Performance Zen

Author: spierzchala

  • No Longer a Christian

    Link: No Longer a Christian.
    Read this. Understand.

    I was told in Sunday school the word “Christian” means to be Christ-like, but the message I hear daily on the airwaves from the christian media are words of war, violence, and aggression. Throughout this article I will spell christian with a small c rather than a capital, since the term (as I usually hear it thrown about) does not refer to the teachings of the one I know as the Christ. I hear church goers call in to radio programs and explain that it was a mistake not to kill every living thing in Fallujah. They quote chapter and verse from the old testament about smiting the enemies of Israel. The fear of fighting the terrorists on our soil rather than across the globe causes the voices to be raised as they justify the latest prison scandal or other accounts of the horrors of war . The words they speak are words of destruction, aggression, dominance, revenge, fear and arrogance. The host and the callers echo the belief in the righteousness of our nation’s killing. There are reminders to pray for our christian president who is doing the work of the Lord: Right to Life, Second Amendmendment, sanctity of marriage, welfare reform, war, kill, evil liberals. . . so much to fight, so much to destroy.

    Amen.

  • Paxil/Seroxat Used as Loss Leader

    Link: SocietyGuardian.co.uk | Society | Revealed: secret plan to push ‘happy’ pills.

    I love reading stuff like this about Paxil/Seroxat, as it is the SSRI I have been taking since 1998.

    A half-life is the scientific term for how long it takes for the
    concentration of a drug to drop by 50 per cent in a patient’s
    bloodstream. The company suggested Seroxat’s short half-life meant patients could come on and off the drug easily, compared with those on Prozac, even to the extent that they could take ‘treatment holidays’.

    ‘There was an argument that a short half life was really good news,’
    Brook said.

    For those of you out there who may have tried to stop taking Paxil/Seroxat, you may have encountered a few of the withdrawal symptoms.

    It is best to consult a physician before discontinuing SSRIs. Stopping taking SSRIs such as Paroxetine (Paxil, Seroxat, Deroxat) suddenly may cause discontinuation effects, or withdrawal symptoms, including:

    • dizziness
    • vertigo/light-headedness
    • nausea
    • fatigue
    • headache
    • insomnia
    • abdominal cramps
    • chills
    • increased dreaming
    • agitation
    • anxiety

    When I stopped, I encountered all of these. The only one that I liked was the return of my vivid dreaming. But I finally had to go back on them. You have created another addict for life; thank you GSK.

  • The failing Democratic Party

    Link: andrewcoyne.com: It’s the Hispanics, stupid.

    In my opinion, the Democratic Party is a dinosaur. It has lost the evolutionary battle to the Republicans, and no longer represents a viable entity on the US National scene. Harsh, but true words.

    Their power-base has been shrinking since 1976. They have yet to latch onto the new vision that Americans have of themselves. They are a party of the urban dis-enfranchised, minority  and university-educated voters, especially if you look at the county-by-county electoral map in the 2004 election.

    The Democratic Party, if it is to survive, must abandon the National scene, and return to the local scene to try and survive.