Joe Carter

[Bob Dylan] is not authentic at all. He’s a plagiarist, and his name and voice are fake. Everything about Bob is a deception. We are like night and day, he and I. — Joni Mitchell , giving me a soundbite that I can use to stir up the FT Dylan Lovers Club. I find it fascinating that the . . . . Continue Reading »

David : I thought the list was actually pretty good, though I agree that the order is ridiculous. Here is how I would rank those films: 1. The Godfather Part II (1974) 2. Toy Story 2 (1999) 3. The Dark Knight (2008) 4. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 5. Terminator 2 (1991) 6. . . . . Continue Reading »

America may be declining in every other way, but former poet laureate Charles Simic says poetry in this country is doing just fine : Over the years, I had read too many essays by literary critics and even poets, which proclaimed confidently that poetry is universally despised and read by . . . . Continue Reading »

With a stroke of a pen, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the country’s strictest state law governing illegal immigration—and revived the national debate over immigration. Peter Meilaender examines the issue in our latest On the Square feature, ” Defending the Innocent: Arizona and . . . . Continue Reading »

First Things editor Joseph Bottum will be a keynote speaker next month at a major conference on defending human dignity through love: The Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project is proud to collaborate with the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in hosting a major international conference in . . . . Continue Reading »

At the Center for a Just Society, Nathan Hitchen has a superb essay in which he argues that religion must be the centerpiece of a successful U.S. public diplomacy efforts: The success of U.S. democracy promotion in the Middle East hangs on the credibility of American policymakers to empathetically . . . . Continue Reading »

Ever since Mary Poppins flew in on her umbrella, Americans have believed in the magical powers of British nannies. Unruly, uncouth brats merely need to receive a stern rebuke in an English accent, whereupon they become docile, mannerly, lovely, and decent. Or at least that’s the myth, the . . . . Continue Reading »

A Haitian judge has dropped the kidnapping charges against all ten American missionaries detained for trying to take children out of the country after the January 12 earthquake. However,  Laura Silsby, the group’s leader, remains in jail and still faces a charge of organizing the illegal . . . . Continue Reading »

Time magazine is devoting an upcoming cover story to the fiftieth anniversary of the anniversary of “The Pill.” In reply, Albert Mohler reflects on the significance of the event—and how evangelicals failed to foresee the detrimental implications: Within a decade of the Pill’s . . . . Continue Reading »

Mexico allows visual artists to pay their taxes with artworks: That’s the deal Mexico has offered to artists since 1957, quietly amassing a modern art collection that would make most museum curators swoon. As the 2009 tax deadline approaches, tax collectors are getting ready to receive a whole . . . . Continue Reading »