He's Wrong on Rights

I was really surprised to see this piece (also below) on the Daily Show: Jon Stewart ripping on Bill O'Reilly over hypocrisy on the "right to privacy." In it Stewart concedes O'Reilly's point that there is a right to privacy written into the Constitution. He's missing the issue. The real issue is there there's no right to privacy written into the Constitution. At least not in terms of one citizen or non-government organization prying into person's life. All the Constitution does is keep the government from snooping. Why would Stewart concede that point when it's wrong?

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Bill O'Reilly's Right to Privacy

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The ideas O'Reilly and Stewart refer to were first explicated in Warren and Brandeis' "Right to Privacy," published in the Harvard Law Review in 1890. These ideas have entered the law to a degree, but they are not found in the Constitution.

Here's why: The Constitution protects us from the government, not each other. It keeps the govenrment from quartering soldiers in your house, but if Jan is using a telephoto lens to snap shots of you walking around in your underwear, the Constitution will not protect you.

The closest the Constitution comes to mentioning a right to privacy is in the fourth amendment:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

This protection against "unreasonable search and seizures" applies to the government only. It does not stop neighbor Phil from coming over and admiring your Hot Wheels collection.

It's a well-known fact that O'Reilly lies on the air. But Jon Stewart not doing his research, especially when he's calling someone out, is unacceptable.