petrodollars from oil and natural gas sales are the only thing standing between Vladimir Putin and the typically ugly – and final – exit of a Russian leader. Just as in the late.. read more →
Thoreau at 200
Pencil maker, gardener, surveyor, author/poet, elitist, loner, and poster boy for enviro-purists, Henry David Thoreau, appeared on the Earth in 1817. This anniversary is celebrated primarily for his revered (by the soft path crowd) work, Walden, and to a lesser degree, Civil Disobedience and other tomes, poetry and tracts. A relatively harmless oddity in his.. read more →
A Word – Actually Quite a Few – About Curmudgeons
Warning! Salty language and ribald observations straight ahead… The recent exercise in plumbing the depths of the popular press’s love affair with environmentalists, college snowflakes and the bands of assorted ne’er-do-wells populating the public consciousness causes the curmudgeon in the PolicySmith to surface with an emphatic Harumph! The press’s love affair is not nearly as.. read more →
Adventures in Objectivity – It’s Just Business
This is part 2 of a 2-part series. Click here to read both parts. Part 2 of 2 – The Sacramento Bee Lifts the Curtain on Big Enviro NGOs In Part 1 of this intended 5-part series, the PolicySmith stated, “Long lived success in commerce follows a simple axiom. Deliver to the customer what is.. read more →
Adventures in Objectivity
This is part 1 of a 2-part series. Click here to read both parts. Adventures in Objectivity – Reportage Worth Paying For Long lived success in commerce follows a simple axiom. Deliver to the customer what is promised at a fair price with a reasonable margin for profit and business thrives. Buy a Snickers bar,.. read more →
Pardon the Detour – It’s Worth It!
On the way to our 5-parter examining exceptional reportage on Environmental Groups (otherwise known as NGOs), the PolicySmith was laid low by a lower GI bug – bad juju we suppose. While down, but not out, we ran across an excellent editorial in the weekly Standard. It is a copyrighted editorial without a byline –.. read more →
Objective Journalist – The Most Endangered of Species
The PolicySmith’s recent venture into the world of podcasts released a flood of memories from a past life in broadcast and print journalism. Experience behind and in front of the camera, as well as experience as the journalist and as the subject of journalists’ inquiries, provide insights worth revelation here. Electronic media has always had.. read more →