The recent McMegan outbursts and the promotion of Scott Brown’s daughter to a slot on CBS had me wondering about our obviously successful meritocracy when it occurred to me- does Tom Friedman have children, and how old are they?
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Kryptik
I’m scared if anyone in the Krauthammer or Douthat families go into the business.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
I got nothin’
Comrade Javamanphil
There’s a whole load of Palins approaching working age…
BombIranForChrist
Hopefully, when Friedman’s children grow up, they will want to go into something more respectable, like porn.
Elizabelle
WWJBD? Love it.
Palins of working age? Quick, get ’em government jobs or government support of some sort. It’s the Alaskan former half-term first family way.
I think Friedman has college-age daughters. As to whether they look like they were spawned by Scott Brown and his news anchor wife, I cannot say.
El Cid
Relevant-ish:
G. William Domhoff, also quoted [oops, a year ago, though the topic’s come up again] in the New York Times‘ look at the discussion that maybe Obama should nominate a non-Ivy leaguer for Sup Justice.
Brian J
In all fairness to Friedman, didn’t he actually work his way up? Granted, his wife was loaded, which probably helped him with any troubles, but still…
Lev
I predict right here, right now that Scott Brown runs for president in 2012. The GOP field has nothing, and it’ll be easier than getting his ass whupped by Mike Capuano for the Senate.
He won’t win, and he probably won’t even matter, but why not?
mr. whipple
Man, the voters of VA sure elected a wingnutter Gov.
jeffreyw
Hugged your kids today?
jeffreyw
Obama’s health care project on Frontline right now.
demkat620
@mr. whipple: New face of the GOP, same as the old face of the GOP.
SSDD.
The Populist
Bush proved to me we live in a society where merit and hard work mean diddly. Ownership society my ass. It’s only an ownership society for the kids of the super rich and the banker/broker/exec classes.
Polish the Guillotines
Six months?
beltane
To continue from the McArdle thread, it is my hope that when she finally settles down in her dream house, she quickly learns that her next door neighbors are in to loud sex and wild parties. I trust that as a good libertarian, she will not even consider calling the cops.
ericblair
@mr. whipple:
Don’t blame me, I voted for Kodos.
Paris
Friedman’s kids went to play in the basement, got lost, and no one’s heard from them since. The hazards of living in a mansion the size of many small countries.
MinneapolisPipe
I think we should appoint Todd Palin to the Deficit Reduction Commission.
arguingwithsignposts
Since this is an open thread, I have a special request. I have a very dear friend who has a cat who may have a very dire medical situation (can’t be more specific). This person will know in a couple of days whether the situation is really bad. I’d ask the animal lovers of the BJ community for whatever positive thoughts, prayers, or whatever to send to this person. This cat means a lot to her, and it’s not something that she needs right now.
thanks
Polish the Guillotines
@arguingwithsignposts: You bet.
slag
All I know is that he has a house of ridiculous size. What he puts in it is something I’d rather not know.
Also, I’m pretty sure our country’s in-breeding problem is rivaling Britain’s at this point. At least theirs is mostly just genetic.
Calouste
@El Cid:
That whole organization thing only exists to formalize the unofficial aristocracy in the US. If the Constitution allowed to hand out titles of nobility, the overlap between those two groups would be almost perfect.
Cerberus
@El Cid:
Great quote.
And yeah, I think the idea of a “meritocracy” in the Horatio Alger sense was the greatest tool of class rigidity for American plutocrats. By selling wealth as something that anyone could reach if they just tried hard enough, they could both claim that they somehow “earned” their high positions while simultaneously getting their “lessers” to guilt-trip themselves and assume that their class rigidity was due to personal failures rather than systemic issues.
Just throw out an exceptional “rags to riches” story every so often that glosses over some random bit of luck (such as a run-in with a wealthy friend who was willing to invest in a new company, a lottery winning, the sudden death of a wealthy relative, etc…) and you’ll have the middle class and lower class fighting with each other and hating themselves instead of combining together to fight wealth consolidation in the hands of the wealthy.
Brilliant.
Brian J
@Lev:
Since we’re making predictions, let me suggest that at least one, if not both, of the major parties will have a Hispanic on the ticket in the next two cycles. In 2012, I don’t see it being the Democrats, if only because there’s no particular reason for Biden to step down, but in 2016, it’ll either be a woman or a Hispanic, or maybe a Hispanic woman. The Republicans are much more likely to nominate one, if only because they are fighting against demographics, but the question is who. Finding a Hispanic Republican isn’t nearly as hard as finding a black one, but still, it’s not as if the bench is deep.
That’s why I think it’s important to keep an eye on Marc Rubio in Florida. If he wins, there could even be pressure for him to run in 2012. Unlike Scott Brown, he actually appears to be a wing nut.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
@jeffreyw: OH yea, several times.
Sentient Puddle
Are you talking about the right McMegan? Is McArdle the daughter of someone famous or something?
HRA
@arguingwithsignposts:
Absolutely.
arguingwithsignposts
@Sentient Puddle: She’s the daughter of a well-connected NYC pol.
Mark S.
Continuing with McMegan, expert on DC landlord tenant law:
That, of course, is total bullshit:
Ugh, I was so happy the couple of months where I refused to click any link to McMegan. I’m going to have to go back to that.
Sentient Puddle
@arguingwithsignposts: Ah, did not know. Thanks for clearing that up.
SiubhanDuinne
@arguingwithsignposts: Your friend, and her (?) cat, have my best loving wishes.
Funkhauser
At least one of Friedman’s daughters attends, or recently attended, Yale.
And then there’s this: http://www.npr.org/about/nextgen/internedition/sum08/bios.html
I thought we covered this topic a while ago.
Linda Featheringill
@jeffreyw: That is one sweet picture!
jl
Calm down. Don’t sic Tunch on anybody’s kids. Take a deep breath.
Xenos
@El Cid: Having gone to a couple of not-quite-top tier prep schools, all I can say is that you have no idea how subtle yet totalizing the elitist bullshit that those institutions are paid to indoctrinate wealthy youth. The proliferation of expensive and elitist (and often not very good) private schools is a real problem for this country. Exhibit A is Tucker Carlson (St. Georges’). Exhibit B is Jay Severin (Milton). These schools exist in order to produce people like that.
Martin
Whats’ the over/under on Trig Palin getting an op ed gig at WaPo before his 25th birthday?
FiveInchTaint
While we’re talking about meritocracy, New York is going to start charging working homeless people rent if they want to sleep inside. Up to 44% of their income, or $950/month for a family making $25K a year. What lucky duckies.
birthmarker
Yeah, it’s pretty brutal over at McMegan’s place. I swear John and DougJ are commenting there under pseudonyms.
How does one who writes for a living get away with mistakes like this?
Proofread, woman!!
Comrade Kevin
Friedman has two daughters, both in their mid-twenties.
PaulW
As long as the Gore daughters got jobs, everyone gets jobs.
Except for those of us without the families in key locations. Which is about 27 – 32 million of us.
El Cid
STOP MOCKING TRIG PALIN!
Also, too.
Mnemosyne
@Brian J:
That’s the really pernicious thing — sure, Friedman worked hard. So does the guy at McDonald’s. The difference between the two of them is the opportunities that were offered to them through their connections.
I’ll give you an example from graduate school. I was in a good screenwriting program (not USC) and exactly one (1) person was able to get a staff writing job on a TV show right after graduation. Why? Because, unlike the rest of us, she didn’t have to work for a living, so she was able to do a full-time unpaid internship on a TV show for a full year.
Does that mean she’s a horrible, untalented person? Of course not. She’s very talented. But it does mean that her unrelated advantages moved her career onto the fast track. Same with Friedman — the advantages he had that were unrelated to his career (his rich wife) gave him a leg up over the competition.
Keith
If any of them are old enough to grow mustaches and/or clog toilets, then it is already too late.
Peter J
I have a hunch that they both are flat chested.
thomas Levenson
@Polish the Guillotines: Win
Nutella
Check out this interesting series of articles from another scion of the ruling class, with this very nice line:
Cacti
I don’t understand how the Republican hoi polloi silence the cognitive dissonance of claiming they support “Meritocracy”
-While hating men who succeeded on their own merits, like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama
-And loving scions of privilege like George W. Bush and W. Mitt Romney