Don?t Call?

[HARDCORE]

?OCTOBER FIRST? is the date that telemarketers are supposedly prohibited from bugging people who have inserted their names upon the ?DO NOT CALL LIST!?? Whether or not all of these telemarketers adhere to this mandate, remains to be seen?

The fines per violation of this 10/1/03 deadline are set at $11,000, if I heard the media correctly? But if many hold true to form, phone marketers may still find some way around this mandate? Besides, even with ?Caller I.D.?, many late night or dinnertime solicitations come up as ?Out Of Area?, or just plain blank on my equipment! So even with the extra expense of this ?Caller I.D.? service, there were still those who were able to sneak their sales pitches through!

Besides, how many of you can stop yourself from answering the phone if you are at home, or overcome the paranoia of the night, especially when your family or kids are far removed? The first thought through one?s head is - ?Is There An Emergency Afoot?!? As such, it is my firm belief that many telemarketing firms take advantage of this human nature, gut-reaction!

Well naturally, many within the telemarketing industry are bitching up a storm over cutting their vocal chords! They feel, or so they say, that this ?No Call List? is a violation of "THEIR" First Amendment Rights?!

?But what about the other guy?s rights? - do the elderly, the ill, or the tired, not have rights too? And for the record, who in the hell pays for that contraption?s (telephone?s) rent on your counter-top, wall or bed-stand? Certainly not the inconsiderate huxter who sits among his fellow yard-birds, puffing upon a butt, or sucking in cup after cup of java, while dialing (long distance) for dollars!

So I ask you - "When does the rights of someone whom you may not even know, supercede your right to privacy, health and peace?

?What is your opinion on this subject?, or are you so lonely that you welcome and cherish late night calls from someone attempting to sell you a time share on the moon, a rival phone service, or a lifelong subscription to a local rag that you can readily purchase on the next street corner?!

In my opinion, all such unsolicited calls, and especially ?Harassing Ringy-Dingys?, should be identifiable. No person, or company, should be allowed to hide behind anonymity or unidentifiability, while attempting to hawk his (or her) wares!

I personally recall a rival (HUGE) telephone service calling me late one night, and when I charmingly (?) demanded to know how they attained my private, unlisted number, the "BITCH" on the other side of the call, called me few choice names and then hung up on me!

The very next morning, I called that telephone company in question to complain! I was met, not with apologies, but rather with excuses. The one that I really loved the most was: ?Hey, it?s not our fault - we hire an outside telemarketing company to make these (sometimes) upsetting calls for us!?

Using this line of reasoning, are we to assume that pimps too are legally blameless? And what about those who solicit other criminal acts - as they are not the actual perps, does this too mean that they are home free?! ?BULL SHIT!!?

Well, if you are not registered by midnight tonight for this ?Do-Not-Call Registry?, the feds are saying that you are fair game until next year?! And if you recall what I said in the beginning of this tirade, many incoming calls do not appear on Caller I.D., at least that is what I have been running into! And with a (potential) $11,000 fine per incident of violation, how many of the smaller, fly by night telemarketers, will be around the morning after the first fines are levied?!

?Again, these are just my opinions!!?

VERITAS