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Cellphones Across the US Will Receive a 'Presidential Alert' at 2:18 pm Eastern Today (nytimes.com)
At 2:18 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, cellphones across the United States will emit the ominous ring of an emergency presidential alert. From a report: It will be the first nationwide test of a wireless emergency alert system, designed to warn people of a dire threat, like a terror attack, pandemic or natural disaster. There is no opting out, which has already prompted a lawsuit. "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System," it will read. "No action is needed." Two minutes later, televisions and radios will show test alerts. There is no notification plan for landlines. Officials say they believe that the wireless test will reach about 75 percent of the cellphones in the country, though they hope the number is higher. It could take up to 30 minutes for the alerts to be transmitted to all devices.
Some things that could interfere: ongoing phone calls or data transmission, a device that is turned off or out of range, and smaller cellphone providers that are not participating in the program. The test, originally planned for last month but delayed by Hurricane Florence, is the culmination of many years of work. The federal government developed a system to issue the alerts, which are scripted in coordination with numerous government agencies. They are limited to 90 characters, but will be expanded to 360 in the future. The Communications Act of 1934 gives the president the power to use communications systems in case of an emergency, and a 2006 law called for the Federal Communications Commission to work with the wireless industry to transmit such messages.
Some things that could interfere: ongoing phone calls or data transmission, a device that is turned off or out of range, and smaller cellphone providers that are not participating in the program. The test, originally planned for last month but delayed by Hurricane Florence, is the culmination of many years of work. The federal government developed a system to issue the alerts, which are scripted in coordination with numerous government agencies. They are limited to 90 characters, but will be expanded to 360 in the future. The Communications Act of 1934 gives the president the power to use communications systems in case of an emergency, and a 2006 law called for the Federal Communications Commission to work with the wireless industry to transmit such messages.
the orange moron just found the button for SuperTwitter...
So what exactly is causing you issues with this? Local TV stations have been doing this for years for severe weather situations. Now if they start broadcasting baseball scores or election results, then I will be with you on the objections.
They live the Narcissist's Prayer (https://www.chrisshepherd.org/the-narcissists-prayer/)
That didn’t happen.
And if it did, it wasn’t that bad.
And if it was, that’s not a big deal.
And if it is, that’s not my fault.
And if it was, I didn’t mean it.
And if I did...
You deserved it.
If the president is able to use this at his discretion, without supervision, we all need to prepare ourselves for a whole lot of pain. That orange buffoon won't be able to resist the urge to constantly inundate all cell phone users with an endless stream of what he deems "important information" but is really just a constant spouting of nonsense.
You realize this is a test of an existing system, right? The alerts have been around on radio and TV going back to before most of us were born and on cell phones since 2013.
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
Step 3. "He's a different kind of President. You'll just have to accept these kinds of things."
Step 0. Ignore that Obama hung out with the black equivalent of David Duke, Louis Farrakhan.
Was Obama a "different" kind of President? We don't have to accept these kind of things, we just have to ignore them.
There's the problem with making laws or setting rules that allow for an autocrat to have too much control. It's all well and good when it's your guy or some responsible leader that's more a figment of the imagination than anything, but this is precisely why you don't ever allow for those kinds of powers, even if they seem innocent enough or even good intentioned. Eventually it won't be your guy, or it will be someone quite reprehensible (and Trump's more of a buffoon than malicious, so consider yourself lucky), and likely eventually someone downright evil. That kind of power seems to be a natural magnate for exactly the worst sort of people.
And by "hung out" you mean "taken a picture with once". Yeah.
Are you a useful idiot or just an apologist? This is not about "taking pictures", this is about seeking support and working with the Nation of Islam:
"Indeed, it's a sign of Farrakhan's oddly lasting hold on popular influence that he was even invited to clink drinks with the members of the C.B.C."
But his Farrakhan connections go way back.
And let's put this into perspective. Trump was raked over the coals by the national media because he didn't immediately disavow David Duke when a reporter mentioned that Duke supported him. Imagine if that photo was Trump with David Duke instead, surrounded by a bunch of Republican congressmen. The national media storm would have been immense, and it's a story even Trump would not have survived, let alone the congressmen.