Frankly, I’m just a bit worried.
I’m not a long-timer here, but I have been a regular reader and fairly regular contributor for a while now. I truly enjoy coming by here to see the carefully collected bits of news and insightful commentary (that would be my chosen selection had I the time to scan the whole news-o-sphere for them) and swap comments and stories (or argue) with an extended group of smart, compassionate and logical people. It always seems to leave me in brighter spirits and ready to tackle the next day with at least the knowledge that I am not alone, and maybe… just maybe, we have a chance.
To put it succinctly… I genuinely like all of you.
And that goes double for all those I have argued with. Those arguments have provided me with viewpoints I had not thought of, facts I did not know, and some have even proven to me that I needed to re-assess my views.
If someone you cared about told you that they were going to do something dangerous, what would you do? Would you speak to the issue? What about if they were going to do something dangerous for a reason that was based on false information or propaganda? Wouldn’t you feel the need to try and lay out the facts and see if maybe they could see what you see?
I’m not asking anyone to do anything more than give me a chance to lay out the nothing-burger that is the furor about the "Presidential Alert", and at least see if you don't see what I see. (see:)
The EAS (Emergency Alert System) was implemented in 1997 (under Clinton) when it took over from the EBS (Emergency Broadcast System — Est. 1963), which in turn took over from the original CONELRAD system (Est. 1951). The EAS is run jointly by FEMA/FCC/NOAA and delivers emergency messages to TV, satellite and radio. It’s worth mentioning that CONELRAD (under Truman) was only for use by order of the President, civil alerts weren’t added until the EBS came online.
In 2006 (under Bush), to take into account the changes in information technology and distribution, the WEA (Wireless Emergency Alert) system was proposed as an additional way to distribute the emergency messages. The WEA distributes emergency alerts via cellular technology (texts). This bill (WARN Act) also created the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) under which all emergency alert systems now operate. This is where the concept of a WEA alert titled “Presidential Alert” came from, as well as the restriction against disabling it on any device.
So Trump didn’t create the EAS, Clinton did that.
And Trump did not implement the WEA/IPAWS, the WEA “Presidential Alert”, or make it unblock-able, Bush did that.
In 2012 (under Obama), the WEA system was fully deployed and operational. Since that time it has been used to provide AMBER alerts and NOAA weather alerts… but has never transmitted any Presidential Alerts. This is because the use and operation of the system is very tightly restricted and regulated by conditions in the Warning, Alert, and Response (WARN) Act of 2006.
Another requirement of IPAWS is that they conduct regular regional tests as well as at least one national test every 3 years. Obviously it’s a complicated process getting a system as wide-spread and all-encompassing as this to operate bug-free… and many of the past national tests have been less than error free (to be nice). But testing needs to continue until they get it right.
So Trump did not cause this test to happen… it was a scheduled necessity.
One last bit to chew on, Trump has had access to IPAWS as long as he’s been Resident. Don’t you think he would have taken advantage of it by now if he could? I’d say the fact that we haven’t all been subjected to obnoxious push messages from Ol’ Cheeto-head for his whole term says that just maybe those WARN restrictions are doing their job.
I really hate having to deflect anyone’s ire from Trump… but I do care about you people enough to do just that. Please think twice, and consider my above points, before you choose to disable or ignore (it can be done) any Presidential Alerts. Choke down the vomit you feel crawling up your throat when you think of Trump fiddling with your phone and I promise we will make it a priority to re-title the alert something more apropos such as “National Alert” (who missed that one in 2006?) once we wrestle the keys to this careening country out of the Orange Menace’s little hands.
What is the biggest, scariest thing about the Resident after all? I hear it here almost every day… nuclear codes. We have a bratty child running this country, and he’s got a mean and vengeful nature. He’s picking fights with almost the whole world and doesn’t give a whit who gets hurt or how much damage his infantile actions are causing. This sure seems to me to be a really bad time to turn off a system that’s designed to alert us if a national emergency happens. Granted, nuclear war doesn’t leave much room to run but, depending on where you are located, it could just be the difference between surviving the initial attack and dying immediately. It’s not just for nukes either, a distributed bio-attack or coordinated terrorist attack could have devastating nation-wide impacts, and an alert could save thousands (even millions) of lives.
Just a few additional bits:
- These messages will not count against your minutes or cost you anything.
- Your location can not be determined by this text alert.
- The alert will not even interrupt your calls, it will be delayed until your line is clear.
- The Sept. 20th text is not from Trump, it’s just a national test of the IPAWS system. The national test has been run 3 other times for the EAS, but this will be the first national test of the WEA system.
Just think about it…. please?
