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Post by Roland of Gilead on Oct 26, 2009 14:06:47 GMT -5
You've no doubt heard all the arguments as to whether the "right to privacy" is implied in the Constitution. And, the right to abortion is delineated from the right to privacy, so the conservatives often make the claim that there is no right to privacy. It's in the 4th and 5th Amendment, as well as the 9th, and in the "right to be secure in one's person and property." But if you ever wondered why the exact word never comes up, it's because in 1787, the word "privacy" had an entirely different meaning. It referred to the "privy," or the toilet. They used clay pots that were emptied every morning. So, if someone was talking to you and needed to run to the restroom, they'd say, "I need a moment of privacy." Other than that, the word did not come up in polite company. So, if the Constitution had actually listed a "right to privacy," it would have meant the "right to excrete," according to Thom Hartmann. The flushing toilet was invented in the late 1500's, but didn't start to come into wide use until 1898, when it was improved and mass-marketed by Thomas Crapper. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_CrapperAfter that, the "privy" was widely referred to as "The Crapper," so when you hear someone refer to the toilet by that name, they're not using slang or being crude. Following that, the word "privacy," was no longer an embarrassing word, and began to take on a wider meaning, becoming the word we think of today. In all the writings of Jefferson and Adams, the word never comes up once because of the connotation it had at the time.
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Post by Chicawolverina on Oct 26, 2009 20:27:15 GMT -5
Hiya Riccardo! Hey, did you ever see that list way back when that someone publized of Judge Robert Bork of his tangy BlockBuster video selections of the week or something? I've been trying to find out about what they were but it doesn't come up on my searches, probably been KKKleansed! Haha phat chance! ><Tomasina Chicawolverina!
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