Posted on 09/30/2003 11:22:10 PM PDT by kattracks
Fifty million Americans can't be wrong.
<!ENDSUMM!>The appeal of a do-not-call list aimed at commercial telemarketers is obviously enormous nationwide, just as it was when it went into effect here in Massachusetts. (Those who signed up for the Massachusetts list were automatically entered into the federal data base.)
It's hardly surprising that the industry is challenging the new law at every opportunity and using every legal remedy at its disposal.
Congress moved quickly in the the wake of one federal court decision, clarifying that yes indeed, the Federal Trade Commission has the authority to set up the list that could lead to fines for telemarketers.
President Bush signed that bill into law Monday saying, ``The public is understandably losing patience with these unwanted phone calls, unwanted intrusions. Given a choice, Americans prefer not to receive random sales pitches at all hours of the day. The American people should be free to restrict these calls.''
It does seem a fairly basic right - to be free from such intrusions. Ah, but one man's intrusion is obviously another's free speech. And so yet another federal court case looms over the broader issue of whether by choosing up sides - by exempting charities and political calls - the government has put its heavy thumb on the supposedly well-balanced scales of justice. That one could take some time to sort out.
But Yale Law School professor Ian Ayres, writing in yesterday's New York Times, proposed an intriguing market-based solution, allowing the government to use an intermediary - such as phone companies - to offer families the telephone ``filter'' of their choice. Some could opt to allow charity calls through, others pollsters, and still others could make commercial telemarketers pay for their time with a kind of reverse 900-number.
Clearly consumers are mostly just furious at these intrusions and at the telemarketing industry for defending them. If the law is not allowed to stand, hanging up may prove to be the best revenge.
This has always been one of my favorite telemarketing industry arguments. I don't think the first amendment guarantees an audience to anyone.
So are crack dealers. People who do telemarketing for a living are demon spawn, belched up from the bowels of hell. They are the enemy.
No it isn't. You may not claim free speech on private property. You have no right to go on private land land and abuse it. You may not deliberately trespass on my posted property.
My phone is my property. The "do not call list" gives me a way to post it and provides me with a means of redress if you choose to ignore the postings.
The ultimate and permanent fix, with one proviso: I need to go get a cordless phone that has an OFF switch for the ringer!
I can't believe that they make phones without a ringer "off" switch!
What's to say putting your name on a brand new Federal database won't do more damage to your privacy than being annoyed by telemarketers.
My answering machine and caller ID do a fine job of screening calls without involving the government.
What's to say putting your name on a brand new Federal database won't do more damage to your privacy than being annoyed by telemarketers.
My answering machine and caller ID do a fine job of screening calls without involving the government.
Hanging up accomplishes the same thing and saves on having to buy an air horn ;-)
"Hello? This is John Smith....I'm sorry - it's a little hard to hear you but go ahead......(put phone down, do other things, wait 30 seconds)...Hello? I'm sorry...you broke up there..could you repeat that?....(wait a good minute) Hello? sorry...one more time...(And if they're still going) Oh, wait a minute - you probably want John Smith Junior! Just a minute....(Slam phone down hard, take a leak, or go get a soda out of the fridge, or just make it 3 minutes)...Hello? This is John Smith..(repeat script).
Don't want the interruptions? Turn off the phone during dinner. Get caller ID. Let the answering machine screen the calls.
Quit being pansies....
What a bunch of selfish pricks that don't care what anyone alse wants to put up with in their own home.
How about my sister and brother-in-law... He works late-late shift and won't turn off the phone because his dad is very ill, and he wants to be available in case they need him right away.
Caller ID doesn't do them much good, because he has to wake up and get out of bed to check who's calling.
If having your time and property confiscated for someone else's commercial enterprise doesn't bother you, or you don't mind turning your phone off, then that's fine. Nobody's MAKING you do the DNC list.
Not nearly as much fun.
As the "talent on loan from God" has often said: ~ You have the right to speak...not to be heard ;^)
I believe it is, Salo; which makes the court's decision all the more infuriating.
Yeah, let's make a law that impacts every business in America for the benefit of your brother-in-law.
freebilly, don't you know that the most important thing the feds can do is make sure that telemarketers aren't calling homeowners at dinnertime?
Don't you know that the 6 million or so illegal, undocumented, immigrants-- who are being given the right to hold drivers' licenses in state after state (i.e., they will be allowed to vote)-- are less of a problem currently than telemarketers are?
Aren't you aware that allowing Islamists in the military is nothing compared to freedom from telemarketing terror?
Can't you see that the average citizen, who works 40%-50% of his time to pay taxes, has nothing better to complain about than Aluminum Siding Salesmen violating their phone space?
35%-40% of our infants are murdered in the womb, but this is less of a concern to America than having to pick up the phone to listen to a pitch for Time-Shares.
Hey, gay marriage? No problem! Domestic partner benefits for Mr John Jones and Mrs Bob Jones! Hey, no problem! The Kirby Vacuum guy tries to make a buck and book an appointment? Big problem!
Gee, with so few real problems to focus on in this country, let's tackle the real problems facing us-- second-hand smoke, hate speech, & telemarketers.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.