Joel Curzon
@joelmcurzon.bsky.social
Author of book on the Everglades; environmentalist; serpent lover; hard-hearted empiricist; atheist with a religious past. Physics B.S., Harvard J.D.
San Diego & Tucson
San Diego & Tucson
I see that the trans cult still dominates this platform. One reason I spend little time here. Get a grip.
October 16, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I see that the trans cult still dominates this platform. One reason I spend little time here. Get a grip.
“Jesus in the gospels is neither pure historiography nor pure mythography. Even if the Christ of the gospels is pure myth, Jesus may still have existed — or at least his existence is the most plausible hypothesis to explain the gospels as literary products.”
—M. David Litwa
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1/n
—M. David Litwa
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1/n
October 16, 2025 at 2:08 AM
“Jesus in the gospels is neither pure historiography nor pure mythography. Even if the Christ of the gospels is pure myth, Jesus may still have existed — or at least his existence is the most plausible hypothesis to explain the gospels as literary products.”
—M. David Litwa
🧵
1/n
—M. David Litwa
🧵
1/n
“[Jesus was] a fool, a madman, a wretched fanatic, and a miserable scoundrel.”
—Jean Meslier, an active Catholic priest, died 1729.
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(Meslier left this in a written manifesto, notarized, directed to his parishioners and the public, to be released upon his death.)
—Jean Meslier, an active Catholic priest, died 1729.
*************
(Meslier left this in a written manifesto, notarized, directed to his parishioners and the public, to be released upon his death.)
October 15, 2025 at 4:27 AM
“[Jesus was] a fool, a madman, a wretched fanatic, and a miserable scoundrel.”
—Jean Meslier, an active Catholic priest, died 1729.
*************
(Meslier left this in a written manifesto, notarized, directed to his parishioners and the public, to be released upon his death.)
—Jean Meslier, an active Catholic priest, died 1729.
*************
(Meslier left this in a written manifesto, notarized, directed to his parishioners and the public, to be released upon his death.)
What are the children of Gaza taught to believe? They are taught to believe this:
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October 8, 2025 at 12:52 AM
What are the children of Gaza taught to believe? They are taught to believe this:
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Who sees how bad this polling question is? Raise your hand if you understand the problem.
This is from Gallup. Widely quoted, highly respected, worse than useless.
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1/n
This is from Gallup. Widely quoted, highly respected, worse than useless.
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1/n
September 28, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Who sees how bad this polling question is? Raise your hand if you understand the problem.
This is from Gallup. Widely quoted, highly respected, worse than useless.
🧵
1/n
This is from Gallup. Widely quoted, highly respected, worse than useless.
🧵
1/n
As between Coates and Klein, I’ll take “neither.” Thanks.
September 28, 2025 at 6:32 PM
As between Coates and Klein, I’ll take “neither.” Thanks.
How people outside of Bluesky see Bluesky:
September 13, 2025 at 5:39 PM
How people outside of Bluesky see Bluesky:
When I was young and religious, something about the austerity of desert landscapes spoke to me in terms I interpreted spiritually. Evidence and logic turned me into an atheist, and “spiritual” is not a word I use comfortably anymore. But deserts still speak to me.
August 28, 2025 at 5:34 PM
When I was young and religious, something about the austerity of desert landscapes spoke to me in terms I interpreted spiritually. Evidence and logic turned me into an atheist, and “spiritual” is not a word I use comfortably anymore. But deserts still speak to me.
What kind of monsoon is this?
July 10, 2025 at 9:47 PM
What kind of monsoon is this?
Juvenile Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus) climbing in an acacia bush. Less than a year old.
The desert is at its best at night.
The desert is at its best at night.
July 9, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Juvenile Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus) climbing in an acacia bush. Less than a year old.
The desert is at its best at night.
The desert is at its best at night.
Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) high in a desert mountain range, under the stars. This particular tree is probably a couple thousand years old.
Basin and Range Province, North America.
Basin and Range Province, North America.
June 30, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) high in a desert mountain range, under the stars. This particular tree is probably a couple thousand years old.
Basin and Range Province, North America.
Basin and Range Province, North America.
No, this is not “unused land.” It is used by innumerable species, and they are, in fact, dependent on it.
(Somewhere in southern Arizona.)
(Somewhere in southern Arizona.)
June 21, 2025 at 4:31 PM
No, this is not “unused land.” It is used by innumerable species, and they are, in fact, dependent on it.
(Somewhere in southern Arizona.)
(Somewhere in southern Arizona.)
Utah Senator Mike Lee wants to destroy much of what’s left of the West’s natural landscapes. Here’s just a sample of what’s eligible to be sold off near where I grew up: Green is Forest Service Land, orange is BLM land.
Contact your senators (or others’ senators), or kiss it goodbye.
Contact your senators (or others’ senators), or kiss it goodbye.
June 18, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Utah Senator Mike Lee wants to destroy much of what’s left of the West’s natural landscapes. Here’s just a sample of what’s eligible to be sold off near where I grew up: Green is Forest Service Land, orange is BLM land.
Contact your senators (or others’ senators), or kiss it goodbye.
Contact your senators (or others’ senators), or kiss it goodbye.
The courts aren’t going to stop this. Trump has his excuse. All of this was predictable.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
www.latimes.com/california/s...
June 8, 2025 at 6:52 AM
The courts aren’t going to stop this. Trump has his excuse. All of this was predictable.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Left: Muslim-Arab states with virtually no Jews.
Right: A tiny Jewish state with 2 million Arab citizens.
Right: A tiny Jewish state with 2 million Arab citizens.
June 6, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Left: Muslim-Arab states with virtually no Jews.
Right: A tiny Jewish state with 2 million Arab citizens.
Right: A tiny Jewish state with 2 million Arab citizens.
The real cowards are the “progressive” accommodationists, like Roald Dahl, who repeatedly side with Islam rather than with those who dare to speak and write honestly.
May 18, 2025 at 11:14 PM
The real cowards are the “progressive” accommodationists, like Roald Dahl, who repeatedly side with Islam rather than with those who dare to speak and write honestly.
Muslims have been trying to murder Salman Rushdie for 36 years, and almost succeeded. Rushdie is no coward. He’s also no fool. This is an embarrassment for Claremont McKenna College. Not a great moment for this headline writer either.
May 18, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Muslims have been trying to murder Salman Rushdie for 36 years, and almost succeeded. Rushdie is no coward. He’s also no fool. This is an embarrassment for Claremont McKenna College. Not a great moment for this headline writer either.
Trump is openly accepting a bribe from Qatar, which is a country that aggressively promotes Islamic supremacy and terrorism. That’s what this is.
May 11, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Trump is openly accepting a bribe from Qatar, which is a country that aggressively promotes Islamic supremacy and terrorism. That’s what this is.
Christian apologists love to cite Papias, via Eusebius, for his hearsay claim that the author of the gospel of Mark was Peter’s interpreter. But Eusebius also notes that Papias “was a man of very little intelligence, as is clear from his books.”
May 3, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Christian apologists love to cite Papias, via Eusebius, for his hearsay claim that the author of the gospel of Mark was Peter’s interpreter. But Eusebius also notes that Papias “was a man of very little intelligence, as is clear from his books.”
Jesus didn’t die for your sins: he died for his own delusions.
“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying . . . My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
— Mark 15:34
(Painting: “Christ on the Cross,” Rembrandt)
“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying . . . My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
— Mark 15:34
(Painting: “Christ on the Cross,” Rembrandt)
April 30, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Jesus didn’t die for your sins: he died for his own delusions.
“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying . . . My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
— Mark 15:34
(Painting: “Christ on the Cross,” Rembrandt)
“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying . . . My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
— Mark 15:34
(Painting: “Christ on the Cross,” Rembrandt)
How we went from a country that passed the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, NEPA, while establishing the EPA, under Richard Nixon, to a country that barely notices when Trump guts the EPA and declares war on the environment . . . I can’t quite grasp.
April 27, 2025 at 7:06 PM
How we went from a country that passed the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, NEPA, while establishing the EPA, under Richard Nixon, to a country that barely notices when Trump guts the EPA and declares war on the environment . . . I can’t quite grasp.
“Well, the gospels were all written anonymously, and appear to be exercises in myth-making; most of the epistles are forgeries; but at least we have seven authentic epistles by Paul.”
Or maybe we don’t . . .
Or maybe we don’t . . .
April 27, 2025 at 6:41 PM
“Well, the gospels were all written anonymously, and appear to be exercises in myth-making; most of the epistles are forgeries; but at least we have seven authentic epistles by Paul.”
Or maybe we don’t . . .
Or maybe we don’t . . .
The annual increase in the human population is greater now than it was in the 1950s. Never mind the hysteria from Musk, Vance, and other pronatalists. It’s rubbish. We’re currently adding the equivalent of a new United States to the global population every four or five years.
April 22, 2025 at 10:53 PM
The annual increase in the human population is greater now than it was in the 1950s. Never mind the hysteria from Musk, Vance, and other pronatalists. It’s rubbish. We’re currently adding the equivalent of a new United States to the global population every four or five years.
Pronatalists: “We’re running out of people!”
These people are insane. Perspective, please. We’re still adding close to 80 million per year.
These people are insane. Perspective, please. We’re still adding close to 80 million per year.
April 22, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Pronatalists: “We’re running out of people!”
These people are insane. Perspective, please. We’re still adding close to 80 million per year.
These people are insane. Perspective, please. We’re still adding close to 80 million per year.