A groundbreaking release. The post Juliette Lewis’ favourite jazz album: “Everything under the sun‚ moon and stars” first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

In the grand circus of politics‚ where elephants and donkeys alike perform under the big top‚ there’s one act that never fails to draw a crowd: the venerable “job creation” routine. Putting people back to work‚ especially those without college degrees and in the manufacturing world‚ is in the center ring. Unfortunately‚ when you look behind the smoke‚ mirrors‚ and rabbits hidden in hats‚ you’ll see that promises to rebuild America through industrial policy are just plain old corporate welfare. READ MORE from Veronique de Rugy: US Steel–Nippon Steel: A Global Deal for American Prosperity Industrial policy has made an amazing comeback. In its name‚ the Biden administration and Congress have authorized between $1.2 and $2.1 trillion in domestic subsidies for preferred manufacturing industries in sectors such as clean energy‚ advanced manufacturing‚ construction‚ transportation‚ and broadband. The ringmaster and his assistants assure the crowd that they’ll deliver tens of thousands of new‚ high-paying jobs for workers with no more than high-school diplomas. Meanwhile‚ on the right‚ industrial policy is being discussed as a way to boost manufacturing employment for men left behind in the Rust Belt. The job-creation argument for showering businesses with billions more in subsidies might surprise those of you are aware of America’s remarkably low unemployment rate. Indeed‚ given that handful of people will always be between jobs‚ a 3.9 percent rate signals that very few who want employment can’t find it. Instead‚ what’s animating these politicians is the exodus from the labor force of mostly poorly educated males. The reasons for this workforce withdrawal are complex and beyond the usual scapegoats‚ like trade and market forces. But this topic I will save for another column. Instead‚ let’s focus on the reality that industrial policy subsidies and tax breaks will flow to companies‚ often big and rich‚ for projects they would likely have taken on anyway. That means they probably won’t create net new jobs. Even if these subsidies were to create a manufacturing boom‚ it probably wouldn’t lead to an employment boom because most manufacturing output today is produced by robots. And even if the subsidies benefit workers indirectly‚ the beneficiaries will be largely college-educated and in higher-income groups rather than those working assembly lines. The golden era of widespread‚ good manufacturing jobs that so many politicians are nostalgic about is over. It’s been going away for 70 years. So‚ industrial policy won’t create jobs for poorly educated workers‚ but it will supercharge cronyism. The Cato Institute’s Chris Edwards notes that Biden’s industrial policy is better described as a corporate welfare bonanza. The Inflation Reduction Act‚ he writes‚ “handed out $868 billion in energy subsidies‚ most of it to big corporations‚ including automakers‚ utilities‚ manufacturers‚ and hydrogen producers. Adam Michel finds that Biden’s energy tax subsidies could top $1.8 trillion.” The CHIPs and Science Act of 2022 gave $54 billion in subsidies to a who’s who of corporate and Silicon Valley elite. Ditto with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021‚ which subsidized railroads‚ electric utilities‚ broadband companies‚ the EV industry‚ and others to the tune of $548 billion. Unfortunately‚ when the government is in the business of distributing favors‚ corporations devote less effort to producing and more to seeking those favors. The result is “unproductive entrepreneurship‚” where innovators use their skills to extract government privileges instead of putting new‚ better and cheaper goods and services on the market. Finally‚ contrary to the anti-big business rhetoric blaring from the Biden administration‚ it has granted a large amount of narrow corporate tax breaks to big companies. In fact‚ Edwards finds that since being in power‚ “President Biden has increased annual average corporate tax expenditures 92 percent from $109 billion to $209 billion.” He notes that tax-code expenditures “have increased from $0.3 billion a year projected under Trump to $29 billion a year under Biden.” Despite the grand promises of revitalizing the American workforce and bringing prosperity to forgotten corners of the country‚ the reality is that industrial policy is typically a conduit carrying corporate welfare‚ benefiting the already powerful and wealthy as it discourages genuine innovation and market-driven economic opportunities. As we peer behind the scenes of this circus act‚ it becomes clearer that sustainable employment and economic prosperity will be generated not by subsidies but by unleashing market forces‚ which will promote entrepreneurship and innovation. Only by moving away from the spectacle can we hope to address the challenges underlying the American workforce and pave the way for a more prosperous and inclusive future. Veronique de Rugy is the George Gibbs Chair in Political Economy and a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. To find out more about Veronique de Rugy and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists‚ visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM The post Washington’s ‘Job Creation’ Circus Is Hitting the Road appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

In recent weeks‚ it’s become apparent that there is a rather concerning rift in the conservative movement. It’s difficult to put a finger on‚ but it starts to look like a gaping chasm if you start to spend time on X. Candace Owens recently parted ways with the Daily Wire‚ one of the largest conservative media companies — and it wasn’t on good terms. While neither the Daily Wire nor Owens will say exactly what happened‚ it seems pretty obvious that they didn’t see eye to eye on certain fundamental issues. (READ MORE: I Read Ellen ‘Elliot’ Page’s Pageboy‚ and It Shows Just How Half-Baked Transgenderism Is) The result? A raging debate on X over whether saying‚ “Christ is King‚” is anti-Semitic — all made even more offensive to all parties involved given that the debate took place over the weekend of Palm Sunday. Owens and the “Christ is King” debate didn’t cause the rift; they simply highlighted it. Modern conservatism is a mishmash of thoughts and ideas. It’s a huge tent that currently houses anyone who doesn’t think the government should be giving free drugs to homeless people‚ free housing to the illegal immigrants flooding over our border‚ or funding for innocent children to be mutilated by our woke healthcare industry. The problem is that while a lot of us agree on what society shouldn’t look like‚ we don’t always have the same vision for what it should look like. (READ MORE: New York Times: The Country Is Going to Hell‚ but Be Happy) Young Americans have not just inherited a broken economy and culture from ancient elites who are older than their grandparents; they‚ especially the conservatives among them‚ have inherited an ill-defined response team that has been the underdog for so long that every time it gets power‚ it’s scared to use it. On next week’s Spectacle podcast‚ Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay will be talking to some of The American Spectator’s young editors and writers about the direction of our country and what conservatism means to the next generation. It’ll be a lively conversation encompassing pop culture‚ economics‚ family‚ faith‚ and tradition that you won’t want to miss. WATCH the latest Spectacle episode: The Spectacle Ep. 90: Feminism Ruined Womanhood. Mary Is the Answer. The post What’s Conservatism Anyway? Don’t Miss Our Roundtable. appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

“Early Voting in 2024‚” editorial cartoon by Tom Stiglich for The American Spectator‚ April 3‚ 2024. The post Early Voting in 2024 appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium was a dramatic tournament this year‚ with the tough and persistent and courageous Danielle Collins riding a low seed — was she seeded at all? — all the way to the win‚ her first and likely her last Masters 1000‚ unless she revises her plan to retire at the end of this season. The pride of St. Petersburg always wanted this one‚ and she certainly earned it. She is one of the most hard-working‚ never-quit‚ gritty American girls‚ with a powerful game from the baseline‚ and she was deservedly the crowd fave and said really classy things when presented with the trophy‚ thanking not only her team and the sponsors but the security officials and the medics who spring from the sidelines in response to sprains and cramps. READ MORE from Roger Kaplan: It’s a Win for Sinner and Woke Rejection at the Australian Open On the men’s side‚ you could say the same about hard work rewarded for finalist Grigor Dimitrov‚ with the caveat that he did not quite make it. Also‚ he has more than a baseline game; Dimitrov is aggressive at the net‚ has a gorgeous one-handed backhand‚ and hustles like crazy on every point. He had a fantastic‚ inspiring run‚ but this year seems to belong to Jannik Sinner‚ who knocked him out in the final‚ 6–3‚ 6–1. It’s a bit early to speak of the whole year‚ of course‚ but still it was astonishing how the Australian Open winner breezed through the draw and beat Dimitrov handily. Dimitrov had got past the mighty Hubert Hurkacz (three sets)‚ world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz (two sets)‚ and fourth seed Alexander Zverev (three sets). Dimitrov has been on a gorgeous mid-career resurgence after some tough years with injuries‚ which proves you should never say quit. But Sinner‚ who beat both Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev on the way to the Australian Open trophy‚ is just too good at the moment. The six-two Tyrolean with the form‚ the feet‚ the forehand‚ the impossible down-the-line backhand‚ the grace — well‚ you get the picture. His court sense‚ aka strategic and tactical intelligence‚ has overwhelmed everybody this year. Alcaraz put it very well: He said Sinner made him feel as though he was 13‚ flummoxed by Sinner’s game. The shot choices‚ the placement‚ require impeccable movement‚ and it is not irrelevant that‚ like Djokovic and Roger Federer‚ Sinner was a passionate skier as a teen‚ a juniors champ.  Skiing develops the feet‚ the knees‚ the “foundation” — abs and lower back — so essential to match play. American youth sports teams and organizations spend far too much money on secondary items‚ such as fancy facilities and paraphernalia. There probably are too many school district and athletic associations administrators‚ too. The focus should be on physical training‚ learning different sports‚ getting a grounding in how to think about sports‚ sports history‚ chess‚ and academic subjects. In America we are addicted to throwing money at everything except the basics‚ and that is why we are on our heels against the barbarians who threaten Judeo-Christian civilization. Meanwhile the New York Yankees had a great opening series against Houston‚ and they are in first place and unbeaten going into the second week‚ so take that‚ Boston. However — not to get off the point but to stay focused on fair and accurate reporting — anyone interested in Boston ought to forget about the travails of Harvard University’s poor show lately and consider a superb Boston novel‚ an American novel‚ a great story of our country and our history‚ Dennis Lehane’s The Given Day‚ which I am sure I or one of my pals here at The American Spectator will account for one of these days. In other tennis news‚ the wonderful‚ unseeded‚ all American women’s doubles team of the irresistible Bethanie Mattek-Sands and the pugnacious‚ determined Sofia Kenin took the doubles at Miami in a thriller‚ while the wonderful class-act Aussie-Indian team of Matt Ebden and Rohan Bopanna continued their dream run since winning the Australian Open‚ also a thriller. Thrill is in the eyes of the observer‚ you may say‚ but objectively and going by the old fair-and-accurate‚ in doubles if you need at least one tie-break and a third set super-tiebreak (first to ten with two-point spread)‚ as both the women and men’s winning teams did‚ I think it’s fair and accurate to use the term without risking drama inflation. Baseball season did not start so well for the Dodgers — I always said they never should have left Brooklyn — with a betting scandal involving their Babe Ruth lookalike from Japan‚ Shohei Ohtani. Babe Ruth‚ I should note‚ has an important role in The Given Day; whether it is accurate historically I cannot say‚ but it does get the Babe right.  However‚ this gambling matter is embarrassing. I don’t care much for gambling‚ but a man — or even a woman — can throw his money away in a free country. The problem is that‚ in sports‚ obviously‚ it’s one of those areas where the possibility of corruption is high — point shaving‚ throwing games‚ tanking‚ faking injuries‚ and so on; you have read too many stories‚ real and fictional‚ to be able to pretend it ain’t so. In this appalling case — the Dodgers have something like $1 billion now invested in its team’s payroll and the team still can’t get its act together to be a credible Series contender — the investigation(s) are still on‚ so I dasn’t comment. But it ain’t pretty. What this country needs is a serious moral revival‚ no less than a basic downsizing of government. Anyway‚ the Iowa star Caitlin Clark led the Hawkeyes over Louisiana State University Monday night in the girls’ NCAA; they go up against UConn next. On the boys’ side‚ Purdue–North Carolina State is coming up on the weekend. And the clay court season in tennis begins; baseball heroics continue despite the cash avalanche; the shows go on. Don’t pay any mind to my gratuitous advice‚ but I’d say catch some of the basketball‚ stay focused on your own workout schedule‚ drink water and tea‚ give a low priority to IRS deadlines — I mean‚ obviously‚ request a delay if you need it and pay up later‚ they’re only going to throw your money away — and read The Given Day‚ as well as The Voice on the Back Porch and The Adventures of Augie March. Also the Federalist Papers. And a good week to all. Image: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. The post Every Spring Sport Has Its Glories — And Its Shame appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

A controversy arose this week that is simultaneously a little-bitty nothing and a hornet’s nest of grand magnitude — because a little bit of truth and reality needs to be shouted from as high a rooftop as possible. And the subject is … women’s basketball. RELATED: Every Spring Sport Has Its Glories — And Its Shame Not one of my preferred subjects. But as my alma mater‚ Louisiana State University‚ is the defending national champion in the sport — and as the LSU Tigers on Monday night played Iowa in front of a women’s record audience of 12 million people — the controversy that emerged from that game is actually somewhat relevant to our national discussion. Iowa won the game‚ by the way‚ which is something that Kate Kruse‚ the producer of The Spectacle podcast and an Iowa native‚ was very keen to reinforce to me on Tuesday when we recorded this week’s episodes. Iowa is a great team‚ and Caitlin Clark‚ the team’s star player who poured in 41 points to beat LSU‚ is to women’s basketball what Pete Maravich was to the men’s game. Clark has a little more about her than Maravich had‚ which is why it’s easy to see Iowa winning the national championship next week. But the game isn’t the controversy. The controversy is over the fact that LSU’s team wasn’t present on the court for the playing of the National Anthem: LSU Women’s Basketball Team skipped the National Anthem Iowa stood proud LSU just got their ass beat With the entire stadium cheering against them Season over Let this be a lesson to all players: the cringy‚ selfish woke athlete moment is OVER pic.twitter.com/ctskb0GXIC — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 2‚ 2024 I’m a Benny Johnson fan‚ and I’m cognizant of the fact that his being from Iowa makes this an emotionally charged issue for him. And Benny Johnson is anything but alone in sounding off with this kind of rhetoric about the pre-game occurrences at Monday night’s contest. But he’s wrong. He’s way off. And he ought to apologize. Here’s the truth about this stupid controversy‚ in a few easily digestible little factoids: First‚ LSU did not conduct a protest of the National Anthem on Monday night. The team just wasn’t on the court for it. Iowa was‚ which created some clunky optics for LSU’s program‚ but this had more to do with routines and logistics than a lack of patriotism. Second‚ LSU Coach Kim Mulkey‚ who is one of the best coaches — if not the best — in the women’s game (the job she’s done in three years rebuilding LSU’s program — including a Sweet Sixteen appearance‚ a national title‚ and an Elite Eight appearance — after building a dominant program at Baylor speaks to this)‚ is anything but a woke leftist who fosters poor patriotism among her players. Believe me. If you’re a conservative‚ Mulkey is about as friendly to you as you’re going to get. There’s a reason woke journos at the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times have trashed her in the past week‚ and it’s not because she aligns too closely with them culturally and politically. Third‚ the presence of the teams on the court for the playing of the National Anthem at basketball games is a very on-and-off thing‚ and it’s often the product of decisions by the event managers. For example‚ at last year’s national championship women’s hoops contest featuring these same two teams‚ a game LSU won over Iowa‚ neither team was on the floor for the National Anthem. And if my information is correct‚ neither team was on the floor for the National Anthem during Monday night’s second game between Connecticut and Southern California. Fourth‚ LSU’s pre-game routine calls for a trip back to the locker room 12 minutes before tipoff. So what we have here is a massively overblown‚ stupid controversy that is fueled by a great deal of ignorance — not to mention the more than a little bit of market positioning that the mainstream media has performed on LSU’s team. It’s been presented as the Bad Girl of women’s college basketball largely because LSU’s star player‚ Angel Reese‚ talks a lot‚ and a few of the team’s other stars have a similar swagger. That and the media covering women’s basketball have hated Mulkey ever since she offered tepid‚ at best‚ support for the rather imperfectly patriotic Brittney Griner‚ her former star player at Baylor who trashed the country on her way to moonlighting as a pro player in Russia‚ only to find herself in one of the country’s prisons. All of this is utterly idiotic. Basketball games aren’t all-day affairs as football games are‚ and event management for basketball is a lot more compressed. It isn’t all that standard for a team to be on the floor for the National Anthem in men’s or women’s basketball; the Anthem is for the fans. Still‚ the reality now is that Mulkey is going to have to change her pre-game routine because of the toxic optics and blown-up controversy this has created. And while nobody seems to get this‚ Louisiana’s new governor‚ Jeff Landry‚ just did her a big favor by weighing in on this: My mother coached women’s high school basketball during the height of desegregation‚ no one has a greater respect for the sport and for Coach Mulkey. However‚ above respect for that game is a deeper respect for those that serve to protect us and unite us under one flag ! It is… — Jeff Landry (@JeffLandry) April 2‚ 2024 Landry could have sat this one out‚ but what he’s done is pretty smart and an interesting little lesson in red-state governance. Whether or not he understood the logistical nature of LSU’s absence on the court‚ he’s taken this thing out of Mulkey’s hands. She’s got to have her team on the court for the National Anthem from now on‚ simply because if not they’ll turn her into an anti-American villain. But with Landry stepping in to mandate not just her team’s presence for the National Anthem but that of all the teams at all of Louisiana’s public colleges‚ it’s out of her hands‚ and she’s now removed from the controversy. Then he went further and applied this to the individual players. No kneeling‚ period. That’s the part that really matters here‚ though it doesn’t apply to Mulkey’s players‚ none of whom have kneeled or even expressed a desire to kneel (at least‚ not to my knowledge). But it ends any further potential for this issue to poison college sports in the Bayou State because nobody on any team — whether at LSU‚ Louisiana Tech‚ the University of New Orleans‚ McNeese State‚ Grambling State University‚ or any of the others — really wants to put his or her scholarship in jeopardy over kneeling during the National Anthem. It’s a bit of opportunism‚ but it’s also a way to fix a problem that has been irritating people for going on a decade now. And he’s doing it while protecting the coaches of those teams‚ who‚ regardless of their own political affiliations‚ might have to recruit players from heavily Democrat families: “Well‚ it’s state policy that we stand for the National Anthem‚ so we all do it and that’s that.” Either way‚ we need to put this dumb controversy to bed before the friendly fire gets out of control. Image: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. The post Those Bashing LSU for ‘Woke’ Loss Are in the Wrong appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.