This is a test of the Emergency Alert System, this is only a test...
So we were watching the Bears/Giants game on TV last night and there was this amazing play where a missed field goald was run back 108 yards for a touchdown, tying the record for the all-time longest run back in league history.
Only we didn't see it, while the kick was still in the air our screen went black and we got to watch a test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) instead. Oops.
I know they need to test to damn system from time to time but why not at 2:00 AM? And why doesn't it ever seem to happen during a commercial?
Why do we even maintain the system? The FCC says that the EAS "is designed to provide the President with a means to address the American people in the event of a national emergency. ... The EAS and its predecessors, CONELRAD and the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), have never been activated for this purpose."
If we didn't use it on 9/11 then it seems unlikely that anyone will ever use it.
Only we didn't see it, while the kick was still in the air our screen went black and we got to watch a test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) instead. Oops.
I know they need to test to damn system from time to time but why not at 2:00 AM? And why doesn't it ever seem to happen during a commercial?
Why do we even maintain the system? The FCC says that the EAS "is designed to provide the President with a means to address the American people in the event of a national emergency. ... The EAS and its predecessors, CONELRAD and the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), have never been activated for this purpose."
If we didn't use it on 9/11 then it seems unlikely that anyone will ever use it.