Today’s editorial cartoon is a shout out to all my friends who still have a landline (aka home phone line). During the campaign season, even if you are on the Do Not Call List, you can be called by political campaigns, PACs or other entities trying to convince you to vote for/against a candidate or issue. Even caller ID doesn’t always help. Typically if you see an 800 (toll free number) as the caller, you can ignore it. However, many times the campaigns have gotten smarter and initiate the call from a local area code compelling you to pick it up.
Many of my friends and a huge influx of younger people on their own for the first time have foregone their landline in favor of just having a cell phone as their primary line. The good news for this group is the robocalls and tex message are currently forbidden under FCC regulations to be sent to cell phones unless you opt in to receiving messages from that campaign More on that here.
However, I honestly think it is a matter of time when that regulation changes. Who wants to make the calls? Politicians. Who can write laws to begin allowing the robocalls to cell phones? Politicians.
So I keep paying my $30/month to have a home phone line just so every time I sign up for a store rewards card or anything else, I have a home line (that I rarely answer) for all the junk to go to. My friends/family know to call my cell.
What about you? Anyone give up their landline? If you are outside the US, are political campaigns allowed to call your cell phones??
Being in the land of maple syrup sucking squirrel worshipers, landlines are still kind of a must due to poor reception from those cancer radiators you kids put up to your ears! [wink] …. so, with that said, whether they come to my door, or ring my phone, my only question to them is, “whatcha wearing hot stuff?!?” #TrueStory [I dont really answer the phone or the door]
I wonder how they would react to you asking “whatcha wearing hot stuff” if you were answering the door.
Being a Jehovah’s Witness when I’ve been out doing our door knocking I’ve had women answer the door in just a bra & knickers, I think they were purposely trying to shock or offend. I was never offended but rather just saw it as a BONUS for the day…
I remember one rather large woman came to her frosted glass front door one day totally naked as she’d just got out of the shower when we knocked. She only partly opened the door & stuck her head out. Unfortunately she had the rest of herself pressed against the glass which wasn’t that heavily frosted. ‘Twas not a pretty sight…
haha….well I would invite you in Tony. But I would make sure to have my pants on.
Only reason we still have a landline is cuz it’s a free bonus with our internet, and it is worth about what we pay for it. I use it to call my mobile to locate it I have a few luddite friends who still use it and the kids/hubby use it to call me when I don’t pick up the mobile.
haha…you nailed it. The other reason I keep my landline…to call my cell phone when I can’t find it.
Mine is surgically attached to my arm. I only put it down when it is on speaker.
Did it hurt?
Surprising less than the one I had implanted on the side of my head during the brick phone years.
Isn’t that the truth. We just hang up as we don’t want to hear it and we certainly aren’t going to give your organization any money.
Have a terrific day.
Exactly….I feel bad for the phone callers having done telemarketing in the past…I am usually really nice but if there is any kind of pause…I dump.
It seems more and more that the calls you get on the home phone are just solicitors. The do not call list didn’t seem to help a lot… ha, just as I was typing this I got a call and no one was there. That happens a lot, too.
That was me
I need to get an unlisted number.
Peter told me the number
You just can’t trust humans.
Looks like the phones must be running hot in the US. I’m not sure on the rules here. I’ve had people ring doing survey polls around election time but no one actually ring to try & sway me their way. We have a Government run “Do Not Call” list for telemarketers here too but charities & people doing surveys are still allowed to call under that rule. I’ve had telemarketers ring my mobile phone too even though that number is on the do no call list too.
When someone I don’t have a relationship with calls me for telemarketing reasons, I just say “I am on the do not call list…please remove me”
From the do not call list? Sure!
haha
Drop the towel, drop the towel
Freak!!
Yes, come on Bearman, you need to spice up the toons
I almost always have a pointing appendage in my cartoons….(well a finger anyway)
Vote Romney
You control your own election down in Jamaica..hahah
A great cartoon as always Bearman and
so awesomely portrayed too, I like it
BTW –
HAPPY WOMBAT DAY 2012 BEARMAN
Androgoth
I’m still waiting for my Wombat day present.
There was a table of them by the door at my place.
What, you don’t count my comments?
I said presents not presence
My presence is considered a present in certain circles.
After too many political b#!!$*!t calls I no longer answer any call I do not recognize the name of. Caller ID is a WONDERFUL thing…..
I also have an e-mail address just for signing up for things that I only check infrequently.
Oh a dummy email is a definite need. Even if I am signing up for work purposes, I never give my work email.
I don’t answer the phone after 6 pm.
When I am shilling, I’ll make sure to call you at 5:45
I just hand up on them jokers.
Rudeness..haha
Only if I say something.
Annabelle and I haven’t had a land-line in YEARS.
My parents still have one, though (they’ve been getting even more campaign calls this year than they have in recent cycles).
Seems to be the trend
There are only so many numbers to call and a quota for how many calls they must make. Mathematics really should be required for graduation. [Redacted comment about telemarketers and ability to read or write or do math.]
That’s why I think eventually politicians will open it up to cell phones too.
Agreed. I suspect they’re missing out on entire demographics by sampling this way (and pollsters seem to be breaking down the numbers more and more as time passes). And since when does half of what gets passed actually apply to the people who passed it, anyway?!
I was with you up until the last line.
Perhaps that was a little strong.
What I meant to say was I get the impression D.C. doesn’t always want to play by the same rules they champion… er… something like that.
Not strong…just confusing..haha
I had a landline and one of those prepaid cell phones. I did the math and figured that I could get rid of the landline, get a good phone with internet, and save money. Since we are on the go a lot we just take the Blackberry with us and we can be reached whenever we want to be reached.
When I used to get a lot of calls on the landline I would always say, “I’m very busy right now but this sounds interesting. If you could give me your home number I will call you back when you get off work.”
They would then say, “I’m sorry but I don’t want to be called at home.”
I would answer, “Me either.” and hang up.
I have heard of people doing that but I don’t have the guts myself
I took one of these calls while at my moms last weekend. it didn’t bother me. But I wouldn’t want those calls on my cell.
How long did you talk. I might just make someone talk for 30 minutes one time
I miss my land line although I’m greatful to be missing the robo calls this year! I can’t imagine that I would ever OPT in. Your probably right hounding our cell phones is probably not that far away.
Sometimes if you donate to a campaign, in the terms, they say you are “Opting in”…sneaky
I’ve yet to get polled. It’s probably because I don’t pick up my phone much.
Can you find it in that mess of yours?
We NEVER use the land line anymore… but I doubt I would get polled anyway, since Delaware doesn’t really decide any major elections! I imagine where you’re at in Ohio the polls and political ads must be pretty relentless… I wonder if anyone out there bothers to watch the ads?
That’s probably it. Maybe I need to move to a state that no one cares about their vote. (or expect it)
We have a landline and a General Electric Skype phone. Dunno which one is more aggravating.
Th landline is for collecting phone-spam for deletion, and calling the internet phone to try and figure out why it isn’t working (again!) No cell phone. I prefer to keep what’s left of my brain cells. The best thing about the land line is that it has a mobile unit that sits just behind me. The answering machine rings four times before pickup and and as soon as I hear someone spamming on the mobile unit I pick it out of its cradle and push two buttons on it: TALK, then OFF.
When I did phone surveys for a company I always appreciated the people that simply said no and hung up. I could get through my list faster.
I admit to a petty feeling of satisfaction though at the thought that the caller may think they have a live one only to have the dial tone immediately after. That’s when I’m not remembering that it’s all done by machines these days anyway, so my moment of glee is based on a false premise. There is no one at the other end of the line. Only a machine that sends messages to millions at the same time.
Except here….sure there are plenty of robocalls but more and more in the battle ground states, they try to get actual people to call you just in case they might be able to sway you.
Telemarketers fail with me. In the push to be PC and not be the bane of human existence, they attempt to be pleasant with “How are you this evening?” My answer is standard:
“Disinterested, but I am glad to have answered your question. Hope it helps your results. Good evening.” click
When I was a telemarketing I never asked a question that I might get a negative response….well except for “No” at the end.
If you get a call for a poll you should take it. Listen to how they slant the questions to get you to answer a certain way. It just goes to show you that you have to take those poll results with a grain of salt no matter who you’re for.
True…there is so much questionairre bias you have to be careful
I forgot about these phone calls. This is my first time living out of the States during the presidential election, so YIPEE!! I don’t have to put up with that rude garbage
They don’t do that in other countries?
My parents still have a land line. Remember when you had to memorize phone numbers? I memorized the pattern they’d make. Now with cell phones, I have no idea of numbers, it’s just names.
Oh so true. I couldn’t tell you what my wife’s office line number is and I barely remember her cell phone number when people ask for it.
I still have a landline, and as I noted elsewhere, do get those politico calls.
However, like you, my friends and family know to call me either on my cell or at my work number if they need to get hold of me.
Problem I have with it is that sometimes I often forget which number (cell or landline) that I use to set up certain accounts. The end result is that whenever a semi-friendly customer service groupie asks for my phone number, I become flummoxed.
I always give my home number for anything I have to sign up for. I hate that companies get your cell and suddenly think it is OK to text you.
I was just calling a client in Dayton yesterday and I punched in the number wrong (1 digit off). The man who answered the phone started yelling at me and said he did not know anyone in Cincinnati and he was voting for Romney. People need to calm down!
Caller ID is a godsend. We never answer the phone unless we know the number. If they really want to talk to us, they can leave a message
hahah….I just say I am undecided because then they don’t try to talk you into or out of anything just so they won’t piss you off.
I use a MagicJack as my land line. I only pay $19/year and I don’t get robocalls.
The land line is an endangered species. Love the toon, Bearman!
Thanks Mark
Decisions, decisions…
I wonder who will win this
Presidential Campaign?
I hope it was worth all
the cash they have spent
between them, I mean surely
just flipping a coin would
be the best solution?
Have a fun weekend Bearman
Androgoth