*Wales to ban parents smacking their children from 2022.*

When my father spanked me, he terrified and humiliated me. It only happened a few times, but each time it drove me permanently further away from him. I am sure it is better for families to avoid such anger.

At the same time, I am sure that if I were a parent I would arrive at situations where I was at my wits' end and saw no way to carry out my responsibilities without spanking. I don't understand how some parents do it.

It's one more reason why it is good that I have not had children.

The US should stop exporting oil — that would make a big reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The comparison with smallpox-infested blankets (which the US government gave to some indigenous groups during the 1800s) is misguided, since those two wrongs are wrong in different ways. The blankets were intended to, and likely to, kill only people in the targeted groups. Burning more oil, no matter who does it, is likely to kill more people all around the world. The one was a sneaky, treacherous act of war; the other a contribution to global suicide.

What children need most, to learn anything or everything well, is curiosity. It is also a vital requisite for doing well on grades and tests. But schools systematically squash their curiosity in the name of maintaining order.

I conjecture that teaching a class takes more work for the teacher if the teacher encourages curiosity by answering the children's questions. I further conjecture that the extra work increases with the number of children in the class. Perhaps this is part of the reason why smaller classes are better: because they make it easier for the teacher to answer questions for all the children and avoid squashing their curiosity.

Getting to know people in your neighborhood, building community trust, makes your children safer than hovering over them, while giving them a chance to learn and explore.

Keith Martin approached a car to wash its windows, The driver was an undercover thug; he shot Mr Martin and then charged him with making a "terrorist threat".

I can understand how the "offer" to wash your windows can be annoying. These people often rush to start washing before you can say no, then they manipulate you into paying them out of a feeling of undeserved obligation, or to get the soap off your windshield. It is bad behavior, indeed.

But does it qualify as a "terrorist threat"? What an absurd exaggeration! Do they deserve to be shot for this? Obviously not. That thug should be prosecuted, because firing is not enough to stop those menaces to society.

To advance the campaign to curb global heating, stop feeling guilty and trying to make small decreases in your own use of fossil fuel, and join efforts to change the system that makes everyone live wastefully.

The exception to "stop feeling guilty" is for activities that make profligate use of fossil fuels. For instance, to have a private jet, a large boat, a mansion, or a child, are things you can and should avoid.

The same advice applies to the campaign against nonfree software. People often write to me asking me to forgive them for using some nonfree software. But I don't ask them to apologize for this; I ask them to support campaigns against nonfree software, such as the GNU Project