Authentic Hope For No Robocalls
Posted by: Mark Patlan | 08/11/2008 11:58 AM
Promote Civil Discourse By Silencing Politicians! That is the mission of Shaun Dakin, CEO and founder, of Citizens for Civil Discourse and the National Political Do Not Call Registry (NPDNC). The NPDNC, located at StopPoliticalCalls.org, is working to shut down unattended political robocalls in California for the November election.
The NPDNC, apparently frustrated at the ineffectiveness of its voluntary political do not call list, is now resorting to the heavy hand of government to enforce its agenda by seeking to shut down unattended robo calls in California by enforcing existing law. A little known and unenforced section of the Public Utilities Code makes such calls legal only when introduced by a real person who asks for your consent to hear a recorded message. The NPDNC plans on filing compaints with the California PUC in early September.
Are unattended robocalls a threat to public health and safety requiring government censorship? Dakin claims so (in unsolicited spam sent to myself), arguing that robocalls have senior citizens living in fear of having a health emergency occur while receiving robocalls during election season, and stay-at-home mothers are plagued by cranky infants waken during must-have afternoon naps. Robocalls can be annoying, are relatively ineffective, and can even backfire on candidates, but censorship?
Yet, NPDNC founder Dakin was honored last year to be part of the Second Annual Public Innovators Summit at the Harwood Institute ("where the leading public innovators convene to engage on the core challenges facing politics and public life"). Institute founder Rich Harwood is dedicated to sparking fundamental change and authentic hope, to igniting a sense of possibility and to making hope real. (Nauseated? Inject insulin or smoke medical marijuana, now.) The Institute's work includes "Taking on Ingrained Narratives", "Pursuing Authentic Engagement When it Matters", "Growing a Catalytic Community Foundation", and "Building a New Civic Brigade". Hmm, I'm guessing they don't mean protecting freedom and promoting economic prosperity through free market opportunity.
But, I digress. It looks like Dakin and the NPDNC might prevail in their quest to drive up campaign costs by allowing only attended robocalls - a measure that will presumably favor campaigns with deeper pockets, notably incumbents. A review of case law in other states shows that courts have upheld such bans. Ah well, who cares about Free Speech when we can spark fundamental change by igniting authentic hope through a New Civic Brigade of Authentically Engaged Community Catalysts?
The NPDNC, apparently frustrated at the ineffectiveness of its voluntary political do not call list, is now resorting to the heavy hand of government to enforce its agenda by seeking to shut down unattended robo calls in California by enforcing existing law. A little known and unenforced section of the Public Utilities Code makes such calls legal only when introduced by a real person who asks for your consent to hear a recorded message. The NPDNC plans on filing compaints with the California PUC in early September.
Are unattended robocalls a threat to public health and safety requiring government censorship? Dakin claims so (in unsolicited spam sent to myself), arguing that robocalls have senior citizens living in fear of having a health emergency occur while receiving robocalls during election season, and stay-at-home mothers are plagued by cranky infants waken during must-have afternoon naps. Robocalls can be annoying, are relatively ineffective, and can even backfire on candidates, but censorship?
Yet, NPDNC founder Dakin was honored last year to be part of the Second Annual Public Innovators Summit at the Harwood Institute ("where the leading public innovators convene to engage on the core challenges facing politics and public life"). Institute founder Rich Harwood is dedicated to sparking fundamental change and authentic hope, to igniting a sense of possibility and to making hope real. (Nauseated? Inject insulin or smoke medical marijuana, now.) The Institute's work includes "Taking on Ingrained Narratives", "Pursuing Authentic Engagement When it Matters", "Growing a Catalytic Community Foundation", and "Building a New Civic Brigade". Hmm, I'm guessing they don't mean protecting freedom and promoting economic prosperity through free market opportunity.
But, I digress. It looks like Dakin and the NPDNC might prevail in their quest to drive up campaign costs by allowing only attended robocalls - a measure that will presumably favor campaigns with deeper pockets, notably incumbents. A review of case law in other states shows that courts have upheld such bans. Ah well, who cares about Free Speech when we can spark fundamental change by igniting authentic hope through a New Civic Brigade of Authentically Engaged Community Catalysts?
Mr. Ayer registered as a Republican to be electable in an interim election with no incumbents. He did...