On 2021-12-30 11:05 AM, A Friend wrote:
> In article <sqkguk$t6j$2@dont-email.me>, Rhino
> <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:
>
>> On 2021-12-29 10:40 PM, anim8rfsk wrote:
>>> A Friend <nope@noway.com> wrote:
>
>
>>>> Fake IDs didn't work as well as you might think. In my day you could
>>>> get a copy of a draft card, which would prove you were 18, but some
>>>> (most?) jurisdictions set the minimum drinking age at 20 or 21. By the
>>>
>>> Our a convenient stores set the age way older, like 25 or 30, to save
>>> arguing with customers.
>>>
>> I'm not following you. It sounds like you're saying your convenience
>> stores refused to sell alcohol to people under 25 or 30 but surely that
>> would be illegal if the drinking age was, say, 21. Right?
>
>
> No. It's not illegal to refuse to sell something if you suspect the
> purchaser is underage. I was at some business thing once when I was 22
> and tried to pick up a fifth of whatever as my contribution to a
> meeting that night. The guy demanded proof -- and rather nastily, too.
> I showed him my driver's license and then told him to keep the fifth.
> I went three doors down to another liquor store and was treated much
> better.

That's NOT the point I was trying to make. Let's try this again. If the
legal age for drinking is 21, can you refuse to sell alcohol to someone
who is under 25 or 30 but over 21? I would be astonished if you answered
that question "yes".

--
Rhino

On 12/30/2021 11:03 AM, The Horny Goat wrote:
> On Thu, 30 Dec 2021 10:40:20 -0600, BTR1701 <no_email@invalid.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>> My only time crossing the Canadidian border, I was struck by how cheerful
>> and welcoming the Canadidian officials were on the way in (and how many of
>> them were very attractive young women), contrasted with the U.S. officials
>> on the way back, who were almost all surly, rude fat guys.
>
> I normally cross at the Vancouver Commercial entry rather than the
> "civilian" crossing point about 1/2 mile away and except for the
> cashiers they're almost all male.
>
> My experience with US officers is that while most of them are heavy
> set, few are nasty or rude unless you don't have your papers in order.
> The US charges a $13.50 crossing fee for commercial entries so I
> usually stick my Visa card out of my passport and the only time I ever
> had an officer mad at me was when the card fell out while passing it
> to him and I had to move my car to the right about 3' to retrieve my
> Visa from the pavement to give it to him.
>

It's been a while since I've crossed the border, but it seems like the
Canadian guards were all friendly, but the US officers were very serious
and business only.

> But again - due to COVID I haven't entered since 03/2019 so it's been
> awhile.
>

On 2021-12-30 1:43 PM, The Horny Goat wrote:
> On Thu, 30 Dec 2021 09:47:20 -0500, Rhino
> <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:
>
>> After the Police broke up, Andy Summers formed a new band called XYZ
>> that, to my great surprise, starting touring pubs, including one in the
>> town where I lived then. I made a point of going to that show and was
>> quite bemused when they asked me for ID, given that I was in my early
>> 30s and didn't drink. I never went back there either but not because I
>> was upset about being asked for ID; they just never had any other event
>> that attracted my interest. The place got torn down a few years later in
>> any case.
>>
> After the Guess Who broke up they formed a band called Brave Belt that
> did high school dances for a year or two till they thought they were
> ready to go on the road again and went to Bachman Turner Overdrive.
>
> The only reason I know about this is that my old high school was one
> of the dances they played.

I remember Brave Belt from back in the day and I'm not terribly
surprised that they did some high school gigs given the nature of this
country's music scene, especially in those days. I *was* surprised to
find Andy Summers in a local pub though: he is English and he was a
founding member of the Police, who were absolutely HUGE international
stars by the time they broke up after touring all the big concert venues
in the world. That's just not someone I expect to see in a Canadian pub.

By the way, I just did a bit of research and I misspoke slightly. It
turns out that XYZ was the name of one of his solo albums, not the name
of the band he formed after the Police.

Here's a link to the album that was the focus of that tour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEaMuZtKUzY

--
Rhino

On 2021-12-30 11:54 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> BTR1701 <no_email@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>
>>> . . .
>
>> My only time crossing the Canadidian border, I was struck by how cheerful
>> and welcoming the Canadidian officials were on the way in (and how many of
>> them were very attractive young women), contrasted with the U.S. officials
>> on the way back, who were almost all surly, rude fat guys.
>
> We used to hear these terrible stories of what they

Who is this "they" of whom you speak? The Canadian border police or the
Americans?

> did to Amtrak
> passengers, ordering passengers off the train upon re-entry to the
> United States, no matter the weather, holding weapons at bay as the
> inspected the train for who knows what. One train between Toronto and
> Chicago, which was a regional train once it crossed into Michigan, was
> delayed by four hours all too frequently. Amtrak was NEVER a source of
> significant drug smuggling. Customs just resented having to staff
> special locations for a railroad crossing and the two countries, gawd
> forbid, couldn't work out a way for each to perform the other's custom's
> inspections.
>
> The delays forced the cancellation of the train.

--
Rhino

On 2021-12-30 2:05 PM, The Horny Goat wrote:
> On Thu, 30 Dec 2021 16:54:43 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
> <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
>
>> BTR1701 <no_email@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>>> . . .
>>
>>> My only time crossing the Canadidian border, I was struck by how cheerful
>>> and welcoming the Canadidian officials were on the way in (and how many of
>>> them were very attractive young women), contrasted with the U.S. officials
>>> on the way back, who were almost all surly, rude fat guys.
>>
>> We used to hear these terrible stories of what they did to Amtrak
>> passengers, ordering passengers off the train upon re-entry to the
>> United States, no matter the weather, holding weapons at bay as the
>> inspected the train for who knows what. One train between Toronto and
>> Chicago, which was a regional train once it crossed into Michigan, was
>> delayed by four hours all too frequently. Amtrak was NEVER a source of
>> significant drug smuggling. Customs just resented having to staff
>> special locations for a railroad crossing and the two countries, gawd
>> forbid, couldn't work out a way for each to perform the other's custom's
>> inspections.
>>
>> The delays forced the cancellation of the train.
>
> To me that's weird since US Immigration have had agents at Vancouver
> International Airport for more than a decade.

They've been at Pearson Airport in Toronto for more like 25 years.

--
Rhino

In article <sql2g7$1pn$2@dont-email.me>, Rhino
<no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

> On 2021-12-30 11:05 AM, A Friend wrote:
> > In article <sqkguk$t6j$2@dont-email.me>, Rhino
> > <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:
> >
> >> On 2021-12-29 10:40 PM, anim8rfsk wrote:
> >>> A Friend <nope@noway.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >>>> Fake IDs didn't work as well as you might think. In my day you could
> >>>> get a copy of a draft card, which would prove you were 18, but some
> >>>> (most?) jurisdictions set the minimum drinking age at 20 or 21. By the
> >>>
> >>> Our a convenient stores set the age way older, like 25 or 30, to save
> >>> arguing with customers.
> >>>
> >> I'm not following you. It sounds like you're saying your convenience
> >> stores refused to sell alcohol to people under 25 or 30 but surely that
> >> would be illegal if the drinking age was, say, 21. Right?
> >
> >
> > No. It's not illegal to refuse to sell something if you suspect the
> > purchaser is underage. I was at some business thing once when I was 22
> > and tried to pick up a fifth of whatever as my contribution to a
> > meeting that night. The guy demanded proof -- and rather nastily, too.
> > I showed him my driver's license and then told him to keep the fifth.
> > I went three doors down to another liquor store and was treated much
> > better.
>
> That's NOT the point I was trying to make. Let's try this again. If the
> legal age for drinking is 21, can you refuse to sell alcohol to someone
> who is under 25 or 30 but over 21? I would be astonished if you answered
> that question "yes".

There is a sign in a liquor store at the mall nearest to me that says
it won't sell alcohol to anyone under 25. The sign has been there for
the 31 years I've lived here, so I presume the practice is legal.
(Years ago, there was a problem with kids getting beer and booze from
this place and lounging around the mall. The kids are gone and the
place is still there.) Please enjoy your aura of astonishment.

Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:
> On 2021-12-30 11:05 AM, A Friend wrote:
>> In article <sqkguk$t6j$2@dont-email.me>, Rhino
>> <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On 2021-12-29 10:40 PM, anim8rfsk wrote:
>>>> A Friend <nope@noway.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>>> Fake IDs didn't work as well as you might think. In my day you could
>>>>> get a copy of a draft card, which would prove you were 18, but some
>>>>> (most?) jurisdictions set the minimum drinking age at 20 or 21. By the
>>>>
>>>> Our a convenient stores set the age way older, like 25 or 30, to save
>>>> arguing with customers.
>>>>
>>> I'm not following you. It sounds like you're saying your convenience
>>> stores refused to sell alcohol to people under 25 or 30 but surely that
>>> would be illegal if the drinking age was, say, 21. Right?
>>
>>
>> No. It's not illegal to refuse to sell something if you suspect the
>> purchaser is underage. I was at some business thing once when I was 22
>> and tried to pick up a fifth of whatever as my contribution to a
>> meeting that night. The guy demanded proof -- and rather nastily, too.
>> I showed him my driver's license and then told him to keep the fifth.
>> I went three doors down to another liquor store and was treated much
>> better.
>
> That's NOT the point I was trying to make. Let's try this again. If the
> legal age for drinking is 21, can you refuse to sell alcohol to someone
> who is under 25 or 30 but over 21? I would be astonished if you answered
> that question "yes".
>

Prepare to be astonished.

--
“The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it’s still on my list.”

Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:
>On 2021-12-30 11:54 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>BTR1701 <no_email@invalid.invalid> wrote:

>>>> . . .

>>>My only time crossing the Canadidian border, I was struck by how cheerful
>>>and welcoming the Canadidian officials were on the way in (and how many of
>>>them were very attractive young women), contrasted with the U.S. officials
>>>on the way back, who were almost all surly, rude fat guys.

>>We used to hear these terrible stories of what they

>Who is this "they" of whom you speak? The Canadian border police or the
>Americans?

The context is BTR1701's discussion of US Customs officers.

>>did to Amtrak
>>passengers, ordering passengers off the train upon re-entry to the
>>United States, no matter the weather, holding weapons at bay as the
>>inspected the train for who knows what. One train between Toronto and
>>Chicago, which was a regional train once it crossed into Michigan, was
>>delayed by four hours all too frequently. Amtrak was NEVER a source of
>>significant drug smuggling. Customs just resented having to staff
>>special locations for a railroad crossing and the two countries, gawd
>>forbid, couldn't work out a way for each to perform the other's custom's
>>inspections.

>>The delays forced the cancellation of the train.

The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>Thu, 30 Dec 2021 16:20:37 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>:

>>All someone from the United States needed was a voter registration card
>>or birth certificate.

>I've never heard of a voter registration card being used for anything
>other than voting.

In the days before implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative, when things were a lot less formal, all the Canadian
government wanted from an American was proof of citizenship. A voter
registration card or birth certificate were acceptable documents.

btw, a voter registration card is used as a mail canvass, that the
registered voter can receive mail at the address he registered from. It
is NOT used to prove identity at a polling site.

>. . .

On Thu, 30 Dec 2021 15:14:21 -0500, Rhino
<no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

>> To me that's weird since US Immigration have had agents at Vancouver
>> International Airport for more than a decade.
>
>They've been at Pearson Airport in Toronto for more like 25 years.

It may well be the same here. In recent years I haven't flown all that
much. Nearly every year 2002-2012 (to Hong Kong) and to the UK in 2016
but otherwise mostly in my role as "chauffeur"

On Fri, 31 Dec 2021 03:26:44 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
<ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

>In the days before implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel
>Initiative, when things were a lot less formal, all the Canadian
>government wanted from an American was proof of citizenship. A voter
>registration card or birth certificate were acceptable documents.
>
>btw, a voter registration card is used as a mail canvass, that the
>registered voter can receive mail at the address he registered from. It
>is NOT used to prove identity at a polling site.
>
I've never heard of a poll card being used for border crossing but no
question they were a LOT more flexible on what they'd take as ID pre
9-11. Some US border guards still have the dopey idea that Atta and
his 20 thieves entered the US via Canada which isn't even true for one
of his gang of merry murderers.