# What do you believe firmly with zero evidence? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 26, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129 "2022-02-26T00:42:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/201 "2022-03-04T13:24:03Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I’ll push back on this one a bit. Just in the last few months it looks like several people with AIDS may have been cured. Also spine implants are allowing once paralyzed people to walk again. Several forms of cancer are now curable. Slow but sure, progress is being made. Fair 'nuff. I sometimes let my cynicism run away at the mouth/keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/202 "2022-03-04T16:20:41Z")
I believe that Tucker Carlson is an actor, playing whichever role he thinks will get him the most viewers/mentions on social media/etc. He doesn’t actually believe 90% of what he says and is just going for shock value. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/203 "2022-03-04T16:30:54Z")
And you don’t have evidence for this? ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/204 "2022-03-04T18:04:05Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > He doesn’t actually believe 90% of what he says and is just going for shock value. This could also be said of Hannity, Limbaugh, and a shitload of other RW shock jocks. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/205 "2022-03-04T18:19:03Z")
I believe that former Governor of Minnesota and noted conspiracy theorist Jesse Ventura – on some level – doesn’t really believe the theories he espouses. Thus all the twitching he does when espousing conspiracy theories. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/206 "2022-03-04T18:22:08Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Well, _most_ of you anyway. Sucker! 😀 I believe most of us are bots. I know I am. > [@ExTank](#): > > Fair 'nuff. I sometimes let my cynicism run away at the mouth/keyboard. Your opinion is an understandable position. Progress seems so slow, sometimes it seems we are going nowhere. > [@HeyHomie](#): > > I believe that Tucker Carlson is an actor, playing whichever role he thinks will get him the most viewers/mentions on social media/etc. I’ve never seen his current incarnation, but I remember way back when he was on Crossfire and wore his stupid bow ties. He was just a regular Republican back then. I also remember Jon Stewart humiliating him on air for his lack of, well, everything a reporter should be. Could be he went crazy, could be he’s faking it. At this point it really makes very little difference. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/207 "2022-03-04T22:50:33Z")
You really should read professional wrestling journalist David Meltzer’s take on Ventura here: [https://old.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/7zpjg4/wrestling\_observer\_rewind\_nov\_9\_1998/](https://old.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/7zpjg4/wrestling_observer_rewind_nov_9_1998/) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/208 "2022-03-04T22:59:29Z")
I think that if you were to trace some of Tucker Carlson’s money, you’d find that he has received money from the Kremlin to push their agenda. There are times when he has exactly parroted the same talking points (NATO bashing, for example) that are verbatim to the talking points of known Kremlin stooges in Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/209 "2022-03-05T01:14:52Z")
This is spot on. The US rightfully suspected that Japan was getting ready for war, and were making active preparations, but anticipated that they would attack someplace such as the Philippines first. Most military leaders and intel didn’t believe that Japan was capable of the scale of the raid.The US couldn’t have and was blinded by that. The raid didn’t need to have been successful for it to have enraged the people. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/210 "2022-03-05T09:16:20Z")
Although that could simply be him being lazy and unoriginal, and saving himself time and effort by copying those talking points, rather than actually being paid to spread them. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/211 "2022-03-05T13:29:49Z")
Yeh, like I said, I don’t have evidence for my belief, except that we so know that there was a concerted effort by Putin to use money to get right wing politicians and journalists to start pushing Russian interests. We know, for instance that Russia was using the NRA to funnel money to conservatives, so it’s pretty amazing that Carlson started spouting Russian propaganda on his own when the rest of the GOP establishment was taking Putin’s bribes. > **[NRA Was 'Foreign Asset' To Russia Ahead of 2016, New Senate Report Reveals](https://www.npr.org/2019/09/27/764879242/nra-was-foreign-asset-to-russia-ahead-of-2016-new-senate-report-reveals)** > > Emails and interviews detail the extent to which the National Rifle Association helped two of Moscow's agents ahead of the election, Senate Finance Committee Democrats say. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/212 "2022-03-05T15:08:28Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > there was a concerted effort by Putin to use money to get right wing politicians and journalists to start pushing Russian interests. We know, for instance that Russia was using the NRA to funnel money to conservatives, Is there a viable alternative to the theory that Putin was sending money to conservatives other than to gain their political support? Why else would he be doing that? You know it’s not because he believes strongly in the US 2nd Amendment. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/213 "2022-03-05T15:46:28Z")
Yeah and it’s not a crazy conspiracy theory. It actually happened with a trial and a Russian spy going to jail and a long paper trail, but when I go to Tennessee, the red staters want to talk about AOC and what traitors the Dems are. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/214 "2022-03-05T16:31:35Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Yeh, like I said, I don’t have evidence for my belief, except that we so know that there was a concerted effort by Putin to use money to get right wing politicians and journalists to start pushing Russian interests A bit of circumstantial evidences. It shows that several conservative types have dropped out of Facebook’s top posts list recently, and hypothesizes that is due to the Russia’s inability to pay their bots. [https://twitter.com/markhachman/status/1499617782299643907?s=20&t=Ap3bjtVL0gPJLDku-Dk-Aw](https://twitter.com/markhachman/status/1499617782299643907?s=20&t=Ap3bjtVL0gPJLDku-Dk-Aw) ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/215 "2022-03-05T17:04:07Z")
I believe in ‘karma’, not-so-much in a religious sense of reincarnation, but the sense that if you approach daily interactions and decisions with an open mind, understanding compassion, and kindness\*, it’ll be returned to you. I have zero evidence this is a real thing; I do however, have _anecdotal observations_ not based in scientific evidence\*\* that when I’m fatigued, constantly distracted, or am just wearing my cranky-pants, that I “lower my guard” and responses/reactions to situations tend to snowball into shitty days. I think personal approaches to the din and cacophony of life change one’s outlook and ability to respond well, but sometimes a shit sandwich just happens and ya gotta take a bite. \* However, I do recognize there’s a justifiably-happy need to employ a warm, bright, crowd-pleasin’ display of kilotonnage at some point in space and time, when it’s called for. . . C’mon now, I’m not a “head in the clouds” idiot. \*\* My workday is too stochastic to be able to apply rational, common-sense to. Tripler I’m just a _run-of-the-mil_l idiot. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/216 "2022-03-06T05:16:20Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I think therefore I am. That much I know. I think therefore I think I am. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/217 "2022-03-06T09:32:04Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > . . . when I’m fatigued, constantly distracted, or am just wearing my cranky-pants, that I “lower my guard” and responses/reactions to **situations tend to snowball into shitty days.** Well yeah, I can see that happening in your line of work. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/218 "2022-03-06T22:59:45Z")
I believe the majority of anti-vaxxers are making up excuses to hide the fact that they’re skeered of needles. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/219 "2022-03-06T23:28:45Z")
I don’t know abut “firmly”, but… I believe shows like FBI: Most Wanted (more than the other two in the franchise) are designed specifically to frighten old people and the weak minded. Every plot has some evil guy perpetrating horrible violence on random innocent people: torture, murder, violence on family members, terrorism. The set ups are just _too_ over the top to be simply crime of the week stories. Whether they are doing this to brainwash the populace to welcome a police state, or just to sell more Ring door cameras and home security systems, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129/220 "2022-03-07T01:09:44Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > I believe The Rapture has **already happened** and we all just Left Behind. To paraphrase from This is the End, God might have just fucked up and left us all behind by accident. I mean, he’s got a lot of shit on his plate. Certainly I am straight up lovable, so it MUST be a fuckup!! 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-firmly-with-zero-evidence/960129.md?page=12)