Opinion

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.

Every year around this time, it is only natural for people to look back on the year that was and think ahead about what will make next year different. However, as we reach the midway point of this decade, it’s just as wild to recall where we were at this point just five years ago as we entered the 2020s.

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.”

Over the last 15 years, there have been several large-scale social movements prompted by one or two major national news stories, which last for a few years until the movement either fizzles out or suddenly goes up in smoke. After that, the country moves on to the next social movement and the cycle continues.

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.

There is always one question that hits at the heart of any story about Batman: Why does he need to exist? Why does a city as large as Gotham – a major metropolis presumably with a functioning government and police force – require a vigilante to prevent crime? It’s not like other superheroes who have superpowers, and combat villains with abilities beyond the abilities of local law enforcement. Most of Batman’s nemeses do not have superpowers; and those who do, like Mr. Freeze, can theoretically have their powers neutralized by local law enforcement. Most of Gotham’s “supervillains” are just glorified mob bosses. Batman himself does not even have any superpowers, making his stories more relatable than other comic book heroes.