commerce

Rebates. Rebates are the scourge of buying anything electronic these days. Companies have found a new way to "bait and switch" with the LOW PRICE OF ONLY*

*after rebate, and good luck trying to get it.

Lately, I haven't been bothered by rebates because I haven't bought any electronics. What I'm being bothered by now is that the fact that everyone wants my personal data for customer tracking. I have to pay extra at a store unless I give them enough info that the clerk can use for identity theft. They promise not to share the data with the store up the road, because they're competitors, so you'll have to give that store your data independently. And the government will keep your data private, that is, unless they have some inkling that you hate the president, in which case, you might as well live in any 2-bit fascist country. (which is a great rationale for collecting data on everyone, since the president's ratings are pretty low.)

As with email flame wars, all arguments end with the opponents comparing each other to Hitler.