New idea: An Efficient Line

I hate people who won't join the 21st century. I don't understand why so many people still pay for things with checks. Visa should have me on their commercials about their check card because I can't stand people who insist on slowing down the whole line because they insist on paying with checks. Not only do they have to write down all the information but then the cashier inevitably has to ask for ID and then write down all the information.

Why don't they just get a check card. I have one. It makes my life simpler. It cost me nothing to use and it comes directly from my bank account. In fact, it cost people money to write a check because you have to buy new checks that much sooner. I also get the added benefit that since its a Visa purchase, if I have a dispute Visa will help me out with it.

Can someone please tell me why people still pay with checks?

I think they should have an efficient line. Not an express line, an efficient line. This line would be for people who are

1. Paying by credit card only (no Cash. Cashier has to make change)
2. Have 5 or less items (10 is way too many)
3. Are not going to ask questions
4. Are not going to get a warranty
5. Know exactly what they have is what they want.

In other words the cashier is not allowed to do anything or help anyone who doesn't simply walk up to the cashier, hand over their items and credit cards, sign, and leave. Any deviation from that and that person gets booted from the line.

What is the World Coming to?

In my trend for completely random topics I am going to talk about something that actually shocks me. I agree with Republicans. I know you are asking, "How can this be?" since I'm probably one of the most liberal people I know but I'm as dumbfounded as anyone else.

Democratic Senators are pushing through the Senate a bill which would have harsher penalties for Hate Crimes. That is, crimes committed against people because they are a specific race, gender, religion, and more controversially, sexual orientation. This bill actually has wide bi-partisan support except for one section, the evil empire known as the Conservative Right.

I'm sure my reasoning is quite different than the conservatives who oppose this bill. After all, we all know that the Conservative Right just don't like people who aren't exactly like them, that is to say white, wealthy, protestant, heterosexuals. My thinking is quite different. It make me uncomfortable legislating the way people think. What do I mean by that? Well aren't all violent crimes about hate? When someone kills someone else is there really any rational thought involved? Is it really worse to kill a person because they are Jewish than because he wears the wrong colors? To me, murder is murder. There are no degrees of how right or wrong it is to kill someone. It's all wrong. I believe trying to rationalize the irrational act of murder is both futile and dangerous.