Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

You cannot shame the shameless.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Second rate reporter says what?

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

No one could have predicted…

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Come on, man.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

Peak wingnut was a lie.

I really should read my own blog.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

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Taxi driver

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Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman hosts this timely forum, bringing together chief executive officers, tech pioneers, government officials, influential decision-makers and scholars to discuss the new world economy, opportunities and challenges. We will explore the complex dynamics of new-world infrastructure, especially the transformative electronic, digital and mobile environment. Attendees can expect invaluable insights into strategies for success in today’s new world order.

Reader Interactions

100Comments

  2. 2.

    Forum Transmitted Disease

    Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman hosts this timely forum, bringing together chief executive officers, tech pioneers, government officials, influential decision-makers and scholars to discuss the new world economy, opportunities and challenges.

    Working people can go fuck themselves, I see.

  13. 13.

    Amir Khalid

    … bringing together chief executive officers, tech pioneers, government officials, influential decision-makers and scholars …

    … but no taxi drivers from Bangalore? I haz a sad.

  14. 14.

    patroclus

    Unfortunately, it’ll probably be about six months before anyone will be able to fully comprehend the brilliant analysis and insights that the host will share with this forum.

  19. 19.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    @Roger Moore:

    My cat likes my little Eureka mighty mite but hates the upright. I can “suck” his fur and zap him in the butt and he challenges the small tank vac but it’s feet don’t fail him now once the upright is turned on.

  21. 21.

    sherparick

    I am sure there will be lots of talk about the “deficit” and “tax reform” (a/k/a as cutting taxes on rich people) and how we need to shift money on spending on the “old” (e.g. those actually depend on Social Security and Medicare to survive and shift money to “investments,” especially “public-private partnerships” where all the profits go to the private and all the risks go to the public. About unemployment, especially long-term unemployment, I expect not so much. Jared Bernstein talked about how where the power is pretty much dictates such conversations. http://jaredbernsteinblog.com/the-preferences-of-the-wealthy-and-their-role-in-our-politics/

  22. 22.

    Morzer

    I am betting the real Friedman strategy (marry a rich, gullible woman) isn’t likely to be the focus of discussion.

  23. 23.

    Chris

    Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman hosts this timely forum, bringing together chief executive officers, tech pioneers, government officials, influential decision-makers and scholars

    How’s the view from up there?

  25. 25.

    Anoniminous

    Thomas L. Friedman argues that while we were focused on post-9/11 and the subprime crisis/recession, something very big happened: we have built a whole new infrastructure for the world—an electronic, digital, mobile plumbing system that is the real lasting story of the moment.

    No Tommy. Take that “we” and shove it. You were focused on taxi drivers and golf courses. You did bugger all nothing to building anything.

    Looking at the agenda … it’s completely Start of the Art as of 1998. Same gaggle of goons spewing the same old horseshit.

  26. 26.

    Mike in NC

    The Koch brothers also put on an annual forum for CEOs and other influential types. Wonder if there’s any overlap?

  27. 27.

    celticdragonchick

    You forgot a few tags on this one:

    Bobbleheads
    Broderism
    “He has a book to sell”
    Kabuki
    Media Village Idiots
    Moustache of Understanding
    Serious Person
    We Are All Mayans Now-

  31. 31.

    Monkeyfister

    Six months from now, this will be hailed as a remarkable success, I am sure of it.

  36. 36.

    Eric U.

    @Morzer: the whole problem with rich, gullible women is that they sometimes are only rich because they own investment vehicles that fail, and fail big. I’m thinking that Tommy is a little worried about how much money his wife has now that the family business tanked

    @Anoniminous: looks like TeD after traumatic brain injury, if that’s even possible

  37. 37.

    Comrade Dread

    When we all have cybernetic implants that alter our perceptions of reality, I will pay cash money to the first of you geniuses who can make translate the pie filter to that device, so all words, images, sounds and articles generated from the media circle jerk are replaced with images of Strawberry-Banana Cream Pie.

  38. 38.

    Bokonon

    We’ve built a digital, mobile plumbing system?

    And that’s a bigger deal than the systemic financial and economic and political crises of the last few years?

    Wowsers. You mean to tell me that people actually pay money to hear that sort of insight? I am in the wrong business.

  39. 39.

    Forum Transmitted Disease

    So he’s moving into outright grifting now. I guess it shouldn’t be a big surprise.

    @Roger Moore: Next stop on that train: congressional representative.

    I think we know which party affiliation he’ll be running under.

  40. 40.

    gbear

    @Yutsano: It’s the only way they can get anyone to show up.

    Love the city, hate the twits.

    Edit: after finding out it was in SF, I cancelled my asteroid order.

  42. 42.

    Anoniminous

    @catclub:

    “The real lasting story of the moment” or six months. Which ever comes first.

    @Eric U.:

    At least the TeD Talkers have some vague idea of what they are talking about.

  43. 43.

    grape_crush

    @patroclus: Damn! You beat me to using that reference, FU!

    Anyone needing to book time with Tommy Friedman in order to have things ‘stache-splained to them is probably already a dinosaur in whatever field he works in.

  45. 45.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    We keep putting out prime Meteor Bait, and yet no Meteor ever shows up. I’m beginning to think that The Flying Meteor Monster is just a myth.

  46. 46.

    Zifnab

    Attendees can expect invaluable insights into strategies for success in today’s new world order.

    Least intimidating Illuminati reference E-VAR.

  48. 48.

    Sophist

    Sweet fancy Moses. Please tell me this is just a scam to lure all these people into a rocket disguised as a convention center, and that when everyone’s inside they’ll weld the doors shut and fire it into the sun.

  49. 49.

    jl

    I find this agenda item intriguing.

    “What You Don’t Know Is Coming”

    Seems like it could be read several ways.

    At least it is in SF. More tourist bucks! Yay for us. And it might be easy to get Prof. De Long to come over the bridge and make a few comments on Friedman’s economic thought. I wonder whether they thought of that.

    I also liked what looked like a clip of UCLA in the clip. Go, gritty little Bruins!

  51. 51.

    Sophist

    @muddy:

    Awful lotta white guys

    That’s the “new world order” for ya.

    Meet the New World Order, same as the Old World Order.

  55. 55.

    jl

    @muddy:

    There’s a Business Columnist and Culture Reporter from the The New York Times.

    I guess if Friedman is there, they don’t need an economist.

    I’ll tell them De Long is nearby and handy. He can represent the Krugman/Stiglitz/Galbraith nexus. (Edit: a nexus BTW which is hyper interconnected and therefore should be of interest, even if they don’t agree on every little thing).

  57. 57.

    RaflW

    @tomgara
    The Friedman Forum is June 20, so we all still have time to grow our authoritative moustaches in preparation.

  59. 59.

    liberal

    @jl:
    DeLong has made too many obsequious noises in the direction of Alan “Public Enemy #1” Greenspan to represent anything respectable.

  60. 60.

    jl

    @Sophist:
    @RaflW:

    ” a scam to lure all these people into a rocket disguised as a convention center ”

    Wasn’t there a gimmick like that in an old Sim City? Everything is even more digitally hyper interconnected now, so you can never tell.

  62. 62.

    jl

    @liberal: True, but I doubt he would do that act at the Friedman Fest SF. But, he does talk way too slow, so maybe Krugman or Stiglitz will be in town.

  66. 66.

    Timurid

    So I assume it will be a lot more “GREAT NEWS the coming EXCITING CHALLENGING DYNAMIC social economic technological PARADIGM SHIFTS will turn the least accomplished 90% of you into EXPENDABLE MEATSACKS. Are you all as TOTALLY STOKED about that as I AM?! AVERAGE IS OVER, MOTHERFUCKER!”

  67. 67.

    Gin & Tonic

    Just wanted to say, on behalf of moustache-wearers all over America, Tommy is the unfortunate exception to our wit and coolness. He’s almost tempted me to shave in disgust.

  68. 68.

    Eric U.

    @jl: every time someone talks about launching a rocket full of undesirables into the sun I think of Hitchhiker’s Guide. Although I can’t think of what these people could conceivably be saving us from, too much prosperity?

    @Another Halocene Human: I know more than one dog that loves to lick a stream of compressed air. I assume the vacuum is similar

  71. 71.

    Another Halocene Human

    @GxB: Don’t tempt me. I know about Yahoo! comments. I will not get out of the boat.

  72. 72.

    Amir Khalid

    Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman hosts this timely forum, bringing together chief executive officers, tech pioneers, government officials, influential decision-makers and scholars to discuss the new world economy, opportunities and challenges to congratulate each other and the forum attendees on being the heppest and savviest and most influential dudes on the planet.

  73. 73.

    ericblair

    I can summarize the conference for only $495:

    The future is like today, only more so.

    Marry money.

    I guess I should have got your credit card info before telling you the big secrets, but I guess I’m not as smart as Timmeh.

  75. 75.

    Anoniminous

    @Gin & Tonic:

    “A well haired upper lip, being necessary to the cognitive functioning of a free State, the right of men to keep and bear mustaches, shall not be infringed.”

    I will give up my mustache when they pry it from my cold, dead, face.

  76. 76.

    kc

    Attendees can expect invaluable insights into strategies for success in today’s new world order.

    Hahaha, what a load of crap.

  77. 77.

    srv

    Quick, we need to lease a hundred google cars, offer them to the eventees and program them to drive off of one of Larry’s piers.

    Or something more Daniel Suarez-ish.

  79. 79.

    Roger Moore

    Attendees can expect invaluable insights into strategies for success in today’s new world order.

    Somebody seems to have confused “invaluable” with “valueless”.

  81. 81.

    Tara the Antisocial Social Worker

    I parked my Lexus on the flat earth under the olive tree, and entered the conference which was hot and crowded.

  87. 87.

    Bokonon

    You know one of the coolest features of the New World Order that has developed?

    It is the high intellectual caliber of today’s cab drivers. You have people with PhDs and other advanced degrees driving cabs. It is just awesome!

    So you can get actually unusually good insights and analyses from your cab drivers, while they are taking you from one very important meeting to another. Not just common man stuff!

    Because … the world is flat! And tons of people are jobless! Ain’t it terrific?

  91. 91.

    David Fud

    He has been talking about a carbon tax on his book tour to make up $1.2 trillion over ten years. If that is a signal of new thinking from the conservative side, I am all for at least having the discussion, at least for one Friedman unit or so.

  93. 93.

    chopper

    Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman hosts this timely forum, bringing together chief executive officers, tech pioneers, government officials, influential decision-makers and scholars to discuss the new world economy, opportunities and challenges.

    please let the next sentence be “and then we blow up the building”.

  94. 94.

    Morzer

    @Yastreblyansky:

    I am an evil person. Your post gave me a warm glow of inner satisfaction. How, if David Brooks could only be reduced to penury and washing the dishes in a halal restaurant….

  95. 95.

    GxB

    @Another Halocene Human: You are correct in that the comments are enough to make you wish for more and bigger meteors, nothing new there, but the accompanying vid with two talking heads is pretty scathing. Yeah they throw the GOP a bone or two, but the one guy is pretty chuffed. A good sign when the rank and file are starting to indicate they ain’t buying what Ryan and Co. are selling. Even better that it’s taking place on the likes of Yahoo finance.

  97. 97.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    I can see some of the topics for discussion
    BULLWHIPS OR CATTLE PRODS, WHICH IS BETTER FOR PRODUCTIVITY?
    HEY AMERICANS SUCK IT UP YOU CAN LIVE ON A BANGLADESHI INCOME!!!!
    GOD MEANT US TO BE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE!!! OBEY GOD OR GO TO HELL!!!!
    WHAT TO DO WITH THE SURPLUS POPULATION, AND ADVANTAGES OF SOYLENT GREEN!

  98. 98.

    Lurking Canadian

    It might be interesting to go there to see if it is literally possible to cover San Francisco Bay in meaningless corporate catchphrases, or only figuratively possible.

  100. 100.

    Yastreblyansky

    @Morzer: Halal is a beautiful touch. And may Douthat be seduced by a luscious (or downright chunky) siren who thinks abortions are a great adventure and lose his faith and go get hepatitis in India trying to figure out what went wrong.

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