National Public Radio reported last week on the Nunezes, a family of Ohioans who are mostly "unemployed and rely on government assistance and food stamps." Times are so tough that "they cut back on expensive items like meat." In a way, this is an ideal story for radio, since a photograph accompanying the Web site version presents a visual problem. The two Nunez woman portrayed in the photo do not, to put it delicately, appear to be starving, a fact that has provoked lost of catcalls from bloggers.

But c'mon, guys, give the ladies a break. The NPR story notes that instead of meat, "they eat a lot of starches like potatoes and noodles." The previous day, the
Associated Press reported on a new study that found the Atkins diet was more effective in promoting weight loss than traditional low-fat regimes. Less meat, more carbs: ipso fatso.