It IS different, kat. Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards,etc are public. My phone is private. I don't believe it should be necessary to spend extra money on caller ID. The answering machine works except when I'm expecting a call and drop what I'm doing and run from outside (or the friggin' shower) to find it's a call I don't want anyway.

There is, in the US, a form of 'do not call' already in place. You can tell the telemarketer to remove you from the company's call list and they're required by law to do so. I generally don't bother with this unless a company starts driving me nuts - I think I've only asked twice. One was AT&T after they'd called me twice a week for about a month when I switched long distance services. They haven't called since.

"Take me off your list" does NOT work with the newest thing: playing a recorded message. They don't have to pay people to call so no jobs are involved, however there's no guilt associated with hanging up on a recording.

Reggie, I'm with ya. The free speech argument is blatantly bogus. If you can have someone arrested for tresspassing on you property if they solicit door-to-door, why should telephones not be subject to the control of the people who own them?

We are turning into Ferengi^[1]. BAH!

Perhaps they'd like to rename the list of more than 50 million to the "Call Us And We'll Never Do Business With You Again, Asswipe"^[2] list.

^[1] For those who are unfamiliar with Star Trek references, the Ferengi live in a society where capitalism is their religion and the foundation of their government as well as an economic system.

^[2] Why would these guys want to annoy people on behalf of their business? Why do they send spam when everybody hates spam? I can't understand how pissing people off and alienating them could possibly be good advertising.