I am glad it is not just me having an issue with this. But seriously, will the TiFaux know what to do?

I always tell customer service people when they've been great. I don't talk to telemarketers at all -- when I was working in telemarketing, the only acceptable reason for not making a sale was if the person hung up on you. So saying "I do not accept telephone solicitation" and hanging up the phone is really the most polite thing you can do. Telling them no any other way is a waste of their time and yours.

FRELL. I'd much rather watch Hugh Laurie.

Who watches these things? Because I will actually turn off the TV or radio when that... man comes on. There must be someone out there saying, "Oh thank goodness, let's hear what the President has to say about this," but I don't know them.

While I was visiting my father, NPR delayed the beginning of "Wait, Wait" to bring us Bush's opening remarks on Rehnquist's passing (which turned out to be a quick overview of the man's CV, with a sideways slap to O'Connor) -- neither of us thought there was really any point to it.

I haven't ever found anything this man has done to be real breaking news except declaring war.

So saying "I do not accept telephone solicitation" and hanging up the phone is really the most polite thing you can do.

I know, but I hate to interrupt them. Which, again, is why the script consists of a solid five minutes of talking before they ever ask you anything -- and often they just ask to "confirm some information," as though they were just checking your address, rather than getting your permission to bill you $39.95 a year.

Interrupting is fine, really. Better than hanging up silently, because then they finish the five minute schpiel and wait for you to answer and feel like a jackass. If you just say, "Sorry -- no." and hang up, they can move on.

I'd much rather watch Hugh Laurie.

I'm either going to need lots and lots of alcohol, or some kind of alert system to let me know when to come back into the room so I don't have to see GWB's smug little monkey face on my teevee.

That means the new shows on Fox are going to get delayed. Frells up the plans for a W&P quite nicely.

Damn it! Really? Oh man, I was so happily anticipating my Hugh Laurie fix.

Damnit. And I'm going to be out of the house tonight, so I guess I'll need to ask the husband to monitor the VCR. Arrrgh.

some kind of alert system to let me know when to come back into the room so I don't have to see GWB's smug little monkey face on my teevee.

This. Because it's a very nice TV, and I don't want anything to happen to it.

You know, I'm very proud and happy to live in a state where my government peoples vote so reliably the way I want them to, but I do occasionally wish that I had the constituent-right to write nasty letters to supposed representatives who do dumb things. Like, those Democrats that voted for the bankruptcy bill? Are none of mine, and thus my letters going, "What the fucking fuck?" would not mean much to them.