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 →

05 Oct 2017
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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 →

25 Sep 2017
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Double Play! Jon of All Trades Exposes PolicySmith

In a one-of-a-kind in the Energy/Policy arena, Jonathan Ekstrom the founder of Deft Communications (and son of the PolicySmith) interviews his father on the award-winning podcast Jon of All Trades.  In a 40+ year career in oil and gas corporate communications, Jack Ekstrom – your faithful PolicySmith scribe – has sat for multiple interviews. This.. read more →

13 Sep 2017
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“Special Interest” Groups – Red Herring Anyone?

The PolicySmith laments beginning a blog post with a question, but this one is not simply a device – we’d like you to troll through your recent memory…how often have you seen or heard a Washington insider lament the influence of “special interest” groups?  That’s a thinly-veiled insult aimed at the insider’s opponents – it’s.. read more →

Collision of the Minds

A Visit Across the Pond Brings Some Pointed and Surprising Insights — We’re back at the keyboard having returned from two weeks abroad. While away, Mr. and Mrs. PolicySmith caught up to our Swedish relatives, laid over in Iceland and checked to see if there was anything still rotting in Denmark.  We came away with.. read more →

28 Aug 2017
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Lobbying/Government Relations for Private Business 101 — Better Late than Never!

Part 2 of 2. To read Part 1, click here. The PolicySmith admits to advancing age, its tripwires and the widening of cracks for the important and sundry to drop through. While rummaging through this blog’s dustbin, lo and behold an unpublished post appeared! In 2017 this space was attempting to shine a light on.. read more →

03 Aug 2017
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