"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux
@bretdevereaux.bsky.social
Ancient & military historian specializing in the Roman economy and military. PhD from UNC History. More impressive credential is that I have beaten both Dark Souls and Elden Ring.
Blogs at acoup.blog
Blogs at acoup.blog
Production income is also very sensitive to tax rates which are very sensitive to control and (if automating) estate opinion.
This is my balance sheet in 1565:
This is my balance sheet in 1565:
November 17, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Production income is also very sensitive to tax rates which are very sensitive to control and (if automating) estate opinion.
This is my balance sheet in 1565:
This is my balance sheet in 1565:
Also, we might view Athens as 'prep nerds' but they most certainly did not view themselves that way. I remark to students that we think of the Athenians as writers, poets, philosophers, but cf. the epitaph of Aescylus, the greatest Athenian playwright of his generation and what he thought mattered:
November 16, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Also, we might view Athens as 'prep nerds' but they most certainly did not view themselves that way. I remark to students that we think of the Athenians as writers, poets, philosophers, but cf. the epitaph of Aescylus, the greatest Athenian playwright of his generation and what he thought mattered:
But of course this is an awkward definition for the racists (even as they get deus vult tattoos) because it includes a lot of the people they hate.
There's no excluding South America from 'the West' under this definition, nor Russia, nor much of Africa or the Philippines.
There's no excluding South America from 'the West' under this definition, nor Russia, nor much of Africa or the Philippines.
November 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM
But of course this is an awkward definition for the racists (even as they get deus vult tattoos) because it includes a lot of the people they hate.
There's no excluding South America from 'the West' under this definition, nor Russia, nor much of Africa or the Philippines.
There's no excluding South America from 'the West' under this definition, nor Russia, nor much of Africa or the Philippines.
I assume this has to do with licensing and the new BSG game that is coming out, but BSG: Deadlock is honestly one of the best space-capital-ship tactics games I've seen, so I'd suggest frankly grabbing it before the Nov 15 cutoff if you can.
November 8, 2025 at 5:18 PM
I assume this has to do with licensing and the new BSG game that is coming out, but BSG: Deadlock is honestly one of the best space-capital-ship tactics games I've seen, so I'd suggest frankly grabbing it before the Nov 15 cutoff if you can.
Asked to briefly summarize "that heritage foundation shit" and the best I could do was a meme:
Heritage Staffer 1: "We are declaring war on anyone who sells Nazis to the community."
Heritage Staffer 2: "But Heritage Staffer, I sell Nazis to the community!"
Heritage Staffer 1: "We are declaring war on anyone who sells Nazis to the community."
Heritage Staffer 2: "But Heritage Staffer, I sell Nazis to the community!"
November 6, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Asked to briefly summarize "that heritage foundation shit" and the best I could do was a meme:
Heritage Staffer 1: "We are declaring war on anyone who sells Nazis to the community."
Heritage Staffer 2: "But Heritage Staffer, I sell Nazis to the community!"
Heritage Staffer 1: "We are declaring war on anyone who sells Nazis to the community."
Heritage Staffer 2: "But Heritage Staffer, I sell Nazis to the community!"
If we combined all versions, Skyrim pulls basically even with Fallout 4 (I really liked building settlements).
November 5, 2025 at 6:26 PM
If we combined all versions, Skyrim pulls basically even with Fallout 4 (I really liked building settlements).
Honestly, one of the great American poems. Arguably the great American poem.
November 5, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Honestly, one of the great American poems. Arguably the great American poem.
LOL, naturally the NYTimes, engaging in just the most open self-parody, has a big homepage video for Ross Douthat "Mamdani's victory is less significant than you think" so you have to scroll down to see anything else, because they have to be sullen and bitter about it.
November 5, 2025 at 4:53 PM
LOL, naturally the NYTimes, engaging in just the most open self-parody, has a big homepage video for Ross Douthat "Mamdani's victory is less significant than you think" so you have to scroll down to see anything else, because they have to be sullen and bitter about it.
So I went to the war crimes store to get my exploding weapon, full of *lethally* sharp cheddar cheese and devastating incendiary jalapenos.
Only in America can a person walk the streets with such a deadly weapon.
Grateful for my Second Amendment right to Bear a Sandwich.
Only in America can a person walk the streets with such a deadly weapon.
Grateful for my Second Amendment right to Bear a Sandwich.
November 4, 2025 at 6:28 PM
So I went to the war crimes store to get my exploding weapon, full of *lethally* sharp cheddar cheese and devastating incendiary jalapenos.
Only in America can a person walk the streets with such a deadly weapon.
Grateful for my Second Amendment right to Bear a Sandwich.
Only in America can a person walk the streets with such a deadly weapon.
Grateful for my Second Amendment right to Bear a Sandwich.
If you need to explain to an idiot why Tolkien would have despised these goons, I have already grabbed a picture of the relevant passage (and I doubt I was the first):
October 29, 2025 at 10:42 PM
If you need to explain to an idiot why Tolkien would have despised these goons, I have already grabbed a picture of the relevant passage (and I doubt I was the first):
The following year, the Parthians are thinking, "Well, that hurt a little, but surely we win round 2."
NOPE. Battle of Cyrrhestica, 38 BC, Ventidius completely ruins a Parthian army, the Parthian crown prince Pacorus killed in the battle.
Get wrecked, BASSUS TIME. 23/
NOPE. Battle of Cyrrhestica, 38 BC, Ventidius completely ruins a Parthian army, the Parthian crown prince Pacorus killed in the battle.
Get wrecked, BASSUS TIME. 23/
October 23, 2025 at 11:43 PM
The following year, the Parthians are thinking, "Well, that hurt a little, but surely we win round 2."
NOPE. Battle of Cyrrhestica, 38 BC, Ventidius completely ruins a Parthian army, the Parthian crown prince Pacorus killed in the battle.
Get wrecked, BASSUS TIME. 23/
NOPE. Battle of Cyrrhestica, 38 BC, Ventidius completely ruins a Parthian army, the Parthian crown prince Pacorus killed in the battle.
Get wrecked, BASSUS TIME. 23/
But 44 rolls in and Ventidius has problems. Caesar accidentally fell on Brutus and Cassius' knives 23 times and so he's dead.
In exchange for an amnesty no one will honor, Caesar's followers get his office assignments for the next year confirmed.
Everyone prepares for war against everyone. 12/
In exchange for an amnesty no one will honor, Caesar's followers get his office assignments for the next year confirmed.
Everyone prepares for war against everyone. 12/
October 23, 2025 at 11:43 PM
But 44 rolls in and Ventidius has problems. Caesar accidentally fell on Brutus and Cassius' knives 23 times and so he's dead.
In exchange for an amnesty no one will honor, Caesar's followers get his office assignments for the next year confirmed.
Everyone prepares for war against everyone. 12/
In exchange for an amnesty no one will honor, Caesar's followers get his office assignments for the next year confirmed.
Everyone prepares for war against everyone. 12/
Those spoils include... Publius Ventidius Bassus carried - we are told - by his mother (unnamed 🙄 thanks sources). Publius doesn't immediately wreck everyone because he is - again - about zero years old.
Don't worry though, he's working on it. Him and three other guys. 5/
Don't worry though, he's working on it. Him and three other guys. 5/
October 23, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Those spoils include... Publius Ventidius Bassus carried - we are told - by his mother (unnamed 🙄 thanks sources). Publius doesn't immediately wreck everyone because he is - again - about zero years old.
Don't worry though, he's working on it. Him and three other guys. 5/
Don't worry though, he's working on it. Him and three other guys. 5/
So, curtain up, it is 91 BC and Rome is in a spot of bother. The allied communities of Italy (see: acoup.blog/2023/10/20/c...) - whose military support Rome has relied on to win its empire - are upset at being locked out of Roman citizen.
They tried politics, it didn't work, so they try war. 2/
They tried politics, it didn't work, so they try war. 2/
October 23, 2025 at 11:43 PM
So, curtain up, it is 91 BC and Rome is in a spot of bother. The allied communities of Italy (see: acoup.blog/2023/10/20/c...) - whose military support Rome has relied on to win its empire - are upset at being locked out of Roman citizen.
They tried politics, it didn't work, so they try war. 2/
They tried politics, it didn't work, so they try war. 2/
So the thing is, the legal federal minimum wage hasn't risen but the effective minimum wage has, either through state laws or simply because no one can hire at $7.
Real wages have, in fact, gone up since the mid/late 90s, not remained stagnant.
Real wages have, in fact, gone up since the mid/late 90s, not remained stagnant.
October 23, 2025 at 6:22 PM
So the thing is, the legal federal minimum wage hasn't risen but the effective minimum wage has, either through state laws or simply because no one can hire at $7.
Real wages have, in fact, gone up since the mid/late 90s, not remained stagnant.
Real wages have, in fact, gone up since the mid/late 90s, not remained stagnant.
Anyway, for a surely unrelated reason, here is the Virginia State Flag, which also features a fellow with a crown.
October 19, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Anyway, for a surely unrelated reason, here is the Virginia State Flag, which also features a fellow with a crown.
Area filled up even more by the time the speakers started. The crowd covered the entire farmer's market, so about 200ft by 200ft. Some areas dense, some loose, so I guess super-rough-guess maybe 4,000-6,000 people (6-10sq ft per person, ish?).
That'd be around 2.5-4% of the county.
That'd be around 2.5-4% of the county.
October 18, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Area filled up even more by the time the speakers started. The crowd covered the entire farmer's market, so about 200ft by 200ft. Some areas dense, some loose, so I guess super-rough-guess maybe 4,000-6,000 people (6-10sq ft per person, ish?).
That'd be around 2.5-4% of the county.
That'd be around 2.5-4% of the county.
Lotta folks here at No Kings, Orange County NC.
Lots of American flags, a fellow in an inflatable dino costume asking everyone if they've read the Declaration of Independence and handing out copies.
No kings in North Carolina.
Lots of American flags, a fellow in an inflatable dino costume asking everyone if they've read the Declaration of Independence and handing out copies.
No kings in North Carolina.
October 18, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Lotta folks here at No Kings, Orange County NC.
Lots of American flags, a fellow in an inflatable dino costume asking everyone if they've read the Declaration of Independence and handing out copies.
No kings in North Carolina.
Lots of American flags, a fellow in an inflatable dino costume asking everyone if they've read the Declaration of Independence and handing out copies.
No kings in North Carolina.
Somehow these models never quote Matthew 10:34-39. It's strange, I can't imagine why.
![Text of Matthew 10:34-39, "“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’[c]
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:lp3e77mdabccgcprvoxsn7zp/bafkreicpz5jvbijmc4uyulb4kzva43nlfabnjjgiopbkdefdjvaox3oale@jpeg)
October 17, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Somehow these models never quote Matthew 10:34-39. It's strange, I can't imagine why.
I realize times are tough and everything is so expensive but I like to think The Dispatch could at least afford to let Kevin D. Williamson has at least just one more period in the budget.
October 15, 2025 at 11:53 PM
I realize times are tough and everything is so expensive but I like to think The Dispatch could at least afford to let Kevin D. Williamson has at least just one more period in the budget.
Again, it is worth keeping in mind when comparing the rate of discoveries that public funding for medicine and the sciences is orders of magnitude larger than for the humanities. We work slow in part because we work on a shoestring.
October 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Again, it is worth keeping in mind when comparing the rate of discoveries that public funding for medicine and the sciences is orders of magnitude larger than for the humanities. We work slow in part because we work on a shoestring.
And of course there's also the mass of non-literary material - inscriptions, papyri, etc - which often goes without commentary or analysis because we have so few specialists who work with that material.
Almost certainly many discoveries await there!
Almost certainly many discoveries await there!
October 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM
And of course there's also the mass of non-literary material - inscriptions, papyri, etc - which often goes without commentary or analysis because we have so few specialists who work with that material.
Almost certainly many discoveries await there!
Almost certainly many discoveries await there!
Maybe this is simply a difference in the expected 'rate' of knew knowledge, but this take puzzles me, because there's quite a bit of new data and studies needing to be done that I can see pretty easily in Roman history.
Knowledge creation steady and clearly visible.
Knowledge creation steady and clearly visible.
October 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Maybe this is simply a difference in the expected 'rate' of knew knowledge, but this take puzzles me, because there's quite a bit of new data and studies needing to be done that I can see pretty easily in Roman history.
Knowledge creation steady and clearly visible.
Knowledge creation steady and clearly visible.
May I suggest that your local facebook chat may not be broadly representative of the national mood?
The issue polls quite badly nationwide and the polling seems to be getting worse over time.
The issue polls quite badly nationwide and the polling seems to be getting worse over time.
October 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
May I suggest that your local facebook chat may not be broadly representative of the national mood?
The issue polls quite badly nationwide and the polling seems to be getting worse over time.
The issue polls quite badly nationwide and the polling seems to be getting worse over time.
"We took the freedom of speech away."
That's, um, uh, uh...wait, how did this Virginia State Flag get here...
That's, um, uh, uh...wait, how did this Virginia State Flag get here...
October 8, 2025 at 7:58 PM
"We took the freedom of speech away."
That's, um, uh, uh...wait, how did this Virginia State Flag get here...
That's, um, uh, uh...wait, how did this Virginia State Flag get here...