Robocalls, Junk Mail And Spam

We're eating our evening meal when suddenly the telephone rings.  We don't like to be interrupted when we are eating our meals but we know it could be something important so we give in and answer the phone.  Most of the time it is a disgusting recorded message offering us a chance to reduce our interest rates on our credit card.  Sometimes it is a call asking Mr. Kauffman, Horace Kauffman that is, to make a donation or collect donations for some charity. My father, Horace, died three years ago and never lived here or used this phone number, but they call here anyway. Sometimes it is a hang up.  But lately it is often a call from some politician telling us how we should vote in the November election.  Well we have now hung up on some very important people such as congressmen and Tom Ridge, Joe Pitts, and even Laura Bush, just to name a few. And unfortunately these political calls will pick up as the November election approaches. Now please tell me, how many folks actually listen to these political messages?  How many folks are really influenced by them?  How dare they interrupt my meal for this useless activity!  We supposedly are on the no-call list, but callers apparently aren't following this list and law anymore.  And, calls involving charities and politics are still allowed.  Today there are 209 million numbers on the list including 84 million with landlines.  The Federal Trade Commission reported that they received about 65,000 complaints about "illegal" calls in 2010 and that has increased to about 212,000 already this year. Of course there is also the junk mail that comes regularly. But at least that doesn't interrupt my meals.  Every week, towards the end of the week, I can expect my letter from Comcast offering my business a "special deal".  What business?  Writing blogs?  Why don't they use the cost of these weekly mailings and reduce my cable rates?  Then there is the weekly letter from Dish offering me spectacular cable service.  And of course there are the regular offers for preapproved credit cards.  And for we who are seniors there are the regular advertisements from retirement villages and, as the end of the year approaches, multiple offers for health care packages to supplement Medicare. Maybe if the post office would charge them first class rates they wouldn't need to run in the red annually. Of course then the delivery folks wouldn't have much to deliver. Can the economy really be as bad as we think it is when all of these groups can afford to send out mass junk mail on a regular basis?  But now they are joined by the numerous pitches from parties and people running for office.  Have you seen the "spectacular" multicolored post cards that candidates are sending out?  They have to be expensive to print and yet they are flooding my mailbox.  And they quickly get filed in my waste basket.  Some how priorities are out of order when candidates can spend loads of money to get elected while folks are unemployed, homeless, and in deep need.  Comparing the robocalls and junk mail to spam, give me the spam.  At least I can quickly ignore and delete that, unless, of course I am looking to be a mystery shopper or a personal assistant or a purchaser of vitamins or other spectacular meds.  But such is life - so much time dealing with junk.  Oh yes, if you need to call me at meal time, let the phone ring two times, then hang up and call again.  That will be our signal that you have something to share that is worth interrupting my meal!  Just make sure it is important or I might hang up on you!