I was watching "Wedding Crashers" on cable last night (mainly for research - but that's a different post), and I noticed a peculiar use of censorship by the station. Apparently, it's now fine to use the word pussy on the air, however, shit continues to be off-limits. 
In context, it was fine for a character to chastise another character to "Stop being such a pussy," but that same character couldn't be asked "how full of shit are you?" The network substituted "it" for "shit" to make things palatable for viewers.
I found these arbitrary language choices very interesting. Trying to rationalize them, I guess that pussy is no longer verboten because it could be viewed as a companion piece to the word penis, a term which has crept onto the airwaves with more frequency over the past few years. 
So, it's possible that pussy is now included among the safe words to balance the karmic scales and to give penis something to play against. This seems fair to me as we shouldn't discriminate against pussy or lock it away in a closet while penis roams freely across television.
This brings us to shit. 
I've always felt that shit gets a bad rap because I've heard many people from my mother to staunch conservatives to clergymen say shit on occasion. It's a bodily function that is not pretty, but obviously, shit happens. Yet the word has been on the banned list for a long time, and I don't see this changing anytime soon.
Maybe there needs to be a shit lobby formed where members harass the FCC to allow it on the air rather than a group formed to actually defecate in lobbies. I'll ponder forming this coalition in my spare time, which is less and less these days.
Or maybe I'm just full of shit.
-BDS
The phrase "shit happens" has been allowed on network television once (to my knowledge). I can't remember the show but it was back when that bumper sticker was Everywhere. It was late night and I was channel surfing when Mark Harmon uttered the phrase. I was shocked enough that I still remember it.
I've been noticing a lot of that lately too. What I haven't been noticing lately is fountains that flow from a bronze pile of shit, and that is a travesty.
Gypsy - I forgot about the time difference. Ha. Then again, I guess there's really no good time to look at a shit fountain, eh? I didn't realize your TV allowed that as I have a healthy respect for letting vulgarity fly on late-night TV. That seems fine to me.
Native Minnow - Good. I'm glad I'm not alone (on the swearing not the shit fountains). As far as the fountains, it is a travesty and perhaps you're just not looking in the right places. I'm not sure the desert is optimal conditions for a shit fountain to thrive.
Canadian censors are a bit more lax about the nudity, sex and language but are a bit harder on the violence. This seems logical to me. We should be much more wary of our kids watching people get shot and stabbed than we are of them watching people provide pleasure to one another. Still, anything goes if it is prefaced by a disclaimer. "Viewer discretion is advised".
Mmmm... I haven't had cake in a long time. I'll have a big hunk of a piece please!
H Wood - depends on the release. Some releases kept it in, some took it out. And I think the most recent DVD release has a featurette about the saying of 'shit'
WhatIgot - Cuntstuffer. That's a new one, but an excellent filthy word. And I had no idea about the "Transformers" movie. I haven't seen it in at least 15 years (?), and honestly can't believe it was allowed in there at all.
H. Wood - I guess they look at shit as a prelude to fuck, and that's never going to happen. Nice pun though as I like nearly all kinds. Finally, I'm glad someone else confirmed this Transformers thing as I had never heard of it before.
Vivavavoom - I actually saw that once myself, and forgot about it until you mentioned it. And yes, the FCC is generally a bunch of backwards pussies with no common sense among the lot of them.
Getoffmylawn - That makes sense to me as it's flipped here in the States. I would argue your point because if I had to pick one it would be language/pleasure over violence for viewing. But nobody asks me.
Grace - Ha. You can do better than that, especially given how hairy the damn cake looks. A little hygiene, eh?
WhatIgot - This must have been a big deal if there was a featurette, multiple versions, etc. Crazy. I'm still surprised.