Joe Carter

Forget the oil spewing out of the bottom of the Gulf, we should be worried about the type of oil that spews out of the bottom of cows. Spilled milk, says the EPA and environmentalists, is an environmental hazard : Having watched the oil gushing in the Gulf of Mexico, dairy farmer Frank Konkel has a . . . . Continue Reading »

If you aren’t up to speed on the Alvin Greene story—the craziest tale in political news in a long, long time—then you need to see this clip from the Daily Show: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Alvin Greene Wins South Carolina Primary www.thedailyshow.com Daily . . . . Continue Reading »

[Note: Every Friday on First Thoughts we host a discussion about some aspect of pop culture. Today’s theme is opening credits to TV shows. Have a suggestion for a topic? Send them to me at jcarter@firstthings.com.] One of the most undervalued formats in television is the opening credit . . . . Continue Reading »

At Slate , Rosecrans Baldwin notices that novelists are quite attuned to the sound of a dog barking in the distance: Novelists can’t resist including a dog barking in the distance. I’ve seen it happen across the spectrum—Jackie Collins, William Faulkner, and Chuck Palahniuk: . . . . Continue Reading »

Timothy Dalrymple offers an intriguingly persuasive case that Tea Party movement could be considered a social justice campaign: Since it is intent on the formation of a more accountable and more restrained government that will better serve the interest of all Americans:  Is the Tea Party . . . . Continue Reading »

From the BBC comes the strangest, most awesome lead paragraph I’ve ever read in a news story: A German student “mooned” a group of Hell’s Angels and hurled a puppy at them before escaping on a stolen bulldozer, police have said. Anyone have an example of an opening paragraph . . . . Continue Reading »

At the Washington Post ‘s On Faith section, Mark Judge argues in “Lady Gaga is no Madonna” that his fellow conservatives don’t understand pop music . He starts out making a defensible case before attemping a bizarre contrarian interpretation of pop-star Madonna’s . . . . Continue Reading »

There are more slaves today than were seized from Africa in four centuries of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Human trafficking is occurring in every nation on earth— including the U.S. : The 373-page “Trafficking in Persons Report 2010” says some 12.3 million adults and children . . . . Continue Reading »

The painter of light has entered a dark period. Thomas Kinkade, the self-proclaimed (and trademarked) Painter of Light™, is beset with legal troubles. Several years ago, art gallery owners successfully sued his Kinkade’s Media Arts Group for millions after it was revealed that he and company officials used invoked God and their “higher calling” to hide the financial risks of the investments… . Continue Reading »

“Touchdown Jesus” statue destroyed by lightning : Touchdown Jesus, more properly known as King of Kings, was one of southwest Ohio’s best known — and biggest — landmarks: A fixture at the Solid Rock Church by Monroe, Ohio since it was completed in 2004, it had a 42-foot . . . . Continue Reading »