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.

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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 America. Where dissent isn’t debated, it’s snuffed out. And where someone this deranged could legally get a gun and ammunition to carry out an act of political murder.

And then, not even 12 hours later, the President of the United States—our 79-year-old billionaire incumbent—took to the podium and blamed the radical left. As if one side owns the patent on political violence.

Smerconish said it best on CNN: for God’s sake, could we not unify for even one day?

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Trump’s failure wasn’t just tactical—it was moral. He showed zero regard for unity, peace, or the soul of this country.

And no, I didn’t come here just to rant.

🎯 Here’s what I did.

This week, for the first time since 10th grade, I subscribed to The New York Times.

Do I think the NYT is objective journalism? Not even close.

But I’m not here to coddle myself with echo chambers.

Half the country consumes the NYT like gospel.

So if I want to understand the country I live in—its biases, its narratives, its blind spots—then I have to read the NYT. Same reason I read The Economist, watch Mehdi Hasan, listen to Shapiro and Dershowitz, and track what both sides of the aisle are doing. Even if I don’t agree. Especially when I don’t agree.

Am I a centrist?

Sure. But more importantly, I’m a critical thinker.

And my mission with Chakkalo.com and everything I publish is to widen the lens. Not shrink it.

So yes, I subscribed to the Times. I even got it for free (credit card hack—reply and I’ll show you how). But that’s beside the point.

📚 Why This Matters

We’re not going to fight violence with louder tribalism.

We’re not going to beat extremism by tuning it out.

We’re not going to save this country—or our Jewish values—by only consuming what we agree with.

We will only win with intellectual courage.

With action. With nuance. With conversations that start with “I disagree, but I’m listening.”

That’s what I’m trying to model. One subscription, one article, one conversation at a time.

Hoping that when Charlie Kirk is laid to rest, this era of violence-as-a-voice gets buried with him.

Not optimistic—but still trying.

I invite dialogue. Reply to this email, let me know your thoughts. Disagree, compliment, or insult me. All is welcomed!

No one knows anything. Keep learning. Stay curious. Never stop questioning.

Thank you again for joining Marketplace of Ideas (what I'm calling this for now). I look forward to embarking on this exciting journey with you! To an independent-thinking, knowledge-seeking, and skeptical you.

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P.S - If you think a friend would enjoy this, forward them a copy! Have them subscribe at ​Chakkalo.com​!

P.S.S - Did you miss any of the past newsletters? Check all my past posts out here.​

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