Syag,
1. No, I am not a lawyer. Maybe I should have been. In any case, HaKatan wrote
“It’s very possible that even an “Orthodox” Jew – especially one who spends his time on areas of *thought* that are outside of Torah – might have an improper hashkafa.
Therefore, you should not have your children (and possibly even yourself) listen to them because the children might absorb an improper hashkafa, and that could cause real spiritual damage R”L L”A.”
Okay, so he didn’t mention Shapiro by name. However, it is clear about whom he is talking.
2. I certainly do not hate him c”v. What is the difference between his view and his words?
I definitely hate hotzaat shem ra. The idea that we must build thick walls and not listen to the view of anybody but a rav (and usually the rav of the person advancing the claim) exasperates me. It is contrary to Chazal, who say that we can even believe that goyim have wisdom. It is contrary to Rambam, who advocates accepting the truth from whomever says it. It is also contrary to the famous statement that nobody died from a difficulty.
3. What is an “improper” hashkafa? Neither of you has defined it. Nor have you explained how listening to a political commentator, especially one who is an Orthodox Jew, can do this.
4. I will admit that not everyone has a head for science. However, everyone should study it at some level. How else can one truly appreciate Hashem and His Creation. Rambam says that it is necessary to learn Torah (how can one understand the sugya about a round sukka without the Pythagorean Theorem – which was discovered by an idolator?). See on this Rambam, Hilkhot Yesodei ha-Torah 2:2. The Semag even counts studying astronomy as one of the Taryag (Aseh 75).