No One Calls Me Anymore . . .

[msbeadsley]

Cindy C. wrote:
> Or there would be no one on the line because it was one of those 
annoying recorded sales pitches that hangs up when a live person 
answers.

There was a law here in Colorado for a while which *only* prohibited 
the use of automated systems for sales use, and *it* was struck down 
by someone wielding the notion that it interfered with freedom of 
speech. Right. The tape recorder and auto dialer had rights to 
constitutional protections...

> But now we have the National "Do Not Call" list.  Since October 1, I
> have received *not one* telemarketing call.  When the phone rings, 
> it is someone who wants to talk to *me,* not my wallet.

Ah, golden silence. Except it seems that charities are working hard 
to take up the slack.
 
> So here's my question.  Obviously, the direct marketing association
> fought the "Do Not Call" list as hard as it could, but it lost the
> fight spectacularly.  Why, then, did the special interests lose this
> fight?

I *suspect* it's actually because the vast majority of people, 
including those making the ruling, fall somewhere in 
between "dislike" and "utterly despise" on the scale of feeling about 
telemarketers. They are so incredibly obnoxious that *no one* really 
wants to deal with the. NPR ran a segment on how many poor ickle 
telemarketers are facing unemployment now. I can't say I feel very 
sorry for them: personally, I did my best to warn them. Any live 
telemarketer who got me on the phone (especially before we got caller 
i.d.) was apt to hear "Go get a *real* job!" before I hung up. They 
really should have listened.

Sandy