The religion thing was nothing but a tax shelter.  (Someone talked me into
visiting a "Scientology" place once.  It was a high-pressure scam, designed
to separate you from the contents of your pockets, nothing more.  I was
very disappointed after having read Dianetics and finding it really
interesting.)  I was talking about the theories behind Dianetics.  I find
it much easier to swallow than conventional psych.  But that's exactly what
I meant.  He had these revolutionary ideas, talked about how people could
clear their minds and live better lives, but then built this silly empire
based on nothing but greed.  I perceive Atkins the same way because Atkins,
while he was on the right track with his diet, then surrounded himself with
"buy everything you need from me at tremendously inflated prices because
I'm your guru", which serves only two purposes; to make him richer, and to
reduce his credibility in any instance because one always wonders if he's
recommending something simply because he's selling it.  Creating a market
for his product at the expense of his "followers'" wallets, and perhaps
even health.

Know what I mean?  I'm sure Atkins understands the concepts of paleodiet,
and knows that they make more sense than his Dr. Feelgood lowcarb diet.  He
also understands that even when lowcarb takes off, he'll never get rich on
a paleodiet and that's why he stops short of doing it right.

John Pavao

----------
On Wed, 21 May 1997, John C. Pavao wrote:

> Personally, Atkins reminds me of L. Ron Hubbard.  Each had a great idea,
> then surrounded it and themselves with greed and commercialism so that it
> became impossible to listen to anything either said and truly believe it,
> even if I wanted to.

{Deposit 10 cents}
        I really don't think Hubbard had a great idea, unless you mean,
"If you really want to make money, start your own religion."  Or are you
refering to his technique of a "gradient" for indoctrination.  Napoleon
once said, "It is but a step from the sublime to the rediculous."
$cientology prolongs it into many steps costing thousands of dollars.
        I promised myself I wouldn't insult anyone's religion on this
mailing list, but I'm pretty sure any clams would have left after seeing
Xemu's sister.  Besides, "Rice and Beans" isn't exactly compatable with
NeanderThin.
        Sorry about all that stuff, but you really but a dime in me with
Elron.