Feb 25 The Man Who Beat Phil Krinkie Leaps Into Action

Good to see our old friend Paul Gardner is earning his keep:

A Minnesota legislator wants residents to be able to judge a book by its cover.

Rep. Paul Gardner, DFL-Shoreview, has offered a bill that requires phone book publishers to print directions on the cover for how residents can say no to further unsolicited deliveries.

The legislation, scheduled for a hearing Tuesday, says the directions should explain how to opt out either via a phone call or at a Web address.

Directory publishers would have to maintain a database of those homes.

It's about time that the legislature leaped into action to stop this sort of thing! All those phone books cluttering up people's houses and whatnot. It's an outrage. And the publishers would never think to do something like this without the ministrations of Rep. Gardner, right? Oh, wait:

Several publishers already have online ways to opt out. For Dex, for example, go to www.dexknows.com. At the bottom, click on "Select your Dex."

On the next page, enter your ZIP code and click on "Proceed to select your Dex." Fill out your address information and enter "0" as the number of books you want to receive.

Well, it's just such a hassle to get rid of the things, because phone books have to be recycled and can't be thrown in the trash. That does pose a real dilemma -- I don't know how I'd ever think to put a phone book in the recycling bin.

It's a good thing that Rep. Gardner is keeping his eye on the big picture. That Phil Krinkie never would have thought of this sort of legislative innovation -- he was too busy trying to keep taxes low to pay attention to the needs of his needy constituents. Thanks, Paul!

Cross-posted and comments welcome at Mr. Dilettante's Neighborhood.