Sorry...”Bad Alice” is chafing in the shackles of his new SuperMax house.
He was pushing his snoot at the sliding door juncture today, examining the lock hopefully...but futilely.
HA!
:D
He ain't a'goin' nowheres, now.
Posted on 06/26/2012 12:11:10 PM PDT by fteuph
Hi. I'm Art Caplan, speaking to you from the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Today I want to talk about a very serious healthcare problem: irresponsible behavior on the part of a lot of Americans that isn't getting much attention, and that means you if you own a cat.
Many types of health costs are associated with cat ownership. We have allergies and asthma, people who wind up going to the hospital because they have allergic reactions either to the cat or the medicine they take, and there are all types of skin problems. The list goes on and on.
It is pretty clear that these miserable mousers are a huge healthcare problem. I started thinking about this when I saw a recent poll that was published in Forbes magazine that said that most Americans believe that there ought to be a tax on people who are overweight. They make a lifestyle choice and wind up causing more healthcare costs for everybody else due to the diseases and ailments linked to obesity, so Americans think they should pay more. By the way, their employers are starting to think that as well, that they should start to levy penalties and fines on people who are overweight at the workplace.
All of which takes me back to the issue of cats. If we are going to put a penalty on lifestyle choices, then shouldn't we penalize all lifestyle choices? If cats are really causing healthcare problems in the way that I think they do, then I think we need to be fair and tax cat owners.
If you look at the situation, there are probably 60 million or more Americans who own a cat. A lot of you out there choose to own more than one. Many of you have a cat and you actually keep children in the house near this cat, so these are all horrible, terrible, inappropriate, and immoral decisions.
Why? Well, we don't know exactly how much cat ownership costs, but it probably runs into billions of dollars every year in terms of allergy medicines that people take, hospitalizations that I mentioned earlier, and treating skin diseases. You are also exposing others who don't want to own a cat to cats because you can never get the cat dander and the cat allergen out of the rug, the furniture, and the carpet. Even if you move the cat, so to speak, the presence of the cat is left behind. This is a very burdensome thing, not just for people who live with cats but the rest of us who try to visit you or who want to move into a place where you have been.
Therefore, it is pretty clear -- probably beyond any ethical dispute -- that cat ownership is an irresponsible choice. Let me add that none of this applies to dogs. I own a dog. I think they are wonderful. In fact, there probably should be a tax break for dog owners. But for cats, looking at the kinds of costs that are involved and the irresponsibility that cat owners exercise in choosing to have them, I think we need to start thinking more seriously about ways to extend penalties if we are going to make personal responsibility a part of healthcare.
Cat owners, think hard about what I said. And those of you who are in favor of personal responsibility as a way to cut down healthcare costs, you know who I am talking about.
This is Art Caplan at the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. I wish all of you a happy summer.
The Bumblefoot’s all better but now I’m worried that my cloaca is prolapsing.
[it’s just one danged killer bird thing after another]
How disappointing.
*sigh*
I guess I'm going to have to find something constructive to do or watch a movie.
I'm used to you being ineducable but you're really not even being much fun, today.
Cat got your tongue brain?
Yes, good idea. Go...try to find a life....which I guess is watching movies...
Found it! Proverbs 26 “As a dog returns to his vomit, a fool repeats his folly”.
That was pathetic, unoriginal and woefully uninspired, even for you.
"Go back to DU"
"Go get a life"
"I know you are but what am I?"
Boring.
LOLOL!
[there’s nothing in Proverbs about killer birds, is there?]
;D
It’s hilarious!
A dog may tolerate a child’s breech of canine protocol (though not all do); however, that does not mean you properly observed canine protocol.
If, as a child, you had behaved rudely before adults and they turned a blind eye to your breech of etiquette, most people would view that as a credit to their maturity, not your behavior or maturity.
Since you have posted that the dogs did not discipline *you* for that breech of protocol, you reveal that the dogs overlooked your major canine faux pas—you do not justify the faux pas.
You are blaming the dog for acting like a dog and for responding to aggressive/dominant behavior on the part of your friend.
Taking personal responsibility for your behavior—particularly when it comes to inter-species relationships—is a conservative position. Responsible dog owners remember that dogs are dogs, and study how dogs process human behaviors so they can be better owners.
Irresponsible dog owners pretend their dogs are human infants or children, and try to treat them as though they were human infants or children.
You are taking a liberal position—”it’s not my fault if I behave inappropriately (in canine terms) with a dog; it’s the dog’s fault for enforcing proper canine boundaries”.
By the way; how is it that your childhood experiences with those dog breeds and your clear educated opinion of their behavior inhibited you from spelling the names of those breeds correctly?
I agree; the woman should not have hugged her dog. She should have learned about dog behavior and not have swallowed the liberal nonsense that animals are no different than people; you choose to defend that nonsense by trying to justify, hugging dogs, even after you have been informed that, from the dog’s point of view, that is a Really Bad Idea.
You can do your friend a favor by emailing her a link to this thread, including Salmander’s posts in which she links you to additional information; I hope your friend takes the opportunity to learn to improve as a dog owner.
“Unfortunately, if one substitutes “tobacco smokers and chewers” for “cat owners” you will have the EXACT sentiments expressed by anti-smokers in real life, including right here on Free Republic.”
==
Right on the money as usual,Gabz.
.
LOL Oh you would! (Hi Salamander! How’s Alice? I would SO love to see pics of your- I forget if they are Ibizans or Pharaoh Hounds)
I have the counterpart to this photo (my 14 year old who has been my avatar for years. Someone tell me how to post a pic, please.
Oh God Love it! (But wouldn’t we hate to see what kind of shape the bather/ groomer was in after that little ordeal?) I need to find that. It was sooo funny.
Thank you, my FRiend!
How have you been? I’m not around a lot - I read, but don’t post much any more.
To post an imgage, find a free image host and then copy the URL of the image and put in these tags:
[img src=”whatever URL”] but replace the “[” and “]” with a < and > and it will magically appear.
[my example just gave a blank space because the browser was trying to read empty HTML]
You can see all my muttley crew here
Sorry...”Bad Alice” is chafing in the shackles of his new SuperMax house.
He was pushing his snoot at the sliding door juncture today, examining the lock hopefully...but futilely.
HA!
:D
He ain't a'goin' nowheres, now.
Cliff Note version:
Her dogs were smarter than she was.
;]
Yeah.
*That’s* gonna happen.
Now, I’m going out and trim shrubs with mah Dovermun Pinchur.
BBL.
:)
First they came for the smokers because “they could not get the smell out of the rug” now they are coming for cat owners. Anyone paying attention yet? Pretty soon you wont be allowed to breath unless you have permission for every breath from the government.
I recommend using hedge clippers instead. Dobermans, I’m told, don’t like getting leaves between their teeth.
;-)
LOL The look on his face is priceless. I am sooo glad you found him!
Thank you for the instructions. I’m off to look for a test thread (if such a thing exists)
I’ll PM re the pups. Apologies to all for going OT!!
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