Richard Carrier, PhD

@richardcarrier.info

1418 Followers 204 Following

Godless polyamorous author & speaker. Philosophistorian. Longform blogger. Destroyer of bad epistemologies. Drinker of whiskey & sensible wine. You can find all things me at richardcarrier.info (books, classes, blog).

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The Guru Fallacy • Some dumb guru occasionally said some true things. • Therefore everything they said is true. You can try it out in Jordan Peterson: Snakes having sex form spirals. DNA forms spirals. Therefore, aliens. You should clean your room. Therefore trans people are an existential threat to civilization. Or literally anyone: Jim Jones said some true things. Therefore everyone at Jonestown was killed by Jewish space lasers. Jesus-myther Francesco Carotta made some valid points. Therefore Christianity was a Roman psy-op. Donald Trump occasionally tells the truth. Therefore Iran has no air defense system. Benjamin Netanyahu is right that new pipelines could render the Strait of Hormuz irrelevant. Therefore there is no Isreali genocide in Gaza. Joe Kent correctly said Israel coerced America into a costly illegal war with Iran. Therefore Charlie Kirk was assassinated by Mossad.
Split image. On the left, famous shot of the No Future for Stillson Newsweek magazine cover from The Dead Zone, depicting candidate Stillson (an archetype of Donald Trump) holding up a baby as a shield against a psychic sniper trying to stop him starting a nuclear war. On the right, real photo of Republican Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana crushing a decorated U.S. Marine's arm to silence his protest of another needless war for Israel that 60% of American voters don't want either.
Two charts, one on top of the other. First shows the disconnect between productivity and wages since 1948, which began in the 1970s and worsened ever since (showing wages should be more than 200% higher than they are, but aren't because capitalists stopped sharing gains with workers). Second shows the rise in share of income going to the top 10% and the decline of unionization, which fall flat in the 1940s, and separate in the 1970s (with income share rising for the top 10% as unions decline), exactly matching the first graph.
Chasing good meme, top says Don't know what? Bottom scene says Don't Know What!!?
So, look. Now, after three years, and the 498th iteration of a headline like "Russia struck Ukraine with 574 drones and 40 missiles and one person was killed" I am wondering when the media will start to realize this is a permanent failure mode. Russia can barely kill one poor old man crossing the street, even with a massive armada of death. How the hell do they even still exist as a country? Maybe Poland should just go ahead and conquer Russia. Seems an ideal time. But "we don't want that shithole" is probably their position on that.
Selfie of me taken just now in front of the Veterans Unite for America stage on the National Mall. Wearing my service work cap, navy blue, embroidered in gold, USCGC Sherman, WHEC 720 (my ship). Where usually my rank insignia as a petty officer third class would sit in between is a golden rollerblade. Because the joke was that ST3, sonar tech third class, meant Skate Tech because we got out of all the shitty jobs, being electrical and weapons techs of rank.
BAHA Proudly Presents another STELLAR LINEUP for our BAHACON 2025 CONFERENCE: Seth Andrews, Forrest Valkai, Dr. Abby Hafer, Erika (Gutsick Gibbon), Dr. Andrew White, Dr. Christopher DiCarlo, John Loftus, Jasmin Faulk, Dr. Phil Zuckerman, Dr. Anthony Pinn are all on the roster. August 8 to 10, 2025. At the Four Points Sheraton in Point Edward, Ontario, Canada. For details at bahacon.com.
Since Wilson was in the White House, 10 Republicans have followed in his footsteps, of which Donald Trump is the latest (2017 to 2021 and 2025 to present). All 10 of these Republican presidents have overseen an economic recession that began under their watch. In comparison, four of the nine Democrats who've held the presidency over the last 112 years didn't oversee a recession that began during their term.
From Isaac Morrison: January 20: FAA director fired; Kanuary 21: Air Traffic Controller hiring frozen; January 22: Aviation Safety Advisory Committe disbanded; January 28: Buyout and retirement demand sent to existing employees; January 29: First American mid-air collision in 16 years.
My current ten course roster, offered every month: Ancient Atheism: Our Western Freethought Heritage; Ancient Science & Technology; VIDEO COURSE: New Testament Studies for Everyone; Counter-Apologetics: Debunking Christianity & Islam; Critical Thinking for the 21st Century Historical Methods for Everyone; Questioning or Defending the Historicity of Jesus; Science & Philosophy of Free Will; Moral Reasoning from Theory to Practice; and Developing & Defending Naturalism as a Worldview.
My current ten course roster, offered every month: Ancient Atheism: Our Western Freethought Heritage Ancient Science & Technology New Testament Studies for Everyone Counter-Apologetics: Debunking Christianity & Islam Critical Thinking for the 21st Century Historical Methods for Everyone Questioning or Defending the Historicity of Jesus Science & Philosophy of Free Will Moral Reasoning from Theory to Practice Developing & Defending Naturalism as a Worldview