High Contrast: Thomas Kinkade’s Art, Life & Controversy

There is something attractive about defrocking a figure of faith-and-family-values virtue, particularly one of great commercial success who has endeared himself to an endangered minority: the American middle class. The late Thomas Kinkade, who died of unnamed causes Friday, made an easy target. The self-anointed "painter of light" specialized in idealized scenes hearkening to a more …

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Sen. Pearce vs. Cardinal Mahony: Leaders Behaving Badly

When church and state leaders on opposing sides of a divide sling mud we all lose: Why Arizona Sen. Russell Pearce and Los Angeles Archbishop Cardinal Roger Mohony need to "think different" about how they debate immigration reform.

Joe the Plumber: The Real Untouchable

Curt Eysink is an unpopular man. Less than three months after assuming his post as executive director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, he told a panel charged with overhauling the state's higher education system: "We're producing a workforce that we cannot employ in Louisiana." The apparent problem? Too many four-year college grads and not enough low-skill and vocational trade workers. …