Southern Beale (who got "Best Liberal" in Nashville Scene's "Best of Nashville" issue, yaaaaay) spins a fantasy and views the fact that a Kentucky senator fails to check Snopes.com before blathering in public with alarm, as well one should.

Terrance of Republic of T on empathy and the conservative horror of it:

However, when I put it in the context of popular and growing movements like Occupy Wall Street and We are the 99 Percent, and even the movements in Wisconsin and Ohio, I was not surprised to see Brooks holding forth on the shortcomings of empathy. The success of these progressive movements constitute a powerful challenge to conservatives.
[...]
Empathy makes casting moral judgments upon others more complicated and more difficult, because seeing something of our reality in them gives them a context — a “story” like our own, which frames their choices and actions with complexities that bleed over into our stories and those of others.

For conservatives like Brooks, empathy in government becomes even more troublesome, because it subverts morality by shielding people from the consequences of their sins.  [Emphasis in original.]

And then he gets nasty.

And for the win:  Shark-fu:

I’m weary of the never ending circle of over the top insult followed by defensiveness followed by frustration with folk for being offended by offensive shit followed by apologies for “if anyone was insulted” that contain dismissive language about “intent” followed by calls for dialogue that assume people of color possess unlimited quantities of understanding and forgiveness.

Oddly enough, I had weird dream-fu involving an ex and I having a regular normal conversation while waiting for a bus.  Although the bus never showed and eventually we tried to chase it down...