As a New Mexico resident, I'd have to say that the approach would work, but it's a bit extreme. The problem here in NM is that drivers convicted of DWI are let off by judges with just a slap on the wrist, even in cases involving fatalities. Our judges just don't take drunk driving very seriously yet.
Of course I'm delighted that Opportunity landed successfully, but I'm dismayed at such comments by NASA personnel as "We done good!" and "I'm just blown away by this." Can't we get more dramatic and elegant quotes? Let's have NASA hire some unemployed writers to punch up their press releases, to read something like "One Rover to find them, and in the Martian dust bind them," or "With this landing our two civilizations will be changed forever, and not for the better." (See? These are terrible too, which is why we need real writers!)
Probably this has been pointed out by others, but it seems the real problem is that credit card companies issue cards without effective identity verification; easy for them, and then the rest of us have to pay the price. Things have to change -- here's a suggestion. Why not require a credit card applicant to make an in-person appearance at the local Motor Vehicle Department (or a bank, or a police station, or whatever), to verify identity on the application (and require the credit card company to pay for the verification, of course, out of respect for their customers, heh, heh). What do the rest of you think?
Slashdot Mirror
As a New Mexico resident, I'd have to say that the approach would work, but it's a bit extreme. The problem here in NM is that drivers convicted of DWI are let off by judges with just a slap on the wrist, even in cases involving fatalities. Our judges just don't take drunk driving very seriously yet.
Of course I'm delighted that Opportunity landed successfully, but I'm dismayed at such comments by NASA personnel as "We done good!" and "I'm just blown away by this." Can't we get more dramatic and elegant quotes? Let's have NASA hire some unemployed writers to punch up their press releases, to read something like "One Rover to find them, and in the Martian dust bind them," or "With this landing our two civilizations will be changed forever, and not for the better." (See? These are terrible too, which is why we need real writers!)
Probably this has been pointed out by others, but it seems the real problem is that credit card companies issue cards without effective identity verification; easy for them, and then the rest of us have to pay the price. Things have to change -- here's a suggestion. Why not require a credit card applicant to make an in-person appearance at the local Motor Vehicle Department (or a bank, or a police station, or whatever), to verify identity on the application (and require the credit card company to pay for the verification, of course, out of respect for their customers, heh, heh). What do the rest of you think?