From the latest report of the Congressional Budget Office. HT to Greg Mankiw.
Robert Samuelson on the Stubborn Welfare State and the shifting priorities of the federal budget.
Finally, Nielson Media Research’s television ratings for the post-season college football games from this past season. HT to Wizard of Odds.
Jane Brody is the longtime New York Times fitness and nutrition writer and I have admired her writing for many years. Her column from yesterday — titled “Out of Control: A True Story of Binge Eating” — is a must-read not only because it addresses an important health problem, but also because it has a compelling personal touch:
It was 1964, I was 23 and working at my first newspaper job in Minneapolis, 1,250 miles from my New York home. My love life was in disarray, my work was boring, my boss was a misogynist. And I, having been raised to associate love and happiness with food, turned to eating for solace.
Of course, I began to gain weight and, of course, I periodically went on various diets to try to lose what Iíd gained, only to relapse and regain all Iíd lost and then some.
My many failed attempts included the Drinking Manís Diet, popular at the time, which at least enabled me to stay connected with my hard-partying colleagues.
Before long, desperation set in. When I found myself unable to stop eating once Iíd started, I resolved not to eat during the day. Then, after work and out of sight, the bingeing began.
I learned where the few all-night mom-and-pop shops were located so I could pick up the eveningís supply on my way home from work. Then I would spend the night eating nonstop, first something sweet, then something salty, then back to sweet, and so on. A half-gallon of ice cream was only the beginning. I was capable of consuming 3,000 calories at a sitting. Many mornings I awakened to find partly chewed food still in my mouth.
And, as you might expect, because I didnít purge (never even heard of it then), I got fatter and fatter until I had gained a third more than my normal body weight, even though I was physically active.
My despair was profound, and one night in the midst of a binge I became suicidal. I had lost control of my eating; it was controlling me, and I couldnít go on living that way.
Fortunately, I was still rational enough to reach out for help, and at 2 a.m. I called a psychologist I knew at his home. His willingness to see me in the morning got me through the night.
Read the entire column. Brody’s honest and forthright story of how she finally came to terms with her obsession and addressed it — abandoning diets and embracing sound nutritional principles for her life — provides a hopeful and practical guide for those who are afflicted with this disorder. It is a stark reflection of the state of nutrition in the U.S. today that most of us know someone who is currently grappling with the same problem that Brody overcame.
Say what you will about Texas Tech basketball coach Bobby Knight, but he knows what he is talking about in regard to making college basketball a true intercollegiate sport:
While most college basketball coaches would jump at the chance for a one-year player like Texas freshman sensation Kevin Durant, Texas Tech coach Bob Knight said Monday he would not do so.
In fact, the coach said Monday that he thinks the NBA’s mandate of at least a year of college for high school graduates is bad for the college game.
“I think it’s the worst thing that’s happened to college basketball since I’ve been coaching,” Knight said Monday.
A year ago, the NBA made the decision that players have to attend college for at least one year after graduation from high school. That decision has exposed players such as Ohio State freshman center Greg Oden and Durant ó two players who would have been lottery picks last year and will likely be the first two players chosen in this year’s draft if they decide to leave after one year ó to the college game for what seems to be just one year.
Knight’s primary concern seems to be that the NBA’s mandate allows student-athletes to get around being true students in college.
“Because now you can have a kid come to school for a year, play basketball and he doesn’t even have to go to class,” Knight said. “He certainly doesn’t have to go to class the second semester. I’m not exactly positive about the first semester, but he would not have to attend a single class the second semester to play through the whole second semester of basketball.
“That I think has a tremendous effect on the integrity of college sports. I think what should happen is a kid can come out of high school and go to the NBA and if they chose to put him in the developmental league, fine. But if he goes to college there has to be an agreement that he is not eligible for the draft until after two years of college. That way the kid has to obtain eligibility and then he has to retain eligibility and at least for those two years he is a college student. Now the kid is simply like a hired player.”
Knight said there would never be a scenario where he would knowingly recruit a player who intended to play college basketball for one year.
Again, the “rent-a-player” situation that Coach Knight is talking about is the result of the NBA’s needless regulation, which once again foists upon the universities the risk of subsidizing the NBA’s minor league farm system. As noted here, the colleges have a model already established in baseball that would create the free choice for players that would transform college basketball into a truer form of intercollegiate competition. With the proliferation of minor professional basketball leagues overseas, there really is no legitimate reason to restrict a young player’s access to professional basketball or to force him to fake being a college student while playing a year of minor league ball in the U.S. Let basketball players make the same choice that baseball players have coming out of high school — either play in a professional league or accept the benefits of a college education for a few years in return for competing intercollegiately. Not only will it make Coach Knight much happier, but it is the right thing to do for the players.