Look, I know it's a struggle. I got out of college with a sub-optimal GPA and was facing a very tight market. I had a steady job as a projectionist and took any odd jobs related to my EE degree that I could find. I didn't get many interviews like you. In fact, it took me a whole year to get two interviews, one which got me a job but I had to move. But once I got a couple years experience, I've rarely had issues getting interviews and get an offer for nearly half of those.
What did I do wrong? Well, I let my GPA head to the doldrums mostly (I suppose I could have been a female minority and that would have helped, but that's not within my control). I paid the price for my lack of diligence in school. What did I do right? I kept at it until I got a job in my field.
It's not luck, it's work... Getting experience is work... Getting interviews is work.. Searching out where to apply, what they are looking for, considering if you are a good match and how to make your resume appealing to them so you get the interview... Learning how to turn an interview into an offer is work, it takes research, planning and preparation.... Considering an offer takes thought, and research too.. Getting a good job is not throwing the dice, it's a process that takes effort... The only part of this that is up to chance is how long it takes, but even that is at least partially in the job seeker's control.
Seriously? It takes Luck to get a job with a B.S.C.S with experience? I don't think so, unless you have crappy references or something.
My previous employer would likely hire you right now and if you have experience would likely pay to relocate you, they where about 10 people short last time I heard from them and struggling to bill enough hours on their contracts as a result. (BTW they paid overtime). I know of another related place that would likely hire you too. These are just places I happen to know people, I'm sure there are more. Then there are telecommute options which wouldn't require you to move, just travel a bit. There are jobs out there for CS majors.
We are at 4% unemployment in this country nation wide. It's less around here (something like 3%). CS majors are in great demand here and it wouldn't take much luck to land a job, just a little bit of effort is all that's required... Well that and the willingness to relocate.
This is why I don't buy ANYTHING that requires some connection to some service provider to control the device. If I cannot control it locally, without the manufacturer's servers up and my network connected to the internet, it doesn't come home. If the manufacturer wants to give me remote access to my stuff, I get that it is easiest to do this using a remote server, but if I cannot get to it locally, it doesn't get installed in my home.
Keep plugging along and do what you can to acquire skills that are in demand. Sorry that your initial plans didn't work out, but they where apparently a mistake.
I spent 6 months on unemployment just before 2000 when the bottom was falling out of the tech market. There where ZERO jobs to be had in my chosen career path nation wide, but I found a job in the backwater town I lived in, but if I had to I would have taking "would you like fries with that" jobs. I know it is frustrating, but you CAN do better if you keep trying.
IF you are a college graduate who cannot find a job above the poverty line, you are doing something wrong...
You are living in the wrong place and need to move.... Have the wrong degree with no marketable skills.... Went to the wrong school for the degree you have.... Have horrible work habits and cannot keep a job long enough to make more....
We are under 4% unemployment in this country, there ARE jobs out there if you are in the right place and are willing to work..
Community college for 2 years which cost me about $1,300 in tuition, local state supported university for 2 more which runs about $12K more. Yes, she lives at home. Still, I'm at half the average price for a decent STEM degree.
Obviously.... but landing that job, even after getting a degree, can be tricky, and often a matter of luck more than anything else.
Luck? What kind of degree did you get? Basket Weaving? If you don't have marketable skills, get some. Look, if you are in a career path that has few prospective jobs and think it takes luck to get a job,I feel for your plight, but the problem here might be attitude.
In my experience, getting a job takes effort not luck. It takes doing more than the competition, working harder and doing something above average. I've NEVER had luck hand me a job, but I have landed jobs I wasn't expecting because I did things like show up someplace unannounced and asked if they had a job for me. It's not a high probability approach but sometimes showing initiative, doing research and dropping off your resume during a cold call works. If you need a job, go get one by keeping up the effort until it happens, they are out there if you are wiling to do what it takes to get them.
Now if your college education was in some unmarketable skill like making buggy whips, it might be time to consider changing career paths and finding yourself some menial job to feed yourself until you can get some marketable skills..
You got the wrong degree.... AND you likely paid too much for the one you got.
Seriously, folks need to do a bit of cost/benefit analysis before they go out and spend their hard earned money on education. If you made a bad choice, well, that's the way life goes, you pay for your mistake. I'm sorry for you, but the way out is hard work and discipline.
Still though, if you *really* wanted to, there are ways to live on less than $25/hour and put significant dents in your debt. I know, I've done it. I got debt free on $30/hour, married with kids. I'm no great financial mind but we came up with a budget that worked and paid down the debt, then stayed disciplined until we paid it off. It took reducing our standard of living, moving to a smaller house, driving older cars, not eating out and more, but unless you are making poverty level income, it's possible.
I was assuming I will have to pay full tuition for her PhD. She's getting undergraduate scholarships which I have also not subtracted from the shown costs. I've also heard from her that what you say is true, but I was trying to make an apples to apples comparison with the crazies that get though college and owe $34K. Her actual costs will be, as you indicate, under $18K by a significant amount.
Thanks for making part of my point more clear. If you get out of school with enough debt that you cannot pay it down in 10 years, you spent too much on the wrong degree...
My daughter's BS in Mathematics will cost me about $18K. Add another $12-16K to get her PhD. (All of which I am so far able to pay for in cash)
How on earth does the average student end up owing $34K at the end of 4 years?
Also, how on earth does a college graduate not have most of that $34K paid off in 10 years? Come on you guys, it's not THAT hard to pay off debt. All it takes is a reasonable job and the willingness to knuckle down and forego indulging oneself with unnecessary costs. Did you get some worthless degree and pay though the nose for it? If so, your lack of forethought does not mean someone else should be responsible for bailing you out and you need to grab your bootstraps and get busy...
If you believe that, I have some ocean beachfront property in Colorado to sell you... Or, if you prefer a really nice bridge close to NYC....(sarc off)
Expecting *anything* to have an immediate measureable effect on the nation's economy is stretching it. Even the biggest hammer the government has (The federal funds rate) struggles to have short term effects...
I lived in Austin and had a 15 min commute, but it was way back in the 90's. Made a killing by flipping my house too. Austin was a nice place to live, a bit to crazy for me, but I know folks who like "Austin Weird" (tm). The city has grown quite a bit in 2 decades, so I really cannot give you any information about commune times or affordable real-estate.
Oh sure, it's not simple, but there are websites that sort all this Cost of Living stuff out for you if you google a bit and the quality of life is something only you can determine for yourself.
I don't know where you are, but here in Texas there is a huge boom and they are starting to get desperate for software types and related fields. As one of my friends put it "It's a seller's market" for technical skills right now. The standards of living are not bad, though will admit that housing prices and commute times are a factor to consider before moving here but it's nothing like Silicon Valley... Yet....
The quality of life thing is for you to decide for yourself. Texas is big into Cowboy boots and blue jeans for the most part, but there ARE places a whole lot more cosmopolitan if you prefer such things. The weather is obviously warm and I wouldn't live here if Air Conditioning had not been invented, but weather is but a minor annoyance for most of us anyway. All in all, works out great for me and my family, but the kids got raised here so they don't know anything else.
I like it here and wages are taking a turn for the better, but your mileage may vary..
If you cannot maintain the solution locally, it's the wrong solution. Unless it's under local control it's going to be locally useless to first responders and they won't bother to spend their money on equipment that can use it. IF it's nothing more than another cell phone network, what's the point of building it? We already have multiple networks which are commercially available to use which will have the same reliability of anything they can build new.
I urge you to do some thinking about what a local emergency looks like and what kinds of infrastructure might not survive. Widen that to some kind of regional emergency and THINK about what kinds of problems you will have with fixed, nationally controlled infrastructure during say a regional blackout...
In emergency response situations, it's flexibility that's going to save lives more often than not and a rigid nationally controlled infrastructure is decidedly not flexible. It you have to call back to a suburb of Washington DC to make a change to the infrastructure to solve a local problem, this thing will be useless locally, which implies it will be useless...If it's just another cell phone network, it's pointless as well as useless.
Still... IF you are locked in place because of the kids and that location doesn't see the salary increases available in other locations, it's not the job that's holding you back, but the location you desire to live that's holding you back. Just be honest with yourself about this and I'm fine...
Personally, I think that a lot of parents are inclined to coddle their offspring a bit too much anyway, which can also cause adjustment issues as they become adults. But hey, you got to do what you think is best for you and yours and I'm not going to question your choices. I do however take exception to using kids as an excuse for not being able to do something like move to get a better paying job then complaining about it.
There are many children who grow up moving a lot. My wife was a preacher's kid and she moved every couple of years as a child. I know military brats that moved every 9 months or so. Yea, it may be a hard thing, but it's not an impossible thing, and sometimes the adversity of one's life builds character.
IF your kids stability is more important to you than salary increases, that's fine, just be honest about it with yourself. It's not your job that's holding your back.
Like I said.. I've changed jobs and locations multiple times. One of those changes was for family reasons and I knowingly moved to a location that I KNEW wasn't great for my career or advancing my salary. I didn't complain about how much money I was or wasn't making at that time, but as soon as the reason for the move went away, I picked up the family and moved to a location that better enabled me to provide for my family. You need to do what's right for you..
Be willing to change, locations and careers as necessary. Be flexible.
There ARE places and jobs in the grand old USA where wages are going up. If you don't get that raise you want where you are, start looking for a location and career that is in demand and JUMP. Sooner rather than later.
I've lived in 4 different states in my long career and I am willing to pull up the tent stakes and move if it means more money. I've also had multiple kinds of jobs, from Electronic Engineering to Network engineering to Software Development.... And last year I got one of the biggest raises of my life by changing jobs...
But sir, they are not charged with FRAUD. It's 14 counts of recording people without telling them and 1 count of conspiracy to record people without telling them...
Oh and one more thing... You *do* know that the DA that charged them took campaign money from Planed Parenthood right?
If these two broke the law making their recordings in CA and end up convicted so be it, let the DA prove this in court to a judge and jury.. But let's not make this into more than it really is. IF the DA thought there was a valid fraud charge, he should have charged them with that too, but he didn't. I think they've been selectively prosecuted for political reasons by a DA from a staunchly liberal area (San Francisco CA), but I firmly understand that is MY view and that others will disagree.
And one last thing before you go away... At the risk of doing the same thing as you.... It's common for one who has not thought through all sides of a debate but holds a specific view based on their emotional perspective to attack the person rather than the issue being debated. Since the last presidential election we've seen this in riots and violence from the radical left in unprecedented amounts. You seem to be engaged in a personal attack, at least in part even though you don't know me from Adam...
Um... No.... They just made up new names to use when talking to people and created a company to further the deception. Nothing illegal in either of those acts and they are not charged for doing that.....
By the Way, Charge 15 is supported by bogus information that was thrown in for political purposes. Actually, the whole thing is and they likely won't make it to court. This DA is just slumming for votes.... Must be an election year..
I see some centrally managed and controlled network infrastructure, while better than the adhoc, whatever the local responders can afford to buy for equipment, to be the wrong solution. This stuff needs to be in LOCAL control, not some national program's control. You need to make sure that the fire fighters who roll in from half a state away will have communications equipment that will be interoperable with the local system.
What is needed is a set of interoperability standards for the communications equipment used by first responders and funding to make equipment that meets the standards available to local governments. The problem I see is that a huge national network really isn't necessary (or even desirable) but what you really need is the ability to roll in equipment and resources and be assured that you will have communications ability with minimal coordination required in advance.
I'm afraid that having a bunch of fixed resources managed by AT&T doesn't really help you in the face of a wide spread disaster. Likely the towers will be down and the power will be out should something big happen like a large fire, hurricane, large flood or whatever and this expensive infrastructure won't be working anyway. You need to be able to roll in temporary infrastructure, RF Repeaters, Data links that is self contained and mobile which is interoperable with the equipment the responders already have with them. This doesn't require nailed down national infrastructure, but it DOES require that everybody responding already has compatible equipment.
But my point is that the fixed parts of this system should be LOCALLY controlled and maintained. Some places it will make sense to build out extensive fixed infrastructure (large cities or densely populated areas). but in other places it won't make any sense at all (Rural areas which are uninhabited) but having the ability to quickly set up mobile infrastructure would be necessary (Say for a forest fire). However in ALL cases it would be a great advantage if first responders didn't have to worry about the radios they carry actually working outside of their local area..
If that's what the law says should happen... But hey, creating a fake ID is not always a crime, especially if the ID being faked isn't a government issued one.
So making a fake ID card for a convention, so it looks like you are an attendee, is not a crime. Now if you use that fake ID to gain entry to a convention, THAT might be a crime (i.e. trespassing) or gain some benefit like eating from the buffet (stealing), but making and having the ID is not a crime.
Faking a government issued ID (Driver's license, Passport and the like) IS a crime, but is that what these folks actually did?
In Liberal CA, even in public locations recording audio / video generally requires all parties know they are being recorded... I would imagine though, that where the recordings where made (public or not) would be a factor in the punishment phase of a criminal trial.
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No, this is Obamacare for public transportation... Only there is one provider and if you like your bus, too bad.
What telephone number do I dial to hail an "Uber" ? I do not have a so-called "smart" so-called "telephone".
0800-GET-F**KED:)
Shouldn't that number start with 900?
Look, I know it's a struggle. I got out of college with a sub-optimal GPA and was facing a very tight market. I had a steady job as a projectionist and took any odd jobs related to my EE degree that I could find. I didn't get many interviews like you. In fact, it took me a whole year to get two interviews, one which got me a job but I had to move. But once I got a couple years experience, I've rarely had issues getting interviews and get an offer for nearly half of those.
What did I do wrong? Well, I let my GPA head to the doldrums mostly (I suppose I could have been a female minority and that would have helped, but that's not within my control). I paid the price for my lack of diligence in school. What did I do right? I kept at it until I got a job in my field.
It's not luck, it's work... Getting experience is work... Getting interviews is work.. Searching out where to apply, what they are looking for, considering if you are a good match and how to make your resume appealing to them so you get the interview... Learning how to turn an interview into an offer is work, it takes research, planning and preparation.... Considering an offer takes thought, and research too.. Getting a good job is not throwing the dice, it's a process that takes effort... The only part of this that is up to chance is how long it takes, but even that is at least partially in the job seeker's control.
Seriously? It takes Luck to get a job with a B.S.C.S with experience? I don't think so, unless you have crappy references or something.
My previous employer would likely hire you right now and if you have experience would likely pay to relocate you, they where about 10 people short last time I heard from them and struggling to bill enough hours on their contracts as a result. (BTW they paid overtime). I know of another related place that would likely hire you too. These are just places I happen to know people, I'm sure there are more. Then there are telecommute options which wouldn't require you to move, just travel a bit. There are jobs out there for CS majors.
We are at 4% unemployment in this country nation wide. It's less around here (something like 3%). CS majors are in great demand here and it wouldn't take much luck to land a job, just a little bit of effort is all that's required... Well that and the willingness to relocate.
This is why I don't buy ANYTHING that requires some connection to some service provider to control the device. If I cannot control it locally, without the manufacturer's servers up and my network connected to the internet, it doesn't come home. If the manufacturer wants to give me remote access to my stuff, I get that it is easiest to do this using a remote server, but if I cannot get to it locally, it doesn't get installed in my home.
Keep plugging along and do what you can to acquire skills that are in demand. Sorry that your initial plans didn't work out, but they where apparently a mistake.
I spent 6 months on unemployment just before 2000 when the bottom was falling out of the tech market. There where ZERO jobs to be had in my chosen career path nation wide, but I found a job in the backwater town I lived in, but if I had to I would have taking "would you like fries with that" jobs. I know it is frustrating, but you CAN do better if you keep trying.
IF you are a college graduate who cannot find a job above the poverty line, you are doing something wrong...
You are living in the wrong place and need to move.... Have the wrong degree with no marketable skills.... Went to the wrong school for the degree you have.... Have horrible work habits and cannot keep a job long enough to make more....
We are under 4% unemployment in this country, there ARE jobs out there if you are in the right place and are willing to work..
Community college for 2 years which cost me about $1,300 in tuition, local state supported university for 2 more which runs about $12K more. Yes, she lives at home. Still, I'm at half the average price for a decent STEM degree.
Obviously.... but landing that job, even after getting a degree, can be tricky, and often a matter of luck more than anything else.
Luck? What kind of degree did you get? Basket Weaving? If you don't have marketable skills, get some. Look, if you are in a career path that has few prospective jobs and think it takes luck to get a job,I feel for your plight, but the problem here might be attitude.
In my experience, getting a job takes effort not luck. It takes doing more than the competition, working harder and doing something above average. I've NEVER had luck hand me a job, but I have landed jobs I wasn't expecting because I did things like show up someplace unannounced and asked if they had a job for me. It's not a high probability approach but sometimes showing initiative, doing research and dropping off your resume during a cold call works. If you need a job, go get one by keeping up the effort until it happens, they are out there if you are wiling to do what it takes to get them.
Now if your college education was in some unmarketable skill like making buggy whips, it might be time to consider changing career paths and finding yourself some menial job to feed yourself until you can get some marketable skills..
You got the wrong degree.... AND you likely paid too much for the one you got.
Seriously, folks need to do a bit of cost/benefit analysis before they go out and spend their hard earned money on education. If you made a bad choice, well, that's the way life goes, you pay for your mistake. I'm sorry for you, but the way out is hard work and discipline.
Still though, if you *really* wanted to, there are ways to live on less than $25/hour and put significant dents in your debt. I know, I've done it. I got debt free on $30/hour, married with kids. I'm no great financial mind but we came up with a budget that worked and paid down the debt, then stayed disciplined until we paid it off. It took reducing our standard of living, moving to a smaller house, driving older cars, not eating out and more, but unless you are making poverty level income, it's possible.
I was assuming I will have to pay full tuition for her PhD. She's getting undergraduate scholarships which I have also not subtracted from the shown costs. I've also heard from her that what you say is true, but I was trying to make an apples to apples comparison with the crazies that get though college and owe $34K. Her actual costs will be, as you indicate, under $18K by a significant amount.
Thanks for making part of my point more clear. If you get out of school with enough debt that you cannot pay it down in 10 years, you spent too much on the wrong degree...
My daughter's BS in Mathematics will cost me about $18K. Add another $12-16K to get her PhD. (All of which I am so far able to pay for in cash)
How on earth does the average student end up owing $34K at the end of 4 years?
Also, how on earth does a college graduate not have most of that $34K paid off in 10 years? Come on you guys, it's not THAT hard to pay off debt. All it takes is a reasonable job and the willingness to knuckle down and forego indulging oneself with unnecessary costs. Did you get some worthless degree and pay though the nose for it? If so, your lack of forethought does not mean someone else should be responsible for bailing you out and you need to grab your bootstraps and get busy...
How about "enabling American workers to fill highly qualified positions"?
How do you propose to do that exactly? Seems to me that removing the seemingly cheaper H1B option for companies is a step in this direction...
Riiight....
If you believe that, I have some ocean beachfront property in Colorado to sell you... Or, if you prefer a really nice bridge close to NYC....(sarc off)
Expecting *anything* to have an immediate measureable effect on the nation's economy is stretching it. Even the biggest hammer the government has (The federal funds rate) struggles to have short term effects...
I lived in Austin and had a 15 min commute, but it was way back in the 90's. Made a killing by flipping my house too. Austin was a nice place to live, a bit to crazy for me, but I know folks who like "Austin Weird" (tm). The city has grown quite a bit in 2 decades, so I really cannot give you any information about commune times or affordable real-estate.
Oh sure, it's not simple, but there are websites that sort all this Cost of Living stuff out for you if you google a bit and the quality of life is something only you can determine for yourself.
I don't know where you are, but here in Texas there is a huge boom and they are starting to get desperate for software types and related fields. As one of my friends put it "It's a seller's market" for technical skills right now. The standards of living are not bad, though will admit that housing prices and commute times are a factor to consider before moving here but it's nothing like Silicon Valley... Yet....
The quality of life thing is for you to decide for yourself. Texas is big into Cowboy boots and blue jeans for the most part, but there ARE places a whole lot more cosmopolitan if you prefer such things. The weather is obviously warm and I wouldn't live here if Air Conditioning had not been invented, but weather is but a minor annoyance for most of us anyway. All in all, works out great for me and my family, but the kids got raised here so they don't know anything else.
I like it here and wages are taking a turn for the better, but your mileage may vary..
If you cannot maintain the solution locally, it's the wrong solution. Unless it's under local control it's going to be locally useless to first responders and they won't bother to spend their money on equipment that can use it. IF it's nothing more than another cell phone network, what's the point of building it? We already have multiple networks which are commercially available to use which will have the same reliability of anything they can build new.
I urge you to do some thinking about what a local emergency looks like and what kinds of infrastructure might not survive. Widen that to some kind of regional emergency and THINK about what kinds of problems you will have with fixed, nationally controlled infrastructure during say a regional blackout...
In emergency response situations, it's flexibility that's going to save lives more often than not and a rigid nationally controlled infrastructure is decidedly not flexible. It you have to call back to a suburb of Washington DC to make a change to the infrastructure to solve a local problem, this thing will be useless locally, which implies it will be useless...If it's just another cell phone network, it's pointless as well as useless.
Still... IF you are locked in place because of the kids and that location doesn't see the salary increases available in other locations, it's not the job that's holding you back, but the location you desire to live that's holding you back. Just be honest with yourself about this and I'm fine...
Personally, I think that a lot of parents are inclined to coddle their offspring a bit too much anyway, which can also cause adjustment issues as they become adults. But hey, you got to do what you think is best for you and yours and I'm not going to question your choices. I do however take exception to using kids as an excuse for not being able to do something like move to get a better paying job then complaining about it.
Who's kids?
There are many children who grow up moving a lot. My wife was a preacher's kid and she moved every couple of years as a child. I know military brats that moved every 9 months or so. Yea, it may be a hard thing, but it's not an impossible thing, and sometimes the adversity of one's life builds character.
IF your kids stability is more important to you than salary increases, that's fine, just be honest about it with yourself. It's not your job that's holding your back.
Like I said.. I've changed jobs and locations multiple times. One of those changes was for family reasons and I knowingly moved to a location that I KNEW wasn't great for my career or advancing my salary. I didn't complain about how much money I was or wasn't making at that time, but as soon as the reason for the move went away, I picked up the family and moved to a location that better enabled me to provide for my family. You need to do what's right for you..
Be willing to change, locations and careers as necessary. Be flexible.
There ARE places and jobs in the grand old USA where wages are going up. If you don't get that raise you want where you are, start looking for a location and career that is in demand and JUMP. Sooner rather than later.
I've lived in 4 different states in my long career and I am willing to pull up the tent stakes and move if it means more money. I've also had multiple kinds of jobs, from Electronic Engineering to Network engineering to Software Development.... And last year I got one of the biggest raises of my life by changing jobs...
But sir, they are not charged with FRAUD. It's 14 counts of recording people without telling them and 1 count of conspiracy to record people without telling them...
Oh and one more thing... You *do* know that the DA that charged them took campaign money from Planed Parenthood right?
If these two broke the law making their recordings in CA and end up convicted so be it, let the DA prove this in court to a judge and jury.. But let's not make this into more than it really is. IF the DA thought there was a valid fraud charge, he should have charged them with that too, but he didn't. I think they've been selectively prosecuted for political reasons by a DA from a staunchly liberal area (San Francisco CA), but I firmly understand that is MY view and that others will disagree.
And one last thing before you go away... At the risk of doing the same thing as you.... It's common for one who has not thought through all sides of a debate but holds a specific view based on their emotional perspective to attack the person rather than the issue being debated. Since the last presidential election we've seen this in riots and violence from the radical left in unprecedented amounts. You seem to be engaged in a personal attack, at least in part even though you don't know me from Adam...
Um... No.... They just made up new names to use when talking to people and created a company to further the deception. Nothing illegal in either of those acts and they are not charged for doing that.....
By the Way, Charge 15 is supported by bogus information that was thrown in for political purposes. Actually, the whole thing is and they likely won't make it to court. This DA is just slumming for votes.... Must be an election year..
I see some centrally managed and controlled network infrastructure, while better than the adhoc, whatever the local responders can afford to buy for equipment, to be the wrong solution. This stuff needs to be in LOCAL control, not some national program's control. You need to make sure that the fire fighters who roll in from half a state away will have communications equipment that will be interoperable with the local system.
What is needed is a set of interoperability standards for the communications equipment used by first responders and funding to make equipment that meets the standards available to local governments. The problem I see is that a huge national network really isn't necessary (or even desirable) but what you really need is the ability to roll in equipment and resources and be assured that you will have communications ability with minimal coordination required in advance.
I'm afraid that having a bunch of fixed resources managed by AT&T doesn't really help you in the face of a wide spread disaster. Likely the towers will be down and the power will be out should something big happen like a large fire, hurricane, large flood or whatever and this expensive infrastructure won't be working anyway. You need to be able to roll in temporary infrastructure, RF Repeaters, Data links that is self contained and mobile which is interoperable with the equipment the responders already have with them. This doesn't require nailed down national infrastructure, but it DOES require that everybody responding already has compatible equipment.
But my point is that the fixed parts of this system should be LOCALLY controlled and maintained. Some places it will make sense to build out extensive fixed infrastructure (large cities or densely populated areas). but in other places it won't make any sense at all (Rural areas which are uninhabited) but having the ability to quickly set up mobile infrastructure would be necessary (Say for a forest fire). However in ALL cases it would be a great advantage if first responders didn't have to worry about the radios they carry actually working outside of their local area..
If that's what the law says should happen... But hey, creating a fake ID is not always a crime, especially if the ID being faked isn't a government issued one.
So making a fake ID card for a convention, so it looks like you are an attendee, is not a crime. Now if you use that fake ID to gain entry to a convention, THAT might be a crime (i.e. trespassing) or gain some benefit like eating from the buffet (stealing), but making and having the ID is not a crime.
Faking a government issued ID (Driver's license, Passport and the like) IS a crime, but is that what these folks actually did?
In Liberal CA, even in public locations recording audio / video generally requires all parties know they are being recorded... I would imagine though, that where the recordings where made (public or not) would be a factor in the punishment phase of a criminal trial.