Three years ago we witnessed the extraordinary spectacle of an entire political party taking sides against a virtue. The Republican Party united to denounce empathy. The proximate cause for that weird little tantrum was President Barack Obama’s statement that empathy was a desirable quality in a Supreme Court justice. That was an unremarkable comment. Of course empathy is a prerequisite for a justice because empathy is a prerequisite for justice itself. Every basis for justice — legal, religious, rational —... Read more

I’ve been listening to Bruce Springsteen’s “American Skin (41 Shots)” over and over since linking to that song the other day. Springsteen has added it to the set list for his current tour, playing it in Tampa, Fla., last week and dedicating it to Trayvon Martin. The song was written after the killing of Amadou Diallo in February of 1999 by New York City police officers. Diallo was unarmed. When he reached for his wallet, four policemen shot him 41... Read more

Am I seeing things, or does Rick Santorum’s weird photoshop morphing of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney look kind of like Jason Robards? “Woman Who Isn’t Racist But vs. Guy Who Doesn’t Hate Gays He Is Just Saying That’s All” “I don’t write to them. I don’t write for them. And I don’t write at them.” “These are impulses born of panic in the face of modernity, and fear before an amorphous ‘other.'” “If there is no clearly stated directive... Read more

I still love the evangelical ritual of sharing “personal testimonies.” In our evangelical churches, the practice has often calcified into something less honest — with stories told more to match others’ expectations, or the tellers’ perceptions of those expectations. Stories told in that way tend to all sound the same. But the basic idea — Hello, here is my story, this is who I am so far — remains a powerful thing. Stories aren’t arguments, and they don’t call for... Read more

“The Greatest Gift.” Well played. “Grab ’em by the throat and never let ’em go.” “Don’t ever underestimate what the Objectivists are capable of. I beg you not to get involved …” “Satanic message producers have several key responsibilities and working closely with talent is one of the most important.” “It seems that unattractive but horny young men with neither brains nor morals end up with all sorts of difficulties.” (via Off the Kuff) “Mitt Romney’s political viewpoints can be... Read more

Somewhat brain-fried at the moment, so here’s the beginnings of a list I started keeping off to the side after marking the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens. “Dickensian” names is a bit of a slippery category — something to do with meter, with allusions to King James or Victorian English, and with a delightful mix of concrete nouns and sheer whimsy. The standard I’m using here is extremely subjective — can I imagine a character in a Dickens story having... Read more

“I see a little silhouetto of a man. …” “Jose Hernandez is an astronaut.” “Which would make its history even stranger than anyone had previously thought.” (via) A collection of potential cover designs for Rachel Held Evans’ new book. (Background here.) “Think you have the right to vote? Not so much!” “One of the things that happened in Idaho was that the legislators assumed people weren’t going to pay very much attention.” “#ididnotreport” “For all the huffing and blowing we... Read more