Enlighten me and explain the relationship

Post #33,205 by Mike 3/22/02 8:11:18 PM Reply	Enlighten me and explain the relationship -- William Shatner's Trousers --
Post #33,207 by Ashton 3/22/02 8:35:30 PM Reply	Re: Enlighten me and explain the relationship The Demon: approx. it is, the possibility that.. all the air molecules in your room shall happen to converge in one corner and - you'll suffocate. Bloody unlikely - statistically.. possible. Sorta goes with ~ there is NO 100% security EVER, so.. how much will I/you/we give up of palpable 'rights' for: "govt. guarantees of our Comfort & Security\ufffd" ?? IMmerely normally-paranoidO -- virtually all such panaceas as, "universally mandatory GPSs" some day, one must do as the Lawyers advise in any trial: ask, Cui bono? \| Who profits? Whether it's about [oil] "protecting the Rights [oil] of Afghanistanis or Kuwaitis or Saudis to Sew their Daughters into sacks, etc. etc. Who profits? I trust NO GOVERNMENT yet devised, actualized or promised: to NOT be a servant of the highest-financed BIDDER for its intervention. We (Muricans.. but not Only Muricans) are The Sons of Machiavelli. Our daily mercantile-besotted perpetual Interest in [$$] above all else in 'life' - is all the proof I need. YMMV. So.. what would You expect, to lie behind any such proposal as "Mandatory GPS" ? Ashton
Post #33,214 by Silverlock 3/22/02 10:15:21 PM Reply	I think one of Heinlein's characters had it right- Lazarus Long: (IIRC)Any society which requires a national ID is one that is best exited soonest. Isn't that what SS# has morphed into? Why in hell does my fucking dentist need my SS#? boggle The best scale for an experimental design is ten millimeters to the centimeter.
Post #33,218 by Brandioch 3/22/02 10:43:43 PM Reply	I don't believe you have to give that to them. Unfortunately, it has become the de facto universal ID. No two are identical so if you arrange your files by SSN, you'll never have conflicts. But it is ONLY to be used to validate your Social Security payments/claims. So, you COULD tell your dentist that you don't want to divulge that information.
Post #33,220 by Mike 3/22/02 10:49:53 PM Reply	Interestingly California has recently enacted... legislation requiring that SSN be supressed from documentation when possible (The Theft Of Identify Act or something like that......too lazy to Google it right now). I suppose you could criticise SSN for being both a) a mechanism to identify us so that we can then be tracked and monitored for all things which make us "special" in the eyes of govt/business. b) the way in which we lose our individual identities.....we are all distilled down to a number....which is the key in a table somewhere to a row of flags all about "us" (a row of flags which will surely one day contain our entire DNA sequence). Clerk: "SSN please.........ahhhhh I see you have the gene which makes you predisposed to getting yeast infections.....have you considered buying additional life insurance?" When I first came to the States I went to the local govt office to get an SSN number so that I could pay taxes. They gave me some number out of a big book they were keeping under the kitchen sink. I swear if I had said "can I take a few spares...just in case?" they would have given them to me. For several days I was wearing my new SSN number with pride. For some odd reason it felt "special" to have an American SSN number. Can't believe how dopey that sounds now on reflection. I guess I had low expectations from life back then. "Wow....my very own SSN....really? Are you sure? This is such an honor........." -- William Shatner's Trousers --
Post #33,222 by wharris2 3/23/02 3:06:44 AM Reply	Technically You don't have to give your SSN to your dentist, or your doctor, or your driver's license bureau. But it sure is hell trying to get them to accept that. I suppose you could sue them if they refused you service if you didn't give it to them, but geez, think of the costs of a lawyer and what you'd actually gain. www.overlawyered.com is a favorite site of mine, but in this case maybe we're underlawyered? "I didn't know you could drive to Europe." -- An eavesdropper, piping in when he overheard a conversation about someone who had driven to Montreal.
Post #33,259 by a6l6e6x 3/23/02 7:55:26 PM Reply	Re: Why your dentist wants your SSN. Of course he wants a unique key for you in his patient data base - too many John Smiths. And, this key has the additional benefit in being useful in other data bases here and there. He may want to validate some of the personal information you have provided. He may check your medical records with other health providers. He can check your credit before ordering the manufacture of expensive bridgework. He can check to see if you've had a malpractice suit against another doctor. But, you knew that. Alex "Never express yourself more clearly than you think." -- Neils Bohr (1885-1962)

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