Our Founding Fathers and the
National Do Not Call Registry
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I still remember the good old
days of selling newspapers by
phone. A time when we used
a real telephone, we dialed out
of the phone book, and we could
hire high-school students
because no one hung up on us.
Today things are different, and
so much more difficult with the
restrictions imposed by the National
Do Not Call Registry.
As newspapers struggle to
survive, did the Federal
Government forget about our
vital role in the founding this
country?
The creation of the United
States Post Office in 1775 by
the
Second Continental Congress allowed
the government to deliver
newspapers to the people, for
free. This was called the
Postal Clause,
and it's contained in Article
One of the United States
Constitution. The USPO is
one of the few government
agencies authorized by the
United States Constitution, and
its primary purpose was to
deliver newspapers.
It was the Postal
Clause of
1792 that created this
government policy, and
circulation growth climbed in
every state because of it. By
1830, there were 1,300 newspapers
and by 1860, there were 4,061.
In fact, in Jacksonville,
Illinois, in 1830, every one of
it's
446 residents received at
least one newspaper by mail! Our
Founding Fathers said that the
widest possible dissemination
of news and information is
vital to the preservation of the
republic. This was a government
policy that said the people need
to have news, and it should be
local news, and it should be
subsidized—very different from
the regulations like the National
Do Not Call Registry we
have today. This restriction is
a big departure from history, in
which those before us fought so
hard for our freedom of the
press and freedom of speech.
Our Founding Fathers were not
looking for revenue
from the newspapers;
they wanted to ensure every
American was informed and
educated. They really understood
their importance in a free
society. They witnessed first
hand how critical they were to
the American Revolution. Without
spreading the word of opposition
to England, the Revolution
may not have developed,
and America, as we know it,
would never have come to be. No
hot dogs and apple pie, instead
we would have fish and chips and
kidney pie! Wherever there was a
settlement, there was a post
office. Back then, where the
government built a road, it was
a postal
road, to a post
office. And 90 percent of the
mail was not letters, it was
newspapers! This system
emphasized the freedom of speech
and freedom of press they
believed was crucial to the
development of any nation.
The National
DNC Registry is
in contrast with what our
Founding Fathers advocated. I
believe the case is strong for exemption
for newspapers from
these restraints.
Best wishes,
Chris Howell
Newspaper Man
My job running NewspaperCallCenter.com,
has endured many changes over
the years. The phone books are
now SQL databases. The old
telephones and dial pads have
been replaced by computers,
headsets and a predictive
dialer. We can no longer hire
ill-experienced high-school
students. To sell in today's
market, we use sharp,
college-educated interns who not
only get paid, but have a grade
riding on the success of a
campaign. As policies and the
world as we know it change, I,
like you, will adapt to the
changes and overcome the
challenges.
If you ever need a hand with
your telemarketing,
give me a call. My job is the
same as the day I delivered my
first newspaper. I will always
deliver to the deadline, every
day. No excuses. I will do what
I promise and I will give you
what you expect by being
dependable, honest, and
reliable.
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