'Meet the Press' transcript for May 23, 2010 (Tom Friedman fantasizes about China)

Meet the Prerss ^ | 5/23/10 | Tom Friedman

[teddyballgame]

MR. FRIEDMAN: Well, David, it's been decimated. It's been decimated by everything from the gerrymandering of political districts to cable television to an Internet where I can create a digital lynch mob against you from the left or right if I don't like where you're going, to the fact that money and politics is so out of control--really our Congress is a forum for legalized bribery. You know, that's really what, what it's come down to. So I don't--I, I--I'm worried about this, it's why I have fantasized--don't get me wrong--but that what if we could just be China for a day? I mean, just, just, just one day. You know, I mean, where we could actually, you know, authorize the right solutions, and I do think there is a sense of that, on, on everything from the economy to environment. I don't want to be China for a second, OK, I want my democracy to work with the same authority, focus and stick-to-itiveness. But right now we have a system that can only produce suboptimal solutions.

[a fool in paradise]

Media Schadenfreude and Media Shenanigans

"I have fantasized--don't get me wrong--but that what if we could just be China for a day? I mean, just, just, just one day. You know, I mean, where we could actually, you know, authorize the right solutions, and I do think there is a sense of that, on, on everything from the economy to environment..."

If you listen to the audio of this above quote he fumbles for words as he struggles to say "where we could actually, you know,...er hu (DICTATE) authorize the right solutions..."

I don't want to be China for a second, OK, I want my democracy to work with the same authority, focus and stick-to-itiveness. But right now we have a system that can only produce suboptimal solutions.

He doesn't want to be for a second BUT he fantasizes about it and KNOWS RELIGIOUSLY what the "right" solutions are and that they could be imposed by decree.

I loathe the Commie sympathizing Left who've supported Marxist crap for 45 years. Put THAT in your "Mao's Litle Red Book" and smoke it.

[Old Retired Army Guy]

Another thing that China is doing is modernizing their military at lightning speed while most of our Defense money is supporting two wars. The day will come when they will challenge us as the premptive power in the Pacific while we continue to borrow money from them.

[a fool in paradise]

It's been decimated by everything from the gerrymandering of political districts to cable television to an Internet where I can create a digital lynch mob against you from the left or right if I don't like where you're going, to the fact that money and politics is so out of control--really our Congress is a forum for legalized bribery.

This Rat shill said nothing I take it about the Pravda Media's virtual lynching of Sarah Palin including SNL's DAILY programming where they fabricated BS Palin quotes that the dumb masses believed were GENUINE.

The American corporate socialist media (and that is NOT an oxymoron, the politburo hold that while all animals are equal some animals are more equal than others...) has sold out this nation. It is more dishonest than Soviet Pravda at its worst. Ironic that today Russian Pravda is more honest than the US media and Russia's Pravda may not have moved more into credibility, it's just that the US media is completely biased to spin the Rat agenda.

If government is not kept in check by the fourth estate, it's because the Pravda Media is unwilling to be critical of the Obama Administration or Pelosi/Reid's culture of corruption.

Buying legislation approval with pork. Smells like Obamacare to me. Where was the outrage in the media? They chose to lynch the tea partiers with a smear campaign of hate speech and jeers.

Screw Tom Friedman's Socialist agenda.

[a fool in paradise]

Barack Obama has killed off new weapons development and is decommissioning our nuclear missiles.

President Obama would not have passed a Secret Service background check to even WORK in the White House in any other administration.

[a fool in paradise]

He claims that the previous problem with Marxism was that there wasn't a large enough infrastructure possible to make it work.

A ponzi scheme only works when you have a big enough pool of suckers.

Socialism works until you run out of other peoples' money.

[a fool in paradise]

He made a point of talking about the speed of a Chinese decision to build one of the worlds largest Hydro Electric Dams without regards to environmental impact studies or protecting the rights of displaced farmers etc.

Except Friedman's own agenda would push the same dictatorship on the rights of Americans with regards to "the environment", gas rationing, toilet control, mandates on the types of lightbulbs you use, carbon credits etc.

At least at the end of the day, the Chinese would have a power plant. In America, we would be looted of our cash and the climate would not be impacted positively or negatively for all of our inconvenienced lives.

[Travis McGee]

Friedman and the other uber-libtards are not interestied in representative govt any more.

They want to just ram their utopia down our peasant throats.

This will not end well.

CW2 Ping

[KarlInOhio]

You know, I mean, where we could actually, you know, authorize the right solutions,

This presupposes that those in charge are more moral, more intelligent and just generally better than the peons who they rule. I would say that is about as antithetical to the idea of a democratically elected limited government as any idea can be.

Whenever wishing for your government to have power, imagine first what your opponents will do with that power. So Friedman, imagine what would happen if your nightmare version of Dick Cheney had the power to authorize the "right solutions". What happens when Halliburton decides that oil is under your dining room and tears down your house to start drilling? How about when the government decides to tap every phone call, email or pillow talk with your wife? How about if the IRS decides to include waterboarding in its audit procedure because it is the "right solution" to income tax evasion?

My fear of the Patriot Act was "What happens when Hillary gets this power?" I now realize something far scarier.

[KarlInOhio]

I'll bring the noose for the digital lynch mob.

1
1
1
0

[CodeToad]

Bush started this sh*t with his “PATRIOT Act”, using the liberal idea of the “seriousness of the charges” to ram down our throats violations of civil rights, all in the name of “national security” while not providing a single act to control our borders nor keep out or deport rabid anti-American foreigners like fanatical Muslims and illegal aliens.

[stephenjohnbanker]

” They want to just ram their utopia down our peasant throats. “

It won’t fly, but it will indeed get ugly.

[a fool in paradise]

What happens when Halliburton decides that oil is under your dining room and tears down your house to start drilling?

The Leftists on the Supreme Court decided that they CAN do this. Your private property isn't really yours anymore if the community can make more tax money off of it after forcing you to sell it to private company. Welcome the Democrats' fascist America.

[Noumenon]

This will not end well.

No, it won't. Those of us who have even a modest grasp of history and an unflinching regard for human nature know that something terrible is heading our way.

[kbennkc]

I guess some Freepers have decided it would be fine so long as the “Mussolini” was a tea party member .

[WOSG]

Yes. Tom may be an authoritarian lover, but we cant seem to get things done because we have too many lawyers in charge and not enough engineers.

here’s an example:
http://michellemalkin.com/2010/05/24/louisana-gov-jindal-blasts-obama-inaction-moves-on-sand-booms/

The governor said he has been forced to protect Louisiana without the approval of the Army Corps of Engineers, which is weighing the ecological impact of the construction of more sand booms.

“We are not waiting for them. We are going to build it,” Jindal said.

---

Can you believe that? A fix to stop an ecological disaster, and they are ‘studying’ the impact at a time when inaction will be a killer.

[Travis McGee]

Calm before the storm.

[The_Media_never_lie]

LOL. you know we are weak when worried about digital lynchings. We are fat, happy and sheltered folks. This guy needs some experience away from his desk...

Since he will never have to worry about an SEI thug home invasion, since he is a democrat media shill, should we let him know what a lynch mob is really like, (digital, of course)?

[Noumenon]

Calm before the storm.

Agree. End of summer, tops.

The Guns of August.

History has its odd little symmetries, and my gut tells me that it may hold true here.

[Noumenon]

We know where Friedman's coming from.

[Hunton Peck]

A few weeks ago, Chrissy Matthews was fantasizing about how nice it would be if America just killed business execs the way China does. This must be a trend among self-worshipping airheads.