"One-party autocracy certainly has its drawbacks. But when it is led by a reasonably enlightened group of people, as China is today, it can also have great advantages. That one party can just impose the politically difficult but critically important policies needed to move a society forward in the 21st century."

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I'm sick of .sig files

OOH OOH OOH pick meeee I know...


It is none other than Thomas Friedman, NY Times journalist columnist (fifth column perhaps) and noted liberal author...


http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/thomaslfriedman/index.html

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"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

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I'm not saying China is an example of one, but it's a sad irony that an enlightened monarchy can be a better govt. than a democracy.

The drawback is that enlightened people don't always ascend to the throne - more often than not, I would guess, semi-tyrants do.

However, it is interesting that after decades of fearing and loathing Red China, the new China, with its blend of capitalism and communism, is looking more and more likely to one day eat our lunch and dinner.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

thomas friedman is no liberal, he's a zionist neocon. (and he's full of hot air.)

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"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."

They don't always ascend to the White House either.

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(='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your
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Typically, we have a right wing guy taking something out of context. Freidman's column was making the point that by essentially withdrawing from government, the Republican Party has created a de facto one-party state in America, but alas, one not able to accomplish anything at all thanks to the chaos the Republicans have introduced into the political system. If Mr. Bell has an objection to a one-party state, why does he belong to the political movement that has created one here in America?

Given the skill of Obama's oratory last night and the fact he may have single-handledly turned the health care debate around 180 degrees, perhaps you are misunderestimating him.

that is a highly optomistic opinion of his speech full of nothing last night....

The tyranny of the majority. No easy answer. Probably, over time, democracy comes out on top. Provides better opportunities for evolution.

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"A man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest"


"The Boxer" lyrics (1968)

~~Simon & Garfunkel

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2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

That is all dependent on how you define "better". In many ways, the Singapore govt is way more efficient at getting what it wants done. I will concede that it is much easier to do something then have a public referendum about whether to do it or not AFTER the decision is made. It gives you the illusion that you have some input when the policy is already signed, sealed and delivered. We can solve a lot of crime by imposing martial law too. So no, it is not a sad irony or anything like that. The question is what you are willing to give up. When we train dogs, we teach them using the "NILIF" method. Nothing In Life Is Free. We can make things very efficient if you are willing to be a ward of the state and surrender all your freedom and let whomever or whatever manage you.

Therein lies the problem, doesn't it? Are you willing to risk having Hitler II run the show? You can't have it both ways.

Well, that is just it. They are emerging from communism because it didn't work. Their "blend" is not permanent. They are in a constant state of evolution. I assume that someday, they too will be toppled by someone else who is more hungry. Sooner or later, they will start to get the same egalitarian ideas that we have and they will get tipped by someone else who doesn't have those ideas. The sad irony here is that while they are moving AWAY from communism, we are trying to move TOWARDS it.

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91 Vette with 383 motor
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Remember when the Chinese executed the head of their Food and Drug Administatrion over the tainted toothpaste? It's so retro it's progressive!

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1983 300D

The nothing you speak of comes from the Rr side of the aisle. It's status quo all the way baby.

I don't imagine they talk about Wendell Potter much on FOX, so you may not have heard of him. He got a wake up call and decided that the status quo, though it was making him rich, didn't work any more:

Wendell Potter can remember exactly when he took the first steps on
his journey to becoming a whistleblower and turning against one of the
most powerful industries in America.

It was July 2007 and Potter, a senior executive at giant US healthcare
firm Cigna, was visiting relatives in the poverty-ridden mountain
districts of northeast Tennessee. He saw an advert in a local paper
for a touring free medical clinic at a fairground just across the
state border in Wise County, Virginia.

Potter, who had worked at Cigna for 15 years, decided to check it out.
What he saw appalled him. Hundreds of desperate people, most without
any medical insurance, descended on the clinic from out of the hills.
People queued in long lines to have the most basic medical procedures
carried out free of charge. Some had driven more than 200 miles from
Georgia. Many were treated in the open air. Potter took pictures of
patients lying on trolleys on rain-soaked pavements.

For Potter it was a dreadful realization that healthcare in America
had failed millions of poor, sick people and that he, and the industry
he worked for, did not care about the human cost of their relentless
search for profits. "It was over-powering. It was just more than I
could possibly have imagined could be happening in America," he told
the Observer.

In another account I heard him give, on Bill Moyers PBS show, he said that shortly afterward, he was on a jet, first class, eating off of gold edged plates, fine silverware, just in the lap of luxury and he sorta had an epiphany.

The Rrs have nothing to add to the debate. It's a poor strategy.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

"You'll wonder where the yellow went,
When you brush your teeth with Pepsodent!!!"

__________________
1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Only because there was a stink about it. If not, he could buy his way out.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow