Good morning, Netizens...

The people grinders are hot after it in this pre-election campaign, and I, for one, have found myself growing increasingly grumpy with each robotic phone call. Regardless of the time of day or night, each time my phone (or even my cell phone) jingles, I immediately cringe at the forethought it might be one of these anonymous polling companies wanting to know my opinion. Lord were it that simple! They want to know my opinion, but attempt to make certain I am aware of their particular point of view.

Since in a previous life I learned quite a bit about telephone solicitation, I have accustomed to the fact that no matter what I do, those polling companies that use an automated dialing system, which dials phone numbers at random, rather than from existing client information, will eventually connect with one of my phone numbers, and there is very little I can do about it. In some states this type of telemarketing is illegal. Still, during elections, people unscrupulously use it. Having an unlisted phone number, even putting your phone number on the questionable National Do-Not-Call list, are no protection against these people grinders from reaching your home. Eventually they will find you.

The phone calls aside, you would have to be deaf and blind to have missed the ever-present venomous television advertising extolling the virtues (or lack thereof) of each politician or referendum present on this year's ballot. Now that we are entering the last few days before the ballots are counted, the particular vitriol of these ads are getting truly vile and in some cases, misleading. It is almost as if the candidates are tossing all decency to the winds, ever in the hope of being elected or re-elected.

I find the current race between Patty Murray and Dino Rossi to be particularly worthless, as some of the advertisements no more resemble reality than an Orson Welles radio show about the arrival of aliens that drove an entire generation into panic. Based upon their advertisements, I still believe the most popular candidates in this year's election would be a theoretical candidate titled, “None of the Above”.

Of course given the $100 billion dollar advertising budgets, the only parties that will profit from all this are the television stations, the radio broadcasters and other news media members, and there is no end in sight. The only parties that seem to be truly interested in campaign funding reform are the citizens; everyone else talks a good line, but the laws have never been changed.

Thank God we only have a few more days before this, too, will all pass away.

Dave

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