We all know that Canada’s gun registry is a Tool of the Devil™. However, I’d be thrilled to see Canada adopting a national Do Not Call registry simliar to the one they have down south. There used to be a time when I enjoyed tormenting telemarketers on the phone, but my options (and vocabulary) have been greatly reduced now that I have a wife and child within earshot.
I’d also love to have a national Do Not Proseletyze registry that would keep those bloody Pentecosts and JWs off my doorstep (my wife chased off the first two JWs from our new home today). I could go for a No Chocolate Covered Almonds registry as well since I’m trying to lose weight and school fundraisers really louse that up. Finally, a Do Not Campaign registry would be a godsend come election time.
Of course, none of these will come to pass. Even if they did, they wouldn’t be implemented properly (like our gun registry that can’t tell the difference between a Ruger handgun and a Ruger shotgun). It would just be another opportunity for the Liberals to grease up their buddies in Quebec, and elsewhere, without actually managing to accomplish anything.
Still, I can dream, can’t I?
There already is a Do Not Call registry. The Canadian Direct Marketing Association has a web site where one can get off junk mail, fax and phone lists. Works like a charm and doesn’t cost the taxpayer a cent.
Telemarketers will continue to call as long as people answer their phones. Phone service comes with nifty options such as caller ID. Use it. We haven’t answered any calls from unknown numbers or faked numbers for years. The number of these calls has dropped off to maybe one a month. Cost to the taxpayer – zero.
A government has many proper functions. Shielding citizens from annoying/inconvenient phone calls is not one of them.
Didn’t the DOD just announce they’re setting up a bureau to oversee ammo, or something equally hare-brained? It was earlier this week. Have a mentalpause moment. Sorry. But it is a new office, involving new bureaucrat and minions, and monitoring/oversseing ammo. Friday – sigh.
the best way to handle these morons is when they call, just say “hold on a sec, I want to get a pen” . . then put the phone down for, oh say 5-10 minutes – whatever suits your fancy and then just hang up. I put the phone down right in front of the TV – they always call at supper time news hour eh >??
Burns up their time & $$, saves someone else from then
The do not call reg is the cat’s ass. When I was living down south I was at one time getting at least 20 calls a day. The reg cleaned them up pretty good.
Good post, but you lost me at “bloody Pentecosts…on my doorstep”.
Um, as a representative of the above-mentioned group, what have I ever done to you? I’m on your side.
Mike S.
I was wondering when someone would call him on that…. Problem is ,even for a person of faith, like me, I don’t appreciate someone coming to my door selling religion. I applaud your devotion to your faith but I can’t seem to keep track of where I’m supposed to want to go when I die. According to the last JWs at my door, only 144,000 are going to make it to Heaven, anyway. Now which of the seven levels of Morman heaven will they be in? See what I mean? You’re selling Salvation… your brand of it, and they are selling theirs and there is no guarantee with any of them. That upsets regular folks. No guarantee.
Glad to know you’re on our side though.
I need all the help I can get.
God Bless!
Are you kidding me – Baseball teams sell the best chocolate covered almonds, and scouts sell the best popcorn but I’d be happy with the rest of those registies – esp the proselitizing. Several years ago when my brother got married I was house sitting for him while he was on his honeymoon. His freinds decorated the trees at the front of his house with Coors Light cans, wine glasses, corks etc. The JW’s knocked his door with such a look of disgust … it was priceless.
We don’t even answer the phone anymore – that’s for the machine, and to reduce intrusion and annoyance we have the ringer turned-down almost to mute. Anybody can leave a message, but I’m not on-call 24/7 for anybody either. No pager, one cell-phone that’s only turned-on when I decide to call-out.
Sorry about your gun-registry thing, I hope you get it over-turned.
Hey good Squid,
That’s just the thing, I don’t sell religion. Unlike your stereotypical door-to-door religion peddlars, my denomination adheres to the historic Christian creeds, and has more in common with Mennonites than JW’s. Selling salvation door-to-door is no more a part of our faith than wearing nose-rings… some people do it but it is not what we are.
We are a diverse group politically, including Conservative MP’s James Lunney and Stockwell Day, but also include former AFN chief Matthew Coon Come (who makes Day sound like an agnostic), and believe it or not Liberal Senator David Smith whose grandfather was a founder of my denomination and whose brothers are both pastors.
But then again, I will sign up for a door-to-door registry too.
You want to be very carefull in dissing the Jehoovers- you might get over 12,000 upset Portugese ‘refugees’ howling on your doorstep! (A Glob & Pail reporter checked into that, and was told that the Jehovah’s Witness Church in Portugal NEVER had more than 2500 members!)
Any ‘skypilots’ show up on my doorstep, I hand ’em a photocopy of a cartoon I found somewhere- two guys in suits & ties, clutching bibles on a doorstep. The resident of the house is standing there in his underware, clutching a beer, and he sez: “Jesus Who?”
Check out some things you can do if these people come to your door:
http://www.wunderfool.com/writing/door/door10.htm
Mrs. Thatcher, I believe the army is checking up on its own ammo after finding out what an abysmal record they have had blowing up and shooting their own people.
Kathryn, In the US, the DNC registry seems to work like a well-oiled M-16. A DNC registry that works seems like a better service to the citizens of Canada than a gun registry that doesn’t. (Whaddya want bet that some of the gun registry millions found its way into Librano-friendly pockets?)
I have been known to have “sport” with some of the telemarketers. Once in awhile one can find an intelligent caller who can be sidetracked. Usually they can’t get away fast enough. Reminds me of the Greenpeace door-to-door guy that couldn’t answer my legitimate questions, and practically ran next door.
I have had an unlisted phone number for the past ten years and I never get calls from anyone who I have not given that number to. I have only given it to family and very close friends. I still use the call display before picking it up in case it’s a friend or relative I don’t particularly want to talk to at that time.
I don’t answer my door either, unless I am expecting someone. I don’t care if pisses anyone off … this is MY home.
My home is my castle and I maintain the moat with vigilance.
You can do it too.
Regarding gun registry? If you want guns and ammo, start at the local sleeze bar or pool room … no problemo.
I don’t necessarily advocate this, but it exists With if more than I can say for the imaginary deity.
Note: the invisible has much in common with the non existant.
And to quote our late great Pime Monster … “A proof is a proof an when you av a proof, den dats a proof.” But then he’s catholic eh.
It’s also interesting that Christians are all waiting for His return to provide that proof because in their hearts they know that faith is believing in something that you know ain’t so .. at least not that you can prove.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t sinned lately … it’s Friday night! Have at it y’all.
“Um, as a representative of the above-mentioned group, what have I ever done to you? I’m on your side.”
Ain’t nobody on my side who wakes me up before 10:30 AM on one of my incredibly rare Saturday morning sleep ins. I find that JWs and Pentecosts are the worst offenders now. Mormons are no longer a problem as I left that church under…unusual…circumstances some years back. Most of their missionaries are quite eager to avoid my doorstep once they find out the back story.
As to Pentecosts in particular, I think I’m still holding a grudge over that nasty Chick tract one of them handed me dealing with Dungeons and Dragons. I happened to like that game a LOT back when I was in junior high school, okay? So don’t be dissin’ it around me.
I am a consultant and there is a $40 fee for any telmarket question or survey, are you authorized to pay that fee? *No.* Thank you then, good- bye.73s TG
One of my friends, back in the 80’s, heard “that knock on the door” one early Sunday morning. He looked around desperately, grabbed the one clean shirt he could see and went downstairs to answer the door. Who did he behold but two JW’s – a mother and child. They do that trick, you know, use kids as a shield to keep you from being nasty. Well, the minute they got an eyeful of him, they went pale and backed off. He went upstairs, wondering what kind of mojo he’d worked on them, until he got a look at himself in the mirror and saw that his T-shirt was the one that said “SATAN’S ETERNAL SERVANT”.
And another acquaintance of mine was sneaking sci-fi and fantasy books to the kid next door who was of a strict JW family, knowing full well he’d never see them again because as soon as JW Daddy found those books, off they’d go into the fireplace! Well, one day he got a copy of Anton LeVey’s Satanic Bible, gave the pages a good dusting of sulphur and sneaked it into the next load of soon-to-be-burned books. The results were… predictable (book goes WHHHHHOOOOOMMMPHHH!!!). Next week, the whole JW congration was outside trying to “cleanse” the house with holy water.
I had few problems with JW’s or Scientologists or any other canvassers for that matter, during the thirteen years that we had Jake. A 90-pound German Shepherd lunging against his “barely restrained” collar is a wonderful deterrent (he only wanted to smell them and get acquainted, but why disillusion them?).
I know, let’s have a registry for people who write blog posts I don’t like!
Hey Sean,
You still burned over a Chick tract from junior high? I was able to get over it without therapy.
And as an ordained Pentecostal minister I think Jack Chick is a nutjob, and he doesn’t care too much for people like me, either.
BTW I enjoyed playing D&D myself but it became boring after a while, waiting so long for my turn.
“You still burned over a Chick tract from junior high? I was able to get over it without therapy.”
Among other things. 🙂
“And as an ordained Pentecostal minister I think Jack Chick is a nutjob, and he doesn’t care too much for people like me, either.”
You are much, much saner than the Pentecosts I am used to, then. Maybe I’ve just been finding the lemons?
“BTW I enjoyed playing D&D myself but it became boring after a while, waiting so long for my turn.”
Ouch. Shoulda fired your DM.
“I know, let’s have a registry for people who write blog posts I don’t like!”
Uh oh…
Exactly.
Gum Registry: First on the list? David Dingwall, fave flavour>>>>> screw the taxpayers of Canada…
More Gun Registry: First on the list>>> AdScam Martin/Chretien>>>
Ottawa failed for a year to shut down website
offering fake gun registrations
OTTAWA (CP) – A website that generated fake Canadian gun registrations continued to operate for more than a year after federal officials tried to shut it down.>>>>>>>>
canoenews.ca