
What’s Weird and Wonderful?
By LENORE SKENAZY
|This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

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The nation’s new “do-not-call registry” was fielding 108 requests a second — both online and over the phone — at one point after it came into being on Friday. That’s quite a number of Americans fed up with telemarketers and anxious to have their names added to a list that they assume will protect them from receiving more calls during dinner telling them that they’ve won a contest or can get a great rate on a home loan if they act right now. It’s easy, therefore, to see why any politician would see this as a winning issue. President Bush himself announced the 108 requests a second at a White House event Friday morning. But didn’t we elect a Republican president to get away from these types of Clinton-style mini-initiatives? Karl Rove may be cribbing a bit too much from Dick Morris, one must suspect, given the Federal Trade Commission’s actions.

By LENORE SKENAZY
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By JOSH HAMMER
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By A.R. HOFFMAN
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By DAVID JONES
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By JOSEPH CURL
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By DAVID JONES
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By JOSEPH CURL
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By DAVID HIROSHI JAGER
|The nation’s new “do-not-call registry” was fielding 108 requests a second — both online and over the phone — at one point after it came into being on Friday. That’s quite a number of Americans fed up with telemarketers and anxious to have their names added to a list that they assume will protect them from receiving more calls during dinner telling them that they’ve won a contest or can get a great rate on a home loan if they act right now. It’s easy, therefore, to see why any politician would see this as a winning issue. President Bush himself announced the 108 requests a second at a White House event Friday morning. But didn’t we elect a Republican president to get away from these types of Clinton-style mini-initiatives? Karl Rove may be cribbing a bit too much from Dick Morris, one must suspect, given the Federal Trade Commission’s actions.
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