News

It has been a rough few years for the academics and professionals collectively known as “The Experts.” For as long as I can remember, “experts say” was a phrase used by newscasters to discuss a topic without the viewer being able to challenge the authority of whatever they were about to report. “The Experts” was a catch-all for a group of unnamed people who know more about a topic than you do. Why should you try a new diet? Experts say it can lower your cholesterol. Why should you invest with this particular strategy? Experts told you to do so. How should you organize your daily schedule? Trust The Experts.

 Well, this is the Purim issue of the QJL. Instead of going with the classic parody or satire I have utilized in years past, I am going to take this opportunity to direct three questions at the so-called Hebrew Hammer, Ben Shapiro. The realization has set in over the last few years that I will likely never be able to have a sit-down with him. I have never attended one of his speeches, so I can’t ask him a question there. And my podcast ended over two years ago, so I don’t even have a medium to host him anymore.

 In all the craziness surrounding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s disastrous visit to the White House last week, you are excused for not noticing President Trump’s action against his own Vice President, JD Vance. You see, VP Vance decided that he was going to stand up to President Trump and criticize him for some of his positions. In response, President Trump blocked him from accessing his offices both in the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Depending on where you get your news, you will have seen Elon Musk’s work reducing government spending as either the best or worst thing going on in government these days. If you primarily listen to left-wing sources, you will be bombarded with instances where the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) axed vital government programs and heartlessly fired thousands of government employees.

Last week, President Donald J. Trump unveiled his latest attempt to reduce future illegal immigration. Since 1982, the law of the land has been that children born in the United States are naturalized citizens, regardless of the status of their parents. This law is based on some loose interpretations of the 14^th Amendment, which does state that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Last week, Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook would be eliminating its fact-checker program. In a video posted across all Meta platforms, Zuckerberg said they would be moving away from what NBC News called “independent, non-partisan fact checking” in a segment on the January 7 Today show. Instead, Zuckerberg explained they will be implementing a community notes section to posts, similar to what X does, where users can add a note to a post to either add context to explain the background, or disprove it entirely.