I have stopped answering the phone

[StantonHyde]

I swear if I get one more stinking automated call from a politician campaigning, I am going to call back to the campaign headquarters and tell them I am NOT voting for that candidate just because they sent me a %$##@ automated message. If they want my vote, they can mail me literature, hand out fliers, post their bios in the various voter info guides that come out, put ads in TV, radio, newspaper etc. Because those methods don't interrupt me. But the stupid AUTOMATED phone calls are too much. AAAARGH.

[JBaxter]

OMG me too!!! If I dont know the number I let it go to voice mail

[jillc]

Ugh! Me, too!! It's driving me nuts. DH and I were both exhausted this afternoon & decided to take a nap this afternoon when DD was napping. We had just drifted off when the phone rang... I got up & answered it to be sure that it didn't wake DD. It was "W" interrupting my nap. ;(

[DebbieJ]

Four words:

DO NOT CALL LIST!

~ deb
DS born at home 12/03
Breastfeeding After Reduction is possible! www.bfar.org

http://www.bfar.org/members/fora/style_avatars/Ribbons/18months-bfar.jpg

[s7714]

ITA. I turned off the ringer on my phone this afternoon for the very same reason. Funny thing is, I already voted by absentee ballot, so their "last ditch effort" isn't going to change a damn thing as far as my vote is concerned. }( Too bad I can't tell the automated message that!

Jennifer
Mommy to
Miss Pure Energy 3/03
Miss Antsy-Pants 6/05

Calling fellow BBB SoCal moms...we'd love to meet you!
(100 posts & BBB member for 3 months req'd)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/babybargainssocal/

[s7714]

Political campaign calls are exempt from the law regarding numbers on the Do Not Call Registry. :(

Jennifer
Mommy to
Miss Pure Energy 3/03
Miss Antsy-Pants 6/05

Calling fellow BBB SoCal moms...we'd love to meet you!
(100 posts & BBB member for 3 months req'd)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/babybargainssocal/

[urquie]

i heard something interesting about this that i'm really hoping will help/work. supposedly, they will take your name off the call list once they receive your absentee ballot - so return it as early as you can.

[JBaxter]

Im ON the do not call list and the campainers are the only ones who call.

[nfowife]

We have the same thing! And, we were registered here and in the past year have changed our residency so we are currently registered back in our home state and vote there via absentee. So we get calls for candidates in both states! It drives me nuts!

[Sillygirl]

Get a Telezapper!

We got one a few years ago and it's the best. Not only does any automated dialer hang up, but they also erase your number from their phone banks!

Politicians exempted themselves when they voted in the Do Not Call list (hmmmmm) and there are some other exemptions too. The Telezapper takes care of those, plus the unscrupulous telemarketers that ignore the list.

[lisams]

"Politicians exempted themselves when they voted in the Do Not Call list (hmmmmm) and there are some other exemptions too"

Gotta love that, politicians doing what they do best!!! We are on the Do Not Call List and they have been calling ALL day long. Grrrr!

[bunnisa]

get VOIP ----

no unsolicited calls, ever! :D

...blessed wife and mama to two!

"And children are always a good thing, devoutly to be wished for and fiercely to be fought for."
-Justin Torres

[californiagirl]

Register as an independent. The only candidate who's bothered me came to my door in person (and will get my vote, actually). Honestly, it was the telephone calls that got me to change my registration.

[daniele_ut]

I totally feel your pain on this one!!

[kijip]

In my state, you do not register to vote a a party preference. Before i moved this spring I was somehow on both of the major parties call and email and mail lists. I know how I got on the Dems list but I am still a bit puzzled by all the emails from #### Armey and the calls and mailers. :P

[Fairy]

Horrible, horrible connections with VoIP. Not a perfected science yet. Inconsistent. But soon, captain, quite soon ... this is gonna be the way to make calls . . .

[Fairy]

I'm as Liberal as they get, and I'm about to go stark raving mad from the call after call after automated call from not just the opposing party, but my own party. And the GREEN party, too! Now, if it's "out of area," I answer, and then immediately hang up without a hello. If I hang up on a someone accidentally, it's worth it for one more day of this lunacy.

[kcandz]

what is VOIP? Can I google it?

telezapper seems to be defunct technology.

[cmdunn1972]

That's my understanding too.

However, I believe you can get your phone number removed from the voting registration list. That should help, assuming the campaigns look at updated registries rather than old ones. (I have been known to volunteer for a campaign or two pre-DS. That's how I know about the list.)

HTH!

[Sillygirl]

>telezapper seems to be defunct technology.

Golly, you seem to be right. I still have mine plugged in, though. We seemed to have a rash of calls about a year ago - they all got zapped. Now the phone very rarely rings with a sales call and we've only heard from two pollsters, even though we live in a hotly contested state. We're pretty vigilant about not giving out our phone number, though, and that may also play a role in the reduction. When I had to buy some clothes at Motherhood Maternity last week, I made sure to pay in cash. I thought about wearing a Groucho mustache too but didn't go quite that far.

Anyway, I'm sorry to see the Telezapper is outdated. I've had mine since 2002 and I love that little beeping guy.

[1ceng1]

I had Joe Piscopo on my machine the other night telling me who to vote for if I care about Italian Americans. (My phone is ringing as I type...caller ID says "political"). Anyway, DH is 1/4 Italian, I am 0% Italian, DHs parents have never even been to Italy, his grandparents have never been to Italy, so I hardly can relate to the "hardships" of Italian Americans.

[gr8danemom]

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I turned off my ringer as well. It seemed like everytime I got my daughter down for a nap the freaking phone would ring.

[Fairy]

You got Joe? I got Mike Ditka, President Clinton, and lots of people with just a first name as if I know them.

[kcandz]

Be happy it still works for you! I was ready to buy one instantly so was disappointed to read the recent reviews. :)

[KBecks]

I think you are very smart not to answer. Even turn the ringer off. I didn't answer the phone all day yesterday. I hated the phone calls when Alek was only 2 weeks old (in 04) and the calls always came during MY NAP TIME.

[MartiesMom2B]

This doesn't make a difference. DH is registered independent and he gets calls from both parties!

-Sonia
Mommy to Martie
& Li'l Girl Bunny to come Feb. 2007
http://bd.lilypie.com/Kchhm4/.png (http://lilypie.com)

[cmdunn1972]

I was out of town over the weekend. When I got back in town, I noticed a funny series of back-to-back political messages on my answering machine.

The first call was a normal campaign call in support of U.S. Representative Charlie Dent (R), an incumbent. The second in the series was a negative campaign call from one of his opponent's supporters telling me details about how Charlie Dent is going to single-handedly take down our legislative system. The third call in the series was from Dent's supporters, and it started off, "You may have received a negative call regarding Charlie Dent. Here's why that call was wrong..."

All I could do was shake my head in disbelief. ;)