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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Apple, America and the ‘China Problem’

The secret is out: Apple has a worm inching its way through its corporate flesh. January was a tough month on the Cupertino, California company venerated for its innovation and vision. The controversy emerged when an Apple contractor in China, a manufacturing facility known as Foxconn where many brand-name electronics are assembled largely by hand, …

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The Man Who Foretold Our Economic Fate

Over the past 40-some years the U.S. economy has become largely service based. At more than $40 trillion in debt with about $1T added every 100 days, it's instructive to look back on how many earlier financial warnings we ignored.