I am so tired of getting unwanted telephone calls even though our number is on the federal do-not-call list. This is a high price to pay for the breakup of the national telephone system.

There is something wrong when you cannot get help or relief when you complain to the telephone companies, the Public Utilities Commission, the Public Advocate’s Office, the Federal Communications Commission and even our Washington Congress critters.

The telephone company tries to sell you a blocking device. The rest say they cannot do anything about it. The government, of course, allows its calls to happen as they exempted themselves from the “do-not-call” protection.

The latest government scam involves repeated calls from the University of Chicago, which is doing a survey about immunization for the federal Centers for Disease Control. You cannot even call them back to remove your number from their database, as all you get is a recording. Even leaving a message to remove your number does not bring relief.

My only hope is that the government is better prepared to protect us from terrorists, yet 9/11, the Boston bombers and the attacks on military recruitment offices in the South don’t give one a lot of confidence that we will be protected.

The best government can do is show up afterward and tell you, “We’re from the government and we are here to help.” Meanwhile, the calls keep coming!

George A. Fogg

North Yarmouth


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.