First off, the doctor appointment went all right.  She thinks it’s just a cyst and shouldn’t be too big a deal.  I have to get an ultrasound done to make sure though.  Feeling better about the whole thing now.

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Here’s something that I haven’t yet blogged about and kind of can’t believe that I let it slip past me: May 21st’s Rapture.

“But Teri, that is over and done with.  Old news!” says you.  It’s true that the proposed Rapture Day came and went without so much as a hiccup, but Harold Camping hasn’t given up.  He has decreed that May 21st was more spiritual than physical, and that the end of the world will still happen on October 21st, 2011.

For a supposed Bible expert, it’s pretty clear that he hasn’t read much of the Bible.  So let’s talk about what the End Times are, and what they are not because there are some people who need serious help on that point.  Specifically the people who pay atheists to watch their pets after the Rapture happens damn do I wish I had come up with the idea first] and the people who maxed out their credit cards in anticipation of May 21st.  My question to you: just how stupid are you?

Here’s what we really know about the End Times:
–”But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” [Mark 13:32]
–A world leader will rise up and restore peace in the Middle East
–The Jews will regain control of Jerusalem
–A One-World government will begin with the world leader to rule it – this is the Anti-Christ
–A tribulation will take place that will last for seven years.  This is going to be a truly terrible time on Earth.
–Note: there are different theories as to when the Rapture will take place: before the tribulation, halfway through the tribulation, and at the end of the tribulation.  Whenever it is, all believers in Christ will be taken up to Heaven.

[Side note:  All of these events are based on the Bible.  You might not believe in the Bible or that any of the events will occur.  And that's okay--I'm not trying to make you believe anything.  But when a man predicts a Christian event, he better make damn sure it's based on Christian theology.]

Now, if it sounds like *ANY* of these events have occurred, by all means, commence freaking out in the days prior to October 21st.  The world is going to end.  Say your “I love yous”, spend all your money, and kiss your ass goodbye.

However, on October 22nd, the rest of us are all going to laugh at you.

I’ve been sitting on this soap box for a long time, not wanting to offend.  Enough is enough.

We need a little less protecting people from themselves and a little more survival of the fittest.  Natural selection is a beautiful thing, people, and should be embraced lest the human race become an idiotic waste of space.

I am against laws that protect people from their own stupidity.  I am for, however, laws that protect people from other’s stupidity.  Example: Drunk driving.  Drunk drivers rarely hurt themselves, hurting/killing innocent people instead.  Drunk driving = illegal.  Texting while crossing the street, however, should not be.  You are endangering yourself and therefore, deserve whatever consequences you get.  Same with seat belt laws.  If you choose not to wear them, that should be your prerogative.

We should abolish welfare, Section 8, and Social Security.  By coddling the less fortunate we are not only encouraging them to be lazy and unproductive members of society, we are enabling them to breed future lazy and unproductive members of society.  End result: over time our nation will be weaker, lazier, stupider, and greedier.  We need to get back to a mindset where a person must work for what they have–it is one of the great things about this country: that a person can, through hard work and perseverance, make a better life for themselves.

I read an article today about how McDonald’s is being sued because by including a toy in their kid’s meals, they are marketing to children.  The article made this awesome statement: “Gardner [CSPI director of litigation, Stephen Gardner] also referred to the argument that parents should be responsible for their children’s eating as being tantamount to ‘a drunk driver that hits your kid saying they shouldn’t have been out of the street.’”

According to this statement, parents should not be held accountable for what their children eat.  Are you f*&$%ing serious?  For a second I had to double-check to make sure that I wasn’t reading an article from The Onion.  Parents are THE ONLY ONES responsible for what a small child eats.  A child isn’t capable of preparing or purchasing food on their own–it is given to them BY THEIR PARENTS.  McDonald’s isn’t responsible if a parent is so lazy that they would rather acquiesce to their childrens’ demands of Happy Meals than feed them something more nutritionally sound.

It’s about PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!  It is no one’s fault but your own if you are fat, poor, or unhealthy.  The government [or any other governing body or legal system] should not be made to take up the slack for you.  It pisses me off when people expect the government or some lawsuit to make their lives better.  It’s not the government’s job.  It’s not lawyers’ job.  It’s not McDonald’s job.  It is YOUR job! So either do it, or go sit quietly in the corner while the rest of us do ours.

I’m exhausted. Paige says that citrus is supposed to wake you up so, seeing as I’m off caffeine now, I’m really hoping this Simply Orange juice will do the job. If it’s any indication of just how tired I am, in the previous sentence I originally wrote “I’m really opening this Simply Orange juice will do the job”. That doesn’t make any sense at all. Silly brain!

You know what I never did? I never told you all never to take Cipro. Like, ever. Don’t ever take it. I had a really bad UTI in mid-February. I had to take several rounds of different antibiotics to get rid of it, the first of which was Cipro. See, back then, I was innocent. I was naive enough to believe that my doctor would never prescribe me a drug that would hurt me more. Silly Teri!

A few days following my three-days course of Cipro, I started developing burning pain in my Achilles tendon. I did a little Internet research and WHAMMO! Looks like this drug can cause tendonitis and/or tendon rupture, renal and/or liver failure, sensitivity to light, fevers, back pain, hallucinations, seizures…the list goes on and on. I was very fortunate that my experience with the drug culminated only in fevers, achilles tendonitis, back pain, and vaginal inflammation. And it didn’t even get rid of the UTI. In fact, if Cipro doesn’t get rid of a bacteria, it strengthens it so that most other antibiotics won’t kill it either. Super!

Cipro actually has the strongest warning that the FDA can give a prescription medicine–called black box–due specifically to its tendency to cause tendonitis and tendon rupture. People had to file multiple lawsuits against the FDA before they instituted this warning level.

My mom has had two encounters with Cipro [and they were both before we knew how horrible the drug was]. The first time happened when I was in high school. Mom was admitted to the hospital for a very bad kidney stone/kidney infection and the hospital staff overdosed her with Cipro. I’m not sure exactly how many symptoms she suffered from, but there were a LOT–including hallucinations.

Her second experience was a 7- or 10-day dose a little over a year ago. Ever since she has had tendon problems in her foot. She is still recovering from this, a few months ago she received steroid injections and had to have a cast for immobility. And it is all thanks to Cipro.

Like I said, I only took it for three days, and still I suffered from tendonitis, had to go to the emergency room, had a full-leg splint and crutches for three days, and a handful of follow-up appointments with an orthopedic specialist who prescribed heel inserts [the inserts raise the leg and shorten your calf muscles, which eases tension on the achilles tendon] and limited my physical activity. At my last appointment on April 30th, he informed me that he thinks I am finally out of the woods for tendon rupture and shouldn’t require physical therapy. I’m still wearing the prescribed heel inserts but can gradually start weening myself off them for a couple hours a day. I am still not allowed to run or jump, just to be safe, as those activities could still cause a rupture.

I took Cipro for ONLY THREE DAYS. Seriously–if a doctor ever tries to give you a prescription for the stuff, tell him to shove it up his ass.

Also, you know what? I think the orange juice helped.

I wrote this last week, but instead of posting it when it would have been more timely, I had forgotten about it until just now.  So here it is.  The sentiment may be delayed, but is no less heartfelt.

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I seriously need someone to explain to me how closed-minded bigots can continue to make hateful public statements and still be considered Christian leaders.

Pat Robertson is one such evangelical leader who has no business being such.  Like Jerry Falwell, whose death has both rendered him unable to make an ass of himself and rid the American people of his existence, Pat Robertson needs to muzzle himself.  Hurricane Katrina, he blamed on topless women and gay rights parades.  The earthquake in Haiti is, according to him, due to Voodoo and pacts made with Satan.  [Robertson really missed the boat on the whole Voodoo thing...and really could have punched up his Katrina scapegoating with it.]

I like how John Kass stated things in his Tribune column: “I’m clearly no theologian. And the wrath of God against the sinners seems a common thread in the Old Testament.  But has Robertson forgotten about the New Testament, the new covenant, the one that’s all about love and caring, even for the sinners?”

Thank you!

That Christian leaders can, time after time, make these sorts of statements and still retain their power and influence is what makes me ashamed to be associated with Christianity.  The hate and narrow-mindedness demonstrated by the majority of Christians in America are what makes me ashamed to be associated with Christianity.

Also, Sarah Palin.