Not to be outdone by Brooks's simple-minded column on immigration, Thos. Friedman pulls out all the stops with his metaphor-o-thon!:
Gated Community: When it comes to immigration, Friedman wants "a very high fence, with a very big gate." That means tamperproof ID cards, which are like a fence you keep in your pocket if you want health care.Sports Team: Talented foreigners are "first-round intellectual draft choices."Ye Age of Talente: We now live in the "Talent Age, and countries that make it easy to draw in human talent will have a distinct advantage today."Immigrants --> Cool Toys: Switzerland's most famous invention is the lowly cuckoo clock because it is difficult to immigrate to Switzerland. I suppose our most famous invention is the hamburger because we were savvy enough to open our shores...Asian Immigrants are Economic Viagra: The "huge pent-up aspirations" of China and India are like a shaken Champagne bottle -- "Don't get in the way of that cork. Immigrants keep that kind of energy flowing in America's veins." Friedman is silent about what kind of wonder drug non-Asian immigrants might be.
Money quote #1: "Porous borders empower only anti-immigrant demagogues, like the shameful CNN, which dumbs down the whole debate." Pot, meet kettle. Kettle, pot.
Money quote #2: "...many [factory] jobs can now be done faster by a computer or cheaper by a Chinese worker." Hah! Friedman-- you admit there's a difference. Gotcha!
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