Consumer Privacy And Inane Data Collection

Yesterday, I picked up a couple items from the local Bed, Bath, and Beyond. As most companies do now, they asked me for my zip code. As I do now, I told them no. Most of the time, the cashiers do not react much and either enter all zeros or the zip code the store is in. The person helping me this time, however, chuckled in a you’re-an-idiot sort of way and then made some jab as I was leaving. Oops, I’m so sorry for personally inconveniencing you–I know how that data personally helps you collect your well-deserved paycheck–and I am sorry for taking a stand against the continued encroachment on personal privacy!

Today, I made another stop at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, to return an item I bought the day before. While doing my exchange, the cashier asked me for my name. I asked her why and she said it was part of the exchange policy. What makes this unusually strange is that I paid in cash, so there is no need to check the name I tell her with the name on the card used. I gave her a fake name (John Smith) and there were no problems. So why bother asking for a name for a return? Especially if you are not checking to ensure it is legit?

I intensely dislike this nonsense.

Confessions And Show Trials

I wish I was surprised at the coverage of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s “confession.” All the headlines and much of the content assumes–either explicitly or implicitly–that he was involved. Yet we do not believe in the confessions offered in show trials from Germany in the 1930s, Soviet Union in the 1940s, China in the 1950s, Cuba in the 1960s, Eastern Europe in the 1970s, South America in the 1980s, and Iraq in the 1990s.

For the record, this post is not to suggest he is innocent.