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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The Price of Cheap: The Hidden Cost of E-Commerce

Oil companies say that demand will never be the same and that refinery cutbacks are necessary to boost sagging profits. Meanwhile, more cash-strapped shoppers are looking to save money and time shopping online. What do these seemingly separate trends have to do with one another? A lot more than you might think. Learn why e-commerce may contribute to increasing fuel prices, inflation and a retail landscape of tomorrow that hardly resembles anything we know today.

American Competitiveness: The New Untouchables or The New Half Truth?

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman makes a superficially compelling case for reforming education in pursuit of American Competitiveness. But is he overstating its promise?