I have always been a Caller ID enthusiast. Over the years, it has saved me from countless telemarketers, fundraisers and sometimes an overzealous relative or two. I tend to use Caller ID aggressively and often. I like to get my money’s worth.

For me, Caller ID is most valuable prior to an election. Today alone, we’ve received four pre-voting calls – from Jill Didier, two from Scott Walker and one other that I can’t identify because I cut off the recording before it finished. It’s late afternoon, I expect a whole bunch more around dinnertime.

What baffles me about these calls is that they are just recordings, every single one of them. I just have one question: Who listens to these recordings in their entirety? Do politicians really think that little of us? I’d be curious to know how much it costs them to record and then “distribute” these calls. Regardless of who I am voting for, I refuse to sit on the phone and listen to a machine talk to me. If I wanted to do that, I'd call my insurance company...or Time Warner.

Despite the fact that I ignore, hang up on and delete these calls, I fully expect them to continue beyond tomorrow’s big vote. After all, come November, we have a really big vote happening. I’m sure my phone will be fielding calls from some heavy hitters around then.

In the meantime, I’ll just sit here and enjoy the benefits of telephone technology. Oops, gotta run. My phone is ringing. Never mind, it’s just the “Friends of Scott Walker.”

I came upon an article in the Sunday paper about Rick Warren, the author of the blockbuster best-selling book, “A Purpose Driven Life.” Apparently, Mr. Warren has had a change of heart and is telling his flock to play nice.

According to the article, Warren now regrets an e-mail that he sent to 136,000 pastors prior to the 2004 election. That e-mail called for churches to focus on hot-button issues such as same-sex marriage, abortion and stem-cell research.

The article goes on to say that Warren now wants to promote “personal responsibility and restore civility in American culture.”

“I just think we’re becoming too rude,” he said. “You have no right to demonize someone just because you disagree with them.”

To that, I say – AMEN!

In the interest of full-disclosure, let me say that I hate politics. I don’t do yard signs and I don’t campaign for anyone. I prefer to keep my politics, or lack thereof, to myself.

Modern day politics are so rarely about issues and more often about money well-spent and verbal jabs well-aimed. To me, it’s like the sound of children fighting. We never get to the bottom of what they’re fighting about and we often miss the purpose of what they, and we, are fighting for. In fact, the more noise that politicians make, the less I tend to hear what they’re saying.

Let me also say that I hold very dearly the privilege, the honor and the right to vote in our elections. Men and women have given their lives so that we can freely vote. To ignore that is to dishonor those who have sacrificed.

It is February 2008. Soon, our state will be in the middle of a primary and will be under the spotlight of the nation. Shortly after that, Wauwatosa voters will choose a new mayor. With that in mind, I’m calling for a cease-fire.

No, I’m not saying you shouldn’t fight for what you believe in. I’m just asking you to fight fair. Leave the sarcasm, anger, name-calling and venom behind. Argue respectfully. Stop using terms like “flaming liberal” or “conservative shill.” Argue the issue, don’t attack the person.

Look, you don’t have to agree with Rick Warren’s politics or religion to appreciate his most recent message. No matter what side of the voting booth you stand on, it’s always nice to practice the golden rule.