Patrick,
et al,
I can to some degree, understand your diehard faith in the un-foul-ability of the American Democratic system, and the institutions that have brought the nation that put a man on the moon, to having our astronauts hitchhiking into space.
Friedman is an archtype libfascist. He's praised China as a country where leaders can "get things done" without the bother of getting it democratically approved as in the U.S. Like all libfascists, he's dripping with arrogance. He's an exponent of the libfascist notion that government should be run by "experts" in an administrative state. We've seen some of that with obama, and the results that come from the "experts" - obamacare, trillions more in national debt with nothing to show for it, an endless deep recession, unconstitutional acts by the Ear Man, cut-and-run from two wars, Iran about to develope a nuke, islamofascist takeover in egypt and probably other arab countries, etc etc etc
Friedman is not a liberal fascist, in the sense that he even remotely expresses the ideals of the early 20th Century Model devised by Mussolini. He does express a need for American Institutions to be more patriotic and act more in the best interest of the nation. He opposes the Gordon Gecko
(The character in the Movie: Wall Street) approach that "Greed is Good."
Some of your examples may be very questionable:
The current Administration is NOT run by experts, any more than the "Whiz Kids" were the experts during Vietnam, or that the PNAC Fellowship represented expert talent in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The current Administration is not really responsible for the Trillion Dollar debt, as it was accumulated over the Bush administration.
The "Cut'n'Run" mantra is just a rationalization of what is happening. We (the US) was asked to leave Iraq; and after a decade of struggle in Afghanistan ---
(longer than WWII and longer than Vietnam), it is time to try something different. As is often quoted, you can do the same things over and over again - and expect much difference in the results. And we've been doing the same things, over and over again, since Vietnam.
Most people tend to think that "terrorism" and "Iran" are real threats. But if you look at the much bigger picture, the Economy and Debt are the biggest threats to our national security. And in that regard, Friedman is in very good company.
- Joint Chiefs Chairman: Debt Is Top Security Threat - The Joint ...
www.zimbio.com/.../Joint+Chiefs+Chairman+Debt+Top+Security+Th...
Jan 5, 2012 – Adm. Mike Mullen, the nation's senior military official, recently described the national debt as America's “biggest national security threat. ...
- Adm. Mike Mullen: 'National Debt Is Our Biggest Security Threat'
www.huffingtonpost.com/.../adm-mike-mullen-national_n_624096.h...
Jun 24, 2010 – America's highest-ranking military official thinks the U.S. has bigger security problems than al-Qaeda, suicide bombers and an increasingly ...
- Mullen: Debt is top national security threat - CNN
articles.cnn.com/.../debt.security.mullen_1_pentagon-budget-national...
Aug 27, 2010 – The national debt is bad for the military, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen is telling business men and women and others on ...
- Lexington: Terrible swift sword | The Economist
www.economist.com/node/21540257
Nov 26, 2011 – IN THE summer of 2010 Admiral Mike Mullen, then still chairman of ...that the biggest security threat facing the nation was the national debt. ...
Be less hard on Friedman and tougher on those 535 lazy ass bums that represent our leadership. Its time that they actually act in the best interest of the nation, and concentrate on the problems at home which once made America Great.
Just One Man's Opinion,
Most Respectfully,
R
