by Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr.

In keeping with Harvard University's academic tradition, I am giving you a knowledge check. You may ask yourselves, why doesn’t he write a blog like others? Because through my questions, you develop your ability to analyze those vast, complex facts that constitute your daily lives. Questioning and answering. The Socratic method. This is how I teach my contract law students at Harvard Law School. You may feel you have the correct answer, but I assure you that is delusional. Your answer should be followed by another question. Those questions I ask of you, and you of yourself, are little fingers probing your minds in search of the truth. Veritas, Lex et Iustitia.  Truth, Law, and Justice will determine your grade.

Section One: Multiple Guess: Circle the Correct Answer

One of these is not a comic book character
A. Batman
B. Homer Simpson
C. Superman
D. Donald Trump
E. Emma Frost

The television show “Mad Men” is about
A. Congressional Democrats opposed to Trumpian policies
B. Congressional Republicans supporting Trumpian policies
C. The lives, identity, and deception of advertising executives 
D. All of the above

If the Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion musical Man of La Mancha were to return to the stage, who could best perform as Miguel de Cervantes, Sancho, and Aldonza?
A. Sam Altman, Tim Cook, Dr. Lisa Su
B. Lin-Manuel Miranda, Okieriete Onaodowan, Phillipa Soo 
C. John Thune, Tom Cotton, Lisa Murkowski
D. Bernie Sanders, John Hickenlooper, Elizabeth Warren

Who said, “The function of the press is very high. It is almost holy. It ought to serve as a forum for the people, through which the people may know freely what is going on. To misstate or suppress the news is a breach of trust.” 
A. Karoline Leavitt 
B. Louis D. Brandeis
C.  Stephen Miller 
D. Jeff Bezos

Pash Katel’s book Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy is
A. A better read than Mario Puzo’s The Godfather
B. More gripping than James Paterson and Bill Clinton’s The President Is Missing
C. An insightful masterpiece of nonfiction political intrigue and corruption about the Joe Biden Mob
D. None of the above 

In the film “To Catch a Predator”, the character Chris Hansen is portrayed by
A. Markwayne Mullin
B. Thomas Massie 
C. Judge Judy
D. Tom Homan 
E. Elsie Valdes, National Vice-President for Women of the League of United Latin American Citizens

Who said, “Reason means truth and those who are not governed by it take the chance that someday the sunken fact will rip the bottom out of their boat.”
A. Mike Doonesbury
B. Zonker Harris 
C. J.D. Vance
D. Joanie Caucus 
E. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. 

Donald Trump’s book The Art of the Deal is about
A. The ins and outs of selling art in the contemporary marketplace
B. The best used car dealerships and how to avoid getting ripped off
C. International relations and the art of diplomacy
D. None of the above

Section Two: True, False, or Maybe

Donald Trump knows architecture the way Stephen Colbert knows comedy  T  F  M
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. knows medicine better than Dr. Oz   T   F  M
Pete Hegseth is more intelligent than the generals and admirals he fired   T  F  M
Reloading an empty stapler is more fun than listening to a Trump speech   T  F  M
Scott Bessent has superpowers T  F  M
ICE arrested nearly 51,000 illegal aliens in August 2026, with more than 65,765 held
 in detention centers with more than 3 million illegal aliens having left the United States. T  F  M


Section Three Fill in the blank

Donald Trump’s claim to fame lies in his_____________
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson looks like ___________
J. D. Vance gives better locker room speeches than____________ 
Marco Rubio knows when to ______________________
Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin have a ____________ relationship
Chinese President Xi gave two _______to Donald Trump in exchange for _________
Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson said, “Farmers suffered for years under _________, who increased the United States’ trade deficit to over $1.2 trillion, raised input costs, and pushed woke DEI agricultural policies.” 

Section Four: Essay 
Discourse in ten paragraphs or less on one of the following:

The prenatal influence of empathy on Winnie-the-Pooh, Elon Musk, George Orwell, and Patricia Moore.

Explain one mainstay of American criminal law from the past 250 years that clarifies why the “deep state” is a “shallow state” within the context of John Locke’s liberal theory of natural rights and limited government.   

The meaning of e pluribus unum and how it relates to tolerance v. faith-trust and “other respect is self -respect” in the philosophy of Eva Brann as expressed in her book Is Equality An Absolute Good, Homage To America, Pursuits of Happiness: On Being Interested, and The Music of the Republic: Essays on Socrates' Conversations and Plato's Writings.

Your paragraphs must be a minimum of 125 and a maximum of 450 words. Write from your personal experience. You have 10 minutes.

About the Author
Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. was a character in John Jay Osborn's novel The Paper Chase, which was later made into a movie and television series. Kingsfield was portrayed by the producer and actor John Houseman.