So, why wouldn't everyone sign up for the national do-not-call registry? Sympathy for the devil telemarketer:

Kay N. Landon..., a teacher from Edgewater, Colo., a Denver suburb, would love an evening with her husband and children to be uninterrupted by telemarketers. The sticking point is Crystal, one of her former students.

Ms. Landon said that Crystal, whose last name she did not want to reveal, was an unwed 19-year-old who supported her 2-year-old daughter by selling long-distance service over the phone. When Crystal first got the job, she would call Ms. Landon on the phone to practice her sales technique.

"Telemarketers are not evil people," Ms. Landon said, explaining Crystal was neither pushy nor mean, and really needed money. If I sign up, she said, "I know it puts many more people out of work."

Just think of it as doing your bit to get the economy going again. Hey, it's at least as likely to work as, say, Dubya's tax package...