Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Europe’s Shrinking Feeling

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott

“Europe’s current situation cannot be attributed entirely to events in the Middle East, either: while these have acted as a catalyst, they have exposed underlying problems with the European Union’s energy policies, and the disjointed nature of the member nations’ own energy sectors. The green transition, spearheaded by the European Green Deal and pursued with regulatory intensity and considerable haste, systematically dismantled the continent’s baseload capacity for energy provision and production long before replacement infrastructure was ready.” (04/29/26)

https://fee.org/articles/europes-shrinking-feeling/

Thomas L. Knapp

Trump survived the dinner — the free press may not survive his attacks

Source: The Hill
by Kim Wehle

“Saturday night’s harrowing incident at the White House correspondents’ dinner has prompted predictable coverage of the newsy basics: the shooter’s identity, his possible motives, the Secret Service’s evacuation of the Trumps, JD Vance, and other officials. The coverage also included President Trump’s subsequent remarks, including his telling reporters, ‘I’m not a basket case. I really take it as it is. I do it for the country,’ and calling CBS News’[s] Norah O’Donnell ‘a disgrace’ and ‘horrible people’ for asking him about the suspect’s writings. The fact that nobody was physically hurt is obviously a good thing. But the body blows to the First Amendment might never heal.” (04/29/26)

https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5852601-trump-press-freedom-threats/

Thomas L. Knapp

What Should Post-Communist Cuban Schools Do?

Source: Independent Institute
by Williamson M Evers

“What should education in Cuba look like after Communism? Assuming a decisive break with Communism — as happened, for example, in the Baltic States, Czech Republic, and Poland — the country will need to replace nationalization with pluralism, ill-advised pedagogy with scientific methods, and indoctrination with liberalization.” (04/29/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/04/29/what-should-post-communist-cuban-schools-do/

Thomas L. Knapp

American Press Freedom on the Brink

Source: CounterPunch
by Clayton Weimers

“Every year, RSF scores and ranks 180 countries and territories based on their level of press freedom. The Index evaluates five indicators: political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and safety. The United States has declined in each of these indicators and steadily fallen on the Index over the past decade, dropping in rank from 49th in 2015 to 57th in 2025. It may be tempting to blame Trump entirely for the perilous state of journalism in the country, but that steady decline in press freedom over the past decade spans multiple administrations, with both parties holding power in Washington. Such a prolonged decline points to structural deficiencies that cannot be attributed to a single issue, person, or administration.” (04/29/26)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/04/29/american-press-freedom-on-the-brink/

Thomas L. Knapp

Violent Rhetoric Is a Bipartisan Problem — And So Is the Resulting Hypocrisy

Source: The Dispatch
by Jonah Goldberg

“[F]or two decades now, it seems that whenever political violence erupts, there’s a moment where partisans wait to learn the motives of the perpetrator so they can start blaming the other side for inciting it. Sometimes they don’t even wait. … American politics right now are almost defined by outgroup homogeneity. Many Democrats and progressives think all Republicans and conservatives are alike, and vice versa. That would be bad enough, but the problem is compounded by the fact that each side tends to think the consensus on the other side is defined by their worst actors and spokespeople.” (04/29/26)

https://archive.is/PhiPN

Thomas L. Knapp