Dossiers and Customer Courtesy Cards

[Tim May]

On Tuesday, December 31, 2002, at 11:32  AM, Michael Cardenas wrote:
> But what if this data is used as part of a larger picture, such as in
> TIA. It definitely can be used, along with gas purchases, to track
> where a suspect, aka a citizen, is living.  Also, many possible
> weapons such as perscription drugs, box cutters, and kitchen knives
> can be purchased at a grocery store, which combined with case data
> could be useful in framing, aka finding, the suspect.

_Can_ be used is different from _must_ be used.

Collecting valid name information costs a vendor money (both in labor, 
computerization/records, and in driving some customers elsewhere). It 
also deters some people from completing transactions.

Given free choice, most parties to a transaction in a store will not 
exchange name information. Examples abound of this. No time today to 
describe the examples of where people choose not to give names. Flea 
markets, gas stations, grocery stores,  hardware stores, etc.

A gas station which refuses to take paper currency limits its sales. J. 
Random Terrorist will likely buy gas with cash.

Only an enforceable (and unconstitutional, for various reasons) 
requirement for ID will work.

As for your point about prescription drugs, box cutters, kitchen knives 
being trackable, I assume this is a troll or something you haven't 
thought through. Treat it as a signal to noise problem, with millions 
of such purchases every day. Again, I don't have time to describe this 
in detail. Think about it.


--Tim May