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Thursday

Ross Clark

Europe is addicted to American energy

There is no member of the Trump administration with greater clarity of thought than Energy Secretary Chris Wright. While opponents rage at Trump’s climate policy, Wright gave a speech to the International Energy Agency this week in which he explained the rationale behind America’s sharp deviation from Europe. In the minds of many people, the world is in the midst of a vast, unstoppable green energy revolution. The age of fossil fuels is over, they assert, leaving behind vast subterranean vats of “stranded assets.” In its place, the world is adopting wind and solar power at breakneck speed. They cite huge investments by China, whose own ventures into renewable energy dwarf those by Europe.

Tuesday

Ettie Neil-Gallacher

Why have a parenting philosophy?

In recent months, much has been made of "FAFO parenting." Touted as the backlash to "gentle parenting," the philosophy of "Fuck Around & Find Out" seems to be that children should learn the natural consequences of poor decision-making. While gentle parenting advocates empathy and respect, reasoning and explanation, FAFO parenting dictates that rather than going nine rounds with your small person to persuade him or her to go to the bathroom before going out / to put a raincoat on when it’s pouring / not to pull the cat’s tail, you should let them see what happens when they have the temerity to exercise their own free will.    Reading about how widely endorsed FAFO parenting apparently is on social media, my immediate reaction wasn’t: sounds sensible.

Thursday

Ross Clark

Don’t bother visiting Rome

As a general rule, once a city erects turnstiles to tourist attractions which were once free to visit, it is time to go elsewhere. Never more so than in the case of Rome. Last week the Italian capital introduced a €2 charge to visit the Trevi Fountain. Tight-fisted tourists like me will still be able to see the Trevi from a distance – it happens to stand in a public street. The charge will be only for sad Instagrammers who want to get close enough to chuck their coins in the water. The city’s tourism department has suggested the fee is needed to manage the throngs of holidaygoers. Even then, God forbid, they won’t be able to take off their sandals and take a dip – that will earn them a €500 fine. Which raises the question: why bother visiting the fountain at all?

Tuesday

Cockburn

Ken Paxton’s turning point

Turning Point USA’s political-action committee showed just how “family friendly” it is Monday – by endorsing serial adulterer Ken Paxton for Texas’s open Senate seat. Paxton, who’s battling Republican incumbent John Cornyn and Congressman Wesley Hunt for his party’s nomination, accepted the endorsement, saying, “I’m proud to be standing alongside Turning Point Action in carrying on the fight to save this country and defend our freedoms.” Sensible Republicans, of which there are at least a half dozen left, understand the hypocrisy of the organization started by the late Charlie Kirk, the world’s most earnest family man, backing one of America’s most ethically compromised politicians.

ken paxton
Alexander Larman

What lies behind the royal redactions?

Nothing has been as damaging for the British royal family as the unfortunate meeting of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein. Republican Thomas Massie and the Democrat Ro Khanna know this. In a press conference yesterday, they said they had been shown documents that have been otherwise redacted and withheld from the Epstein files. These documents included mention of girls as young as 9 years old. Massie and Khanna are responsible for the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act. They have said that the levels of redaction and secrecy are unacceptable, and that they will continue to challenge the Justice Department’s approach to the documents. And this, according to Khanna, is extremely bad news for the royals.

Thursday