Reports of our demise may be premature (NYT's Tom Friedman continues love affair with China)

Powerline ^ | 03/02/2010 | Paul Mirengoff

[SeekAndFind]

Tom Friedman is convinced that China has gotten the idea of proper governance right and that the U.S. has gotten it horribly wrong. Everywhere Friedman goes, it seems, he is rudely reminded of the inferiority of our way of life.

The latest reminder of our impending demise as a great power is the run-down condition of the Los Angeles International Airport. Friedman writes:

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"Walking through its faded, cramped domestic terminal, I got the feeling of a place that once thought of itself as modern but has had one too many face-lifts and simply can't hide the wrinkles anymore. In some ways, LAX is us. We are the United States of Deferred Maintenance. China is the People's Republic of Deferred Gratification. They save, invest and build. We spend, borrow and patch."

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But Abe Greenwald notes that, just last week it was announced that LAX will be the beneficiary of a $1.545 billion building project. The project will "create a new world-class terminal," which is only part of a larger "master plan" to "establish a new regional icon that embodies the character of Los Angeles and transforms LAX into the airport of the future."

Greenwald concludes that "if 'LAX is us' (arguably the silliest Friedman metaphor in a category packed with brutal competition), then we're about to takeoff."

As for Friedman, maybe he should get out less.

[GeronL]

Who was it that praised secret government as the way to go, just the other day.... was it David Frum??

[PGR88]

Wow - he took a trip to China and now he is an EXPERT!

[cranked]

Those who missed Beck’s show today need to find it and watch it. Beck talks of this today in that Beck asserts that the libtards and progressive see Europe shifting to a Chinese style economic government (mix of capitalism and communism) and thus, the libtards and progressives here are looking to shift the same way. Hence, here is Friedman’s article to say that such a move or shift ‘might’ not be that bad..... =.=

[Nepeta]

All that fresh construction in China looks spiffy, but one must remember that regulation is nonexistent in China, and that new buildings and other construction are thrown together with substandard design and substandard concrete, with predictable results. Quality fade is a way of life in China.

Is there anyone reading this who would choose to live downstream from the Three Gorges Dam? Cracks were appearing in the concrete before the project was finished.

[Niuhuru]

Stupidly the Libs think the Chinese will just share power with them, however, the Chinese will likely exterminate them first.