. . . you can thank/blame the Steelers, for beating the Washington Redskins.

. . . Or McCain, for speaking at halftime with EMPTY SEATS and DISINTERESTED PEOPLE behind him. Hey John--this race is televised!

Did you see this? It's like he wants to lose!

(Sorry I can't share it--ABCnews.com is all messed up.)

A make a daily stop at post-gazette.com Go there today, just to see the ad that jumps at you.

I have never seen an ad like that at that site.



It's interesting that my home state is in play. It has been blue state for the past two elections (at least). For a really good analysis on the crazy electoral dynamics of PA, check out This American Life:

Vote tomorrow. Root for the Stillers tonight.

I told tiny that my comment was too long and became a post, so now I have to back it up.

But I was lying.

The party was fun. Now I have to begin my novel.

I know that some people are coming out against it, but I have to think that in reality, they are not. If you are not in favor of "redistribution of wealth," than why do you work/invest/by/sell/trade? If you hope to receive an inheritance, than you expect your parent's wealth to be redistributed to you. If you have an interest-bearing bank account, then a borrowers' wealth is being redistributed to you. A lottery ticket is redistributing many small pieces of wealth, in the hopes of receiving a large redistribution.

Most people, when they say this, really mean that they prefer a "market-based" redistribution of wealth. Most of the time (because some people enter a market with advantages), in a completely open market, wealth becomes re-distributed by becoming concentrated. A concentration of wealth is the opposite of what is commonly referred to as "spreading the wealth around."

Nobody wants their wealth to be redistributed into somebody else's concentration, but everybody wants their concentration to grow.

If people do not think they will enjoy their wealth, than people will lose the incentive to work. Sometimes, high taxes discourage them from working. Other times, a market out of control discourages people, (as in "I owe my life to the company store.") Both must be checked.

I could go on regarding the different ways that tax policy encourages the re-distribution of wealth in different directions, but that isn't my point right now. My point is: everybody wants wealth redistributed. The only question is, how?

It's not going to be a big party (like Friday) but some friends are gathering at my house to watch mean girls tomorrow night (Thurs). Call my cell for the address: 510-7086.



I really like this movie. On the surface, it's a teen film, but underneath it is a study in Girard's understanding of the scapegoat, and how religion is born out of memetic imitation and the violence to which it leads leads.