I hadn’t planned on giving this hunger strike farce on the part of anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and her cronies any attention, given that it was such a transparent ploy for publicity, but since this has gotten to be so much fun the “Hollywood Publicity Stunt Diet” has to be written about.

In the most cynical move of the year, porky, middle-aged “grieving mom” (a.k.a.- opportunistic political hack) Cindy Sheehan went on a liquid-only hunger strike. Translation: her publicist told her she needed to lose weight so she turned it into a cause d’celebre. Sheehan was joined by her Hollywood pals (e.g.-people who starve themselves for a living) and, in unison, overfed, over-indulged actors like Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn joined in her cause and stopped eating- for one day. (Slogan: “Starbuck’s Double Lattes and Papaya Smoothies are not 'food'!”) Oh, the sacrifice. Of course, if any of these paunchy prima donnas saw their latest pictures in those celebrity magazines this is what you’d call a great career move.

But wait, I’m confused. I thought the whole point of a hunger strike was to give up food and water until you die. You know, death by starvation, the ultimate act of defiance and sacrifice. It’s not, “fast until you lose 50 unwanted pounds”. Anyway, 37 days into the strike, Cindy was rushed to the, ironically named, Waco hospital in an apparent emergency of dehydration, exhaustion and gynecological problems. How you end up with dehydration on a liquid diet is anyone’s guess and as far as her internal problems, well, let's just say that sounds like karma. (R.I.P Casey.) But, tragically, Cindy's publicity stunt, excuse me "hunger strike", had to be cut short because she is now under “under doctors orders” to start eating again, and undergo a D & C, (something that not one person in the universe wants to think about no less have to imagine.) In a tersly worded press release, Cindy's publicist issued the following statement: "This D&C is a symbol of solidarity for all the women who have ‘chosen’ to have back alley abortions". So, in a sad twist of fate, Cindy would have definitely gone on to the finish but “Doctor's orders”…gotta eat.

Poor Cindy Sheehan. How much she has sacrificed for her cause: Prancing around with Cynthia McKinney, posing for photo ops with anti-American dictator Caeser Chavez, all the while denouncing America during a time of war on foreign soil- no wonder she's exhausted. Hunger strikes have always been about starving oneself to the death so that your memory lives on as a martyr, except in the case of Cindy Sheehan and her self-obsessed, overindulged pals. (Al Sharpton once fasted, too, to protest American bombings on Vieques Island but stopped after reaching his weight-loss goal of 25 pounds). No, for them this is just a vanity-driven makeover. I wonder when she’ll get her endorsement deal for “Tofu Turkey”. Only in America can you get worshipped for keeling over from your own self-inflicted wounds. The Cindy Sheehan "Anti-war Protestors/Publicity Stunt" Diet. Motto: "Starve yourself until they take you to Shoneys."