Al's Morning Meeting

There are several diet plans and books -- including "What Would Jesus Eat?," "The Hallelujah Diet," "The Maker's Diet" -- and groups such as First Place that have become popular.

The PBS program "Religion and Ethics Newsweekly" did a piece focusing on a weight-loss plan called Weigh Down. By 2001, the Weigh Down program had conducted 30,000 workshops for 60 denominations in 70 countries. The group teaches that instead of running for another something to eat, a dieter should turns to prayer. But the method has not been without some controversy. Some criticize these movements for not paying enough attention to nutritional issues or exercise.

The Indianapolis Star says black churches are focusing on dieting, too:

It's a message that's converging on the black community through churches and outreach by such organizations as the American Diabetes Association, the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association. Several cookbooks also tweak traditional soul-food recipes.

Back in 2000, Christianity Today provided some deep background that is still useful today:

The modern Christian dieting industry probably began in 1957, when Presbyterian minister Charlie Shedd published "Pray Your Weight Away." The book, which would never fly in today's Christian self-help market, used the guilt-trip style of a folksy preacher to persuade readers that God never intended for "one hundred pounds of excess avoirdupois" to be hanging around their belts.

The story continued:

According to nutritionist David Meinz, author of "Eating by the Good Book," the dieting industry in America is worth $30–50 billion. "A conservative estimate is that 5 percent [$1.5 billion] of that is the Christian dieting industry," Meinz says. "Many Christians are also buying Lean Cuisine. The 5 percent estimate does not include that."

Meinz offers another way to parse it: "Thirty-nine percent of the American population considers itself born again. So [up to] 39 percent of that dieting industry is Christian dollars. That's a huge amount of money."

They advocate food exchanges, measuring four ounces of this and two ounces of that. The national ministry 3D -- Diet, Discipline and Discipleship -- embodies this approach. Considered the mother of Christian dieting programs, 3D was founded in 1973 by Carol Showalter, a New England Presbyterian pastor's wife who struggled with her weight. "Weight Watchers met in the church," she recalls, "and I had a hard time not noticing it as I was off to Bible studies." As Showalter considered enrolling "for the third or fourth time... God spoke to me in a most extraordinary way: through a hand-painted sign on a Sunday-school wall." The message was this: God has the answer.

Nameless Dead Haunt City Morgues

In every town of any size, there is a case that investigators just can't solve. Somebody finds a body, but years pass by and nobody can identify the dead.

What cases are still pending in your town? The Oakland (Calif.) Tribune says that, in California alone:

More than 2,500 bodies -- the victims of violent crime and suspicious circumstance -- remain nameless entities in California, according to the state's Department of Justice. Some of the cases date back to the 1960s.  

First-Class Government Travel

The U.S. Government Accountability Office just released an audit [PDF] showing millions of dollars in wasted first-class airline travel by the Department of State.