TYPO IN the Constitution....West Wing

[rsmith6621]

What is it???? I missed that part I had to go and help my wife puke her guts out........


Thanks.....

[serryjw]

1. It;s a TYPO or a SMUDGE!

Next week is the last.....what will we do without WW?

[question everything]

6. And, it will be preceded by the very first episode

that will remind us what a great program this was

[Spazito]

2. I am certainly going to miss it!

It has been my favourite show from start to finish.

[napi21]

3. I said that when I watched the previews of next week.

It's so sad it's the last episode! I always watched that show no matter what night they put it on TV! sure hope the network will find a comparable replacement!!!!!

[bdamomma]

14. Yea, replacement will be

in the fall Sunday night football, that's entertainment for you. ugh.

[napi21]

19. Replacement almost can't be football. Wrong network.

I doubt even NBC knows what they want for a replacement yet.

[VolcanoJen]

20. NBC *will* carry Sunday Night Football in the fall.

ESPN got Monday Night Football. ABC got bullocks.

It's going to be weird in the fall, not knowing what channel my football is on.

And I'm going to miss The West Wing even more than my other favorite show of all time, Six Feet Under.

:cry:

[never_get_over_it]

4. Toby said he had looked at two versions of the Constitution

and in one section - can't remember exactly which one - so in one version there was a comma and in another there wasn't - and the comma would clearly change the meaning of the particular part - so Toby said he call the National Archives and had someone go check the original and she came back with the answer that she couldn't tell if it was a comma or a smudge.

I actually cried tonight at the end of the show - I can't stand the fact that next week is its final episode....it truly is about the only TV I HAVE to watch....except now that I got tivo I do watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert and the Dog Whisperer....because I can skip the stupid commercials

[bdamomma]

15. TV is getting worse

I only watch the Sopranos and soon to be on again Deadwood, and C span

[rwenos]

5. "Takings" Clause

Toby's alleged typo was from the "takings" clause of the Fifth Amendment:

" . . . nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

I figure the issue is the comma after "for public use" and before "without just compensation." I can't figure how the presence or absence of that comma changes the meaning, but if it was a smudge it's still a helluva story.

Research continues . . . .

[TahitiNut]

7. If the comma in "... property, without due process ..." were missing ...

... it'd seem to imply that only "property" takings would be permitted, and only with "due process of law" and the prohibitions on "life" and "liberty" takings were absolute.

[rwenos]

9. National Archives Image of Fifth Amendment

does NOT have the comma I referred to in the "takings" clause.


Check out the hi-rez image at:

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/charters_downloads.html

This is WILD! Every text of the Constitution I have sitting around at home HAS the comma. The original text(it was the seventh amendment, but the first two weren't ratified, making it the Fifth), near as I can tell from the zoomed image of the handwritten original, HAS NO COMMA!

I'll have to think about your proposed meaning, though. I don't think it would change the meaning of the "takings" clause to lose the comma, but you're right, it CERTAINLY would change the due process clause's effect on "life" and "liberty."

[icymist]

12. Do you mean to say that the Constitution really has a typo!

And we only first hear about it on a T.V. program!

[TahitiNut]

13. (Image) Well, it sure seems to be the case.

[icymist]

25. No way!

I guess that means that our government isn't infallible!:sarcasm:

[BrklynLiberal]

8. West Wing is going to be sorely missed.

For many reasons....

[Hekate]

10. Jeb Bartlett has been my "real" president all this time...

DUers understand that. I think those who don't probably think it's a loony way to feel.

The thing is, WW has offered a different take on politics than what has come out of Washington under Bush -- not just more liberal, but much more hopeful, and certainly more honorable.

The recent presidential campaign episodes were exemplary: both the Santos and Vinick characters were honorable men; no matter how much they might have disagreed with each other's politics, they both had the country's best interests at heart. The fact that some of Vinick's supporters came across as slime-weasels was just a little bonus.

That and the snappy dialog and great characters. :-)

This program will be greatly missed in our household.

Hekate

[serryjw]

21. Martin Sheen and Jeb Bartlett

Are both great men. I am sure that we will see a ton of reruns for years to come

[radfringe]

11. correction....Can't be a "TYPO"

there were no typewriters back then... they used quills -- would the correct term would be "QUILL-O"?

[Lochloosa]

17. ...

:spank:

[never_get_over_it]

22. You know I was thinking the same thing

not the quill-o part but the typo part - Constitiution can't have a typo. Seems to me that the Constitution would be the source and what I saw seems to not have a comma - so the typo would be in the typed versions that have the comma - glad I have the show on tivo will go back and watch that part again.

[Hekate]

23. "Typo" is short for "typographical error"--meaning letters were set wrong

"Typo" is short for "typographical error"--meaning letters were set wrong in the typesetter's tray. Typesetting was an exacting craft, and because the letters were backwards, the printer had to "mind his p's and q's" so as not to put one where the other was meant to be. The term probably dates back to Gutenberg's first printing press. ;-) Ben Franklin was himself a printer early in life.

"Typo" carried over to the typewriter and the computer keyboard, as it is still a handy term. Nowadays it means the word processor's fingers fumbled and s/he didn't use SpellCheck.

The formal copy of the Constitution was handwritten, but it was soon typeset and hundreds, if not thousands, of copies would have been made for individual distribution and inclusion in lawbooks. It would be easy enough for a typo or two to creep in. Thomas Jefferson set up the government office in charge of printing documents, but the Constitution was probably jobbed out prior to its inception. (I'm sure some more knowledgable DUer will be happy to correct any errors that have crept into my narrative.)

As to our potentially-soon-to-be-incarcerated friend on West Wing, he's just obsessing because he has little else to do. I think this interlude was to illustrate his rather pathetic and lonely state.

Hekate

[Occulus]

24. for that reason and that reason alone

the Constitution has no errors as written. I would further state, any grammatical oddities we may find in its original text as written at the Archives are intentional.

But I was "had" there for a moment.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

16. west wing marathon starts at 3pm edt today on bravo

last night's episode starts at 8pm.

looks like all this season's shows will be on.

[DireStrike]

18. Don't forget that Diebold has been "guarding" the constitution for a while

It's quite possible that it's been "improved" somehow.