Monsieur Jacques d'Nalgar

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

  1. Bane of fundamentalism — 10 comments
  2. An obituary — 10 comments
  3. What we should be talking about — 9 comments
  4. Climate change in Arkansas — 8 comments
  5. Some powerfully stupid stuff — 7 comments

Author's posts

Arkansas stories

  Note that the camera makes me look MUCH fatter than I really am!  Two stories: At the DC reunion, we ran into Helen Thomas at Mama Ayesha’s.  Good thing, because we had swilled too many Almazas and were hell-bent on brawling with the class of 77, if we could only find out where they …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2007/08/08/arkansas-stories/

Debka.com

 Some first impressions about http://www.debka.com/ — it seems to be a right-wing(ish?) Jewish version of the Drudge Report.  Not surprising — I’ve been reading Haaretz for nearly 10 years and have observed that the entire country, as well as our own, is drifting in that direction.  That, or I’m in a free-fall towards the left fringe of …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2007/08/01/debka-com/

Misery

 Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2007 8:44 AM In the misery that is now Lebanon it is the lowest who take the blame and the Palestinian refugees are the lowest in the pecking order. – Børre “They see us all as criminals” Caoimhe Butterly writing from Baddawi Refugee Camp, Live from Lebanon, 22 June 2007 Standing …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2007/07/31/misery/

Glenn Beck is a Nazi

 Glenn Beck is a Nazi.  That he is allowed to spew his hateful venom on CNN shows you how much the news industry has prostituted itself to corporate interests.  Whether or not you wish to equate corporate interests with Jewish cabals and Zionist agendas is up to you.  I will not ask whether you are …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2007/07/30/glenn-beck-is-a-nazi/

Open letter to Mike Huckabee

 I saw you on TV a few weeks ago (June 20 on MSNBC) when Joe Scarborough asked you what books you are reading. While it was refreshing to hear that you are reading, unlike the current president, I was very disappointed when you mentioned “Beyond Iraq” by Mike Evans. An excerpt from Publishers Weekly says …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2007/07/21/open-letter-to-mike-huckabee/

Matthew 24

 Mr. Turner was interesting, but he disappointed me with his “spin” on Matthew 24.  Seems like the gist of his message was that, when he’s really challenged by alternate/competing philosophies or moments of doubt, he rests his faith in the prophecies of the Bible.  Funny how Jesus could be clearly explaining things that would come …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2007/07/17/matthew-24/

A grand idea?

 Friends, Several years ago, I dreamed up an idea to counter the misinformation routinely propagated about Arabs in general, and Muslims in particular.  Some of you asked about the state of the project last week at the DC reunion, and reiterated how badly it was needed.  Others asked my parents about it the week before …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2007/07/10/a-grand-idea/