Monsieur Jacques d'Nalgar
Under a rock for the next two years.
Monsieur Jacques d’Nalgar is a working curmudgeon with a cat-killing curiosity in politics, religion, history, and other manifestations of irrational human behavior. He resides in Hot Springs, Arkansas, a semi-autonomous region of the United States (a waning political experiment on the third planet of a minor solar system in a remote corner of the Milky Way galaxy), with his wife and other assorted wildlife. ... Jacques is a son and grandson of Baptist preachers, missionaries and educators. He was born in Beirut, Lebanon, where his father was a school headmaster for more than 30 years (and before that, a B-17 navigator in the last months of WW2). He grew up in the Middle East during the turbulent 50s, 60s, and 70s, but left just before Lebanon’s 15-year civil war nightmare began in earnest. Most reputable historians do not associate the onset of that tragic conflict with his departure. He returned for a visit in 1978, three years into the conflict. His right eye still occasionally twitches as a result. ... After colleges in Oklahoma and 16 years working for a company now forever identified with war profiteering and the dark lord Darth Cheney, he moved his family to Hot Springs in 1994. Jacques spends most of his time reading, blogging under a barely-disguised snotty “Freedom Fries” pseudonym, and staring at the sun. He works tirelessly for the OAFS (Obsessive Alliteration-Fondness Syndrome) Foundation, as both its only benefactor and sole beneficiary...
Jacques’ political pilgrimage has meandered across much of the regressive-to-progressive continuum. Once a staunch conservative, he found himself suddenly adrift in left field when the rest of the country lurched hard-right after 9-11. He is a frequent critic of our national love affair with wars, rampant nationalism in general, and the resurgent, xenophobic frenzy that masquerades as patriotism ... He once defined his religious confession as Zen Baptist, a burgeoning movement (of one) within the Southern Baptist Convention, seeking to reclaim the mantle of Christian orthodoxy from fevered fundamentalists just itching for Armageddon. When evangelicals embraced the tangerine wankmaggot Trump and rejected Jesus, he abandoned the family faith and warily embraced Episcopalians' peculiar cocktail of ancient traditions and progressive inclusion. Monsieur d’Nalgar may be reached by sending him your questions telepathically, or by sending him money. He prefers the latter.
Most commented posts
- Bane of fundamentalism — 10 comments
- An obituary — 10 comments
- What we should be talking about — 9 comments
- Climate change in Arkansas — 8 comments
- Some powerfully stupid stuff — 7 comments
Author's posts
Why do Jewish groups ignore Beck? By MJ Rosenberg, for Al Jazeera 23 Dec 2010 13:28 GMT … Has anyone noticed that right-wingers are really exercised about anti-Semitism these days except when it emanates from right-wingers? This week in Forbes, Abigail R. Esman pens an utterly over-the-top column called “World To Jews: Drop Dead.” Dead! She …
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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/12/23/ignorance/
How I was smeared as an anti-Semite By Christina Patterson, for The Independent Thursday, 23 December 2010 … At the end of a long and exhausting year, it’s sometimes hard to know what will hit the spot. A spa break in Thailand? A month-long marathon of black and white weepies? Or, perhaps, a little surprise. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/12/23/a-brush-too-broad/
The bible that even atheists worship The Independent Wednesday, 22 December 2010 King James I of England has not always had a good press. His disdain for parliament, his dodgy favourites, the extravagance of his court and his pro-Spanish foreign policy did not do him any credit. He was the founder of that unhappy line …
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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/12/22/happy-birthday/
The following was adapted from an e-mail conversation with my pastor, following a December 12, 2010 front-page article in the Sentinel Record describing how David Barton was “brought” to Hot Springs by another pastor (who just happens to be the new mayor’s husband) for a rah-rah rally/revival to “energize and educate” Tea Party Republicans who recently routed …
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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/12/22/david-barton/
DISGUISED FASCISM SEEN AS A MENACE Prof. Luccock Warns That It Will Bear the Misleading Label ‘Americanism’ … The New York Times, 12 September 1938, page 15, re. a sermon preached the day before (9/11 — ironic, n’est pas?)… … When and if fascism comes to America it will not be labeled “made in Germany”; …
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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/12/22/fascism-disguised/
Adapted from the December 5, 2010 sermon “Whose peace?” by Rev. Rich Lang, pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Seattle. The way to Bethlehem is not an easy path. It is not a safe journey. Luke’s account of the Advent tells us that the child in Mary’s womb would be a threat to the …
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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/12/21/the-way-to-bethlehem/
This was emailed by Roger on 12/15/2010 at 12:38PM. Roger got it from Nancy who got it from Bill who got it from Ed who got it from Phillip. Alas, I cannot claim authorship. Roger that? Monsieur d’Nalgar It was a tough year, but I made it!!! But not everyone is as lucky as I am…… …
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Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2010/12/15/2010-was-a-very-good-year/