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I've been contemplating Dean's demise for several days now. I think that his candidacy will be replayed over and over in candidate war-rooms and in domestic politics classes for years to come. I have never seen a flameout as grand as Dean's and for once in many months I am simply left speechless.

Here's a website filled with articles on the Dean candidacy and its blazing trail across the Winter sky.

Andrew Sullivan expresses the way I feel about Dean. Money quote: (Dean)"I think the problem with the Democratic Party in general is that they've been so afraid to lose they're willing to say whatever it takes to win. And once you're willing to say whatever it takes to win, you lose."

Would I vote for Dean? At this point: No. However would a Dean v. Bush brawl be good for the country? Absolutely.

Here's something that you don't see very often.

Cubans Trying to Reach Florida in Floating Car
Money quote: "The car is very safe."

For those of you who don't know, if they touch the beach - they get asylum. If they are caught offshore, they get sent back.

I say "Go guys Go!" Anybody who is ingenius enough to do this deserves asylum. Hell, my guess is that they could get a job at Monster Garage.

UPDATE: Evidently the Coast Guard nabbed them and will send them back to Cuba. Too bad Luis and Marciel didn't tell them they were Java coders: the government would have issued them H-1b visas and IBM would have hired them at $1/day. Oh well. Excellent effort guys.

More madness in North Korea.
This is an extremely disgusting article. You are warned.
We agree with the title: Serious consideration must be given to some kind of intervention in North Korea. We simply cannot stand by and let this happen. Would intervention be yet another example of US imperialism? According to Noam Chomsky, yes. Of course, notice how Noam is sitting in his warm flat in Boston - not in a glass gas chamber in NK. Also note that the source isn't Donald Rumsfeld or Paul Wolfowitz - but the anti-American BBC.

Yad Vashem calls for UN intervention in N. Korea
Source: Haaretz Daily
By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent, and News Agencies

Top Saudi Cleric Decries Terrorism in Hajj Sermon
Don't get all excited, because there are more qualifiers than a car ad. Money quote: "Is it holy war to shed Muslim blood? Is it holy war to shed the blood of non-Muslims given sanctuary in Muslim lands? Is it holy war to destroy the possession of Muslims," he said.

Note the three groups he mentioned: Muslims, non-Muslims in Muslim lands, and the property of Muslims.

Nowhere does he demand a halt to attacks on non-Muslims, or non-Muslims outside of Saudi Arabia, or the property of non-Muslims. That's quite intentional. He's not pissed about terror attacks like 9-11; he's upset about recent attacks WITHIN Saudi Arabia. He's angry with the terrorists for breaking the agreement between the Saudi ruling family the likes of al-Qaeda - a "gentlemen's agreement" that prohibit attacks in Saudi Arabia in exchange for financing.

We've come to expect such sophistry from Muslim clerics - none of whom have stated flat out that killing non-Muslims is wrong in the eyes of Islam - possibly because it is not.

Gore Endorses Dean for President.

+

Bradley Endorses Dean for President

+

N.J. Gov. McGreevey Endorses Dean

+

Braun Drops Out, Supports Dean

=

Dean May Be Done

Spalding Gray is probably dead. Here's a friend's eulogy for him. Money quote: "I try to imagine him actually attempting a swim to Cambodia. I see him swan-diving from the rail of the Staten Island Ferry late Saturday night when he disappeared, rounding Sandy Hook by dawn, and turning south for Cape Horn. He'd be well past the mouth of the Delaware by now, strong swimmer that he is. What a great monologue this is going to make."

Another good one goes. Where have all the good story tellers gone? Where are the Homers of our era? Where are those who weave with their words what Hollywood struggles to do with computers?

Just a note that I've deactivated the Bush-Rice ad on the right. Here's why:

1. Budget Deficit Headed for New Dollar High - As a fiscal conservative, Bush has presided over one of the largest explosions of the budget deficit in history. I have no problem with the expense of fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanstan. What I do have a problem with is Bush's corporate welfare policies in which large businesses are subsidized by the federal government.

2. The Bush Amnesty program - No, not forgiving Prescott Bush for his Nazi sympathies, but the 8th illegal immigrant amnesty since 1986. We believe that it is bad for the economy and hurts lower income and middle income people the most. Why is it that Republicans favor laissez-faire policies in goods but not in labor? Government needs to keep its nose out of labor by allowing wages to rise when people don't want to do a job for any reason. That's the way the market is supposed to function: salaries rise, increasing the supply of the labor until a balance is reached. If strawberries cost a nickle more a pint, consumers can deal with it. It's capitalism pure and simple.

3. No WMDs, and the admin's stalling on spanking US Intel. If the spooks screwed up, find out why and fix it. It's not just the body count in Iraq - it's the body count on 9-11. Our intel cannot be trusted at this time, making it impossible for us as citizens to support anything the administration advocates in the future.

4. 3,000,000 jobs lost. I've lost two of them - and am damned tired of collecting unemployment benefits instead of paying for them.

5. Collapsing health care system. I'm sorry, but the administration has to invade America and make it a safe place to be sick or injured in. Health care is just as much a right to every American as national defense.

Does this mean that I will now vote for Dean? Don't count on it. I still haven't ruled Bush out - but at this point my vote is up for grabs.

Good news. A murderer is smiling! Lionel Tate Bond Hearing Set for Today - He's the 12 year old who was convicted of first degree murder in the killing of his 6 year old "playmate". Money quote: "I'm getting smiles now and then," Rosenbaum (his pro bono - free - attorney) said. "Along with 10 years of probation, Tate will be sentenced to one year of house arrest and 1,000 hours of community service. He will receive mandatory counseling and will continue his education with the support of his mother, mentors and community and church groups."

Here's Tiffany Eunick.

She's still dead. Do yourself a favor and do a search on Lionel Tate and Tiffany Eunick. You'll find that Lionel has many more defenders such as Amnesty International USA - my old group. Tiffany has only her parents and scattered columnists, but no organizations. Even the sentencing judge noticed the fact that no one spoke about Tiffany. No one cared about the victim except her poor distraught parents, enduring the nightmare that every loving parent dreads most. Writer Myles Kantor called this the "inversion of compassion" - something that the left has gotten good at.

As a parent and former 12 year old, I know some things about kids. First and foremost, 12 year old boys do NOT play with 6 year old girls, and if they do, they do so with care and compassion. Lionel shown none of these, and now will be set free.

I challenge those who worked so hard for his release to allow him to babysit their kindergarten age children. Leave him alone with your kids for a few hours. Test the depths of your conviction - even after he serves the 1000 hours of community service. And if you won't, explain to me why not - tell me I am wrong while you carry that nagging doubt in the back of your mind.

There is no justice for Tiffany. None - and the emptiness of that should give pause to those who are "celebrating" Tate's freedom.

What the hell happened to Howard Dean?

I mean come on, writers like me love Dean. He inspires us in ways that Kerry cannot. While I do not like Dean, I do not want to see Kerry take his place. Why? Because Kerry is simply Dukakis all over again. Dean is much more energetic. Just look at his picture:

He is INTERESTING. He is spirited. He has fire in his belly. He is a joy to write about and even bash around a bit. Kerry looks as stiff as his hair in contrast.

Come on Howard! Make a comeback you weasel!

Funny, but I was just thinking about Russ. Oh, and Russ, would you please. Thanks. - Nic

Giving Terrorists Aid and Comfort at Airports

By Russ Jowski

Finally, the TSA is going to discriminate on the basis of color. But don’t get too excited. The next time you fly don’t expect to see two security lines: one for Arab Muslims (potential terrorists) and one for everyone else (not potential terrorists).

Such a plan would clearly make America safer – which is probably why Democrats will never let the TSA implement it.

I finally fixed the links to the old Razor. As I go through the old site which lasted just about 2 years, I'm finding things that I had forgotten about. Since my readership is now about 1000x bigger today than it was when many of these were written, and because it's almost the weekend, why not kick back and enjoy some of The Razor's Deepest Cuts?

Creators & Destroyers - a tribute to Daniel Pearl
Your conscience is their cover - why Total War is the only war to fight.
Rohrschach Test for the Left - The Razor's first post in cyberspace.
Get Carter - Why we haven't joined the Carter-Lovefest aka Carterpalooza
Moral Relativism - Believe in the equality of Women? How about in Saudi Arabia?
Bonus Post:
Queer Allies - The Razor supports gay rights. Surprised? You shouldnt' be.

No news on Spalding Gray. Where the hell is he, and why doesn't the media care?
Perhaps the loss of an intellectual simply isn't as interesting as say the 5 hour marriage of Britney Spears, but then again, Ms. Spears would no doubt think Pol Pot is something you smoke. Nothing is out there but the original AP story.

In the meantime I am trying to catch up on his work. There's a lot out there - even voice credits in a Laurie Anderson piece. Since I don't have time to watch much besides Monster Garage and Yu-Gi-Oh (a game that is more complicated than AD&D on acid), it would be nice if his monologues were collected somewhere in a book. I'm done with John Adams and even slipped in a Night to Remember since the kids are on a Titanic binge.

Here's a treatise on manhood that you won't find written by Bill Moyers: "Wimps & Barbarians - the Sons of Murphy Brown" by Terence O. Moore, former active-duty Marine (ain't no such thing as an ex-Marine), college professor and now charter school principal. As a male whose father died during adolescence and parent to boys I am keen to discover why society simply doesn't know how to handle men. Freud believed that men struggled between visions of women as "madonnas and whores", but it is clear that our society has the same problem with men - shown here by the terms Wimps and Barbarians. Perhaps it is due to the apparent need by men to be "imprinted" or taught what it means to be a man, a need that women don't seem to have.

Moore suggests that today's boys must look to their grandfathers or even great-grandfathers. I don't think it's a bad idea for fathers to do the same since my generation of males seem to be clueless as to what being a man means as well. It is never to late to learn. No woman wants a weepy man, nor does she need an asshole on the couch whose idea of caring is to put the seat up.

So JP Morgan-Chase has purchased BankOne. We're taking suggestions on new names and slogans for the bank. Hit the comments and add your thought for either or both. Here's some to start you off:
Chase1 - Destroying shareholder wealth one merger at time.
First Illuminati - We're everywhere
JPMorganChaseManhattanChemicalBankofNewYorkBankOneFirstUSA - We're as big as our name.
ChaseBankOne - We own you
JP Morgan Bank1 - Bigger than God
BankOneChase - You're fired

Get creative now...

It's amazing how short people's memories are. Many of those who argued against "unilateral action" in Iraq actually demanded "unilateral action" in Bosnia nine years ago.Dr. Dean might want to consult himself to a specialist on amnesia... Money quote: "Since it is clearly no longer possible to take action in conjunction with NATO and the United Nations, I have reluctantly concluded that we must take unilateral action." Dean 1995 sounds much like Bush 2003...

Howard Dean letter to President Clinton
Source: USA Today
Below is the text of Howard Dean's letter to President Clinton on the conflict in Bosnia, dated July 19, 1995.

The Honorable William J. Clinton
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:

After long and careful thought, and after several years of watching the gross atrocities committed by the Bosnian Serbs, I have reluctantly concluded that the efforts of the United Nations and NATO in Bosnia are a complete failure.

City Journal is always an interesting read, so check them out when you get the chance. Here's a must read: James Wilson's "What Makes A Terrorist". Money quote: "Imagine what it would have been like to eliminate the Baader-Meinhof gang if most West Germans believed that democracy was evil and that Marxism was the wave of the future, if the Soviet Union paid a large sum to the family of every killed or captured gang member, if West German students attended schools that taught the evils of democracy and regarded terrorists as heroes, if several West German states were governed by the equivalent of al Fatah, and if there were a German version of Gaza, housing thousands of angry Germans who believed they had a right of return to some homeland."
Like France? Sorry, couldn't resist...

Thanks to BlackFive:

Actor Spalding Gray is missing - and this article at Fox suggests that he may have committed suicide. If true, then the world has lost a master essayist and commentator. While the article mentioned the classic "Swimming to Cambodia" it failed to note the basis for masterpiece of monologue: the filming of The Killing Fields in which Gray acted. The Killing Fields documents what best could be described as a descent into hell by a Cambodian translator, Dith Pran. The Khmer Rouge atrocities committed in Cambodia aren't mentioned much these days - yet they should be since they probably rank second only to the Holocaust when it comes to genocide.

We hope that Gray is indeed still around and offering his poignant commentary on world affairs. And if you don't know much about Pran, follow the links above and learn more about one of the darkest periods in world history.

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What Ockham is currently reading:

John Adams

What Ockham is grooving to:
John Digweed's Bedrock