44 Strikes and You're (Not) Out

...But you should be.

In spite of our number being on the "do not call" list, we have been getting a surprising number of telemarketing calls. One number in particular has called here 44 times! They called about ten times on Saturday alone. You would think, that after trying oh, say, a dozen or so times without success, these people (or robots, or whatever) would FIGURE IT OUT. We are NOT going to answer. Not now. Not ever. No matter how many times you call. If the caller ID doesn't show the name or number of someone we know, that phone ain't gettin' answered, except by our answering machine. And of course, the fuckwit at this toll-free number never leaves a message.

I plugged the number into google. It turns out we are not the only ones being harassed by it -- and it is listed as a political organization, which makes it exempt from the "do not call" list restrictions. It seems to be a different group at different times. Apparently this number cannot be blocked by standard (or any other) means. But you know what, I don't think it would burden free speech overly much to have a rule about how many times those twerps can call you in one day. Because ten times in one afternoon is borderline stalking behavior. And if their call is so damn important, they can leave a message. But they don't. At least they don't have my cell number. That would be much, much worse.