the Mustachios

YOU TELL 'EM, GEORGE!

2006-04-28T16:53:00.000-04:00

I've been defending oil company profits all week, saying we shouldn't tax them and that they are essentially a good thing. High profits in concert with a disgruntled buying public creates the greatest likelihood for research and development into alternative fuels.

Ol' Georgie agrees.

CNN.com - Bush rejects tax on oil companies' windfall profits

The Party of Benevolent Neglect

2006-04-02T20:38:00.000-04:00

Since a number of people have been stumbling upon this blog who do not know either funkysmeegs or I, I thought I would take the chance to describe who we are and what we hope to accomplish.

We are The Mustachios. We are a group of young Americans who have come together to support one idea: Benevolent Neglect.

"Benevolent Neglect" is basically a libertarian idea. Regan's contention that "government is the problem" is a main principle of our ideology. However, we are by no means anachists.

While governments are necessary for many reasons, they have no place in the realm of the marketplace. A government, when truly good, will not intrude on the marketplace or on the rights of its citizens. Governments are best when they choose to not to interfere in the marketplace. The pre-Chinese Hong Kong is a perfect example of how "Benevolent Neglect" works to promote wealth and the economic health of a country.

The term "Benevolent Neglect" was originally coined by John Stossel in his special "Is America Number 1?"

Uh, oh.

2006-03-28T16:52:00.000-05:00

So Much for Straight Talk

A Religion of Peace

2006-03-22T23:41:00.000-05:00

The Chicago Tribune published a story a few days ago about an Afghan man who is being prosecuted for converting to Christianity with the possibility of facing a death sentence.

Volokh has a follow up, and links to the yesterday's State Departmet press briefing. In the Briefing, Sean McCormack said: "there are two sides to this... it is a test of the Afghan constitution," and that within the "confines of the Afghan constitution, this becomes a legal question."

When did this administration begin to buy into relativism? The Administration should not be able to pass this off as simply a legal question for Afghans. This is a human rights question, and an issue on which this Administration should take a much more concrete stance.

Food For Thought

2006-03-14T19:08:00.000-05:00

By happenstance, I ran across this article regarding minimum wage mandates in New Mexico. I won't even paraphrase, because this is gold.

From the National Restaurant Association's newsletter, a piece titled "Santa Fe Wage Mandate: Living Isn't Easy".

Meeting payroll at Al Lucero's popular Maria's New Mexican Kitchen, in Santa Fe, N.M., got more challenging last month. Effective Jan. 1, Santa Fe's city-wide starting-wage mandate was set nearly 85 percent higher than the federal standard of $5.15. City Council raised the hourly rate to $9.50 in line with an ordinance passed two years ago to establish a so-called "living wage." The wage is scheduled to rise to $10.50 an hour in 2008. National Restaurant Association member Al Lucero explains the consequences for employees and customers.

Less-Skilled Hurt Most: All 60 of our employees make more than the federal minimum–their skills are worth more than $5.15 an hour. But this mandate undermines the American way of raising your wage by acquiring more education and skills. We had to eliminate overtime. At time-and-a-half, we were paying our entry-level employees $14.25 an hour. We can't afford that.

More Competition for Jobs: The problem: When you have a city wage law that sets an artificially high floor, less-skilled employees lose their jobs to more highly skilled applicants who are attracted to the new higher wage and who are more attractive to employers seeking to offset increased labor costs. The resulting increased competition for entry-level jobs displaces those who most need a job to improve their skills and consequently their hourly wage.

Santa Fe's Neighbors' Gain: High city-wide labor costs have made neighboring Espanola, N.M., and Albuquerque more attractive places to create jobs. recently, statewide restaurant chain Gaduno's of Mexico Restaurant & Cantina closed its Santa Fe location, and Chili's, which operates a lucrative employee stock plan, decided against opening here.

Price of Econimic Illiteracy: City Council mandated higher wages without thinking who would pay. They don't understand that when I sell a burger I'm lucky if I make 3 cents on the dollar. I can't just sell more burgers. We set prices as high as possible without driving away customers. Higher prices mean fewer customers, reducing the need for less-skilled employees–the group the ordinance is supposed to help.

Fool Me Once: Voters across the United States need to be educated. Restaurant owners have to tell it like it is. Call it a government mandate, not a "living wage". It's not a living wage if you no longer have a job! It's important that we talk about the consequences for employees, customers and city tax revenues. Your community could be next.

Roberts Declares Solomon Constitutional

2006-03-06T21:18:00.000-05:00

The Supreme Court released a unanimous decision today by Chief Justice John Roberts upholding the Solomon Amendment against a 1st Amendment challenge. The Solomon Amendment uses Congress's spending power to force Law Schools to give equal access to military recruiters on campus. Before the Solomon Amendment was in force, many Law Schools refused to give equal access to military recruiters under the auspices of upholding their own anti-discrimination policies. The Law Schools argued that the Solomon Amendment in a sense forces them to change their anti-discrimination policies, and therefore limited their freedom of speech. The Supreme Court held that the Solomon Amendment does not compel speech, but instead compels action. The Court pointed out that the Law Schools are still free to say whatever they want, they have every right to express their outrage or tell students they don't agree, and therefore no first amendment right is violated.

Today, on All Things Considered, on NPR, Georgetown University Law Professor Chai Feldblum said "I read this opinion as a call to arms. The Supreme Court said that if you don't like the speech of the military, counter it with your own speech." Harold Koh, Dean of Yale Law School said: "I think it is very clear that they are inviting us to engage in more speech, not less, and that sounds to me like an invitation for Law Schools to speak."

Finally, members of the elite left understand the benefits of free speech and a free and open exchange of ideas. I only wish that they didn't act like it was such a shocking revelation.

Turn Away, Pope Benedict

2006-03-03T13:17:00.000-05:00

Six hairy men, and nary a trace of clothing to be found. Adam better hope this never turns up in range of the Vatican's gaydar.

My State of the Union

2006-02-20T15:15:00.000-05:00

My fellow Americans. Under the watch of your trusted Mustachios, the state of our union is as strong as it's ever been. People are working hard and making strides in medicine and technology. Entrepreneurship, the bedrock of our economy, is strong as well. And for proof of this, look no further than the E! network's reality series The Gastineau Girls.

Most people hate this show. I love it. Not because I love watching it, or even hearing about it. In fact, I even turn away from my usual steady diet of E! the four or five times a day Girls is aired. What I love is the message.

The message is not readily apparent. Most people think the show is bad because it showcases two do-nothing, no-talent, vapid rich chicks doing nothing with their talentless vapidity. It is. But nothing says more to me about the current healthy state of the American Dream than this piece of crap show on a piece of crap network being renewed for another season. While hilarious, intelligent, and nuanced series get cancelled on other networks, Gastineau Girls' plastic-face mom and plastic-personality daughter are idly partying and shopping their way to even more fame and fortune than they had back when we didn't know who they were.

Americans, I implore you to look deep inside yourselves and find these same All-American virtues in yourselves. Earn, or don't earn, a bunch of money. Spend that money. Feed the economy. And all the while, use that entrepreneurial spirit to take your limited talents and exploit them for more money by pandering to the untold millions of morons with whom we all share this great land. After all, they'll buy anything... even nothing.

God bless you all.

Google Filters Speech

2006-02-14T19:58:00.000-05:00

Google has decided to help the Chinese government filter speech, and by doing so is complicit in that government's ability oppression of its people. China has continually violated the basic human rights of its own citizens, and now Google will help the keep the Chinese people from even knowing what their own government is doing.

See filtering in action:

Go to Google.cn and Google.com in seperate windows.

Search for "savetibet.org" in each search engine and see the results for yourself.

This has become a fun game, and is actually helpful in figuring out WHAT the Chinese governement considers too dangerous to allow its citizens to see.

For an even scarier view of what Google is filtering out, click on the link to Google.cn's "google images" page (hint: it is in the same location as the link on Google.com) then search "tiananmen square". The same search at Google.com will show many images of the violent clash that took place at that location in 1989. However, the search at Google.cn shows a completely different picture. Many images display happy, scenic pictures of tiananmen square, and even one displays the photos of "protest planners" who were taken into custody after attempting a protest at tianamen square. The website which displays the protestors says: "Chinese citizens can deliver their complaints to relevant government departments in a lawful way. Illegal protests will not help to solve the problems and organizers of such protests will be punished according to the law." This is the true face of China, and this is the dogma that Google is propping up.

Luckily, The Mustachios blog can viewable from all over China.

Let the Mustachio Revolution begin!!!

Mustachios Form Hip New Band: Have Press Photo To Prove It

2006-02-13T22:42:00.000-05:00

If you don't agree that this photo just screams "album insert", then you are either blind or too busy listening to the latest $.50 album.

Shaken or Stirred? (the musings of an anti-populist)

2006-02-02T13:41:00.000-05:00

I'm an anti-populist. But, don't get mistaken and think that means I'm an elitist. People like Evo Morales try to paint the world in black and whites. Unlike Bush's tautoligal "You're with us or against us," the assertion of "populist or elitist" creates a false dilemma because in that case there is in fact a third option.

"Populists," like Evo, believe in the Marxist idea of equality: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." In one word, this is communism. Populists believe that everything should be collectivized, so that everyone achieves the same level of well being and quality of life as everyone else.

Elitists, on the other hand, often tend to believe that the world is as Plato claims it to be in "The Republic." The idea that society needs "philosopher kings," who are in every way better than the rest of the population, is at the heart of the elitist argument. They belive that people must be ruled by the best and brightest in order for society to thrive.

I, however, am a Mustachio, and Mustachios are neither Populists nor Elitists. We are in fact the polar opposites of both. Like the color wheel, there are 3 extremes to this debate. If populism is the Red, and elitism the Yellow, then the Mustachios are as Blue as the sky.

People do not need the guidance of the government, as elitists claim. And, they do not deserve hand outs from the government, as is the populist assertion. Instead, Mustachios belive that the government should not be the focus of society.

People need the government to do two things, and two things only: protect individual rights and protect property rights from invasion by others. The Mustachio way of Benevolent Neglect views the government as a referee. Democracy should be used to set the ground rule for social interraction and government competition, and the basic aim of those rules should be to allow the broadest amount of freedom and liberty while also making sure that nobody has the right to trample on the freedoms and liberties of others.

If I were James Bond I would not order my vodka martini shaken or stirred. Pour the vodka into a glass, pour in the vermouth, and then just let it settle. If the vodka and vermouth want to mix themselves that's their prerogative, but they certainly don't need your help. That's the mustachio way.

(Of course, I would never actually drink a martini like that. It's just a bit of symbolism, idiot. For a martini discussion without the political philosophy, read this.)

Evo Makes His First Move

2006-01-27T23:50:00.000-05:00

After being officially inaugurated this week, Coke-hatin' Bolivian president Evo Morales is fed up with his country's crushing poverty.

Ironically, his first initiative is fairly mustachioed. Evo is voluntarily cutting his own salary from $3,900 a month down to a modest $1,875 a month. In addition, he is asking all Bolivian cabinet members to voluntarily cut their own salaries to a level no greater than his own.

I have no problem with government taking a vow of poverty, but this populist grandstanding will boost E. Mo's popularity with MoveOn dittoheads before it lifts the Bolivian people out of poverty. Bolivia will maintain its status quo while Morales gets praised for being a selfless champion of the people. Much like Chavez in Venezuela sending "complimentary oil" to the U.S. after Hurricane Katrina to maintain an image of righteousness within the Left while Venezuelans take corruption in the rear, Morales' gesture will end up being more useful politically and publicity-wise than as an effective cure.

Economic development is the true cure for Bolivia, but in the eyes of E. Mo and his ilk, that would be an unacceptable solution because it would require a "selling out" to the evil machine of globalization. Evo may be making less money, but his people won't be making any more until intelligent economic decisions are made on behalf of the country.

"Intelligent Design" doesn't make for intelligent science

2006-01-22T16:07:00.000-05:00

These days, conservatives have been lumped together with a fringe group in this country that believes “Intelligent Design” deserves equal airtime in high school biology classes alongside discussions of Darwinian evolution. This fringe group has forced intellectual conservatives into an awkward position, but we should not feel compelled to join their battle. While social and intellectual conservatives have often put aside their differences in order to create a united front against the left, we should not be so willing to needlessly compromise ourselves in this ridiculous and clearly erroneous call for the injection of religion into the science classroom.

Intellectual design advocates argue that their assertion that life is “irreducibly complex” is a scientific theory worthy of debate, however virtually every scientist of any clout in this country disagrees. Maybe this is just a silly thought, but perhaps most scientists have a better idea than most about exactly what science is or isn’t. And, I am not simply talking about those scientists who happen to be alive at this time and place, but of those men of insight that have created and perfected the scientific discipline throughout the many centuries of western civilization. Intellectual, rational curiosity about the world around us is something that has its roots in the very beginnings of western civilization, and it is something that should not be forsaken so easily by today’s “defenders” of our cultural identity. Galileo, Newton, and Darwin, all believers in a fringe religion call Christianity, exemplify this western, scientific discipline. All used scientific observations of nature as a means of studying what they believed to be God’s creation. In defending science as a means of studying how God ordered the earth, Galileo said: “Surely God could have caused bird to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh heavier than lead, and with their wings exceedingly small. He did not, and that ought to show something.” (Simon Singh, Big Bang, p. 51).

The problem with advocates of “Intelligent Design” is that they have failed to grasp the difference between Science and Philosophy (theology being a single subset of the larger discipline of philosophy.) However, their failure to grasp this difference is evidence of a much larger and more systematic problem in America’s school systems than even what they contend. That problem is the lack of any proper philosophic study in public high schools across the country. If such courses were commonplace, it would be obvious to everyone that philosophic discussions about the origins the universe, of man, and of our place in it already have a proper place in the curriculum. However, by failing to adequately address a clear desire of the American public for such philosophical inquiry, the public school system in this country has caused a backlash from people who do not even understand what sort of discipline it is they are advocating.

Western culture is teetering on the brink as many in the “intelligent design” camp would contend, however it is not because of a failure to inject God into the study of Darwinian evolution, but because of our country’s failure to keep western philosophical discussion and debate alive.

The Libs are Losing It

2006-01-18T14:42:00.000-05:00

After a two month Mustachio sabbatical, it is time to check up on the progress of Enemies to the Cause around the world.

Catching my attention recently have been two examples of loony lefties run amok.

First, we have the newly-elected President of Bolivia, Evo Morales [pictured left]. I think it's safe to say that in landlocked backwards South American states, professional grooming and dress are not requirements to a politician's successful rise to the top. Apparently brains are not required either, as the depth of Morales' anti-U.S. rants are on an intellectual level that would be expected of a populist South American head of state. Most notably, his views on the coca industry seem to be positively correlated with the quality of his dress:

It's not right that exporting coca is legal for Coca-Cola but not for the rest of us!

Such thoughtful gems get a man elected in a landslide in Bolivia, where the indigenous population is fed up with the big bad U.S. taking away their favorite party drug.*

As Time Magazine puts it:

The Yankee baiting is part of Morales' stated intention to be the U.S.'s "worst nightmare." He flatters himself, given that Bolivia is, after Haiti, the western hemisphere's poorest nation.

The same idiocy reigns in one of the western hemisphere's richest nations as well. In Canada, Stephen Harper, a conservative running for Prime Minister, is being attacked by the Liberal Party in some of the most idiotic ads ever made. A quote from one:

Who paid for Stephen Harper's rise to the head of the party? We do know he's very popular with right-wingers in the U.S. They have money. Maybe they helped?

Slick innuendo coming from the ruling government of Canada, whose largest trading partner is noneother than that damn right wing U.S. They have money. Maybe they help you?

* I am not a rah rah fan of the "War on Drugs" the way it is currently conducted, but unless the Bolivians and other South American coca producers can retort with something beyond bashing American soda pop, I can't feel too bad for them.

William F. Buckley Jr. turns 80

2005-11-17T14:55:00.000-05:00

I post this, not out of patriotism, and not out of reverence for WFB. But, merely because his birthday reminded me of this quote of his which I like:

"If it is right that a single man is prepared to die for a just cause, it is right that an entire civilization be prepared to die for a just cause."

Discuss...

As Slate.com puts it: "Harriet Goes Down"

2005-10-28T18:00:00.000-04:00

Now, I know what you're thinking. Why would anyone want her to go down? But, you're only thinking that because you have a dirty mind.

Thank God she is no longer the nominee. I was trying to explain to some moderate (moderate in Ann Arbor simply means Liberal without a party identification) friends last week why I didn't want her to be the nominee. I mentioned that, like others who have spend little time developing their views before entering Washington, she will likely become much more liberal on the bench (i.e. Souter and Kennedy,) and, therefore, I was actively hoping she would either step down or get shoved down - I didn't care which.

Ofcourse, these moderate friends then began to lambast me: Why are you worried that she will become more liberal? Are you afraid that she will begin to see the truth and change her mind? You just know that she will be convinced by the much more compelling liberal arguments on the Court!

"No," I said... but I couldn't exactly verbalize what I meant. Then, later, I was listening to Krauthammer on NPR (That's right, I said NPR - he was the interviewee,) and he mentioned that Harriet would be, I paraphrase, "the type of person that would, as liberals put it, grow in office." Yes... that is exactly what I thought. If Krauthammer agrees with me, I must be right. But, I still didn't have an answer to my moderate friends' comments.

So, with Krauthammer on my side, I decided to spend a couple of hours on the porch with a cigar, pondering my dilemma. And, finally, I figured out how to verbalize what I felt with my gut:

People usually end up in Washington because they have convictions, and often (this is especially so for liberals and moderate - or fascist - conservatives) because they feel the real need to use the government to enact "change." In this group of people that have the itch to "make a dent," also lie those who end up in goverment out of sheer luck, those that just ride the stream and see where they end up, but then look around and can't help but feel that there are a few things they could change for the better. All of these people are what I now would like to dub "The Meddlers".

It is this type of person that I worry about on a daily basis, and this is the type of person that I had feared Harriet would be. These are the type of people who gauge the success of the country by their own personal goals, instead of letting the millions of Americans who actually live here decide their own fate and decide how to live by their own standards. All these people really end up doing is screwing things up more than they already are. All that meddling never really helps anything. The Governement never really fixes what it purports to.

But, this is why those in Washington without clear Conservative (as in Classical Libera, or Laissez Faire, or Small Government Republican) views end up pandering to the Big Government Liberals. These people don't realize that government meddling is the problem, and thus they become part of the establishment, and become another one of the multitude of meddlers.

Again, thank God Harriet went down.

So gay Native American mascots are out of the question?

2005-09-29T00:38:00.000-04:00

It's one of the most brilliant things Tony will ever come up with from his own brain.

But his opinion that universities with "hostile" Native American mascots under PC fire should be redrawn as "gay" Native American mascots, in order to save their PC standing, has taken a hit.

Opponent's Seeing Red Over Iowa's Pink Locker Room

Ealier today I saw this headline without reading the article, and I assumed that the "Red" was the color of Iowa quarterback Drew Tate's pale fairy white ball-spiking ass after 60 minutes against the Buckeye Defense [see above as Donte Whitner is about to administer a spanking]. Not the case, apparently. Red is instead the color of oppressive (communist?) PC professors deciding that the use of the color pink itself is, in fact, the scourge of our chauvinistic sexist Muslim-hating society.

Thanks America!

2005-09-21T12:52:00.000-04:00

"Thanks to American leadership, Iraqis have been given an opportunity of peaceful, participatory politics."

I didn't say it, the Iraqi President did:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007289

The New York Times's Op-Ed: Can the market finally excise this malignancy?

2005-09-19T23:00:00.000-04:00

First, I'd like to point out, for you liberals out there who think Conservatives only watch Fox, that my home page just happens to be the New York Times. I believe that, despite its many flaws, it is still one of the best papers in America, and clearly the best paper in America to offer free, unlimited on-line access (The Wall Street Journal does not,) or, atleast, it was.

That's right, starting today, the New York Times will be charging readers a fee in order to read their op-ed columnists. My first reaction was "what a rip," but my second reaction was that it just might be the best thing to happen to the New York Times in a long while.

Finally, the Times's liberal, trash columnists might be kept out of the mainstream. The blogosphere may finally be free from the Socialist rants of Paul Krugman, the worthless exigeses by the know-nothing Maureen Dowd, and the banal dribble which is often passed of as intelligent commentary by Nicholas Kristof.

Only time will tell if the venture will prove profitable, but my guess is that it will, but for other reasons. Likely, very few are going to be willing to shell out a few bucks to read the garbage which the New York Times considers intellectual inquiry. However, without that garbage floating around in plain view, people may once again begin to respect the New York Times. And, with respect, will come an increase in market-share and an increase in profits.

However, the problem with this little charade is that, with only a bit of irony, the Times's little ploy may just garner them enough respect to convince people to pay for their Op-Ed columnists. And, wouldn't that just be a travesty.

Dem Backfire?

2005-09-13T19:46:00.000-04:00

The Democrats in the state government of Ohio want to pass an issue to take away the duties of election officiating from the Secretary of State. This comes as a response to current S.o.S. Ken Blackwell's supposed "meddling" in the electoral results of 2004, when John Kerry lost Ohio by something like 100,000 votes and the Dems ran around on a nationwide campaign looking for some evil Halliburton exec/Fox news commentator/innocent elected official/anyone to blame for the "discrepencies" leading to a 100,000 vote election margin. 100,000: the size of the city of Springfield.

Sure, Blackwell could've used the full weight of his clout as Secretary of State of Ohio to screw with 100,000 votes. I don't buy it. And I have carefully constructed this list of people with the most clout in Ohio:

1) Jim Tressel
2) Ted Ginn Jr.
3) Anyone else on or directly associated with the Ohio State football team
4) The Youngstown Mafia
. . .
173) Bob Taft, doofus lame duck governor
1,414) Ken Blackwell, Secretary of State

In their lame effort to make impotent future S.o.S.'s to guard against "another Blackwell" marching in and rigging a damn election, the Dems will hamstring one of the most important offices in the state.

They find the idea humorous, if only in a knee-jerk immediate gratification hatred of Blackwell sort of way. As one Dem strategist put it something like this: "If the issue passes, then Mr. Blackwell will have plenty of time on his hands to help ban gays from shopping at Wal-Mart, or whatever it is he wants."

But with Blackwell's term ending next year, several Dems will surely covet the job in their quest to regain some–nay, any–of the state governmental power structure. And at that point, even a Democrat in the S.o.S. office may be working for Governor Blackwell, who will be loving his job as one of the top couple hundred important people in Ohio.

Current Mood: "Negative"

2005-09-12T15:52:00.000-04:00

Law School has started back up, and there is nothing that makes me more upset at the world than having to do homework. Even the Wolverines loss on Saturday pales in comparison to the disgust that I feel each time I have to sit in front of my 2,000 page supplemental guide to the Internal Revenue Code.

Therefore, I am in the mood to do some negative blogging. Since it's clear that I don't have to spend my time making fun of the Buckeyes, since their Saturday game was proof enough that they suck (by the way, don't make fun of the Wolverines without first realizing that we had 3 major players who watched the game from the sidelines,) I've decided to turn my attention to our bitter rival and blogwar target, Acacia.

On her recent post, she says that she wants to be a vampiress for halloween, again. My first reaction was to think: "how fitting." Even though I don't know Acacia (though clearly, as FunkySmeegs is vouching for her, she is a reasonably fun and intelligent person,) from her blog I have a good sense of her political views. Needless to say, she is anti-benevolent neglect. All liberals like Acacia are vampires or vampiresses, as they enjoy nothing more than to suck the life-blood from our country, our economy, and from the constant progess which people around the world strive for.

Liberals are always trying to use the labor of others for their own purposes. Tax the rich, to spend on the poor. Tax the industries, to pay for environmental clean-up. Tax the parents, in order to pay for the education of their kids. Here, in Michigan, you have to pay for a deposit each time you buy a beverage, and only get it back once you recycle the container. Who wants each of these policies the most? The liberals do. However, do they care about these causes enough to pay for the costs themselves? No. They care about them enough to force me, you, and everyone else to pay for them. Wow, these policies must mean a lot to them. I give money to the Catholic church, but I would never, ever, ever, imagine forcing someone else to do that with the money they earn. My wife and I gave money to the victims of Katrina, but I would never force someone to make the choice which the government forced each of us to make when it pledged our tax dollars to the relief effort: "pay for the disaster relief through mandatory taxes, or rot in jail."

So, Acacia, I hope you enjoy sucking my blood and the blood of each and every other American when you vote for higher taxes and bigger government. However, you may want to mix it up and dress as something different for halloween.

The Crazy Days of August

2005-09-04T10:52:00.000-04:00

Now that August is over, we can all come to grips with just how crazy it all was.

#1 - The Lasagna King got married. Now there is a Lasagna Queen to contend for the King's Time

#2 - Katrina, and the mass death and destruction which has followed

#3 - The fact that possibly as many people died within minutes on a bridge in Baghdad

#4 - Rhenquist just died, and now the future of the Court depends on whether an idiotic president can discern which of a number of candidates, all smarter than him, is better qualified.

#5 - Smiga in Europe, what the f*ck?

#6 - Our first "blog war," too bad it is with a raving, reactionary liberal who doesn't seem to care about looking more deeply at the stories which the media is hand feeding her. This is why, as of yet, I haven't felt like joining the war of rhetoric.

#7 - Even Victor Davis Hanson, at the National Review Online, thinks that August was crazy. Read his article here: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson200509020718.asp

#8 - I was distracted, and haven't posted in a long time. Here is my official apology: I'm sorry that you haven't been able to learn from my infinite wisdom, in the future I will make sure to better share my knowledge with the world.

Off to "Old Europe"

2005-08-29T23:55:00.000-04:00

For the next nine days, I will be carrying the Mustachio fight to Europe, and hopefully blogging on location once or twice, since I hear the hostels now have something called "complimentary Internet access". Taking into account the exchange rate, "complimentary" in £ or € may mean anywhere between 75¢ and 10¢, respectively.

I am going to the motherland w/ little to no preparation whatsoever (no maps, language/etiquette, specific plans, etc.), so it should be interesting. But I can guaruntee they are even less prepared for a benevolent neglect infiltration.

Current Mood - All Boned Up

2005-08-25T09:36:00.000-04:00

Dear Lasanga King

are you going to lure me in - only to leave me high and dry again

like the last Lasanga King....?

Love,

David P. Welty

a good deal

2005-08-25T00:46:00.000-04:00

mustachios sister new york blog with good idea.

Blog War

2005-08-25T00:27:00.000-04:00

My dear friend Acacia wishes to start a blog war with Mustachios. You can find her here.

Our first dialogue. Not too hostile.

Acacia:

Pat Robertson Calls for Assassination of Hugo Chavez
Televangelist Calls Venezuelan President a 'Terrific Danger' to the United States

Yes, that's right Robertson, the televangelist.

Just because a foreign leader speaks against Bush doesn't mean we need to kill him. Chavez is a great leader and is turning Venezuela around. He was elected via voting by the populace...Why is Pat Robertson considered a political commentator now?

What the fuck does he know about politics. He can go help priests rape little boys, not assume the duties of a foreign policy maker.

Funkysmeegs:

Chavez isn't all cake and daisies, Acacia. As your chief blogging rival, I am on the fence regarding this issue.

Yes, he was "popularly elected", but so was Bush. The dude talks a mean anti-American game and is buying missiles and MiG fighters (remember those, from the USSR?) with his oil money... sounds Saddam-ish.

"Chavez basically controls 15 percent of U.S. oil imports. He allegedly is taking billions of dollars in revenue to grease the way to one-man rule of a country with a 50-year history of democracy."

Allegedly, sure, but you know how the US feels about totalitarian leaders in oil producing nations. If our government in the end goes after Chavez, it won't be just for oil, but also for his support of FARC in Colombia, which the US currently spends shitloads of money opposing.

Pat Robertson is a moron, as is anyone who calls themself a "televangelist." As a Christian myself, I respect anyone who wears the cloth, but those with a true calling for the job have no aspiration to be tele-anything. While he shouldn't call for asassination of Chavez, the reason it strikes a chord is relevant. After all, a previous champion of liberal reform in South America, Che Guevara, was killed largely at the hands of US Green Beret and CIA operatives. Maybe Robertson speaks a relevant truth that Chavez may be marked in the same manner.

And why is Cindy Sheehan considered a political commentator now?

Go See Cindy . . . IN HELL!!!!

2005-08-18T01:24:00.000-04:00

It was Michelada night, and I was on my way to Giant Eagle to buy some Dos Equis. As I pull out of my condo complex's driveway I run smack dab into a trio of "protesters" holding signs that say "Go See Cindy" or some such nonsense.

"What in the high reaches of hell does 'Go See Cindy' mean?" I ask politely.

"BUSH IS A WAR CRIMINAL AND CINDY SHEEHAN IS OUR LEADER ALL HAIL CINDY ALL HAIL CINDY IMPEACH BUSH MONKEY LEADER WAR CRIMES HALLIBURTON END IRAQ ROVE FIRE LEAK DOWNINGSTREET MEMO!!!!!RICHARD CLARKE KNOWS CONDI LIED BUSH ROBERTS LIE CHENY EVIL PEOPLE DIE SEE CINDY WAR IRAQ MOVE ON!" the protesters screamed.

Gas pedal.

Thump, thump . . . thump.

Pull into Giant Eagle parking lot.

Buy Dos Equis.

Make Micheladas.

Goodnight.

Too PC

2005-08-16T02:13:00.000-04:00

The NCAA in all its dictatorial glory has come up with a new resolution banning universities using "hostile" ethnic mascots from participating in sanctioned postseason tournaments. Included in the "hostile" category are two mascots which anyone can agree are hostile beyond reconciliation. Well, anyone except the tribes themselves for which the schools take their mascot insignia.

Above are two "hostile" ethnic logos. Notice the oppression and degradation displayed by both symbols. Obvious, yes? Obvious to the NCAA, but not to the Seminole tribe of Florida or to the Ute tribe of Utah. Who should have the final word on such a matter, a corrupt beureaucratic organization or the people to whom the supposed hostilities are directed?

Amnesty International: International Joke

2005-08-03T10:08:00.000-04:00

Today at NRO, there is an article about a real victim of human rights' abuse. This victim has become one of the leaders of the revolutionary movement in Iran, and for the simple act of having his picture taken by the foreign press while protesting, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison (his original sentence was death.)

They young man, Batebi, in an interview with National Review said: "What I want is international pressure for all the political prisoners who have been so horribly treated. I want all these human-rights activists, these Amnesty Internationals, to put their resources together to give more attention to the political prisoners in Iran.”

Depite the hopes of this young man, Amnesty is too busy acting as a Democratic Party lacky. The lead article on their website is all about the "war on terror." Amnesty says: Take action to call on the USA to take a lead in reasserting what President Bush called 'the non-negotiable demands of human dignity' and on all States to play their part in stopping the use of torture and ill-treatment.

When, if ever, will Amnesty wake up to the REAL threats to human rights around the world? Those terrorists who slaughter innocent people in the name of whatever do not deserve "human rights." Those people around the world who are jailed, beaten, and killed simply for advocating political change do.

Spam in a Can

2005-07-30T09:04:00.000-04:00

Isn't that what they used to call the Astronauts? Well, I can't think of a more fitting description.

Apparently our current government believes that spending the people's money on rocket ships to the moon is a worthwhile endeavor. Well, you know what, I don't think it's a worthwhile endeavor. And, guess whose money is funding it?

This past year, the X-prize was awarded to a private company after they launched a man into space. Their ship looked cooler, the launch actually produced something (in this case information for a company looking to produce a new product,) and it was completely privately funded. What a deal!

Why should the government be sending men into space when the public gets nothing out of it, and when private companies are just as eager to try? Benevelont Neglect would leave those private companies with risk as well as the reward.

Benevolent Nerdcore

2005-07-27T10:36:00.000-04:00

Sure the Mustachios support Benevolent Neglect, everybody knows that. But, what many fail to realize, is that the Mustachios are also firm supporters of Nerdcore:

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,67970,00.html

Lasagna King: International Jerk

2005-07-26T20:49:00.000-04:00

Over the past couple days, I have been addicted to the "next blog" link in the top right hand corner of all blogspot sites, you never know what will come up next.

Yesterday I stumbled upon a random blog written by a person from Arica, Chile. Apparently it is a new blog, since there is only one post. Also, it is in Spanish. And, since I never did anything in middle school spanish class except for sit in the back and make farting sounds (or atleast I was acused of making farting sounds) I have no idea what the blog says. But, since it was titled "American Economic Theory" I decided to go into what can only be described as an elitest all-American rant. (oh yeah, and I think that the Ghandi quote is what initially got me going.)

The Lasagna King strikes again, click on the Comment link to the only post, and enjoy:

http://somexit.blogspot.com/

Justice Thomas: Mustachio

2005-07-26T01:21:00.000-04:00

If/when Chief Justice Reinquist steps down/dies in the near future, this Mustachio places his hope in the possible appointment of Justice Thomas to the highest position in the Court. My neglectful justification is from Thomas' dissent in the Court's 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas to strike down anti-sodomy laws:

I write . . . to note that the law before the Court today 'is … “uncommonly silly.” If I were a member of the Texas Legislature, I would vote to repeal it. Punishing someone for expressing his sexual preference through noncommercial consensual conduct with another adult does not appear to be a worthy way to expend valuable law enforcement resources. Notwithstanding this, I recognize that as a member of this Court I am not empowered to help petitioners and others similarly situated. My duty, rather, is to “decide cases ‘agreeably to the Constitution and laws of the United States.’ ” And . . . I “can find [neither in the Bill of Rights nor any other part of the Constitution a] general right of privacy . . .

Benevolent neglect in its highest form.

Tony's Weekly Reminder of Who's Boss

2005-07-25T22:00:00.000-04:00

ROVE IS GUILTY . . of being a douchebag

2005-07-25T17:49:00.000-04:00

I don't have a problem with Karl Rove the way most people do. His job is political strategerie, and he is damn good at it. For that I commend him.

The man is shrewd and intelligent, which is why his latest "scandal" flap over some nonsense (put into perspective here by Mustachio favorite Christopher Hitchens) makes no sense, as it could only be perpetrated by an unshrewd, unintelligent man.

Innocent as he may be of the charges leveled against him, Rove is guilty as hell of being a piece of shit. Always has been, always will be... after all, being a P.O.S. is as important to successful political strategizing as being a woman is to driving poorly. Seeing his round-shit-eating-grin-covered face laughing at reporters who dared "question" his involvement in a newsworthy matter elicits within me an uncontrollable desire to see him brutally clotheslined by Terry Tate, Office Linebacker. That would wipe the grin off anyone's face.

Health Insurance w/ Less Regulation

2005-07-25T15:18:00.000-04:00

The Wall Street Journal has an Op-Ed piece about a new Congressoinal bill purpoting to lower the cost of health-insurance for many Americans. How? you ask. By allowing consumers to purchase health insurance from any state, thereby allowing Americans in the most heavily regulated states (such as New Jersey and New York) to purchase health insurance from companies in the least regulated states:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007011

Health Insurance, the Mustachio Way!
Benevolent Neglect, in action!
Or, should I say, "in neglection!"

Blank Day

2005-07-24T17:17:00.000-04:00

Blank Day:

The only way by which man can hope to cure all evil in the world.

It will only be a day.

Support Blank Day, oppose everything else.

test

2005-07-24T15:39:00.000-04:00

this better work