April 10, 2019

"... President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are essentially the same person... both men utterly without shame, backed by parties utterly without spine, protected by big media outlets utterly without integrity."

"They are both funded by a Las Vegas casino magnate, Sheldon Adelson. They are both making support for Israel a 'Republican' cause — no longer a bipartisan one. And they each could shoot an innocent man in broad daylight in the middle of Fifth Avenue and their supporters would say the victim had it coming. As a result, they are each free to cross red lines that their predecessors never dared to. Which is why I believe that four more years of Netanyahu, which is almost certain after Israel’s election on Tuesday, and six more years of Trump, which is a real possibility, will hasten the emergence of an America and an Israel where respect for civility, democracy, an independent judiciary and independent media are no longer examples for others to follow.... Both men have no close friends. The one major difference between them is that Bibi is very smart, an avid reader and a deft tactician in managing relations with Israel’s neighbors and big powers, such as America, Russia, India and China. Trump is clever but probably has not read a book in years.... Neither man is interested in being a leader for all their people....  Bibi’s strategy was to demonize Israeli Arabs, and Trump’s was to demonize Muslims and Mexicans and immigrants from what he called 'shithole' countries. Both men have rebuilt their parties around themselves and their personal politics, and both believe that as long as they can hold their bases by stoking enough fear and cultural division, they can win — and they’re willing to sacrifice any values or norms to do so."

Writes Thomas Friedman — he's not "stoking... fear and cultural division," is he? — in The New York Times.

177 comments:

AlbertAnonymous said...

Friedman? GMAFB

He's a schill

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Protected by big media outlets? Name two...

Jim at said...

Protected by big media outlets? He wrote that?

What planet do these people inhabit?

Tank said...

TDS.

End of story.

madAsHell said...

The cognitive dissonance is deafening!!

Greg Hlatky said...

They are both making support for Israel a 'Republican' cause — no longer a bipartisan one.

Well, the Democratic party is fast becoming a trans-Atlantic clone of Labour: out-and-out annihilationist.

TANSTAAFL said...

Projection, thy name is Leftist.

Michael K said...

I wonder if Friedman was sane before he married his rich wife ? Some of his early stuff was pretty good.

I can't find a date of his marriage to the billionaire's daughter. John P Marquand, one of my favorite novelists, had a theory that marrying a rich wife sort of neutered men. That, of course, was years before "Toxic Masculinity."

I'm Full of Soup said...

I bet Friedman has a nice wall around his home in the Imperial City.

Ken B said...

TDS tag is missing.

Drago said...

Thomas Friedman adores communist governments.

'Nuff said.

traditionalguy said...

Talk about an hysterical panic, Friedman sounds like he is having a discociative identity breakdown. While Trump laughs.

Blumenthal is having one today too. In reaction to Bill Barr saying spying on a political campaign is a big deal and that it happened, Blumenthal accused the calm and collected Mr Barr of being a Conspiracy Theorist and demanded that Barr un-say it.

Drago said...

"Blumenthal is having one today too."

Wherever Stolen Valor Da Nang Dick Blumenthal leads, a certain adoring LLR is never far behind....

Nonapod said...

Openly and unabashedly pushing for increased border security and attempting to curtail illegal immigration is considered "stoking... fear and cultural division" in liberal elite land. They're insulated by their wealth and power, so they can safely virtue signal by heaping scorn on Trump and his deplorable supporters as racist xenophobic monsters. Of course, it won't win them any elections, but it'll make them feel morally superior.

JackWayne said...

I love the hysteria of American lefties. They are revealing how unmanly they are. This is for Althouse: it warms the cockles of my heart to see what wussies the chattering class has become!

Lucid-Ideas said...

An IDF officer friend of mine once opined on the Jewish politics and the diaspora explaining that Jews aren't any different than anyone else politically. You've got your left, right, fringes, and folks in the middle. The difference is that the diaspora (outside Israel) is mostly left-leaning and are the diaspora specifically because they can't stand the immigrated Ashkenazim, Yekke, and Sephardic conservative Jews that made Israel what it is today.

Fancy that. Now Friedman's column makes sense.

Bay Area Guy said...

In a more sane world, you LOSE graciously, and congratulate Bibi on his close victory.

In the NYT world, you write stupid articles with the pre-written sub-headline, "Orange Man Bad."

Bilwick said...

Today's Instapundit features a link to an article that says Trump is more popular in Israel than he is in the US. This prompted Instapundit's usual sarcastic comment on Trump: "WORST.NAZI.EVER."

Jon Burack said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shouting Thomas said...

They don’t have any buddies!

They ain’t hip! None of the cool kids like them!

This shit is so fucking juvenile.

Big Mike said...

"They are both funded by a Las Vegas casino magnate, Sheldon Adelson. They are both making support for Israel a 'Republican' cause — no longer a bipartisan one."

I would blame the Democrats for turning support for Israel into a Republican cause instead of a bipartisan one. And the notion that Sheldon Adelson is a puppetmaster for Trump and Netanyahu is pretty laughable.

"Which is why I believe that four more years of Netanyahu, which is almost certain after Israel’s election on Tuesday, and six more years of Trump, which is a real possibility, will hasten the emergence of an America and an Israel where respect for civility, democracy, an independent judiciary and independent media are no longer examples for others to follow..."

After two years of Russia! Russia! Russia! I would say that respect for civility, independent judiciary, and independent media were turned into jokes by the American left wing. Unless Friedman would argue that Rand Paul's ribs were broken and Steve Scalise was shot in a civil manner. Perhaps he would.

Clyde said...

You forgot the Trump Derangement Syndrome tag. Maybe there should be a Bibi Derangement Syndrome tag, too.

GRW3 said...

When will American Jews realize that their valiant six decade effort on civil rights and inclusion, where they've bled real blood, was just another elite "Gentlemen's Agreement"?

Jon Burack said...

""They are both funded by a Las Vegas casino magnate, Sheldon Adelson. They are both making support for Israel a 'Republican' cause — no longer a bipartisan one."

This sentence sums up as even Omar could not do the central anti-Semitic trope. It's all about the Benjamins. In this case, in the form of the evil, conspiring Sheldon Adelson. The Nazis used the phrase "wire pullers" for the Jews, who controlled from behind the curtain. Just as Friedman does here. As to making Israel a "Republican" cause, I'd say Omar, Tlaib, Keith Ellison, Al "Diamond Merchants" Sharpton and several other Jew haters have done a lot more than Trump and Adelson to bring that about. I note that most if not all of the Democratic presidential candidates went to NAM to kiss Al Sharpton's blood-soaked ring this past week. Not one went to AIPAC. I say to my fellow, mostly Democrat-supporting Jews, I thought we were reputed to be smart. When are you going to wise up about all this? Can't you see when you are not wanted.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Bibi's strategy was to demonize the people launching rockets at his citizens?

Damn, he is very smart--it'd take a true genius to put together such a winning concept!

Well spotted, Friedman. You certainly aren't a laughable hack.

Ken B said...

Whoa. Utterly without shame. Strong words. Something serious must have happened. Was Trump, like, impeached and disbarred or something?

I Callahan said...

What color is the sky on the planet Friedman lives on?

Anonymous said...

Who's against an independent media? Except for the left, of course.

What most people are against is a propaganda outfit. No one respected Pravda or Tass in the 60's and 70's, and who can tell the difference between the NYT today and Pravda back then? Both are shills for communist/progressive politics, except Pravda did it out of compulsion while the NYT is glad to be the House organ for the Democrat party.

If today's media was actually independent instead of just mouthpieces for Democrats, they might have respect.

--Vance

Michael K said...

When are you going to wise up about all this? Can't you see when you are not wanted.

This is a sad theme seen in Germany in the early 1930s. They thought they were fully assimilated and some looked down on those who fled. Democrats are trying to lure Muslims into voting for them by treating tham as "People of Color."

Tony Blair flipped a lot of the British voters this way and it is destroying Britain.

JaimeRoberto said...

Mr. Friedman, some countries are shitholes. If they weren't, their citizens wouldn't be leaving in droves.

Drago said...

We all await the next breathlessly offered LLR penned "Conservative Case For Why Far Left Idiot Thomas Friedman Is Right About Everything...And Super Dreamy To Boot!!"

Lucid-Ideas said...

Hey! This Adelson guy can't fund candidates and campaigns in multiple countries! Trump and Bibi can't be buddies! Global corps and media can't help both these guys at the same time! They're not allowed to be pragmatic and use the same strategy while being half the world away!

The world is not flat!!! I take it all back!!! Where's the wall!!!

Amadeus 48 said...

Darn. I thought the world was flat.

YoungHegelian said...

A common mistake (among many) that Friedman & his fellows in the chatterati make is to personalize the politics of leaders like Trump & Bibi. DJT & BN are in power because they ride the waves of powerful political movements in their respective countries. If neither man existed, their places would be filled by others.

The real question isn't "Why Bibi?". The real question is why the Israeli Left, so essential to the country's founding & its mythos of self-creation, is now nearly extinct.

rhhardin said...

He writes for the readers.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Friedman is another person whose elevation to punditry astounds me. Why should anyone, right or left, have any more respect for Friedman's opinions than any random person he might meet on the street? Sheer speculation ("Both men have no close friends . . . Trump is clever but probably has not read a book in years . . . Neither man is interested in being a leader for all their people . . .") is not an argument or support for an argument.
It is ridiculous that the guy who issues and reinforces the Left's talking points is the gormless moron who wrote "The first rule of holes is when you’re in one, stop digging. When you’re in three, bring a lot of shovels."
The thought-leaders of the Left don't even rise to the mark of mediocrity.

alanc709 said...

How anyone finds Thomas Friedman either interesting or intelligent is beyond me. He has nothing to say other than to shill for the extreme left.

Hagar said...

Ariel Sharon killed the two states idea decades ago.
Netanyahu now pledges to be a prime minister for all the citizens of Israel - Jews and non-Jews.
This much at least is a step forward.

But how is the MSM going to deal with this?
Just ignore it?

rhhardin said...

I don't think I've read a book in years but I sure read a lot of them in the 80s.

doctrev said...

What is with middling pundits and their insistence that conservative leaders never read books?

Reagan was not only more than capable of reading, his personal notes and aphorisms are stored at the Reagan Library. They would be worth far more money than most of the absurd garbage nominated for a Hugo Award. George W. Bush kept reading books and enjoyed talking about them in interviews. And if Donald Trump wants to hear about an idea in a non-fiction book, all he's had to do for decades is call the author in to discuss it. It's amazing that overrated intellectuals- represented in the dictionary by a picture of Friedman- insist that not reading their preferred tripe is some badge of shame.

Friedman has to be in utter panic that Trump-friendly leaders like Balsonaro and Netanyahu are rapidly consolidating their power, while haters like May, Merkel, Macron, and Trudeau are on their way out. Tommy, it's not that we're making excuses for Trump shooting people in the street: if he picks the right people, we'll be cheering for more.

You're on the list, Tommy. Pretty high up, too. And I think quite a few Taibbi-friendly liberals would thank us for it.

rhhardin said...

The Quake (2018) just arrived. The trailer had great CGI of earthquake devastation of a city. Perhaps the genre can be done for abstract things like Friedman describes.

Charlie Currie said...

Project, he does.

M Jordan said...

I’m ashamed to admit it but Thomas Friedman convinced me to support Bush’s Iraq War. His argument was that Iraq was a proxy war for fighting terrorism on their turf instead of ours. Then when things went sour he blamed Bush for botching the war.

At the time he wrote and convinced me, I was a much more naive man. I actually thought pundits had more insight than me. I’ll never make that mistake again.

Maillard Reactionary said...

Wow. That was really bizarre.

This man has been getting crazier and crazier for the last 20 years. Him and Paul Krugman.

He should have an MRI of his head, to check for tumors, or parasites. If he waits for the seizures to start, it could be too late.

Bay Area Guy said...

Follow-up piece by NYT:


""... Columnists Thomas Friedman and Paul Krugman are essentially the same person... both men utterly without shame, backed by a Democrat party utterly without a spine, protected by big media outlets utterly without integrity. They are both funded by a Mexican telephone magnate, Carlos Slim. They are both making opposition to Israel a 'Democrat' cause — no longer a bipartisan anti-semitic one. And they each could shoot an innocent man in broad daylight in the middle of Fifth Avenue and their NYT readers would say the victim had it coming. As a result, they are each free to cross red lines of journalism that their predecessors never dared to. Which is why I believe that four more years of Krugman columns, which is almost certain after Israel’s election on Tuesday, and six more years of Friedman columns, which is a real possibility, will hasten the emergence of an America and an Israel where respect for civility, democracy, an independent judiciary and independent media will flourish, despite their efforts to subvert this. Both men have no close friends, nor girlfriends. The one major difference between them is that Friedman is very smart, an avid reader and a deft tactician in managing relations with China's neighbors and big powers, such as North Korean, Russia, India and Taiwan. Krugman is clever but probably has not read a comic book in years.... Neither man is interested in being a journalist for all their people.... Krugman's strategy was to demonize Trump supporters, and Friedman’s was to demonize guys who had jobs, and didn't want illegal immigrants from what he called 'shithole' countries. Both men have rebuilt their columns around themselves and their personal politics, and both believe that as long as they can hold their upper west-side bases by stoking enough fear and cultural division among the Cappuccino crowd, they can win — and they’re willing to sacrifice any values or norms to do so."

Molly said...

(eaglebeak)

Isn't this the dipshit who is so enamored of China's approach to governance?

I'll answer my own question.

Yes, this is the dipshit who is so enamored of China.

His buddy, Nicholas Kristof, is doing the same favor for North Korea.

Making Walter Duranty proud....

I hate the New York Times.

Static Ping said...

Oh, I am all about getting back to norms, but the norms were crushed well before Trump. The Obama administration was all about forcing nuns to pay for birth control, getting people fired because they did not agree with whatever left-wing cause was ascendant at that moment, making laws up with a pen and a phone, shoving through Obamacare without any bipartisan support despite it being a massive change to the country, nuking the filibuster, and catering to the fanatical religious cult pretending to be a social and political movement that is called "social justice." If you want to get back to love and tolerance and Bill of Rights and "It's a free country, man" then I'm game with that, but a suspect Thomas Friedman's ideas of "norms" dovetails nicely with his admiration of Red China.

As for Israel being turned into a Republican cause, that was not the act of Trump. The Democrats are all too pleased, or in many cases all too scared, to accept the votes of anti-Semites. They have sow the wind and are inheriting the whirlwind. Or has Mr. Friedman been under a rock for the past four months? Trump is just pointing out the damn obvious.

mockturtle said...

Well, Thomas Friedman is, and has always been, an idiot. So there's that. If Trump is protected by 'big media outlets', I'd like to know which ones.

Gretchen said...

So it is Trump's fault the Democrats hate Israel?

Sebastian said...

"They are both making support for Israel a 'Republican' cause — no longer a bipartisan one."

Well, that's easy to fix: Dems can just return to their traditional support for Israel. Of course, progs would howl.

"will hasten the emergence of an America and an Israel where respect for civility, democracy, an independent judiciary and independent media are no longer examples for others to follow"

WTF? We've just had nearly three years of disrespect for democracy by Brennan, Mueller et al. No prog has been civil to any righty for years now -- remember Kavanaugh? Independent judiciary -- you mean, federal judges trying to thwart Trump? Independent media --you mean, the MSM selling The Narrative?

Fernandinande said...

Protected by big media outlets?

I would've thunk that people would be less likely to read the advertising if you start off a column with such an obvious lie.

JaimeRoberto said...

Trump should post a review of one of Friedman's books on Twitter.

Michael K said...

The real question is why the Israeli Left, so essential to the country's founding & its mythos of self-creation, is now nearly extinct.

The Palestinians, who cleverly got themselves evicted from every Arab country in 1990, are almost solely responsible for their fate. They had a chance in 2000 when Clinton really wanted a Nobel Peace Prize and dragooned the Israelis to Arafat, but Arafat walked away.

They could ask the Sudeten Germans what happens when you start a war and lose it.

Drago said...

For some reason, the party of Omar, Tlaib, Sharpton, Farrakhan, the BDS movement, obama making Netanyahu wait while obama ate dinner and then kicked Netanyahu out the side door of the White House and the party that has gone all in on Islamic Supremacy alliances and handing billions to Israel's primary existential foe is somehow, somehow, seen as anti-Israel.

Its inexplicable I tellya!! We may never know the real cause.

Anonymous said...

Trump and Netanyahu may well be the same person. They both face unceasing hostility from the press, contempt from American elites and subterfuge against their administrations by elements of the U.S. Government.

Leland said...

I understand this doesn't meet any federal definition for hate speech, and I dislike the notion that any speech be so labeled in a free speech society. However, Thomas Friedman's article is what I consider hate in written form.

Neither man is interested in being a leader for all their people

Hillary called half of the people she intended to "lead", "deplorables". Trump said, and still says, he wants to Make America Great Again; which certainly doesn't include non-American's, but is that "their people", as in his tribe? Isn't Trump's tribe as defined by him, Americans, and wouldn't that be "their people" for him to lead?

Ah forget it. When I read so much hate from such a person; I don't sense reasoning to be an option. Rather, I sense self-destruction on their part in the near future.

EC in NJ said...

Sore Loser has to sore lose.

And been wrong since, well forever.

Rick said...

protected by big media outlets utterly without integrity.""

Tom Friedman is so far left he thinks WAPO is protecting Trump.

Rick said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
FullMoon said...

That right there is crazy, I don't care who you are.

Swede said...

Trump is protected by big media outlets you guys.

Guys, he's protected by the media. Trump is.

exhelodrvr1 said...

I hope that Trump is the same person as Netanyahu. That will be wonderful for AMerica.

mockturtle said...

Hillary called half of the people she intended to "lead", "deplorables".

And didn't Biden call us, "the dregs of society"? I'd like to have a tee shirt that says, "Proud Depolorable Dreg of Society", to go with my Make America Great Again hat.

narciso said...

friedman, as widlanski tells the story, got the story of sabra and shatila wrong, blaming the wrong militia leader, he loathed the likud for being gop, but Arafat that slaughtered innocents he had no trouble with, for good measure he came up with hama rules, as a reason to trust hafez assad,

bibi is kind of a blunt instrument, he's made mistakes with the prisoner exchanges, signing over some of the settlements, when he was in the Sharon cabinet, but the left wants surrender and felt confident that gantz would give it to them, or at least try,

Leland said...

Well done Bay Area Guy!

Yancey Ward said...

Friedman's frustration is joyful to watch.

narciso said...

I don't know about Krugman, but friedman, one upped O'Rourke, marrying the daughter of one of the largest developers in Canada, with a Versailles sized pad, and a carbon footprint the size of an emirate,

Dave Begley said...

Exceptionally good comments above. I wonder if Minnesota Tom has zero ability for introspection. He should read these comments.

That Supreme Court reporter - Linda something - surely learned something when she stupidly weighed in here.

Earth to NYT: The rest of the country thinks you are either nuts or hate America. There is another side to the story. How do you think Trump won?

FullMoon said...

They poopin' their pants...

Talk about an hysterical panic, Friedman sounds like he is having a discociative identity breakdown. While Trump laughs.

Blumenthal is having one today too. In reaction to Bill Barr saying spying on a political campaign is a big deal and that it happened, Blumenthal accused the calm and collected Mr Barr of being a Conspiracy Theorist and demanded that Barr un-say it.


"Attorney General William Barr delivered stunning, albeit obviously honest, remarks during congressional testimony today in response to Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen about his intent to review prior intelligence activities in targeting the Trump campaign.

Before getting to the video and transcript, it is important to note how this line of questioning surfaces. The professional political apparatus, primarily Democrats – but also Republicans, who participated in the ‘soft coup’ effort are attempting to gauge the landscape of their risk by identifying AG Barr’s intention. This line of questioning is NOT organic or random; it is deeply purposeful and scripted. You can smell the fear.

Shaheen is being asked by allies within the Administrative state, including interests no longer holding political office, to do advanced query…. this is political reconnaissance intended to give corrupt officials and media allies the background to: (a) scale their risk; and (b) plan their defense narrative. They are nervous now. Very nervous.

Vid and More Here

narciso said...

ceti alpha 6, in the revamp of battlestar galactica, that was game of thrones in space, there was baltar, who was the essence of intellectual sophistication, which led to surrender, by season 2, versus adama and colonel tigh who for all their faults, understood the important things,

Dave Begley said...

Warren Buffett famously said, "When the tide goes out, you see who was swimming naked."

The NYT, CNN and MSNBC people were all swimming naked.

Krumhorn said...

Another example of the leftie epistemology project that Young Hegelian talked about recently. Actual objective facts are irrelevant so long as they have reliable amplifiers of their alternate reality. Say it often enough, say it loudly enough, say it emphatically enough, and they own their own incontrovertible truth. It becomes something that they know. Fervently!

On top of that, the lefties are nasty little shits. Who would want to live in their world?

- Krumhorn

Hari said...

Friedman gets one thing right:

"I believe that . . . six more years of Trump . . .is a real possibility . . .."

narciso said...

Ignatius was his counterpart, he relayed the story of Robert ames, another who invited a scorpion in the person of ali hassan mohammed, the red prince, who directed the munich massacre. for little useful ends, on his watch noel and moore were slaughtered on orders from Arafat his boss, the interesting detail was when ramlawi relates who his mentor is who admires Israel from a certain point of view, it turns out the old man, is haj amin husseini, hitler and Mussolini's proxy,

narciso said...

nicolle Wallace, is at melting toh stage, she also fits her serial killer analogue on law and order svu,

BUMBLE BEE said...

WTF Did Inga write that? Chuck? Phone in a welfare check, get the sheriff over there, someone's way off their meds.

The Godfather said...

"making support for Israel a 'Republican' cause — no longer a bipartisan one." I'm not only a REAL lifelong Republican, I'm a REAL lifelong supporter of Israel and opponent of anti-semtitism. I welcome anyone, of any party, to join me. It's not an excluding club. Democrats! Make this a bipartisan cause again and make Tom Friedman happy!

Yancey Ward said...

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of Tom Friedman. That is what is best in life.

Rumpletweezer said...

The competition for Stupidest Man Alive is heated and Friedman is definitely a Number One Seed.

Bay Area Guy said...

Friedman, Krugman, Kristof and Gail Collins all think, feel, speak and write the same way. Collins is an airhead lightweight -- but those 3 dudes remind me of a few arrogant, intelligent, credentialed professors in college, who got many so big picture items totally wrong.

"Wet streets cause rain" said the late, great Michael Crichton.

As to why they get it so wrong, I have a working hypothesis:

1. No military services, no religion, no private sector work. In other words, they have no countervailing actions or people or events in their lives to resist the leftist narrative.

2. Inability to even understand their opponents' positions. I understand Cory Booker's argument for reparations. I also understand why he wants reparations. I just disagree with it. But I don't think these NYT dudes can even faithfully and accurately describe what their "opponents" seek and why they seek it.

My 2 cents. I could be totally wrong.

Michael K said...

In other words, they have no countervailing actions or people or events in their lives to resist the leftist narrative.

Super investigator Maxine Waters was quizzing bank Executives today about student loans, which Obama nationalized in 2010.

When this was gently pointed out to her, she changed the subject. I think the Democrats need a bit of "White Privilege."

mccullough said...

Friedman doesn’t get it.

The people who read Friedman now understand that Friedman doesn’t get it.

The NY Times needs to shitcan Friedman, He babbles.

The Bubble is eroding.

tcrosse said...

Presumably these rich Jews should stick to running Hollywood and Wall Street and leave Diplomacy alone.

elkh1 said...

Liberals can't take a joke, they are the joke.

Trump dares cross the red line drawn by Obama and elitists in the Swamp. That certainly makes the Swamp dwellers mad.

David Begley said...

Dems in full panic mode because Barr said the FBI spied on the Trump campaign. Brennan on Hardball spinning like crazy.

Seeing Red said...

Protected by Big Media outlets?

What has he been smoking?

Lololololololololololol

David Begley said...

Bay wrote, “Inability to even understand their opponents' positions.”

I agree with this theory. E.g. Dems say this country was built by immigrants. Me: LEGAL immigrants.

I used to be a Democrat. Now I think their base is insane. The GND is crazy.

narciso said...

among billionaires besides Adelson who else is really pro Israel chaim saban, but Zuckerberg certainly doesn't evince that interest, bezos, brin and co, you see the problem, bezos in particularly was retailing some new protocols by some british expat in south Africa,

chickelit said...

I actually threw away my copy of Friedman's book "The Earth Is Flat." Threw its away. I'd never done that with any book before.
The man writes pure garbage. I'd like to know who funds his bloated salary.

narciso said...

if we think this is a remote issue, well it isn't:

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/04/at-the-noor-trial-6.php

iowan2 said...

Did anyone else notice the media got another election totally wrong? Bibi was going to loose. At best too close to call. Exit polls had Bibi losing. All the best minds got is so wrong. Bibi wins by a 10 seat margin. The weather I get from the media has always been iffy at best, but has become the most accurate thing in any media offering.

Achilles said...

Thomas Freidman writes what carlos slims wants him to write.

He has no real audience. He is not trying to increase readership.

His job is to frame the discussion in the way Carlos Slim wants it framed.

His job is to tell Americans what "good" conservatives think. Of course "good" conservatives hate republican voters, the middle and working classes, and freedom in general.

Thomas Friedman is a walking talking tool who is used by his owner for a a purpose.

rcocean said...

Trump is "protected by big media outlets"? Really? Fox News is more objective then "protective". And Chris Wallace would be surprised to learn he's "protecting Trump". And the other "big media outlet" is who, exactly?

Obama and Clinton were "protected" by every goddamn big media outlet in the USA, except Fox.

Chuck said...

The other similarity between Trump and Netanyahu is that they could both be re-elected, and then 4 months later be indicted.

Bay Area Guy said...

1. In 2016, Hillary can't lose!

Reality: Trump wins.

2. From 2017 to 2019, Mueller will indict Trump!

Reality: No collusion.

3. In 2019, Bibi's gonna lose!

Reality: Bibi wins.

4. In 2017 and 2019, Obama never spied on the Trump campaign!

Reality: Barr -- yes, there was political spying. Whether it was properly authorized or not, is the question, I intend to investigate.

At some point, any sane, neutral observer would pause and reflect and ask, "Why do we keep getting these things wrong?"

My God, if you're a liberal, ask Glenn Greenwald, why you keep getting these things wrong. he will answer. He's a liberal too!

alanc709 said...

Yes, Chuck, unlike a Democrat they "could be indicted". Not, of course, for committing anything illegal, but for not being progressive. Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, could destroy our country and not be indicted for anything, because he's a socialist. What's your point, that our system of justice has become an abortion? We already knew that. Chicago demonstrates the futility of expecting actual, as opposed to social justice, on a regular basis.

narciso said...

as was ted stevens, tom delay or bob McDonnell, funny whatever happened to those cases, well they were reversed on appeal, but the first lost his life, the second two merely their jobs,

William said...

Years ago when I read the Times, I would read Friedman. He would occasionally have some interesting insights and even some clever metaphors. I never read Krugman, but Friedman was occasionally original. I don't read him anymore. Maybe he has some good days, but this is dreck. Maureen Dowd is the only Times columnist I still read, albeit sporadically. Sometimes she's witty and clever, and she's not 100% part of the monoculture. She's willing to pass harsh words on some of the more flagrant Dem and Hollywood rapists....... I understand that the Palestinian Christians used to be a substantial part of the West Bank and Gaza populations. Most of them have emigrated. The Israeli Arabs have not. Whatever their argument with the Israeli authorities it is not so substantial as that of the Palestinian Christians in PLO and Hamas ruled territories. I think it would be nice if Omar took off her hijab one day a week to express solidarity with the Palestinians (the Christian ones) in their struggle against oppression. Also, it would be nice if Friedman did one of his deep think columns that pondered how it comes to pass that some people flee their oppressors and others stay to instruct their oppressors on the proper way to wield power.

rcocean said...

To be honest, I stopped reading Thomas Friedman 15 years. He was the dumbest man ever to win a Nobel Prize for Economics. Or am I thinking of Kurgman? Who's a boob too.

narciso said...

there are somethings that do seem to happen like clockwork


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/04/10/new-bid-oust-theresa-may-mps-attempt-gather-10000-signatures/

rcocean said...

Good your here Chuck. Say something stupid, and then your friends can go "How can you say that Chuck?!"

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Big media? Where?

Fox?

The democratics have:

WAPO
NYT
CNN
MSDNC
CBS
ABC NBC
Time and Newseek and Vanity fair and most of Hillarywoodland
etc......

narciso said...

Fox has about 1/4 sensibility, and fox business has 1/2, throw in one America and Sinclair, and they have another quarter,

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Freidman and Krugman are the same idiot.

mockturtle said...
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mockturtle said...

BleachBit reports: Big media? Where?

Fox?

The democratics have:

WAPO
NYT
CNN
MSDNC
CBS
ABC NBC
Time and Newseek and Vanity fair and most of Hillarywoodland
etc......


Don't forget Chuck's fave: NPR!

Michael K said...
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Michael K said...

Chuck, in his autistic way, is going to regale us with his story of what Trump will be indicted for,.

I think it much more likely that Clapper and Brennan are going for a stay in the gray bar hotel.

Plus a couple of Hillary staffers.

Sam L. said...

Tommy "Fried" Friedman. Nope. Not buying whatever he says.

bagoh20 said...

I would suggest that some big pharma company start working hard on a drug to treat this widespread and profoundly debilitating disease. There is a huge market for it, and this disease is causing people to lose their livelihood and the respect of people outside the infected group. It causes depression, anxiety, paranoia, confusion, hallucinations, and anal leakage. Imagine how much better these poor souls' lives would be if they could escape this horrible condition. Bless their hearts, and pray for them.

Jay Vogt said...

They are both men utterly without shame, backed by parties utterly without spine, protected by big media outlets utterly without integrity.

In a small defense of Friedman (a fellow ex St. Paulite) and applying the brilliant analysis that is MeatLoaf: two outta three aint bad.

bagoh20 said...

And the drug should be called "Magacceptium".

bagoh20 said...

The first two are true of the entire political class worldwide, the third is true for most of them, but not these two. Applying these criticisms to these two men is just a symptom of the disease.

Jay Vogt said...

The first is a compliment. The second is a fact . . . . . and the the third is a swing and a miss.
That's what make Meatloaf so awesome.

bagoh20 said...

Freidman is to TDS sufferers what a High Times writer is to potheads.

Narayanan said...

Fantasy - shoot an innocent man in broad daylight in the middle of Fifth Avenue

Reality - "shoot" an innocent boy in broad daylight in the middle of Washington Mall.

Gahrie said...

To be honest, I stopped reading Thomas Friedman 15 years. He was the dumbest man ever to win a Nobel Prize for Economics. Or am I thinking of Kurgman? Who's a boob too.

Krugman won the Nobel, and supposedly it was deserved. He's been a complete partisan idiot since then though. Friedman is the one who is jealous of Chinese autocrats.

Temujin said...

"...support for Israel a 'Republican' cause — no longer a bipartisan one."

Tom Friedman would be wise to check to see which party supports and nurtures the BDS movement. Which party is the party of Ilan Omar, AOC, Rashida Tlaib, and others who agree with their views. Obama pushed Israel away and put his arms around Iran. And today's Democrat Presidential candidates, to a man and woman, passed up a chance to speak at AIPAC, while every one of them stood in line to kiss the ring of Al Sharpton.

It's not against any law to ignore a chance to speak at AIPAC while picking up a chance to get Al Sharpton's blessing in front of his large following. But to deny the direction of the Democrat party is to live with your hands over your ears and blinds over your eyes. The reality is in front of Friedman. He chooses to not see it.

robother said...

You all are missing the Big Story Friedman is breaking, right in front of your noses. If Netanyahoo and Trump are essentially the same person, that right there is the smoking gun case for impeachment. An Israeli with no American citizenship has no right to serve as American President.

Turns out the Russian Collusion was all a distraction, so no one would notice that the man we know as Trump is in reality the Israeli President. Talk about your dual loyalty! No wonder he recognized Jerusalem, he probably grew up there.

Henry said...

Sheldon Adelson? Not the Rothschilds?

exhelodrvr1 said...

Will Bernie's Medicare for all cover TDS?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

NPR.

NPR can on occasion not totally suck. But that's rare and it defiantly skews left.

roesch/voltaire said...

Speaking about no shame the WSJ has a great reveal about the hush money paid to Stormy and others by Trump to keep the news from sinking his election.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...
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Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Good thing the access Hollywood tape didn't come out before the election. That REALLY would/should have sunk Trump.

Ah - when the Russian narrative fails, we're back to Stormy. Please ignore her creepy lawyer who is now facing his own legal issues.

Bay Area Guy said...

"Speaking about no shame the WSJ has a great reveal about the hush money paid to Stormy and others by Trump to keep the news from sinking the election"

Wait. Are some folks still stuck on the 2016 election???

Oy vey.

JackWayne said...

The torpedoes keep circling back and finding Democrat targets.

Henry said...

Trump? Netanyahu? Poor Berlusconi. Doesn't even get a Zeppo mention.

Achilles said...

"Neither man is interested in being a leader for all their people."


They only want to lead the bitter clingers who hold on to their guns and religion.

Michael K said...

R/V still hoping there is a pony in all that horseshit,.

narciso said...

Well bibi was born in ths states. Philadelphia near where his father the great inquisition historian was teaching

narciso said...

Yes bibi is kind of an analogue the blood hounds were chasing him for nearly 20 years, he branded his faction along the lines of his sports team he was a master of media

Achilles said...

roesch/voltaire said...
Speaking about no shame the WSJ has a great reveal about the hush money paid to Stormy and others by Trump to keep the news from sinking his election.


Bill Clinton paid a woman he raped nearly a million dollars in a settlement to shut up.

Democrat voters had no problem with that.

Because they are terrible people.

Democrat rape victims should just "Put some ice on that."

robother said...

narciso: "Well bibi was born in ths states."

So, this Manchurian (Mogen-Davidian?) Candidate plot goes back that far? Come to think of it, has anyone seen Donald Trump's birth certificate? Can he prove he's not Bibi? We need another Special Prosecutor, hell maybe even a Warren-type Commission to look into this.

narciso said...

Actually they were born three years and about 3500 miles apart, but his father did teach her, most British politicians of that era are more British influence

mishu said...

"...where respect for civility, democracy, an independent judiciary and independent media are no longer examples for others to follow...."

That's because the left doesn't respect those things.

Alex said...

Just like Jerry Nadler the other day was publicly hallucinating Candace Owens saying Ted Lieu was 'stupid', Thomas Friedman is hallucinating that Trump & Bibi are THE BIG EVIL in the world. I credit that idea to Scott Adams.

Paul said...

Friedman is a canary in a coal mine.

He gets it.

Paul said...

Friedman is a canary in a coal mine.

He gets it.

ccscientist said...

Trump is protected by big media outlets? Where? You mean fox news?
Bibi demonized arabs? You mean the arabs who keep shooting rockets at his country? The ones who vow to exterminate Israel? Those arabs?

stephen cooper said...

Trump is pro-life and Netanyahu isn't.

Browndog said...

I think this is what they call 'gas lighting'.

Not sure, but it seems like it.

Alex said...

What irritates me about Scott Adams is he insists there is no such thing as 'gaslighting' when we see it every single fucking day by the Democrats and the media. Sure maybe there are not wildly successful with their gaslighting, but they are attempting it. Why is Scott Adams being so fey about it?

Big Mike said...

Here’s what Ed Driscoll wrote on Instapundit:

As William F. Buckley wrote nearly 60 years ago, “Though liberals do a great deal of talking about hearing other points of view, it sometimes shocks them to learn that there are other points of view.”

Explains Friedman, and a whole lot of other lefties.

narciso said...

Gaslighting is what they e subjected us to three years, similarly with Netanyahu we were informed he couldn't get elected now as in 2015 and the time before.

chuck said...

Don't blame Friedman, I'm sure he got his material from a taxi driver.

Anonymous said...

Holy cow, Mr Friedman. This has got to be the most horrible case of PROJECTION in the annals of psychotic projections.

TBlakely said...

Leftists are masters of projection.

Anonymous said...

Word on the street is that Trump has been involved in international business deals for years, and sometimes fucks bimboes. When the American people find all that out . . .

Sorry, it's just become too rich not to enjoy. As the great HLM said, "American democracy may not be the best form of government, but it is the most entertaining."

Narr
trying not to double-post this time.

buwaya said...

Netanyahu is not really very much like Trump, in personality or style or nature or origins.

Other than representing political factions loathesome to Freidmans sort. They aren't even similar factions, in culture or general policy.

Its curious that so many quite unique persons and groups, in so many nations, are so odious to the same people. The governments of Hungary and Poland and Italy, the Philippines and the UK (the Brexit-faction) and the Czechs, Brazil and Israel and whoever the next lot will will be, dont share much other than the dislike of the same people.

narciso said...

True Bibi is a soldier and a diplomat, urban was Hungary's premier dissident kosinski was one of a pair identical child stars Johnson is a,former journalist Farage a metals trader and bolsanaro likewise a paratrooper,

narciso said...

If you look at the template of insiders vs outsiders it mostly works. Yes Berlusconi had ties to the old regime as does Bibi he was after all un ambassador but who they represent.

Michael K said...

Other than representing political factions loathesome to Freidmans sort.

They are "The Other." No need to be similar. Very tribal. Hilarious exchange today at Jerry Nadler's herring.

Nadler can't stand a black woman who is off the reservation.

walter said...

Hey..if Friedman wants to play the funding source game..game on.

Steven said...

In the only free, fair, and fully-contested election in the entire history of the Palestinian Arabs, they voted to give the genocidal Hamas a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006. Nor has there been any sign of a great change in the opinions of the Palestinians since then.

Once one truly understands and accepts this fact, it is completely clear why every Israeli election since then has elected a Netanyahu government.

Rory said...

If they're the same person, then aren't they Spartacus?

Gk1 said...

I read just a few paragraphs and you can actually visualize Freidman's rage generated spittle hitting his laptop screen as he type this. For a communist, jock sniffing, NYT columnist he sure is up tight these days. Wonder why?

Fen said...

Monday the Left insisted Trump was antisemitic and a harbinger of White Supremacy

Tuesday the Left says he's the leader of Israel.

narciso said...

And then he walks across the dining room in his palace sized home and lectures us on global warming

Richard Dillman said...

This harangue violates every principle of honest research and the use of resposible rhetoric that I am aware of. If this was submitted as an essay in my former advanced writing courses, I would have failed it.

W.B. Picklesworth said...

What Friedman does and what the Left is doing a lot of these days is taking something for which they are almost certainly responsible (the destruction of norms or making partisan the support of Israel) and blaming their enemies for it. This projection is somewhat effective in the short-term. There are plenty of people who want to believe it and plenty more who are too naive to realize that the Media is largely left-wing propaganda. But in the long-term their refusal to engage with other people and ideas in good faith make them stagnant. Intellectually, they aren't even banging their cousins anymore; they're copulating with closer kin.

Fen said...
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Fen said...

protected by Media outlets

So much so that Trump must get on Twitter to bypass the media that's shielding him?

The rest of the article is full of more howlers. How can anyone caution respect for the Judiciary and Journalism after the way the FBI, FISA Courts and Media have disgraced their institutions over the last 3 years?

This is fantasy narrative building. I discovered it on Facebook, when it finally occurred to me that liberals weren't posting this drek as an invitation to debate or fact-check, they were weaving an alternate reality, self-actualizing a drama where Hitler had seized power and they were the heroes making a brave stand. They posted for their own benefit, not anyone else's - like the note taped over their bathroom mirror that says "You are a wonderful person!"

He isn't posting this shit because he believes it, he's posting this shit to help himself believe it.

Fen said...

"Oh, I am all about getting back to norms"

Me too. Unfortunately, I don't think we can go back until we go forward - the Left must experience the hell the have created or they will do it again.

It's like taking an arrow to the chest. Sometimes you can't pull it out, you have to draw it all the way through and out.

Optimus Maximus said...

Friedman (who has been loony for years, more so since Trump was elected), is often a frequent "guest" speaker for AT&T employees, hosted/interviewed by the CEO of AT&T, Randall Stephens.

Just in case you were wondering why large corporations, like AT&T, are so "diversity" oriented and seem to care less and less about customer service.

Kirk Parker said...

rcocean,

Krugman actually is intelligent --or was, at any rate. He deserved his prize in economics as much as the average recipient in the last 20 years did. He actually wrote stuff worth paying attention.

And then... and then... and then... he accepted the position as Attack Dog Columnist at The Times, got the matching crazed-eye headshot, and all that are erudition just... ... ... disappeared.

Sad.

Greg Q said...

"four more years of Netanyahu, which is almost certain after Israel’s election on Tuesday, and six more years of Trump, which is a real possibility, will hasten the emergence of an America and an Israel where respect for civility, democracy, an independent judiciary and independent media"

An "independent judiciary"? This from the party of "Court Packing"?

"independent media"? Who all report the exact same things, from the exact same point of view?

In what possible valid meaning of that word are they "independent"?

rowrrbazzle said...

OMFG! WTF?

This can only be described as a frothing rant due to galloping paranoia. When did the NYT become The Nation?

Narayanan said...

Netanyahu, Benjamin ... He is the first Israeli Prime Minister born in Israel after the establishment of the state.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Which world leader(s) would you rather have Pres Trump resemble?

Quaestor said...

President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are essentially the same person...

The Doppelgänger Hypothesis. Somewhere, somehow you have a double... that's the gist of it. So who's Tommy Friedman's doppelgänger?

Chou En-lai?

Quaestor said...

Which world leader(s) would you rather have Pres Trump resemble?

Ooh! Me! Me! Me! Let me answer! Let me answer! I wanna answer before Ritmo shows up and makes an ass of himself.

Vladimir Putin.

There. Now, where's my cookie?

Kevin said...

Does anyone actually, seriously still read Freidman?

Tank said...

Steven at 9:49 sums it up. Hamas and Hezballah have caused the left to disappear.

TJM said...

Thomas Friedman, supporter of Red Chinese totalitarianism, is a joke and a purveyor of fake news.

zefal said...

Someone didn't leave any coke for the rest of us.

Martin said...

Has Friedman ever been right about anything? Not as far as I can tell.