U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a message of mutual cooperation at a meeting Sunday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang‚ highlighting the improvement in relations since her visit to China last year while recognizing that major differences remain.After focusing on trade and economic issues for the first two days of her visit‚ Yellen turned to the broader U.S.-China relationship in the meeting with Li‚ one of Chinas top leaders.While we have more to do‚ I believe that‚ over the past...

The final inspirations of a rock icon.The post Back to Blues: The songs Brian Jones was in love with before his death first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

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GROVE CITY‚ Pa. This Monday afternoon‚ early in the 3 p.m. EST hour‚ I joined a throng on the campus of Grove City College to stare upward at the sky. That isnt something we normally do. We did so in hopes of seeing an eclipsed Sun‚ estimated to be around 97 percent in our area.Eclipse mania swept these parts in recent days. On Saturday‚ I drove I-80 from the Penn State exit to the Grove City exit about 24 miles from Ohio. Much of that route was ideal for eclipse watching today. At one point along that stretch is the highest elevation on I-80 east of the Mississippi River.Electronic signs along the interstate warned drivers about traffic on this Monday‚ April 8. The aim was for drivers to keep their eyes on the road rather than the sky. Given the way people drive‚ that was good advice. A lingering question would be whether drivers would pause to decelerate from their normal obscene speed limits while staring upward. My guess was probably not (just as they dont slow down for construction workers).In fact‚ I read a piece this morning about dramatic spikes in car crashes during eclipses. Does that surprise anyone?But on the quad of Grove City Colleges campus‚ protected by trees and buildings‚ we had no fears of getting run over by speeding SUVs. The crowd stood at attention‚ heads fixed upward.To be sure‚ not every student stayed here for the eclipse. Some trekked to places projected to have more totality. One of my students‚ Mark‚ bolted to what he judged a better spot in Indiana. Thats quite a distance. Ill have to ask him if it was worth it. A shorter drive is up Route 79 to Erie‚ Pennsylvania‚ about an hour away. Erie hotels were sold out.There were still other sites for prime viewing. Given certain stark prophecies of Armageddon‚ I could have gone to Nineveh. Yes‚ Nineveh. No‚ no not the Nineveh of Jonah in modern-day Iraq‚ but little Nineveh‚ Pennsylvania.In fact‚ if you followed the various forms of eclipse hysteria‚ theres an elaborate theory about the eclipse passing along an uncanny route of small American towns named Nineveh. Its a neat (if not dubious) theory‚ which my friend John Zmirak wrote about. How accurate is it? One of those fact-check dudes seeking to toss water on theory claims there are only two towns named Nineveh in the path of the total eclipse and five others in the path of a partial eclipse‚ one of them in Pennsylvania.Actually‚ I know of two towns named Nineveh near me in western Pennsylvania alone. One is westward in Clarion County. Its the hometown of a student in my 2 p.m. class. The other is southward in Greene County‚ about 20 miles from my in-laws. I can report that neither my student nor my in-laws ran through town in recent weeks crying that the end is near and urging Joe Biden to cover himself in sackcloth and repent.There was nonetheless plenty of speculation that this eclipse signaled that the end is nigh. I might have placed bets on the Three Days of Darkness‚ given that‚ well‚ we were looking at a period of some darkness at the pivotal moment. Alas‚ I can report with full confidence‚ dear readers‚ that three days of darkness have not subsequently enveloped Grove City‚ Pennsylvania.If youre looking for theological insights‚ a genuinely thoughtful take on this eclipses timing was provided by Father Raymond de Souza‚ who wrote about the striking reality that the eclipse happened to transpire on a uniquely rescheduled Feast of the Annunciation‚ which on the liturgical calendar usually takes place on March 25. It had to be moved because this year the feast day fell during Holy Week. Even if youre not Catholic‚ you might ponder the eloquent observations of de Souza. (For a very level-headed analysis of religious conspiracy theories connected to this eclipse‚ see the piece by Eric Sammons at Crisis magazine. And I must say‚ for the record‚ that I dont deny that God can and does speak to us through celestial events on occasion.)And so‚ what did we see in Grove City?Clouds‚ a bunch of damned clouds. The sky was covered with them. Like a giant blanket.Crawford Hall‚ Grove City College‚ Pa.‚ at moment of peak eclipse‚ 3:13 p.m.‚ April 8‚ 2024 (Paul Kengor/The American Spectator)Worse‚ I can attest that yesterday at this time‚ Sunday‚ 3:13 p.m.‚ it was so sunny as I sat outside La Prima Espresso shop in Pittsburghs Strip District that I was worried about sunburn. But as for today at 3:13‚ total cloud cover. The above photo is what the eclipse area looked like above the colleges Crawford Hall at 3:13.I imagine that at 3:13 tomorrow the sky will be clear as a bell. In fact‚ writing at this moment‚ an hour later‚ 4:13 p.m.‚ the sky is wide open in that spot‚ and the Sun is beaming like a giant blow torch. As God is my witness‚ I swear thats true and have a photo to prove it. Ridiculous‚ eh? (Update: 4:45‚ still beaming.)Sky above Grove City College‚ Pa.‚ campus an hour after eclipse‚ 4:13 p.m.‚ April 8‚ 2024 (Paul Kengor/The American Spectator)On the plus side‚ the spectacle was not a complete bust. During the brief‚ fleeting moments when the Sun poked through momentarily around 3 p.m.‚ the eclipse was partly viewable through our Eclipse Shades sunglasses. That was sort of interesting‚ I suppose.More intriguing was that the overall sky darkened for about five minutes at the peak of the eclipse. It took on the look of a coming major storm (especially given the massive clouds). I understand that if we had been at a spot with a 100 percent blockage‚ it would have looked dark as night.I asked a student of mine‚ a theology major‚ what he thought. His mind turned to the original Good Friday. What must that have been like? he asked.Now theres a thought for this Easter Season‚ one much more poignant than what I witnessed this afternoon.The post Eclipse Mania appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The media is rife with coverage of the nations housing crisis‚ as it should be. The median new home price in February was $400‚500‚ interest rates hover just under 7 percent‚ and the minimum income required to afford the median priced home is now $106‚000‚ up 80 percent from $59‚000 in 2020.Marriage cuts the rate of the homeownership gap by more than half.The crisis affects all Americans and carries long-term consequences: less wealth accumulation‚ declining living standards‚ intergenerational inequality‚ and‚ perhaps most worryingly‚ reductions in new household formation and births. Elementary schools are closing across the country as the population of children aged 05 years old has dropped from 25.2 million in 2010 to 22.5 million in 2022.Nevertheless‚ media reports present the housing crisis through the narrow crucible of race‚ a sterling manifestation of Americas incorrigible racism.(READ MORE from Seth Forman: Why Are We Having Less Sex?)The hook that allows for this tendentious diversion is the racial homeownership gap: 45 percent of blacks own homes‚ compared to 73 percent of whites. This allows the Guardian‚ for example‚ to report that prices are out of reach for all‚ but‚ [g]iven that the value of a homeowners property makes up a significant chunk of their net worth not owning a home has left many Black Americans behind.A Bloomberg report in February also sees the crisis in narrowly racial terms‚ titling its coverage Housing Affordability Near Record Low Hits Black Buyers Particularly Hard‚ while a CNN report bemoans the gap between Black homeownership rates and that of any other race or ethnic group is even larger now than in 2011.For all of their handwringing over the homeownership gap‚ these outlets make no serious effort to uncover its causes‚ leaning lazily instead on the antiquated postwar shibboleths of discrimination in lending and more frequent loan denials for blacks. CNN even digs up the specter of redlining‚ a practice outlawed decades ago in which lenders refuse loans to certain (presumably black) neighborhoods.But in an age in which Asian mortgage applicants have a higher approval rate than whites‚ and black-owned banks turn down black applicants at higher rates than white-owned banks‚ it is difficult to believe that discriminatory practices in real estate account for a significant portion of the homeownership gap. As the Manhattan Institutes Steven Malanga points out‚ the racial homeownership gap was smaller in 1960‚ before the passage of major civil rights laws such as the 1968 Fair Housing Act and the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act.For those not blinded by a political agenda‚ logic suggests the racial homeownership gap is a consequence primarily of demographics and other less malevolent forces.At the most basic level‚ purchasing a home is a major lifecycle event closely associated with those over a certain age‚ and blacks‚ on average‚ are more likely to be below that age than whites. With the existing median age of 44 for whites and 34 for blacks‚ there is simply a higher percentage of black people under the 35-year-old median age for first-time homebuyers. According to the U.S. Census‚ an estimated 42 percent of whites are under the age of 35‚ compared to 51 percent for blacks. Roughly 9 percent of the 28-percentage-point homeownership gap can be explained by age differences alone.But the crucial factor is marriage. The need for space and privacy doubles when it comes time to house two people rather than one and in todays market‚ a second income is almost always a necessity for affordability.Today‚ approximately 59 percent of all first-time homebuyers are married‚ and among married couples‚ the homeownership rate is around 80 percent. In short‚ marriage increases the chances of homeownership considerably‚ and blacks are less likely to be married than whites.According to the 2020 American Community Survey‚ 30 percent of blacks were married‚ compared to 52 percent of whites. Indeed‚ half of all blacks have never been married‚ compared to 28 percent of whites.The marriage disparity is even greater for those in their 30s‚ the primary first-time homebuying age. Only 16 percent of black women in their 30s are married‚ versus 58 percent of white women.In fact‚ marriage cuts the rate of the homeownership gap by more than half: Among married blacks‚ the homeownership rate is around 64 percent‚ compared to the overall white rate of 73 percent.The unhappy irony is that the marriage gap between whites and blacks exploded at almost the exact moment when the 1968 Fair Housing Act gave unprecedented enforcement powers to the federal government. As late as 1970‚ 94.8 percent of white women were married‚ compared to 92.2 percent of black women. As one study found‚ up through 1960‚ age at first marriage and the proportion of women ever married were similar among whites and blacks.Thus‚ the authors note‚ the racial divergence we see now in marriage formation is relatively recent.These demographic differences by themselves would appear to explain the bulk of the racial homeownership gap‚ but there are other differences that also portend lower homeownership for blacks as compared to whites.While a majority of people of all major racial and ethnic groups live in suburbs (the places most characterized by single-family homeownership)‚ blacks are still more likely to live in central cities‚ locations with high-density zoning where homeownership is less likely for all. In 2020‚ approximately 46 percent of blacks lived in central cities‚ while only 24 percent of whites did.Small behavioral differences between racial groups can also matter for homeownership. It is true‚ as the Bloomberg piece cited above points out‚ that blacks are less likely to have equity in an existing home to help with downpayments. (READ MORE: Why White Ethnics Left Newark)But it is also true‚ as economist Robert Cherry points out‚ that blacks generally save less than whites‚ even as a percentage of income. Economic studies have found that lower-income blacks spend up to 30 percent more than whites of comparable income on visible goods like clothing‚ cars‚ and jewelry. Author Cora Daniels‚ in Ghettonation: A Journey into the Land of the Bling and the Home of the Shameless‚ excoriates blacks in the U.S. for wasteful spending and attributes it to the prevalence of short-term time horizons among many blacks and an unwillingness to delay gratification.None of this obviates the prohibitive obstacles once placed before blacks in the housing market or the particular hardship housing poses for all those with less income or familial wealth. But it makes little sense to expect whites and blacks to have equal homeownership rates when‚ to paraphrase one writer‚ the median white American is44 and married‚ and the median black American is 34 and single.The good news is that people of any racial group can have more weddings.This article is an excerpt fromThe American SpectatorsSpectator P.M. newsletter.Subscribetoday to read future letters from our staff!The post Blacks and the American Dream appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

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';People like Lindsey Graham‚ that are unrelenting‚ are handing Democrats their dream of the House‚ Senate‚ and perhaps even the Presidency';Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump slammed Sen. Lindsay Graham (R) on Monday after the South Carolina legislator issued a statement criticizing the former presidents policy on abortion.On Truth Social‚ the 45th president blasted Graham for essentially aligning with Democrats by splitting with him on the issue‚ after the senator voiced disapproval with Trumps stance that states should individually decide on the matter.Senator Lindsey Graham is doing a great disservice to the Republican Party‚ and to our Country. At first he wanted no Abortions under any circumstances‚ then he was up to 6 weeks‚ where youre allowed Abortion‚ now hes up to 15 weeks‚ where youre allowed Abortion‚ but what he doesnt understand‚ or perhaps he does‚ is the Radical Left Democrats‚ who are destroying our Country‚ will never approve anything that he or the Republicans want. They love this Issue‚ and they want to keep it going for as long as Republicans will allow them to do so. Terminating Roe v. Wade was‚ according to all Legal Scholars‚ a Great Event‚ but sometimes with Great Events come difficulties. Many Good Republicans lost Elections because of this Issue‚ and people like Lindsey Graham‚ that are unrelenting‚ are handing Democrats their dream of the House‚ Senate‚ and perhaps even the PresidencyBy allowing the States to make their decision‚ and hoping that most Republicans running for Office will have the sense‚ although they must always follow their heart‚ to require the EXCEPTIONS for Rape‚ Incest‚ and Life of the Mother‚ we have taken the Abortion Issue largely out of play. When the Supreme Court had the courage to do the right thing LEGALLY‚ and terminate Roe v. Wade‚ all of those people‚ including Lindsey Graham and Marjorie Dannenfelser of Susan B. Anthony that were hardliners‚ one day after the Victory‚ were gone and of absolutely no help‚ as the Democrats staged rallies and won Elections they should never have won. Lindsey‚ Marjorie‚ and others fought for years‚ unsuccessfully‚ until I came along and got the job done. Then they were gone‚ never to be heard from again‚ until now. We cannot let our Country suffer any further damage by losing Elections on an issue that should always have been decided by the States‚ and now will be!On Monday‚ Graham wrote on X‚ I respectfully disagree with President Trumps statement that abortion is a states rights issue. Dobbs does not require that conclusion legally and the pro-life movement has always been about the wellbeing of the unborn child not geography.Winter Sun Plus is NOW 25% off! Boost your natural defenses with this powerful vitamin D3 and K formula!I respectfully disagree with President Trumps statement that abortion is a states rights issue. Dobbs does not require that conclusion legally and the pro-life movement has always been about the wellbeing of the unborn child not geography. https://t.co/WloOJ0ImaW Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 8‚ 2024Sen. Grahams statements were in response to a message from Trump Monday morning saying his abortion policy was about allowing the will of the people to prevail.My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint‚the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both‚ and whatever they decide must be the law of the land‚ said Trump in a Monday post on Truth Social about one of the nations hottest election issues. In this case‚ the law of the state. Many states will be different‚ many will have a different number of weeks or some will have more conservative than others‚ and thats what they will be. Trump releases statement on abortion pic.twitter.com/4k3geepeiz Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 8‚ 2024At the end of the day‚this is all about the will of the people. You must follow your heart or‚ in may cases‚ your religion or your faith. Do whats right for your family and do whats right for yourself‚ do whats right for your children‚ do whats right for our country.