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.
We already know that the Chronicle’s beat writer for the Stros — Jose de Jesus Ortiz — is not very good at evaluating baseball players. But this puff piece out of the box this year on the Stros’ chronic albatross — Brad Ausmus — is lacking in objectivity even by de Jesus Ortiz’s dubious standards:
With two spots up for grabs at the back end of the rotation, the Astros will need Ausmus to help those pitchers settle into the majors.[. . .]
Ausmus was just as valuable to veteran stars such as Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte when they switched over to the NL after spending their careers in the American League. [. . .]
Ausmus may be many things, but idiot is not one of them. He’s witty, a voracious reader and a charismatic leader.
He’s likely the most respected person in the clubhouse, riding both sides of the divide that usually separates position players from the pitchers.
“He does a great job behind the plate,” said Garner. “He’s another one of the veteran guys that adds stability on the field for us. But he really runs the pitching staff real well. Pitchers have confidence in him. They trust him. [. . .]
Some fans are critical of Ausmus’ production at the plate. A career .253 hitter, he hit .230 with 16 doubles, one triple, two home runs and 39 RBIs last season.
If the middle of the Astros’ offense had been more productive, Ausmus’ batting average would hardly have been an issue. The catcher’s position isn’t generally an offensive one.
Nonetheless, Ausmus takes pride in his hitting. He’s prone to let off steam throughout the year after a poor at-bat. His value to the team, however, was recognized when opposing coaches and managers voted him the 2006 National League Rawlings Gold Glove.
“I’m not really sure what my role is, per se,” he said. “I know that a catcher has the most dramatic effect on the team on the defensive side of the ball as opposed to the offensive side of the ball.”
The Astros know that, too. It’s why they appreciate Ausmus so much.
So, it’s the fault of the Stros hitters batting in the middle of the lineup that Ausmus’ horrible hitting is so evident? And what is this about the catcher position not being “an offensive one?” Last time I looked, the rules of baseball still required the catcher to hit. Only the Stros’ inexplicable attachment to “catch and throw” catchers such as Ausmus has rendered the position the black hole of outs in the Stros’ lineup.
Ausmus may be the baseball equivalent of Peyton Manning calling a game from behind the plate, but that doesn’t change the fact that Ausmus is the worst hitter in Stros franchise history. As I noted in my evaluation of Stros players after last season:
Brad Ausmus: F Ausmus (-38 RCAA/.308 OBA/.285 SLG/.593 OPS) took his level of poor play to new depths during the 2006 season as he had the worst season of hitting in Stros history:
Ausmus is also far and away the worst hitter in Stros history:
Given that Ausmus is not even a particularly good defensive player anymore (his arm is no longer strong enough to throw out basestealers consistently), there is no justification for Ausmus remaining a regular Major League player. The only reason he received an F rather than an F- is that he blocks pitches well.
There is really no valid reason for the Stros to maintain a roster spot for Ausmus at this point; he is far worse than a replacement-level player. If he is such a good influence to have around the clubhouse, then the Stros should hire him as a bullpen coach. But paying the worst hitter in Stros history $4 million smackeroos this season to cost the club runs does not make any sense. No matter how hard de Jesus Ortiz tries to make sense of it.
Update: The Chronicle’s Richard Justice expresses an opinion of me shared by my teenage daughters.
The NY Times’ Gretchen Morgenson’s column ($) this past Sunday is entitled “Will Other Mortgage Dominoes Fall?”, in which Morgenson explores the current downturn in the subprime mortgage market.
As a result of the increasing default rate in subprime mortgages, Morgenson observes that the mortgage-backed securities that many institutional investors purchased may be riskier than they seemed at the time that the investors bought them. Consequently, she notes that those securities may not be worth as much as the investors want them to be worth and that they may sell them. If that happens, Morgenson rightly points out that the market for new mortgage-backed securities may get tougher and there may not be as much cheap mortgage money around for homebuyers, particularly low-income ones.
What I’m trying to figure out is what’s wrong with any of that? Isn’t that precisely the way markets work? Isn’t it good that many low-income or high-credit risk folks have been able to enjoy the benefits of home ownership? Yes, it’s too bad for those low-income folks who weren’t able to take advantage of the cheap subprime mortagages, but isn’t it good that investment vehicles that securitized subprime mortgages with pools of higher grade mortgages shifted part of the risk of those low-grade mortgages to investors who can better absorb the risk? And isn’t it more likely that the downturn in subprime mortgages will be less severe as a result of the hedging of risk that occurs through such securitization?
In other words, what’s Morgenson’s point in the article? Perhaps Larry Ribstein knows?
Although I find the NBA All-Star game and related activities excrutiatingly boring, I must admit that the challenge race (see video below) between former NBA great Charles Barkley and 67 year old, veteran NBA referee Dick Bavetta was pretty darn funny. Barkley — who weighed in at a stout 325 lbs. — had a classic line upon regaining his breath after winning the race. Checking out the $50,000 oversized check that signified the contribution being made to the Las Vegas Boys and Girls Club as a result of the race, Barkley — who has been known to spend some time at the Vegas betting tables — exclaimed proudly:
“We’re giving two blackjack hands to charity!”
Unfortunately, the video clip below doesn’t include the clever scene that TNT showed earlier in the evening of the stout Barkley “training” for the race by doing “situps” (moving only his head) while eating Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
We all knew that it was just a matter of time before this would occur in Venezuela under Hugo Chavez’s dubious economic leadership.
But, as Ted Frank explains, how were we to know that Mississippi AG Jim Hood, plaintiff’s lawyer Dickie Scruggs and Senator Trent Lott would accomplish much the same thing in regard to insurance for the citizens of Mississippi? Or that AG Hood would take the preposterous position that the state can force State Farm Insurance Co. to continue to underwrite policies in the state (Larry Ribstein has more)?
Maybe Hood could persuade Chavez to underwrite some cheap insurance for Mississippi consumers?
The Conglomerate’s Lisa Fairfax notes that the Chinese government has handed a death sentence to a businessman who apparently was running a sort of Ponzi scheme making wine, tea and medical potions from black ants, which are widely believed in China to have medicinal value in the treatment of such ailments as arthritis.
On the other hand, the U.S. government goes after two businessmen who pioneered the enormously valuable risk management of natural gas prices for producers and industrial consumers and prosecutes one to death and sentences the other to an effective life sentence.
Who would have ever imagined that Russian government would look the most reasonable in its sentencing of alleged business wrongdoers?
Even as things change in Harris County government, the chronic problems of the Harris County Jail remain the same.
A Houston Chronicle review of state and county records reveals that from January 2001 through December 2006, at least 101 inmates ó an average of about 17 a year ó have died while in the custody of the Harris County Jail. In 2006 alone, after three consecutive years of failing to be in compliance with state standards, the jail recorded 22 in-custody deaths.
At the time of their deaths, at least 72 of the inmates ó more than 70 percent ó were awaiting court hearings and had yet to be convicted of the crimes that led to their incarceration.
Records and interviews show that almost one-third of the deaths involve questions of inadequate responses from guards and staff, failure by jail officials to provide inmates with essential medical and psychiatric care and medications, unsanitary conditions, and two allegations of physical abuse by guards.
In at least 13 cases, relatives or documents raise questions over whether inmates received needed medications prior to their deaths. Additionally, 11 of the deaths involve infections and illnesses suggesting sanitation problems. In 10 other cases, death reports suggest possible neglect, . . . [ . . .]
Prisoners also claim they have been forced to sleep on mattresses on cellblock floors ó sometimes next to toilets. They maintain that the crowded living conditions at the jail are ripe for disease and bacteria, particularly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or staph, a potentially lethal blood infection.
As a result, numerous inmates contend they have contracted staph infections while incarcerated. Jail records show that between January 2001 and April 2005, there were 60 medical quarantines at the jail. The records show at least two of the quarantines were related to staph infections. The causes of 11 other quarantines are not listed.
Apparently with the exception of the Harris County Commissioners, most everyone agrees that something needs to be done about the Harris County Jail. Yet, as has been the case for the almost 30 years now that I’ve been practicing law in Houston, while most everyone agrees, nothing ever gets done.
Government generally — and Harris County government in particular — is responsive to those constituencies that wield political power. Prisoners have no political power and are generally unpopular with those who do. Inasmuch as most voters never set foot in a jail and have no first-hand experience of the abysmal conditions, it is easy to understand why nothing is ever done about this outrage, at least from a political standpoint.
But that doesn’t make the condition of the Harris County Jail any easier to stomach. At a time when Governor Perry is bowing to the powerful political forces that want to build even more prisons, it’s high time that voters realize the scam that state and local politicians have foisted on them in bowing to the powerful political forces that support the endless cycle of building more and more prisons. The problem with the Harris County Jail is largely the result of too many non-violent or petty criminals being locked up there for too long. Until the politicians do the hard work necessary to reform the barbaric policies that have caused that condition, the jail problem is unlikely to change. Kudos to the Chronicle for keeping this problem on the frontburner. Charles Kuffner and Burnt Orange Report have more.
If there is only one newspaper article that you read this weekend, then make it this fascinating Wall Street Journal ($) article written by Sarmad Ali, an Iraqi-born student reporter for the Journal who somehow made his way from Iraq to Columbia University two years ago to study journalism. Ali had taught himself English while growing up in Baghdad during the turbulent period that included the Iraq-Iran War, Desert Storm in 1991 and the present Iraqi War.
The subject of the article is the desperate search of Ali’s family for their father, a car mechanic who was recently reported missing after a bombing in Baghdad. The story is not only a riveting first-hand account of how a normal Iraqi family deals with the civil strife that has become commonplace in Baghdad, but also an excellent example of why the U.S. should always keep its arms open for immigrants who seek to improve their lives. Columbia and the WSJ should be proud for helping make that happen for Ali.
