The Sweet Wars

It's amazing how much science and marketing energy goes into creating a substance that tastes like sugar with no calories. The Showdown at the Coffee Shop is now a Sergio Leone-quality stare down.

Stevia has long been popular as a sweetener in Japan and other countries, but for years the United States Food and Drug Administration has blocked it. In 1995, after pressure from the American Herbal Products Association, a trade group, the government allowed its sale as a dietary supplement, not something that could be used as an ingredient in food. But some large food and drink manufacturers, sensing an eager audience for a sugar substitute perceived as healthier than the rest, began investing in research and lobbying the government.

Never forget what is driving the American food industry. It's not health and it's not safety. They have little interest in long-term studies of how something like Splenda or stevia might impact health over the course of many years. No, it's more about customer loyalty to pink, blue, yellow, or now green packets (brilliant!) of formulated pseudo-sugar.

Because, really, simply eating less sugar is apparently not an option! When has the food industry or government encouraged you to eat LESS of anything? That's a preposterous notion! No, eat MORE fiber. MORE fruits and vegetables. Even "eat less red meat" gets translated into "choose meats low in saturated fats." Never will the industry or government suggest that we eat LESS. Again, because HEALTH is not the driver of these decisions...the bottom line is. Eating less would hurt the bottom line even if it might help our collective waistlines.

How Much Would Legalizing Pot Help Economy?

Not much. So says Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron in this NPR article.

Jeffrey Miron, a Harvard economist who has modeled and written on the economics of the marijuana market, figures state and federal taxes on cannabis sales add up to $6.7 billion annually.

And he calculates the savings from not having to enforce state and federal marijuana laws — in arrests, prosecution and incarceration — at $12.9 billion a year. Excluding additional expenses, such as the public health cost of marijuana, or the cost of administering the new law, Miron figures that legal pot creates almost a $20 billion bonus. Miron adds, however, that the people who thought the taxation of marijuana would create a windfall for government coffers will be disappointed.

"Compared to the size of most federal government agencies, compared to the tax revenue from things like alcohol and tobacco, and certainly compared to the size of deficits that we have, this is just not a major issue, it is not a panacea, it is not curing any of our significant ills," he says. "There may be good reasons to do it, but the budgetary part is not a crucial reason to do it."

NPR has been all over the marijuana question lately with commentators of all stripes as the "legalize it" crowd has gotten louder during the economic downturn. But, the argument for MJ as an economic panacea is not convincing.

A Bessie By Any Other Name

The BBC reports that dairy cows with names produce more milk than unnamed cows. They also have less cortisol (a stress hormone) in their system.

BBC Video Story (<2 min long)

Is it the act of naming the cows, or is the name an indicator of farmers who care about their animals and treat them better than mass dairy farms? My Freakonomic sensors say it's the latter.

Blog Resurrection and Fries

OK, I've taken long hiatuses (hiati?) before and came back. It's been awhile. I will try to be more frequent here during the semester.

I shared this video with my students on the first day of class today. It was a jaw-dropper. Most of them were stunned. I realize that this may not be an experiment conducted in a lab with perfect controls, but I think the general purpose is served.

Food breaks down by natural processes. Outside the body, it molds and decomposes over time. Well, most food does. This 5-minute video pretty much explains why I don't eat at McDonald's.

McDonald's Fries Defy Nature

Sure, our stomachs have strong acids that can break down most anything. That's not the point. The point is: why don't these fries decompose on their own by natural processes outside the body?

Don't mess with nature and creation. It usually has dire consequences.

Memphis Marathon: Sub-3:00 Achieved

It happened: 2:58.49 (or within a second or two of that). Most all of the tumblers aligned for me to have a good race.

1. Trained well.
2. Avoided injury/illness.
3. Relatively flat course.
4. Decent weather (a little cool, a little breezy, but OK).
5. Run a smart race.

I went out a little fast (~6.40 pace) in the first few miles, and had to pull back a bit in Miles 7-9 (6.55 pace), but got into the groove I needed from Mile 9 through Mile 23 (6.45 pace). This allowed me to build a cushion for those last few miles. And, I did slow down a bit the last three miles (closer to 7 min pace), but to feel that good so late in the race was a new experience. There was fatigue and some pain, but I actually enjoyed this race from start to finish. By the time I started feeling rough, I knew I was going to break 3.00.

I am quite sore today, but no damage done. And, my switch to Adidas prevented the dreaded and ghastly black toenails I normally get from racing 26.2. They are not discolored at all or even sore.

Thank you for your support and prayers!

Memphis Marathon: T-Minus 2 Days

Alas, no online tracking for the Memphis race. Bummer. But, I will do a write-up after it's over.

Please say a prayer for safety, swiftness, and endurance, and that God would teach me about my limits and His Creation through this race.

Feeling good. Feeling strong. Weather will be chilly (30s), but that is not bad for racing as long as the winds stay down.

Please comment if you know of any "must" restaurants in Memphis.

Memphis Marathon: T-Minus 5 Days

The St. Jude Marathon in Memphis, TN, is five days away and this will be my first realistic shot at breaking 3 hours. I think it will be extremely close, as my training and recent shorter distance race times project me right at 3:00 to 3:02. It is a fairly flat course, the weather looks great, and I am in the best shape I've ever been for a marathon. If I avoid illness, I'll have a legit shot.

That said, it is unwise to underestimate or disrespect the distance that 26.2 miles commands. The teeth of this course comes in miles 15-19 during a slow ascent, but it's nothing drastic--it's more the timing. I'll be tired by that point and keeping pace will be tough. But, from 19 until the end, it's a slow descent, so that will be a nice mental boost if I can run at pace through mile 19.

If this race provides online tracking, I will post a link later this week.

Brown Skies, Smiling At Me

Check out these satellite pics from China. Also, read the NY Times story on the causes of these brown clouds.

World Record Marathon

Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) broke his own world record by 27 seconds and became the first human ever to run under 2 hr 4 min for a marathon. He did it in 2.03.59. Yep, one second.

I thought this might be a good time for a lesson in the speed of world class marathoners. Geb ran 4.43 per mile pace for 26.2 miles. I don't know if you know how fast you can run ONE mile. I am pretty fast by recreational runner standards (I can probably run 5.15 for a mile), but I certainly can't run this fast for ONE mile.

This little experiment will give you some idea. Go to a local track. SPRINT for 200 meters (just half a lap on the track). If you can't do it in 35.3 seconds (and most people can't!), then you know what pace Geb ran...FOR 26.2 MILES!

Amazing.

The Next Christendom 1

I am reading Philip Jenkins' The Next Christendom, so I expect to share some of it on this blog from time to time. Jenkin's basic thesis is that "Christianity was as authentically African or Asian as European" and that "far from being an export of the capitalist West, a vestige of European-American imperialism, Christianity is now rooted in the Third World, and the religion's future lies in the global South."(1)

He offers a couple of interesting tidbits in support of his thesis early in the book.

Of the five ancient patriarchates of the chruch, only one, Rome, clearly stood in the West. The others were at Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria--three on the Asian continent, one in Africa. If we can imagine a Christian center of gravity by 500, we should stil be thinking of Syria rather than Italy...(2)

When we refer to Christianity forming a relation with the secular state, Western historians think first of Constantine, who granted toleration within the Roman Empire in 313. Far less celebrated are the other early states that established Christianity as their own official religion in the fourth century, namely Ethiopia and Armenia. Almost certainly, Armenia was the first state anywhere to establish Christianity as an official faith, which it did around the year 300. (3) [bold mine]

For good measure, Jenkins plainly states that "monasticism is an Egyptian invention." I expect to gain a more balanced view of the history and direction of Christianity through Jenkins' work and I will try to pass along any jawdroppers that I encounter. I am about 50 pages deep, and I can already highly recommend this book.


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1. Jenkins, xi.
2. Ibid, 21.
3. Ibid, 22-3.

The Prune Effect

Today, I had a piece published in Rise Over Run, WKU's student-run online magazine. It is mainly a defense of the type of course that I teach called "University Experience and the Prune Effect."

Kentucky Hated Abraham Lincoln

The Kentucky Museum on the campus of WKU is currently building a permanent Civil War exhibit called "A Star in Each Flag: Conflict in Kentucky." The exhibit opens in mid-October 2008, and it promises to be a good one. Mark your calendars. Further, the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth (in KY) is fast approaching (1809-2009) and there will undoubtedly be much programming at the KY Building celebrating this event.

That said, as I was in the KY Building with my classes this week, I picked up a copy of Lowell Harrison's The Civil War in Kentucky (Lexington, KY: The University of Kentucky Press, 1975) to skim over between classes. In the opening pages, I learned something quite interesting about Lincoln and Kentucky: he got trounced in his bid for the presidency in his home state. You can't swing a dead cat in this state without hitting a poster for an event connecting Abe to the land and place of his birth (near Hodgenville, KY, just an hour or so up I-65 from Bowling Green). Kentuckians love to lay claim to Lincoln.

But, the 1860 election is a real thorn in the Kentucky/Lincoln love fest. Harrison notes, "when the Democratic party split along sectional lines, one of the last political bonds holding the nation together disappeared." The Southern Dem's went with John C. Breckinridge (the US Vice President under James Buchanan) as their candidate, while Northern Dem's backed Stephen A. Douglas. Harrison then lays out the good stuff:

Kentuckians found little solace in the nomination of Lincoln by the Republicans. He was a native of Kentucky, but his "house divided" speech had alarmed many slaveholders who would not accept the curtailment of slavery expansion that he and his party demanded. As the campaign progressed, many Kentuckians turned toward John Bell, the Constitutional Union candidate from neighboring Tennessee, who simple platform was the preservation of the Union.

Bell captured a majority in 35 of Kentucky's 110 counties in 1860 and won a plurality in 25 more...Breckinridge had a majority in 36 counties but pluralities in only 7...Douglas had a majority in only 7 counties, and Lincoln did not carry a single one. The popular vote was 66,501 for Bell, 53,143 for Breckinridge, 25,638 for Douglas, and 1,364 for Lincoln. Although Fayette County contained a number of Lincoln's in-laws, he received just five votes there.(1) [bold mine]

Of course, Lincoln won the election powered by his sweep of most of the northern states. But, make no mistake, the native Kentuckian was not only stomped in his state of birth, but came in a distant fourth, garnering less than 1% of the vote! Lincoln was viewed as the anti-slavery candidate and that just did not play in a state looking to preserve the Union. Keep this in mind as we celebrate Lincoln over the coming year. This is just another interesting tidbit in Kentucky's rich and bizarre history.

Read more about the 1860 Election here.

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1. Harrison, 4-5.

Pay, Mama, Dada, Pay

I hate it when people let blogs lay silent for weeks. And, I'm guilty as charged. Long vacation, attending/presenting at a conference, first weeks of school, planning an event for 2100 college freshmen, blah, blah, blah. It's been a busy month or so.

That said, I return with what I think is a cute, fun, heart-warming, and encouraging story about my son.

Simon is talking more and more these days, even stringing three or four words together at times. Lately, when we sit down to dinner, he almost always stretches out his hands and reaches for Laurie on his left and me on his right and says, "Pay, mama, dada, pay." Which, of course, means "pray." We usually have to do this 2-3 times during the course of the meal. So, we say the Lord's prayer, a prayer for friends and family, and a prayer of thankfulness. Even at such a young age, it's clear that something special, desirable, and good comes through in taking the time to "do prayer." And, it's striking that what he picks up on is the ACT of prayer: the hands, the quiet, the stillness, the "Amen" at the end (which he emphatically shouts as "ah-MEEEN!).

In many aspects of life, the process or the act of doing is often as powerful as the language.

Saint Batman?

An interesting read for those who have seen the new Batman movie from Father Raymond J. de Souza, a Roman Catholic priest at Queen's University in Australia. Many of my friends came to mind as I read this one.

"Gotham needs a hero with a face," we are told. Yes, the world needs a witness to the truth, the goodness and the beauty of reality; a witness to the order of creation; a witness to the enduring reason through which all things were made; a witness with a human face.

We don't call those people superheroes. We call them saints.

Codex Sinaiticus

The oldest complete manuscript of the New Testament is now available online (news story here). The Codex Sinaiticus was written in the mid-300's AD and includes other ancient writings outside of the NT including the Shepherd of Hermas (on which I wrote a graduate paper and I highly recommend, especially if you like Revelation), Epistle of Barnabas, 1 & 2 Clement, and the Didache.

Enjoy!

Wendell Berry On Sex

Not entirely unrelated to Tuesday's post on abortion, I love what eminent Kentucky writer Wendell Berry has to say about sex in America.

The "conservatives" more or less attack homosexuality, abortion, and pornography, and the "liberals" more or less defend them. Neither party will oppose sexual promiscuity. The "liberals" will not oppose promiscuity because they do not wish to appear intolerant of "individual liberty." The "conservatives" will not oppose promiscuity because sexual discipline would reduce the profits of corporations, which in their advertisements and entertainments encourage self-indulgence as a way of selling merchandise.

From Wendell Berry, Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community, (New York: Pantheon, 1993): 123.

While Berry may be generalizing a bit here, I think his point is a sharp one. And, to Tuesday's post on China's sex-selective abotions, abortion (and unwanted pregnancy) is a result--not a cause. Perhaps a focused conversation about sex can elicit better thinking about some of the issues Berry points out. Of course, that's the issue. The "two sides" would rather make it about political jostling than addressing the root of the problem. As Berry says, there's a lot to lose by doing that. A close examination of our views of sex, its use as a marketing tool, and sexuality's role in Creation (big C, not just procreation) might help give us fresh perspective on sex in America. But, that takes some transparency, courage, and a willingness to (2008 Buzzword Warning) change.

Too Many Boys in China?

Freakonomics famously connects the passing of Roe v Wade (1973) with the mid-1990s drop in U.S. crime. Their argument (short version) is that many women opting for abortion are single, poor, and do not want a child. Children born unwanted to single, poor mothers are much more likely to become criminals. Levitt and Dubner, the authors of Freakonomics, contend that a large percentage of the precipitous drop in crime in the 1990s can be be attributed to a chunk of the (would-be) population that was never born into these less than desirable environments. I should add that the authors merely conclude that there is a connection--not that abortion is "worth it" or that abortion should be legal. They simply make a positive analysis (a connection between abortion and the crime drop), not a normative one (that abortion is "right" or "wrong" or should/should not be legal). That's a different kind of question.

That said, here is an interesting take on sex-selective abortion and crime: surplus males and the skyrocketing crime rate in China.

A snippet from Mara Hvistendahl's The New Republic Piece that the Freakonomics blog references:

The macho violence spurting forth through outlets like war games is a growing trend in Chinese society--and China's one-child policy, in effect since 1979, is partly responsible. The country's three decades of iron-fisted population planning coincided with a binge in sex-selective abortions (Chinese traditionally favor sons, who carry on the family line) and a rise, even as the country developed, in female infant mortality. After almost 30 years of the policy, China now has the largest gender imbalance in the world, with 37 million more men than women and almost 20 percent more newborn boys than girls nationwide.

This could be a painful lesson in unintended consequences for China.

Dialect and Dollars

I've blogged before about regional dialects. Over at the Freakonomics blog, Steven Levitt summarizes some University of Chicago research on how speech patterns affect salary. Research by his colleague Jeff Grogger has found that "sounding black" costs you about 10% in salary per year. So does "sounding southern." Not sure how the researchers defined their terms, though...

Anyway, Levitt summarizes:

His main finding: blacks who “sound black” earn salaries that are 10
percent lower than blacks who do not “sound black,” even after controlling for
measures of intelligence, experience in the work force, and other factors that
influence how much people earn. (For what it is worth, whites who “sound black”
earn 6 percent lower than other whites.)...It turns out you don’t want to sound
southern, either. Although pretty imprecisely estimated, it is almost as bad for
your wages to sound southern as it is to sound black, even controlling for
whether you live in the south.

Humans. Strange creatures. This is why I find economics interesting. Of course, regression analysis has its problems proving causation, but there are a lot of arrows pointing in the same direction in this research.

After being in academia for 14 years counting my time as a student, I have learned to dial back my rural Kentucky accent at least to a "mild" level if I feel the need. But, honestly, I kind of like "leaving it on" sometimes. And, I have to say in defense of accents, one of my most brilliant history professors had a heavy, gravelly, Mississippi drawl and another great prof had a classic Southern accent.

And, of course, there is a difference between speaking English well with an accent and speaking English poorly with an accent.

Adventures in Automated Software

When is "Gay" not "homosexual?"

Only your computer knows for certain.

11 Best Foods You Are Not Eating

And, in some cases, they are relatively inexpensive foods, too. From the NY Times wellness section:

Eat These Eleven

To be honest, I don't eat beets. But, I'm willing to shred them and try them as a salad base. I'll let you know how that goes.