Chamblee54

This content was originally published July 9, 2010. … There is a proposal in San Francisco to ban the sale of pets. The proposal has little chance of passing. There is even less chance of this measure being enacted in Georgia. But maybe it should. According to a California source “The real problem, staff said, is hamsters. People buy the high-strung, nocturnal rodents because they’re under the temporary impression that hamsters are cute and cuddly. But the new owners quickly learn that hamsters are, in fact, prone to biting, and gnawing through expensive wiring. …
… So the animals end up at the shelter. Just about every species has its own rescue group in San Francisco, but no one seems to want hamsters. Hamsters are the No. 1 animal euthanized at the city’s shelter, said San Francisco Animal Care and Control director Rebecca Katz.”(Katz?) Here is an animal euthanasia provider who supports the ban. “”the concept is something I think positively of. A lot of these animals, I get the feeling people buy them on impulse and they’re sold as somewhat disposable”. … People get pets as an impulse, or as gifts. When they get tired of them, the pet is often murdered. There is also the issue to the excess reproductive capacity of many animals. …
… When I took speech and drama in high school, one of the cheerleaders started a speech by saying “you are going to think I am a monster”. Her proposal was to outlaw pets. The amount of food used to feed companion animals could be used to feed humans. Ditto the medical resources used to treat sick animals. People sometimes are so in love with their pets, that they do not see the harm they do to others. A dog that will not stop barking is an infringement on the rights of others. A pit bull that gets loose can ruin the life of someone who gets in the way. …
… I lived for 23 years in a duplex, and had a wide variety of neighbors. I was fussed at for closing the gate to the back yard by one household. Another neighbor threatened a lawsuit for leaving the gate open.A Florida import dumped his catbox eighteen inches from where I opened my car door. There was the little black dog that I became friends with, only to be poisoned by enemies of the owner. … It is well known that the pampered pets of the wealthy live much better than many human children. Maybe this money needs to be spent on people.
This content was originally published July 17, 2010. … The WordPress homepage linked to a post on the benefits of “swearing“. Since Chamblee54 had a post about *donkeys* the other day, maybe this is a good subject to continue on. As before, this is a profanity light blog, and this discussion on cussing will not have any examples. If you do not know any of the words, then you need to get out more. …
… It seems like a grant monger at a university did a study. The subjects were asked to hold their hands in freezing water. Half of the subjects were allowed to say a swearword of their choice, the other half said a non expletive control word. The cussers felt less pain. I don’t know how this was measured, or whether I believe this. … Mark Twain had a similar thought. “Under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” …
… The reference to prayer is another twist in this tale. Much of the objection to profanity is from Christians. These are people who consider the Bible to be “the word of God”. And yet, if you go to the Greek and Hebrew original texts, you will find every body part and reproductive act mentioned. The ban on cussing is more of a social issue than a moral one. … Christians have the same anger management issues as non believers. Some have a lot more. Often Xtians will use words like Jesus and God as a device for expressing displeasure. …
… This does not speak well for either Jesus or God, and violates the Third Commandment. Perhaps these believers would be better off to use words for body parts as insults, instead of a reference to God. … The subject of profanity is fertile ground for bloggers, and I will return to it before long. Before we go today, there are a few more comments from the post that started this, in addition to some zingers from the Mark Twain quotes page about profanity. That archive supplies a source, unlike many facebook quotemongers. …
… “The idea that no gentleman ever swears is all wrong. He can swear and still be a gentleman if he does it in a nice and benevolent and affectionate way.” Mark Twain – Private and Public Morals speech, 1906. · “There ought to be a room in every house to swear in. It’s dangerous to have to repress an emotion like that.” Mark Twain – Mark Twain A Biography · “When angry count four; when very angry, swear.” Mark Twain – Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar · “swearing is like perfume. used intelligently in small doses – it can enhance the meaning of a phrase. if it’s cheap and overwhelmingly applied – it can make you leave the room! Kaiamaeve …
… I must confess, I quite like swearing. But, like everything, try to do it in moderation. A good oath blurted out at the right time can really emphasize a message. I don’t think I know any adults who never swear, but I know many who rarely let out a good curse-word and, when they do, you know they really mean it. They make it count. Andrew Berthoff · I had my days at military school where I cussed like, well, a soldier, and I’ve also had my church-going days where I promised myself that I didn’t swear at all. Those days are both behind me now, and I really try to not swear very much because I think it makes me sound like an moron. Nathan …
… There is a Mark Twain quote used today. The source is Mark Twain A Biography, not his writing. If you look in MTAB, this is what you see: “Steve was a merciless joker, and never as long as they were together could he “resist the temptation of making Sam swear,” claiming that his profanity was grander than any music.” … Mark Twain’s profanity. For it was rarely misplaced; hence it did not often offend. It seemed, in fact, the safety-valve of his high-pressure intellectual engine. When he had blown off he was always calm, gentle; forgiving, and even tender. Once following an outburst he said, placidly: “In certain trying circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity furnishes a relief denied even to prayer.” …
… There is another Twain quote attributed to MTAB: “He usually had a number of clippings or slips among the many books on the bed beside him from which he proposed to dictate each day, but he seldom could find the one most needed. Once, after a feverishly impatient search for a few moments, he invited Miss Hobby to leave the room temporarily, so, as he said, that he might swear. He got up and we began to explore the bed, his profanity increasing amazingly with each moment. It was an enormously large bed, and he began to disparage the size of it. “One could lose a dog in this bed,” he declared. Finally I suggested that he turn over the clipping which he had in his hand. He did so, and it proved to be the one he wanted. Its discovery was followed by a period of explosions, only half suppressed as to volume. Then he said: “There ought to be a room in this house to swear in. It’s dangerous to have to repress an emotion like that.” … Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken October 31, 1956. “Wrecked police automobile” · ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah