Hallelujah! While I'm a strong believer in freedom of speech, (wouldn't any blogger?) I despise telemarketing calls. There was a time when I found perverse enjoyment in leading a telemarketer on for a lengthly period before finally shutting him down.
For example, if he called trying to sell vinyl siding I'd let him go on about the attributes and benefits of his product, asking questions and letting him get into it, easy to clean, will last for 20+ years, hard to damage, etc. Then I'd drop the question, "Do you install over the existing siding or rip off what is already there?"
He'd usually respond, "Our estimator would have to come out and look to see what you have, but usually we can go right over your existing siding." To which I'd respond, "You mean you'd put your vinyl siding right over my existing vinyl siding that's only 5 years old?" "Uhh, well, thank you, good-by."
Maybe I'm getting old, but the game isn't so much fun anymore. I hate being disturbed by these people, and I hate even worse that they can't take No! for an answer. So I signed up for the National Do Not Call List last fall, only to learn it was being challenged and put on hold.
Today the 10th Circuit Appeals Court upheld the program. While I understand there are many people who support themselves and their families as telemarketers, the industry has brought this on themselves through aggressive, unresponsive, insensitive use of my telephone.
I do disagree with one element of the ruling. The original rules exempted charities and political groups. The court said it didn't find these groups to be as intrusive as commercial telemarketers. Excuse me, but many of these groups, often contracted out to commercial telemarketers, are very intrusive. With the added caveat that a high percentage of the "charitable" monies they are trying to collect often go to the company making the calls, sometimes as much as 90%. So not only was the call intrusive, but it was deceptive as well. If you want to check out a group before you give, (you really should) check them out on Give.org.
Now, with the ruling upheld, the calls will continue to diminish, and we will respond to those who insist on pushing their way into our home uninvited with, "We do not respond to unsolicited telephone calls, good-by."