The National Political Do Not Contact Registry - Stop Political Calls BLOG

Federal DNC List - Politicians Can and Will Telemarket To Your Cell Phone, And There Are No Laws To Stop Them

The urban legend that will not die is that big telecom is creating a cell phone 411 directory that will be released to telemarketers.

The email says that you must add your cell phone number to the DNC list by a deadline to avoid being called and to avoid having telemarketers waste your minutes.

It is false.

But......

If politicians get a hold of your cell phone number, watch out!

Wait, you say, aren't cell phone numbers regulated.  Aren't telemarketers banned from calling them?  Yes, and Yes.

But, politicians are exempt. 

Yeap, they are excluded from the federal Do Not Call registry.

So.  If you happen to register to vote and put your cell phone number down on the registration card, you'll be called.

If you happen to contribute to a party or candidate and put your cell phone number down, you'll be called.

And, guess what, there is nothing you can do about it.

Nothing, unless of course you sign up for free to join the National Political Do Not Contact Registry.

What are your thoughts?

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com Agency Seeks to Quell Cell Phone Rumors By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER The Associated Press Friday, October 12, 2007; 1:13 PM   WASHINGTON -- An e-mail warning consumers that cell phone numbers will soon be released to telemarketers is making the rounds again, and government officials have a key detail they'd like to add: it's totally bogus. The e-mails say that recipients must add their cell phone numbers to the federal government's Do Not Call registry by a certain deadline in order to avoid being deluged by telemarketing calls. But there is no deadline, cell phone numbers aren't about to be released to telemarketers and it is already illegal for most telemarketers to call mobile phones, the Federal Trade Commission said Friday.   "This is an urban legend that will not die," Katz said, requesting that recipients stop forwarding it to others.

FTC On Hold For Requirement That Consumer Re-Register Phone Numbers After 5 Years

After a large outcry by Congressmen and citizens, the FTC has decided to hold off removing phone numbers that were registered on the national Do Not Call list five years ago in 2003.

The original regulation mandated that numbers would remain for five years and then the consumer would need to re-register or the number would be "purged" from the list (database) and telemarketers could begin to call those numbers again!

This is great news for consumers, not so much for telemarketing firms.

clipped from www.post-gazette.com FTC holds on paring do-not-call list By Patricia Sabatini, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Wednesday, October 24, 2007 The Federal Trade Commission said yesterday it would not remove any telephone numbers from the national Do Not Call registry until federal legislators decide whether to make the list permanent. The agency said it made the decision in response to "consumer concerns regarding this popular program," which blocks most telemarketing calls. Currently, registration expires after five years. People who signed up when the list was launched are scheduled to start falling off the registry in June 2008, unless they re-register.

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Project Vote Smart is a great resource to learn about candidates from a non partisan source.  Check it out by going to this site.

Civil Discourse starts with understanding the candidates, the issues, and where they receive funding from. 

With Project Vote Smart, there is no excuse now to not know what you need to know before you vote.

Select your state below and get started.

 

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The Attack on Graeme Frost - Any Pretense of Civility Is Gone - America and Americans Can Do Better

Join Citizens for Civil Discourse and register your phone number for free at the National Political Do Not Contact Registry and take back control of the political conversation.

BLOG POST:

Washington is sometimes a never land where normal people with normal lives suspend belief and go after 12 year old boys because they have nothing better to do; and because they have nothing positive to offer our nation.

Is this where American politics has plummeted?

If you don't already know, the Democrats asked a young boy named Graeme Frost to respond to the President's veto of the children's health care program, AKA SCHIP.

According to E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post:

Frost is the 12-year-old from Baltimore who delivered the Democrats' reply to a radio address by President Bush in September. The seventh-grader pleaded -- in vain, it turned out -- that the president not veto Congress's $35 billion expansion of the children's health care program known as SCHIP. A car crash in December 2004 left two of Halsey and Bonnie Frost's children comatose, Graeme with a brain stem injury and Gemma, his sister, with a cranial fracture.

The kids were treated, thanks to SCHIP. The Frosts spoke out so the public would know that real people lie behind the acronym.

He has been trashed by the GOP and the right wing blogosphere.  A 12 year old boy.

This is what happens when a political party and a system has nothing left of value to say to the country.

This is also why so many in America are turned off by politics, politicians, and Washington.

No one is actually solving problems that all Americans care about, regardless of party:

• Healthcare costs
• Public safety
• Education
• Security of our nation
• Social Security
• Energy costs and supply
• Job security
• etc..

The point is, both parties are doing this.  Instead of actually sitting down and working together to get the tough problems resolved, it is easier (and you can raise more money) simply to shout at each other and, in this case, bring down a 12 year old boy.

A 12 year old boy.

For what?

Because he was not, in some people's eyes, "poor enough".

E.J. Dionne has it right:

The real issue here is whether uninsured families with earnings similar to the Frosts' need government help to buy health coverage. With the average family policy in employer-provided plans now costing more than $12,000 annually -- the price is usually higher for families trying to buy it on their own -- the answer is plainly yes. All the conservative attacks on a boy from Baltimore who dared to speak out will not make this issue go away.

This is why Citizens for Civil Discourse and the National Political Do Not Contact Registry are fighting to bring back politicians who, regardless of ideology, can actually sit down and get things done.

After all, America and Americans are a pragmatic people. 

We want to get things done. 

Now.

Legislation To Include Political Calls in the Federal DNC List Goes No Where

Register your phone number for free at the National Political Do Not Contact Registry and take back control of the conversation.

POST:

In the last congress (109th) Rep. John Doolittle [R-CA], introduced H.R. 5325 to "To direct the Federal Trade Commission to revise the do-not-call telemarketing rules to permit individuals to opt out of receiving telephone calls from certain political organizations."

According to govtrack.us this bill was introduced in May of 2006 and has gone no where.

Not surprising as there are few politicians that would vote to shut off their most effective and cost efficient way to contact voters and constituents.

In fact, the latest action on the bill was:

May 15, 2006: Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Of course, if this bill went anywhere, there would be no need for the National Political Do Not Contact Registry to be in existence.

Good news for us that politicians hardly ever do the right thing.

What do you think?

146 Million Telephone Numbers Registered by Consumers on the Federal DNC Registry

According to testimony by Lydia Parnes, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission,

Consumers have registered more than 146 million telephone numbers since the Registry became operational in June 2003, and the Do Not Call program has been tremendously successful in protecting consumers’ privacy from unwanted  telemarketing calls.  A Harris Interactive® Survey released in January 2006 showed that 94% of  American adults have heard of the Registry and 76% have signed up for it.29  Ninety-two percent of those polled reported receiving fewer telemarketing calls.

Twenty-seven of the Commission’s telemarketing cases have alleged Do Not Call violations, resulting in $8.8 million in civil penalties and $8.6 million in redress or disgorgement ordered.

Have you submitted a complaint?

Was it resolved?

PA State Do Not Call List Starts to Expire First Group of Registrants from 2002

According to Attorney General's office in the State of Pennsylvania

Registration on the Do Not Call list is only valid for five years from the date you initially register, or when a telephone number is no longer valid. For example.if you were among the first group of registrants in 2002, you must re-register by September 15, 2007, or your number will be dropped from the Do Not Call list on November 1, 2007.

Learn more at the Attorney General's website.

The AG is Tom Corbett.

Are we a nation in retreat from politics and public life?

I had a very interesting lunch today with a friend and a staffer at the Harwood Institute. 

The Harwood Institute is a non-profit organization whose mission is to:

... help people imagine and act for the public good.

Rich Harwood, who started the Institute more than 20 years ago, has recently published a book Hope Unraveled: The People’s Retreat and Our Way Back in which he:

states that we are not a nation divided between red states and blue states, urban and rural, secular and spiritual. The problem facing our society is in fact much deeper and more troubling: We are a nation in retreat from politics and public life.

This is a profound and deeply troubling observation. 

I fear, however, that it is true.   

Personally I know many people who have given up on politics and politicians.  People who have given up on America and what the American ideal is.   Think about the rise of the "exurb" and gated communities.  These are simply manifestations of the desire of people to retreat from the public space to take care of their own.

What do you think about this statement?

How would you suggest moving beyond "red" and "blue"?

How can we as a nation and a people have civil discourse?  Have we ever?

   

 

Who robo calls the most? Democrats or Republicans?

In the last election cycle, according to the PEW Internet & American Life project, 64% of American voters received a robo call (automated phone call). 

While both sides use robo calls to get out the vote (GOTV) and to survey voters on issues, we are interested in your opinion on if one party or the other uses robo calls more?

How about "dirty trick" robo calls?   There were several articles in the 2006 election about one side or the other using robo calls to perform dirty tricks. 

Do you have direct experience with these "dirty trick" robo calls?

Let CCD know your thoughts on this issue.

What do you dislike the most?

CCD would like your opinion on which type of political discourse you dislike the most?   

What type of political discourse would you like to control the most?

Here are just a few:

1. Robo Calls or automated calls from candidates and other entities
2. Volunteer calls from phone banks
3. Fund raising calls
4. Emails
5. Faxes
6. Phone calls to your cell phone
7. Direct mail to your home
8. Direct mail to your office
9. Instant messages
10. Other?

Comment and let CCD know what you think and why?