Saturday, September 29, 2007

I'll be back!!

But I'll be gone for a while.

I am moving!! My house sold and I should be closing on Monday afternoon (Tuesday AM at the latest). I'm done with the showings, and done with the repairs and almost done packing!!

Not sure where I'm going yet....but the hunt is going good. I had to pay off a few things before I could get a decent mortgage and I have at least 2 choices! There are 2 homes in a nearby small town.

One is a bungalow and has 2 bedrooms, a big kitchen and a decent size living room There's also 2 baths and it's on about 1/3 acre. The house was built on 1914 and I'm told it's obviously a home that was "built for someone special" because of the work and attention to detail.
The house is newly renovated, with new stove and refrigerator as well as 2 new baths (1 full, 1 half). The 2 bedrooms are decent size and the living room is a good size. There are Pergo floors all rooms except the kitchen and main bath. The kitchen has little counter space, but I'm used to that. There is a fantastic attic that can be used for storage, although access isn't good. This was my first choice until the owner decided to add the half bath (apparently his Realtor didn't tell him I was interested!). The second bath isn't finished, but should be by Monday, so I can see the finished product.

The other house, the one that is my first choice is a ranch. It also has 2 bedrooms, about the same sizes. There is also a kitchen and dining area as well as a huge living room with a wood stove. I love wood stoves! This is a nice sturdy house build in 1980 and also has a nice yard. The deck on this house is bigger, but not as new as the other.
This house is also newly renovated and has wall to wall carpeting. Also a new stove, no refrigerator, but it does have a dishwasher. There is a separate area for dining, and there are lots of cabinets and more counter space. There is only 1 bath, but it's large and right by the 2 bedrooms. The washer and dryer are in the bathroom. The closets in this house are bigger. We didn't see the attic, but the crawl space is nice and dry and there's a carport in the back. The problem right now with this place is that there is currently a contract on it. The buyer is having problems with funding, and it may fall through. We'll know for sure in a few days.

I'll be staying at a nearby motel with my 2 dogs. A friend works at the Motel and her boss gave me a great deal!! The room is large enough for the dog's crates and it's just about the same distance to work. I'll have a microwave and a refrigerator, so eating is going to be OK. I will have Internet access, but I'm not sure how reliable it will be. I'm going to spend my spare time reading. I'm way behind on a lot of my favorite blogs, and I've got Gary Taubes' book arriving any day!

Oh yea!! Check out my Flicker pics to see the furniture and dishes I'm trying to sell!!

This should be an interesting couple of weeks!!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Ex-Kimkins or New to Low Carb?

For those that are switching from a very low calorie diet (or looking into low carb plans for the first time) you'll want to plan to get the most of your diet. Don't just start out cutting carbs and adding fat. You'll want to find a plan and follow it, at least until you know how your body is reacting. If you have been following a very low calorie diet, your body will likely initially react by holding onto fat and water. While this can be distressing, try to ignore it and realize it's temporary!! Take this adjustment time to plan and learn about your diet choice.

Now, I would like to post my own recommendations for anyone coming off Kimkins or just looking into a low carb plan.

1. For the next month or so don't count calories, and don't worry about weight gain or loss. You weight may fluctuate wildly for a while and you need to be prepared so you won't get discouraged. Don't count calories as they will likely regulate themselves and can always be cut back later if necessary. During this time start researching and reading about the different plans.

2. First, cut out all "whites". White flour, rice, sugar, potatoes, etc and all items made with them. So, no white breads, rolls, etc. No potatoes of any kind....and that includes baked as well as fried. No sugar. If you must have sweet, find an acceptable artificial sweetener (AS) and make/buy drinks that contain it. Observe your reactions to the foods you eat, noting especially how soon after eating you get hungry.

3. Start eating 3 regular meals a day with small high protein low carb snacks if needed. Cheese is a great choice for snacks, but many say eating it can lead to a stall. At this point, don’t worry so much about counting things, just eat natural unprocessed foods. If you do used processed foods, choose the one with the best ingredients. You should be eating enough at each meal so you are satisfied, but not overly full. The amount you eat should last until the next meal, although initially you may need snacks to hold you over. If you're used to very low calorie or tight portion control be open to having more than one serving of your protein/fat source. You should never leave the table hungry!

4. Start reading labels. You’ll want to start reading labels on any processed foods you buy or consider buying. Look for the least processed and best ingredients. For example, if you need salsa check out the carb counts and the ingredients. Buy the one that is lower carb especially if it's more natural. Dairy is also a good example. Fat free American cheese contains no fat, but 4 grams carbohydrate per ounce, while full fat cheese contains only 2 grams. Sour cream too....fat free, no fat, but 40 grams of carb per cup while full fat contains only 10 grams per cup. Watch ingredients too. If something says it has no trans-fat, or "0% trans-fat", check the label. Look for “hydrogenated” in the ingredients listing. If that word is there, it's very likely that the food contains at least some trans-fat, but by law can be listed as 0 if it's less than 0.5 grams.

5. Start reading up on low carb plans. There is a ton of information on the web and there are many plans to choose from. Go to your local library or bookstore and read a bit of the plans and see which one you can live with. If, for example, you like to have convenience foods, including frozen meals on hand for quick and easy meals, South Beach might be a better choice than Atkins or Protein Power. Each plan has it's specifics about how much fat, protein, and carb you should eat as well as what kind of foods they come from.

6. Once you decide on a plan, read the book. Front to back, at least once. Take notes or highlight text if you can. But really read the book. Pay attention to the science behind each of the author's points. Does what the author say make sense? Check the claims by searching online and verify facts when you can.

7. When you start on your plan you should follow it as closely as you can. For the first 2 weeks, minimum, do what the plan tells you. If it says to have as much green veggies as you want, then have it. If it tells you to limit something or increase something, then do it. Give yourself a month to decide if this is the right plan for you. Be sure to include exercise in your plan. Resistance training is felt to be more beneficial than cardio by many, but anything that you enjoy is fine.

8. Prepare to record everything you eat as accurately as possible. FitDay.com is an excellent product and is available online for free. If you really want to be accurate, measure and weigh everything you eat or drink. Record any exercise too. Check your weight and measurements and decide on a goal. Write this all down, or record in an online product. (SparkPeople.com is also an excellent free site that has a place to record food, exercise, goals, etc and also features support forums and teams as well as recipes and articles.)


9. Set a start date and de-carb your house. Remove as many of the "unacceptable" foods as you are able to. If you have family that you live with, be sure to get their buy in and agreements to work with you and your plan. At this time, if you haven't already, it would also be a good idea to talk to your doctor and get some baseline blood work done. If you are on any medications you may need your doc's assistance in changing dose as you loose weight. Getting baseline blood work is great to compare to additional work done later.

10. When following your plan, continue to learn more about diet and nutrition. Follow the research, but question anything in the mainstream media. Check out my links to blogs and web sites if you need a place to start!

11. Tweak your plan, after at least 2 weeks of following your plan exactly. If you don't like a certain aspect of your diet then change it. If you prefer meat over veggies it's not likely to cause you problems as long as the meat you eat is unprocessed and the veggies are good quality and as natural as possible. If you're not loosing enough and feel your carb intake is a bit too high, then lower it a bit. And if there is a food that you really miss see if there is any way to incorporate it or a substitute once in a while.



Following low carb may not be for everyone, but for the majority of us it is beneficial and results in lower blood sugar and insulin levels, lower blood pressure and usually significant weight loss. If you feel you are not loosing fast enough, cut back on carbs, and also rethink your expectations. Rapid weight loss is often not sustained over the long term and can cause several physical reactions.

If you properly follow a low carb plan you must make it a life plan. Sure you can follow the plan until you loose the weight you want to loose then go back to "normal" eating....but if you do you will regain the weight you lost, no question. And, if you are going to make this a life plan, you must find one that works for you!

A friend of mine recently asked me to find a list of foods that she cannot eat. Well, unfortunately it's not that easy!! Some people can eat fruit without a problem, but I'll be plagued by cravings if I am not really careful and have adequate fat and protein along with it. On the other hand, most people experience stalls from eating foods containing sugar alcohols (SA), but they don't seem to influence my weight at all. The foods that you "can't" eat are the foods that induce cravings and early hunger.

Limits should be placed on the total number of carbs per meal and not the food. If you are allowed 15 grams per meal and you want a veggie, you have a lot of choices:
Asparagus, cooked = 2 cups
Broccoli, cooked = 1.6 cups
Cucumber = 5 cups
Romaine Lettuce = 11 cups
Corn = 1/3 cup
Brown rice = 1/2 cup (1/3 cup of white rice)
White potato = 1/2 cup
So...you have a lovely piece of roasted chicken (eat the skin!) and along with it you can have a nice salad of lettuce (2 cups), tomato (1/4 cup), cucumber (1/4 cup), and mushroom (1/4 cup), along with an ounce of shredded cheese and 2 tablespoons of full fat creamy dressing, and some broccoli on the side, all for less than 15 grams of carb...or you can have 1/2 cup of potato. If you don't like salad or you're craving potatoes, maybe eating the 1/2 cup serving will be enough. The other thing to consider, and this is highly individualised, but it's likely that the starch in the potato is going to be rapidly metabolized and you will start to feel hungry sooner than you would if you had the salad. But, it's still your choice!! That's what makes any diet doable!


Here are some of the plans I'm somewhat familiar with:
Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution. Probably the best known and most misunderstood of all the plans. You start out with very low carb, no more than 20 grams per day, then increase them after the first 2 weeks. The increase in carbs is to allow people to figure out what their "critical carb level" (CCL) is. Your CCL is the level at which you no longer loose. Drop your carbs back a bit and you should loose steadily. As you get closer to your goal you increase carbs a bit more to slow your loss and gradually transition into maintenance. With this plan the emphasis is having a high intake of fat and a low intake of carbs. You are encouraged to eat veggies and some fruit. Exercise is a part of the plan, no exceptions.
Protein Power Lifeplan. My personal favorite, although what I do now isn't exactly by the book. For Protein Power plans the emphasis is on getting a minimum of a certain level of protein and keeping carbs below a certain level (30 grams/day to start). The original plan was a bit lower in carbs than the later one, but still the emphasis is on the protein (hence the name! LOL). In the first book there was a formula to figure out your minimum protein intake, but in the later book there's a chart for you to look it up. Fat isn't really addressed except to caution to use natural fresh fats over commercial ones.

And some that I'm less familiar with:
South Beach. Basic low carb for the first 2 weeks, then fairly generous for ongoing weight loss. Emphasis is to NOT remain on the initial phase for longer than 2 weeks. (Dr A and PP plans both "allow" you to stay on the initial level longer) This plan is considered low fat to many low carbers, especially those on Atkins. The emphasis isn't so much on quantity of fat as quality. It cautions against trans-fats (just like the Dr A and PP plans), but also cautions against saturated fat. Dr Agatston is/was a cardiologist, so it makes sense that he would fear saturated fats.

Dr Bernstein's books. I've read one and was impressed, but was already doing well with PP so I've never tried any of his plans. Dr Bernstein is a diabetic, a Type 1, who basically experimented on himself, then went to medical school so he would have more credibility. Unfortunately the general media tends to ignore him. He has a lot of good things to say, and promotes a low carb diet for all diabetics.

Other books about low carb, controlled car, low sugar plans:
Paleo Diet. Basically you eat what was available to our ancestors. So meats and any fruits and veggies that can be eaten as is. No processed foods. Meat, fish, gathered or foraged fruits, leaves, and roots of plants, mushrooms, nuts, eggs, and honey...that's pretty much it.

Sugar Shock. Connie Bennett figured out she was having a reaction to eating sugar and started investigating why. Her book gives and excellent explanation of sugar addiction and reactions in the body. She also has some excellent suggestions for those just looking to kick their sugar addiction.

The Zone diet. This one is about balance. The plan is to keep your carbohydrates, protein and fat in a certain ratio: 40/30/30 to be exact. I've heard that the diet can be confusing....and also that it's fantastic.

Sugar Busters. Basically with Sugar Busters you avoid all processed carbs and carbs that are high GI (Glycemic Index), like potatoes and corn.


Check out MY LINKS to low carb sites, books, and information....and have fun!!

Tonight's Dinner:

Brussels Sprouts with butter
cucumber with Caesar dressing
homemade chunky applesauce
herb rubbed roasted pork loin.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Kimkins survivors

I've been on a few forums lately with a high number of new members that are former Kimkins members.

Now, anyone who's been following the chatter in the low carb community knows that there's a lot of controversy about the Kimkins plans, and that it looks like the whole scam is about to blow wide open. Many members have been banned from the site and have looked for an found other sites to get the support and help they need.

You know....this whole thing turns my stomach and makes me want to cry for the victims.

Here's the story, from what I can gather on the net.

Back several years ago a poster on a forum said she had lost close to 200 pounds in a relatively short period of time. This poster went by the name of Kimmer. Over the course of many postings over many months, Kimmer said she was a woman who lived in California with her son. She also said she had foster children, specifically male teens. Apparently there was also a claim of being on permanent disability and having defaulted on college loans. Apparently there have been several confirmations that this Kimmer is actually a woman named Heidi Diaz, who lives in Corona, CA. (I encourage you to look up and at the evidence and make your own conclusions, but the sources I've seen look pretty convincing)

People on the forum were impressed by Kimmer's before and after pictures and started asking her questions about her plan. Eventually they started asking for advice in following her plan, and she more firmly defined it. Apparently there were several plans. After a while Kimmer was apparently approached by someone who suggested setting up a website of her own where she could post her plans and set up a forum for members. There would be a fee for membership. That fee started around $15 and is currently around $60. The fee was supposed to be for the support forums, a personal page, email, etc. The plans were readily available all over the net! (And there are a few!)

I never joined Kimkins as the first time I looked into it I found it was a low fat plan. At that point I just dismissed it as one I wasn't interested in. I did notice there was a lot of chatter on the forums about Kimkins, but never really paid much attention. I noticed more and more ads for Kimkins on all the diet sites....and noticed that even links that looked like they were for different things also lead to the Kimkins site. Women's World did an article about Kimkins and boy did the Internet light up with activity to the Kimkins site as well as various weight loss forums!

While this was going on, there began to be a few in the low carb community that were questioning the wisdom of these plans. There were also bloggers that were trying and openly promoting Kimkins, even some of the lower calorie plans.

Now, generally there are 2 groups that use low carb as a diet, and of course there are subgroups. The first group is mainly interested in weight loss....and the faster the better. The second group is more concerned with the health aspects of low carb while working at loosing weight. Within each group you're going to find differences of opinion on whether calories "count" or not, if high fat or low fat is better, if you should eat high protein or high fat, etc. Personally I am of the health group and believe both fat and protein are good in any amounts (as long as they're as natural as possible) and that carbs should be avoided unless they are veggies, fruit and some dairy. I also believe that calories do count, but low carb calories are generally better tolerated than high carb calories.

So anyway....while Kimmer was building her site and more and more people were joining and talking about the plans on other sites, there started to be seen people who had personally been harmed by the diet or were concerned about things that were being said on the Kimkins site forums. And I guess it was right about here that Jimmy Moore publicly joined Kimkins and began to heavily advertise for the plan. (Jimmy has since quit the plan and publicly apologised to his readers)

Jimmy Moore's enthusiastic approval of Kimkins really upset the low carb community. Jimmy's is a very heavily read site and many of his readers are people looking into low carb. By Jimmy approving the Kimkins plans, he was saying that these plans were low carb and safe. (There is also controversy as to whether these plans are to be considered "low carb" or "low calorie". Personally I say they are "very low calorie" diets that happen to be VERY low in carbohydrates and fats) Jimmy's endorsement upset many in the low carb community, myself included.

Now you are seeing blogs reporting fantastic results of following Kimkins as well as blogs explaining the dangers of a very low calorie diet. There are blogs with before and after pictures and blogs talking about the hair loss, weakness, inability to exercise and even loss of menses related to the effects of the diets. There were blogs praising Kimmer and the Kimkins plans and there were now blogs questioning the very existence of Kimmer, aka Heidi Diaz. The pro-Kimmer postings were definitely being overshadowed by the anti-Kimkins postings.

The charges that people are saying about Kimmer and Kimkins?
1. Kimmer is in fact Heidi Diaz, a woman that lives in Corona, California. This woman appears to be morbidly obese. No one knows if she ever lost the weight she claimed to have lost, but even if she did, she apparently was unable to sustain the loss.
2. That Kimmer is posting advice to severely limit the intake of calories to the point of starvation levels.
3. That Kimmer is posting advice to use laxatives on a daily basis.
4. That Kimmer is allowing and even advising at least 1 teenager on her site.
5. That posts on the Kimkins support forum have been edited or deleted. These posts are posts questioning the wisdom of the advice given by Kimmer.
6. That Private Messages have been accessed by the administration staff on the Kimkins site.
7. That members have been banned from the site,, but given no refund and in many cases any explanation.
8. That some of the before and after pictures on the site are fake.
9. That Kimmer accepted money for non-existent foster children as a result of posts about money problems on the site.

To me, there are 2 disturbing things about this whole thing. One is that this woman has been pushing and promoting a very dangerous diet plan without any training in the field. And the other is the way she preyed on a group of people that were vulnerable and, in many cases, desperate.

The plans that many are upset about are the plans that encourage very low calories. Some of these plans are said to have a high of 800 calories!! Fat is restricted as much as possible and vegetables are severely limited. Some argue that these plans are only for short-term use, while others note that there is no time limit stated with the plans and Kimmer is advising people to stay on them for the long-term. Even in the short-term, diets that call for calories as low as these promote should only be undertaken with close medical supervision. I have known several people who have been put on very low calorie diets by their physicians and they were all very closely monitored. They were also told to watch for certain signs of starvation like hair loss and loss of menses.

Kimmer preyed on people, mainly women it seems, who are desperate to loose weight at almost any cost. Some only had a small amount to loose, but desperately wanted to get back to their "goal" weight, and many others had 100 pounds and more to loose. The one thing in common that these people had is that they'd tried other plans and weren't successful....or weren't as successful as they wanted to be. These people were willing to do something dramatic if that something worked....and by all reports, Kimkins did work!

Apparently the support forums on the Kimkins site were great. Many wonderful people posted there and many friendships were formed as a result of belonging to Kimkins. Good thing, as now many of these disillusioned members are finding each other on other sites, including Jimmy Moore's new forum. Many refer to themselves as Kimkins survivors, and survivors they are!! They are now starting to figure out how to eat healthy and loose weight. Many are going to different low carb plans, but are still reluctant to increase their fat or calories too much. They are upset, and rightly so, that not only were they used by Kimmer, but they are also now being used by anti-Kimkins bloggers who are using their words without permission. They are afraid to trust again. The damage done by Kimkins is not only physical.

Luckily there are plenty of support groups on the Internet. I follow several low carb/diet support sites and I'm seeing threads and posts from new members who are former or still current Kimkins members. And the other members on these forums are doing what they can to help. Many of these sites have tools to help track your intake and progress and members that are more than willing to answer questions and provide information and support for those that are asking for it. If you aren't already a member of a support group, I highly recommend joining one. Here are links to some of the favorites on the net:
Active Low Carbers Forum
Jimmy Moore's site
Spark People
Low Carb Friends

My plan:

My plan:

Protein: minimum 100g/day. Ideal 130+g/day
Carbohydrate: Beginning Jan 1, minimum 15g/day, less than 50g/day. Subtract fiber grams only.
Fat: as desired of the following:
  • Coconut oil (and other tropical oils)
  • Butter
  • olive oil (not for high heat cooking)
  • Nut oils (avoid for high heat cooking)
  • Bacon fat (minimal unless bacon nitrate free)
  • animal fat (fresh)
Total calories: 1200+ per day
Intermittent fasting: 24h Jan 1, 2007, as desired.
Exercise: minimum 3X/week
  • Cardio: walking daily, starting minimum of 20 minutes.
  • Strengthening/toning: Body For Life program
Processed foods: minimal use
Grains: minimal.
Corn, canola, soy and other "industrial" oils: do not use.
HFCS and trans-fats: check all labels and avoid whenever possible.
Artificial sweeteners: minimal use. Mainly use oligofructose (Sweet Perfection brand)

I base my plan primarily from Protein Power Life Plan (2000 edition) with strong influence of Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution (?1992 edition).

Note, this document is in progress, and may be updated at any time.

Updated 9/16/2007

Saturday, September 08, 2007

My review of Kimkins as posted on the BBB

I've been following a lot of blogs about Kimkins, which I feel has some plans that are dangerous. I followed a link to a place on the BBB (Better Business Bureau). I had no intention of posting, but then decided to give my 2 cents.

Here is the post:

As a health professional I have to write to condemn these diet plans, the ones created by and promoted by a person who calls herself Kimmer, and calls her website Kimkins.com. The website allows you to join so you have access to support boards, articles, lists, meal plans, etc related to several different plans. Some are higher in calories and nutrients than others and sound acceptable. But there are other plans that promote very low calorie and very low fat eating. The different diet plans are available easily to non-members, the fee is for support and other products. One of these products is a message board.

I have never been a member of the site, nor have I tried any of the diets. I am a RN of over 30 years and have been researching diet and nutrition for about 3 years. I don't know it all, but I do know that this diet, at least parts of it, cannot be healthful.

There are several things that have been reported about this plan/website that disturbs me and others.

Do clients loose weight? I'm sure they do. But that does not mean they are healthy or have learned how to maintain their loss. Anyone that severely restricts their caloric intake will loose weight....that is a given. But to loose weight rapidly due to very low caloric intake is not healthy. Without adequate nutrients the body will suspend certain functions and others will be altered and/or damaged. To this charge, many members have reported significant hair loss and cessation of menses.

Do the clients see an improvement in blood work? Again, for the things that people are going to check, lipids, blood sugar, etc, probably yes. Fasting, whether done short or long term has been documented to lower blood sugar levels and "improve" lipid distribution. But I'd be willing to bet they are also deficient in many key vitamins and nutrients. Many members have reported weakness, exercise intolerance and joint pains....all attributable to inadequate nutrition.

Is the woman behind this plan who she says she is? It seems not. Recently the Internet has been plastered with pictures of a woman that a private investigator claims is Heidi Diaz aka Kimmer, the creator and perpetrator of this plan. The woman in the pictures certainly is not the woman portrayed on the website. Is this private investigator real? Does he have any evidence that the woman he photographed is in fact Heidi Diaz? He says he does....so he should be contacted by the authorities as part of the investigation of this diet/website.

Additional charges by members and former members are that this plan is accepting under 18 year olds as members. These underage members are also said to be given advice to cut calories and fat dramatically and even take laxatives on a regular basis. Damage to young children's bodies could be permanent if the accusations about this diet are true and children are being counseled to severely restrict food and fluid intake. The psychological effect might be too much for some and lead to a serious and life threatening eating disorder.

And finally, members are reporting being banned and locked out of the website, even though the membership clearly states it is a lifetime membership.

This site should be closed immediately and investigated thoroughly. If these charges are true the site should be permanently closed and the owner prosecuted and/or fined according to any laws that may have been broken. If the charges are unfounded the site should be reopened.

For those that think we're all fake, I am not in any way affiliated with Slamboard, or any other anti-Kimkins blog or website, other than being a reader and commenter. Jimmy Moore, who also posted a negative review, is well known and respected in the low carb community.

I am a RN licensed in North Carolina and formerly licensed (but eligible for reinstatement) in Massachusetts. I received my first license in 1976. I no longer work as a nurse, but follow literature, news, research, etc with a particular interest in diet, nutrition and good health.

Thank you
Alcinda Moore
aka Cindy Moore, CindySue48, CindySue54, and madnicla
Durham, North Carolina

There are many people speaking out, but as long as the site is open there is a danger! Please post your review too!

Keith Olbermann - Special Comment - Sept 4, 2007

Once again, Mr Olbermann has written an excellent commentary on Mr Bush's recent activities!

SPECIAL COMMENT
By Keith Olbermann
Anchor, 'Countdown'
MSNBC
Updated: 9:20 p.m. ET Sept 4, 2007


Keith Olbermann
Anchor, 'Countdown'


And so he is back from his annual surprise gratuitous photo-op in Iraq, and what a sorry spectacle it was. But it was nothing compared to the spectacle of one unfiltered, unguarded, horrifying quotation in the new biography to which Mr. Bush has consented.

As he deceived the troops at Al-Asad Air Base yesterday with the tantalizing prospect that some of them might not have to risk being killed and might get to go home, Mr. Bush probably did not know that, with his own words, he had already proved that he had been lying, is lying and will be lying about Iraq.

He presumably did not know that there had already appeared those damning excerpts from Robert Draper's book “Dead Certain."

“I'm playing for October-November," Mr. Bush said to Draper. That, evidently, is the time during which, he thinks he can sell us the real plan, which is “to get us in a position where the presidential candidates will be comfortable about sustaining a presence."

Comfortable, that is, with saying about Iraq, again quoting the President, “stay... longer."

And there it is. We've caught you. Your goal is not to bring some troops home, maybe, if we let you have your way now. Your goal is not to set the stage for eventual withdrawal. You are, to use your own disrespectful, tone-deaf word, playing at getting the next Republican nominee to agree to jump into this bottomless pit with you, and take us with him, as we stay in Iraq for another year, and another, and another, and anon.

Everything you said about Iraq yesterday, and everything you will say, is a deception, for the purpose of this one cynical, unacceptable, brutal goal: perpetuating this war indefinitely.

War today, war tomorrow, war forever!

And you are playing at it! Playing!

A man with any self respect, having inadvertently revealed such an evil secret, would have already resigned and fled the country! You have no remaining credibility about Iraq.

And yet, yesterday at Al-Asad, Mr. Bush kept playing, and this time, using the second of his two faces.

The president told reporters, “They (General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker) tell me if the kind of success we are now seeing continues, it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces."

And so, Mr. Bush got his fraudulent headlines today. “Bush May Bring Some Troops Home."

While the reality is, we know from what he told Draper, that the president's true hope is that they will not come home; but that they will stay there, because he is keeping them there now, in hope that those from his political party fighting to succeed him will prolong this unendurable disaster into the next decade.

But, to a country dying of thirst, the president seemed to vaguely promise a drink from a full canteen -- a promise predicated on the assumption that he is not lying.

Yet you are lying, Mr. Bush. Again. But now, we know why.

You gave away more of yourself than you knew in the Draper book. And you gave away more still, on the arduous trip back out of Iraq hours in the air, without so much as a single vacation.

“If you look at my comments over the past eight months," you told reporters, “it's gone from a security situation in the sense that we're either going to get out and there will be chaos, or, more troops. Now, the situation has changed, where I'm able to speculate on the hypothetical."

Mr. Bush, the only "hypothetical" here is that you are not now holding our troops hostage. You have no intention of withdrawing them. But that doesn't mean you can't pretend you're thinking about it, does it?

That is your genius as you see it, anyway. You can deduce what we want. We, the people, remember us? And then use it against us.

You can hold that canteen up and promise it to the parched nation. And the untold number of Americans whose lives have not been directly blighted by Iraq or who do not realize that their safety has been reduced and not increased by Iraq, they will get the bullet points: "Bush is thinking about bringing some troops home. Bush even went to Iraq."

You can fool some of the people all of the time, can't you, Mr. Bush? You are playing us!

And as for the most immediate victims of the president's perfidy and shameless manipulation of those troops -- yesterday sweating literally as he spoke at Al-Asad Air Base -- tonight, again sweating figuratively in The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death, the president saved, for them, the most egregious "playing" in the entire trip.

“I want to tell you this about the decision, about my decision about troop levels. Those decisions will be based on a calm assessment by our military commanders on the conditions on the ground, not a nervous reaction by Washington politicians to poll results in the media."

One must compliment Mr. Bush's writer. That, perhaps, was the mostly perfectly-crafted phrase of his presidency. For depraved indifference to democracy, for the craven projection of political motives onto those trying to save lives and save a nation, for a dismissal of the value of the polls and the importance of the media, for a summary of all he does not hold dear about this nation or its people nothing could top that.

As if you listened to all the "calm assessments" of our military commanders rather than firing the ones who dared say the emperor has no clothes, and the president, no judgment.

As if your entire presidency was not a “nervous reaction," and you yourself, nothing but a Washington politician.

As if “"he media" does not largely divide into those parts your minions are playing, and those others who unthinkingly and uncritically serve as your echo chamber, at a time when the nation's future may depend on the airing of dissent.

And as if those polls were not so overwhelming, and not so clearly reflective of the nation's agony and the nation's insistence.

But this president has ceased to listen. This president has decided that night is day, and death is life, and enraging the world against us is safety. And this laziest of presidents, actually interrupted his precious time off to fly to Iraq to play at a photo opportunity with soldiers, some of whom will on his orders be killed before the year maybe the month is out.

Just over 500 days remain in this presidency. Consider the dead who have piled up on the battlefield in these last 500 days.

Consider the singular fraudulence of this president's trip to Iraq yesterday, and the singular fraudulence of the selling of the Petraeus Report in these last 500 days.

Consider how this president has torn away at the fabric of this nation in a manner of which terrorists can only dream in these last 500 days.

And consider again how this president has spoken to that biographer: that he is “playing for October-November." The goal in Iraq is “to get us in a position where the presidential candidates will be comfortable about sustaining a presence." Consider how this revelation contradicts every other rationale he has offered in these last 500 days.

In the context of all that now, consider these next 500 days.

Mr. Bush, our presence in Iraq must end. Even if it means your resignation. Even if it means your impeachment. Even if it means a different Republican to serve out your term. Even if it means a Democratic Congress and those true patriots among the Republicans standing up and denying you another penny for Iraq, other than for the safety and the safe conduct home of our troops.

This country cannot run the risk of what you can still do to this country in the next 500 days.

Not while you are playing.

Click here to access the video.

Starting over

Now that vacation is over I'm back on plan!!

OK....I've been home 2 weeks, so this is the new start of a sugar free, low carb, high protein diet. This isn't a "diet" in the sense of loosing weight, but a "diet" as in a way of eating. (see 1 a and 1b below)

Main Entry: 1di·et
Pronunciation: 'dI-&t
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English diete, from Anglo-French, from Latin diaeta, from Greek diaita, literally, manner of living, from diaitasthai to lead one's life
1 a : food and drink regularly provided or consumed b : habitual nourishment c : the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason d : a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight diet>
2 : something provided or experienced repeatedly diet of Broadway shows and nightclubs -- Frederick Wyatt>

So, to start back on track, I want to report I've lost more since vacation!! Since returning from vacation on August 26, I've lost an additional 2.8 pounds! And! I'm at a new low! I have not seen this weight in over 23 years!




This is going to be a short post. I'm taking today to rest and get back on track. I've been under a lot of stress lately, which hasn't lessened yet....and I'm tired. So today is a day to rest and get caught up on blogs and message boards!!

I've sold my house, but everything isn't finalized yet! The buyer had inspections done yesterday, and all passed except for a problem with termites! I'm not sure how extensive the damage is, but I'm sure I'll loose even more off the price of the house! Oh well....as long as the buyer doesn't back out, I'll take it. I really need to get out of here!

I'll be posting 2 additional posts today. One will be a special comment by Keith Olbermann and the other will be my review of Kimkins that I posted on the Better Business Bureau.