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Charles Chakkalo

It's our duty to constantly learn, question and discover. Join me in doing just that. Weekly takes on what's going on in our world from an independent perspective. "The wise learn from every person" - Ben Zoma

Featured Post

Why I Support the Strikes on Iran Even Though It’s a Gamble

To: Reader Let me say this clearly. This is a gamble. It is a gamble for President Trump. It is a gamble for Prime Minister Netanyahu. It is a gamble for the Iranian regime. And frankly, it is a gamble for the American political system itself. And I support the strikes. Not emotionally. Not reflexively. Not because I enjoy escalation. I support them because the alternative was not stability. The alternative was slow drift toward a worse outcome. Before we get into the geopolitics, let’s talk...

To: Reader Everyone who watched Smerconish this weekend knows exactly what I’m talking about. I asked ChatGPT to draw a caricature of me using everything it knows about me. And it did. It was funny. It was sharp. It was weirdly accurate. And then it hit me. Why was it able to do that? The Nest footage.The subscription confusion.The question that won’t go away. Are these companies actually deleting what they say they’re deleting? I have been obsessed with privacy since I was a teenager. Not in...

To: Reader Hey everyone, I just finished recording this week’s pre-recorded episode. The video centers on the arrest of Don Lemon, but not in the way most coverage has handled it. I’m not interested in litigating whether you like Don Lemon, agree with Don Lemon, or think Don Lemon has ever been fair to people you care about. That’s not the point. What is the point is how the federal government arrested him. Here’s the part that stopped me in my tracks: Two federal judges reportedly looked at...

To: Reader Demand Accountability, Even When It’s Politically Inconvenient Hey everyone, I just published a new video. I originally sat down intending to cover something else entirely — but I couldn’t get past the rhetoric swirling around the Minnesota shooting. The certainty. The talking points. The rush to judgment before facts, investigations, or even basic restraint. So I paused, and I addressed it. Not to inflame. Not to posture. But because I think how we talk about these moments matters...

To: Reader Hey Reader, Quick note to share where this is headed. Click to Play! I just published a pre-recorded commentary that’s now live. After a little experimenting, I think I’m starting to find a rhythm that actually works — for me and for this community. Here’s what I’m planning to try, at least for now: Sundays → a pre-recorded commentary, published at a consistent time so we can all watch, comment, and engage together. Even though it’s recorded, I’ll often be in the comments reacting...

To: Reader Hi Reader, If you’ve been following me on YouTube, where I release commentary, or on Instagram, where I get a little more personal, you know I’ve been reeling—like much of the country—since the assassination of Charlie Kirk. This isn’t going to be a breakdown of the ghouls who celebrated it. That reaction speaks for itself. What’s keeping me up at night is this: A man disagreed with Kirk’s views—and decided the answer was a bullet from 200 yards away. That’s where we are now in...

To: Reader Hi _____, Thanks for the enthusiastic responses I got to last week’s column on my position regarding Israel as a jewish and democratic state. A number of you pressed me about things that stem out of the October 7, 2023 terror attacks. That day had a profound impact on every Jew. Not just every Israeli, every Jew. And a call for a renewed form of Jewish leadership dawned on the Jewish people. Here’s how I see the the evolution of Jewish leadership after that gruesome day: That...

To: Reader Hello fellow independent thinkers! In case you forgot about me, I am a staunch independent really excited in sharing my opinion on what’s going on in the world, embracing of all perspective and open to dialogue. There’s too much working against us to divide us as a society. More dialogue = more understanding. I miss you. There, I said it. Thank you for giving me the attention and time in opening this email. I’ve had quite a year but I won’t bore you with the details (unless you...

Dear Reader, As we approach the one-year mark since the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust, I find myself reflecting on the horror, the trauma, and the twisted celebration of violence that has since unfolded. My family was in Israel that day, and the fear that gripped me is something I’ll never forget. It’s a fear that echoes the centuries of persecution my people have faced, even as we’ve sought refuge in Western democracies. This video is in podcast form too. A...

In my newsletter last night I reported that Donald Trump was shot at and his most recent assassination attempt. That was incorrect, my, my apologies. A big thank you to Pete for pointing that out. Apparently in the haste of the aftermath and me trying to get this letter and me trying to get this letter out, I missed that nuance. Donald Trump was not shot at this week, but there was an apparent assassination attempt on him. On September 15, 2024, an individual armed with a rifle was spotted...