In the old days (the early 2000s) technology was rather cool. I could type a friends name into Google and get their address and phone number (in those days we had what you call a “landline”). On my TracFone 9000 I could block a telemarketer by hitting the ‘block‘ button. My MSN email program allowed me to “Block Sender” of annoying emails. A very handy free program came on computers called Microsoft Works, now you have to rent or buy a word processor, in addition to your computer. None of that stuff works now. You have to pay for it.

So now I have a  goddamn son of a bitch Visa/Mastercard telemarketer in Denver calling me multiple times a day and I am completely impotent to stop their invasion of my privacy. They load up my answering machine, they wake me up from naps, they destroy the tranquility of my day. I have their phone number, which cost me a dollar to get, thank you Century Link, 1-303-967-1090. Can I get their address in Denver so I can go have a conference with them? No. Will the Federal Communications Commission in charge of the phone system do anything? No.

Will Iowa AG for life Tom Miller work with the Legislature to craft law protecting Iowans from telemarketers? No. Will Century Link block this number to stop the annoying and harassing phone calls? No. Does the Federal Do Not Call list work? No. So after beating you down for years you can buy a service that will take you off their lists. Its kind of a protection racket like the mob used to run. “Give us a $100 dollars a week and your windows won’t get broke. But you guys broke the windows?”