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Friedman: 'Dammit, you're not dreaming enough!'

Friedman: ‘Dammit, you’re not dreaming enough!’

Like shootin’ fish in a barrel. Me, six days ago:

Prediction: Tom will state that Bloom Energy changes everything!

Today from Friedman:

Several months ago, though, Sridhar took me into the parking lot behind Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters and showed me the inside of one of his Bloom Boxes, the size of a small shipping container. Inside were stacks of solid oxide fuel cells, stored in cylinders, and all kinds of whiz-bang parts that I did not understand.

[ . . . ]

Our politics has gotten so impossible lately, too many Americans have stopped dreaming.

Here’s my latest scorecard on Tommy’s ideas:

  • Free trade!
  • Invade the oil cartels! (aka, Suck On This)
  • Free trade, except for Silicon Valley!
  • Ambien!

Actually, he writes something even more inane today:

All I know is this: If we put a simple price on carbon, these new technologies would have a chance to blossom

There is already a simple price on carbon and TF knows it. Unfortunately, it is mispriced and artificial because of various policies, taxes and subsidies that will continue because there is an army of lobbyists screaming OMG! REAL CARBON PRICING IS THE END OF CIVILIZATION, and they know they have pet-dog pundits like Friedman who will provide the cover they need.

Tom Friedman must be held accountable

Tom Friedman must be held accountable

Admittedly, I have a burr up my behind about Tom Friedman’s ability to get paid gazillions for either stating the obvious, stating totally contradictory points, or stating something dangerously provocative – and not being held accountable for it.

And, I admit that Friedman seems to be popular among alternative energy villagers despite evidence that his main motivation seems to me to be little more than making the oil-rich nations “Suck. On. This.”

But, I totally don’t get how easy it is for him to swing (actually, how easily his editors and groupies let him get away with this) from a “free trader” to a  “big-stick” defender of Silicon Valley, to today being a pro-subsidy and industrial policy advocate for global semiconductor makers.

Prediction: Tom will state that Bloom Energy changes everything!