Elliott C. Back: Internet & Technology

So I have an interesting story to tell about Duane Reade. I wasn’t feeling well at work today and thought that a nicotine fix might help, so I ambled over to a nearby Duane Reade to buy a pack of cigarettes . This is usually a straightforward process:

1. Identify the brand and variety of pack you’d like
2. Present government ID indicating you are 18 years or older
3. Pay for your vice

Today was special; the shop assistant kept looking back and forth between my AZ Driver’s License and me. Trying to be helpful, I said “I was born XX/YY/1984″ so she could find it on the card (I assumed she wasn’t familiar with the layout). I also said, “yes, it really does expire in 2049!” Here’s a partly redacted photo of my government ID:

AZ, legit, government-issued ID

The Duane Reade teller became very nervous and said, “I’m not going to sell these to you. If anything happens, I could lose my job.” I asked her, “Are you saying this ID’s fake?” She said, “No, I’m not saying that, but I don’t know anything about IDs from Arizona, so I’m not going to sell to you.” I asked to speak to a manager, but unfortunately hers was not around at the time, so I’ll have to save that for another day.

But procedurally, I’m just confused. Doesn’t it work, in the US, when you are selling things that you’re required to ask for ID for, that you ask for ID, verify that is isn’t expired, and that the birthdate puts the person in the acceptable range? I feel like the Duane Reade teller went off-policy today, either through stupidity, or ignorance of the script she was supposed to follow.

And on the upside, I don’t have a pack of cigarettes to smoke, which is great for my health and saves me $10 or whatever the current vice tax is.

Update: I emailed Duane Reade for clarification on their policy regarding the sale of tobacco products, and have been assigned case #160594. Will update when it comes!

Reading a new Business Week article on the Glock: America’s Gun, and in light of the recent tragedy with congressman Giffords, I believe that America needs a change in its gun laws and interpretation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which reads:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Gun-related deaths in America were measured in 1994 per 100,000 people at 14.24, while in Finland just 6.46, Switzerland 5.31, and Canada at nearly three times lower, at just 4.31. There are two lessons we as Americans can learn from these countries:

1. Mandatory military service provides the correct discipline and training prior to owning a gun.
2. Gun-control laws, requiring exams, permits, certification, and proper mental health, protect the public

I prose we amend the constitution to require two years of military service on the age of majority, require that all gun-owners have completed said service, and finally require that gun owners conduct a yearly assessment of their mental competence and skill with firearms. Besides reducing our rate of gun-related deaths, these measures would provide the United States of America with a trained proper militia, finally delivering an alternative to ever-increasing military spending.

Today is the 8th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York against the World Trade Center. On September 11, 2001 suicidal jihadists flew fully fueled airplanes into the World Trade Center, the pentagon, and other targets. America’s most gut-wrenching 21st century moment cost 3,000 lives, and permanently scarred the memories of New Yorkers:

In light of the anniversary, it’s worth spending some time to ask yourself “what has America done to make them hate us so much?” Consider the recent imperialist unjust wars fought in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia and the illicit actions of the CIA around the world, or the hundreds of military bases we maintain in other countries. The aid dollars we dole out to dictators to preserve the status quo, our arbitrary tariffs and immigration policies that alienate foreigners, and the eroding of Americans’ own civil liberties in the name of “freedom” and the “war against terror.”

America was once respected as a nation of justice, wisdom, and opportunity. Perhaps over time the Obama administration can repair America’s reputation.

“So, let’s imagine how [the September 11th attacks] could have been worse for example. Suppose that on September 11, Al-Qaeda had bombed the White House and killed the President, instituted a murderous, brutal regime which killed maybe 50,000 to 100,000 people and tortured about 700,000, set up a major international terrorist center in Washington, which was overthrowing governments all over the world, and installing brutal vicious neo-Nazi dictatorships, assassinating people. Suppose he called in a bunch of economists, let’s call them the ‘Kandahar Boys’ to run the American economy, who within a couple of years had driven the economy into one of the worst collapses of its history. Suppose this had happened. That would have been worse than 9/11, right? But it did happen. And it happened on 9/11. That happened on September 11, 1973 in Chile. The only thing you have to change is this per capita equivalence, which is the right way to look at it. Well, did that change the world? Yeah, it did but not from our point of view, in fact, who even knows about it? Incidentally, just to finish, because we [the U.S.] were responsible for that one.” — Noam Chomsky.