I can't believe I'm actually saying that. On the heels of yesterday's story where an Oklahoma federal judge struck down the National Do-Not Call List, this story on Yahoo! News (via Slashdot ) reports that *both* houses of Congress overwhelming passed a bill to back the FTC's creation of the list, giving them explicit authority.
Wow. I don't think I've ever seen them collectively move so fast on a similar issue. I'm a little speechless, so I'll quote a couple of the players:
"This legislation got to the House floor faster than a consumer can hang up on a telemarketer at dinnertime," said Massachusetts Rep. Edward Markey.
And my favorite, from Louisana Rep. Billy Tauzin,"We should probably call the bill 'This Time We Really Mean It Act' to cure any myopia in the judicial branch,"
Of course, the DMA continues to whine, but their days are numbered, IMHO.
UPDATE -- Thu Sep 25, 11:30pm: AAARGH!!! The list has been struck down --*again* -- this time by a judge in my own backyard, according to MSNBC.
What *is* it with these judges? While I can see some of the concerns that this new judge has, I still have a hard time swallowing the fact that telephone harassment (and in many cases it *is* harassment as they simply won't accept 'no' for an answer) is constitutionally protected by the First Amendment.
Oh, well. Off to appeals court we go...
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