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New Yorkers Sue Trump and FEMA To Stop Presidential Alert (cnet.com)
Not everyone is pleased to hear that President Trump has the power to use communications systems in case of an emergency. According to CNET, three New York residents recently filed a lawsuit against President Trump and William Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to halt FEMA's new Presidential Alert messaging system.
The lawsuit reads in part: "Plaintiffs are American citizens who do not wish to receive text messages, or messages of any kind, on any topic or subject, from defendant Trump. [Trump's] rise to power was facilitated by weaponized disinformation that he broadcast into the public information sphere via Twitter in addition to traditional mass media." From the report: Presidential Alerts are similar to Amber or other emergency alerts on your phone -- you hear a loud noise comes along with vibration. The messages come from the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), which attempts to send the alert to every cell phone within the U.S. operating on a network run by a carrier opting into the Wireless Emergency Alert system. IPAWS is used in the event of natural disasters, acts of terrorism or other disasters or threats to public safety. The plaintiffs' main complaint is that Presidential Alerts are compulsory -- there's no way to opt-out of receiving them. They argue that under civil rights law, government cannot use cellular devices to compel listening, "trespass into and hijack" devices without a warrant or individual consent.
The plaintiffs are also concerned Trump might use the alerts to spread disinformation because IPAWS doesn't regulate the content of the messages. That means Trump may be free to define "act of terrorism" and "threat to public safety," and may broadcast "arbitrary, biased, irrational" messages to "hundreds of millions of people," the plaintiffs say in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit reads in part: "Plaintiffs are American citizens who do not wish to receive text messages, or messages of any kind, on any topic or subject, from defendant Trump. [Trump's] rise to power was facilitated by weaponized disinformation that he broadcast into the public information sphere via Twitter in addition to traditional mass media." From the report: Presidential Alerts are similar to Amber or other emergency alerts on your phone -- you hear a loud noise comes along with vibration. The messages come from the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), which attempts to send the alert to every cell phone within the U.S. operating on a network run by a carrier opting into the Wireless Emergency Alert system. IPAWS is used in the event of natural disasters, acts of terrorism or other disasters or threats to public safety. The plaintiffs' main complaint is that Presidential Alerts are compulsory -- there's no way to opt-out of receiving them. They argue that under civil rights law, government cannot use cellular devices to compel listening, "trespass into and hijack" devices without a warrant or individual consent.
The plaintiffs are also concerned Trump might use the alerts to spread disinformation because IPAWS doesn't regulate the content of the messages. That means Trump may be free to define "act of terrorism" and "threat to public safety," and may broadcast "arbitrary, biased, irrational" messages to "hundreds of millions of people," the plaintiffs say in the lawsuit.
I watched his testimony. He's about the right age to have been a senior when I was a freshman in HS. He acts EXACTLY like all the rich, entitled jocks I had in my school. And they regularly had parties where they got girls drunk and did shit to them. Wasn't apparent to me at the time (I wasn't invited) but I heard the stories. His entitled, arrogant attitude ("How about you, Senator?") shows me that he's STILL that kind of garbage.
I honestly had to check that I wasn't watching a parody, and that Chris Farley wasn't secretly alive and in heavy makeup. It was that fucking absurd.
BUT THAT'S THE WAY HE REALLY IS! An absolute fucking sociopath.
"Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
You dislike trump because your masters told you to. You call him a fascist, while you support violence to squelch the speech of others. You call him a racist while favoring some groups over others. You say you want to help the poor, but give little yourself. You think women tell the truth all the time, and men always lie, and don't see how that is sexist. The list could go on, but you are the problem. Not the guy who revived the economy instead of cheering the slow death of the place you live.
"Liberalism is a very noble idea, currently controlled by some very bad people. Be sure you do not get the two confused.
It would be nice if it were possible for millions of Americans to simultaneously tell Trump what we really thought of him in a way he had to listen to.
Trump and all your neighbors know how hate-filled you and your fellow travelers are. Don't care. You, on the other hand, have no idea how many Trump supporters you're surrounded by, because you leftists will vandalize cars and houses with Trump signs on them. You'll physically attack people wearing MAGA hats. You'll disown family members for daring to disagree with you about anything. You politicize everything. You can't leave well enough alone.
So the rest of us folks- the normal ones- let you rant on about how terrible Trump and everything else is. We smile gently, say nothing.... and then go pull the lever for Trump and Trump-aligned politicians in the voting booth. Oh yeah, and we don't let our 15 year-old daughters cat about in alcohol-fueled prep school parties, where they're in waaaaayyyy over their head, where they'll be used up and passed around, and then used in a depraved spectacle 37 years later. (Kavanaugh wasn't there but Ford is one damaged woman.)
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be the name of a store, not a government agency.