Yes, I'm sure it started as a "joke," but whoever brought it up was secretly hoping the others would genuinely be into it.

Oh, they might say they care about humankind's effect on birds, they might care on some vague and/or purely intellectual level, but the obsession of this breed of "bird lover" or "wildlife activist" remains firmly rooted in cats and cat eradication.

I live in Portland too. The ubiquitousness of the anti-fluoride position drives me insane. They won the latest vote and they're still gloating. I've had people flat out tell me that they are only against it because they "like that Portland is different." Too many others equate scientific consensus with conspiracy,…

Yeah, I frequently call or greet one of my cats with, "Hey, asshole." He has a series of nicknames based on his assholery. "Mr. Dickhead." "Captain Shithead."

I'm talking specifically about the roots of the the widespread belief in the rapture among southern evangelicals today. Yes, Billy Graham had much precedent in history to work with.

Right? I imagine them sharing a joint after the Biebs is passed out for the night and then getting down to business with plans and contingencies. Is 2014 the year??

Your dad rules.

I've been saying this for years. Heavy, heavy crossover between misogynists and cat haters.

Yeah, the "cats are an invasive species" people tend to shut right the fuck up when you point out that (incredibly destructive to nature) humans are also an invasive species throughout the world, and no one is calling for thr eradication of humankind. Or, on the internet, they just conveniently ignore that incredibly…

Yeah, "non-denominational" is so misleading. Most of those megachurches have a theology that is indistinguishable from the Southern Baptist Convention.

This is really disappointing to me. I always kind of liked Jay Mohr due to his spot-on Walken impression. As a teenager, I sent him an email commending his "Christopher Walken Skittles Commercial" bit on SNL and telling him I liked him in Jerry Maguire. He answered me and was really nice and gracious. This was…

Me too! However, I think that influence climaxed in 2004 has been in a decline since then. The nationwide gains for gay marriage are evidence of this.

Absolutely. It's not only American-grown, but specifically can be tied very closely with the rise of Billy Graham and the several decades of incredibly disproportionate evangelical influence on politics and so-called "Christian" culture. While it may be a minority who wholeheartedly believes in it, the notion itself…

That may be true, but as I've said, the idea of the rapture has become more mainstream because the evangelicals that believe in it, despite being largely confined to the Southeast (at least originally), have enjoyed disproportionate power and influence in this country since the early 1970s, even if that influence is…

I feel like I've already well qualified this on this thread. Not saying all Christians. I'm saying it's more common among evangelicals in the Southeastern US than some might think. Hell, I even said "evangelicals in the Southeast" in my original post. What's notable is that these are the same Christians who…

Yeah, from what I understand it's closely tied to the evangelical movement that gained steam and political clout in the early 70s. The Billy Grahams, Jerry Falwells and James Dobsons. That lot made fundamentalist, even fringe Christian ideas more mainstream and palatable. Hence the enduring popularity of Left…

I agree he was always a bit "off." It's just that he used it for good in the past, but often uses it mostly for cash now. And likely has gotten more unbalanced with time as well. His career is, dare I say it, somewhat reminiscent of Brando. Like a hybrid of Brando and, say, Jim Carrey.

I'm not sure even his Wall of Bodyguard could stop me. Bieber wants no part of my inner rage.

I think it's both. He has expensive and crazy taste that led to this predicament, but I can't help but suspect that he's getting some pleasure out of annoying Left Behind fans as well.