Monday, December 24, 2007

15 Ṭeveth 5768: Christmas Eve/National Eggnog Day

Greetings.

Today’s news and commentary:In lieu of the usual weird thing, today I would like to deal with the problem of political advertising over the phone. This is a problem we have been dealing with lately, due to the 2008 presidential election, and I expect it to only get worse as Election Day grows near. Rather than get mad, I have found a way to deal.

THE SCENARIO: A human calls you on the phone and says he/she is calling on behalf of a candidate for some office, for demonstration purposes here Jarvis Funnypants for mayor.

THE SOLUTION: Do not let the Funnypants promoter tell you anything about why you should vote for Funnypants. Instead, firmly but politely get a word in edgewise and say something like “I will be very happy to hear why Jarvis Funnypants would make a great mayor. However, as a matter of policy I require payment of a $10,000 fee in advance.  How will the Funnypants campaign be paying?”  The Funnypants promoter will probably think this is a joke, but stay strong, firm, and polite; under no circumstances are you to allow any Funnypants promotion to occur without payment in advance.  You may note that your time is valuable and cannot afford to listen every political advertisement unless compensation is given.  The promoter, seeing you are uncooperative, will most likely give up quickly.  If he/she does not, then apologize for not being able to listen to Funnypants promotion and hang up.

WHY WE SHOULD DO THIS:  Telephone advertising is annoying.  If we refuse to listen to it, politicians may actually get the message and stop calling us.  Not to mention, it makes the experience of dealing with political telephone advertising a lot more fun.

I strongly encourage everyone to spread this idea around.  Remember:  you have the power to fight political telephone advertising.

Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

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