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Thoroughly ticked off - govt program of course

by Kay King
14 replies
  • OFF TOPIC
    • |
For the past HOUR my cable box has been taken over by the EAS (Emergency Alert System) which is forcing me to watch weather channel...which is talking about weather in another state while it scrolls an alert to me "thunderstorm".

Hey stupid - do you think I can't hear thunder or see rain???

I also had 8 EAS warnings on my cell phone - every few minutes....this is just stupid and I'm sure taxpayers are paying for it!

I can't change the channel - can't watch previously recorded programs....and I'm PAYING FOR THIS SERVICE???

The local TV stations here have a bad habit of long weather "warnings" for no apparent reason (rain is rain) to get face time...but this is totally ridiculous.

This is the kind of thing that will set off my temper and it's done that tonight. I don't think the govt has taken over my kindle yet so I'm going to shut down the TV - turn off the phone...and read. Take that, Weather Channel.
  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Tell me about it! I LITERALLY got an interruption that lasted for quite a while. NOW for the TWO big PUNCH LINES!

    1. It was on TV and late at night! So I heard about it HOURS AGO, and it wasn't worth much being on TV.
    2. At the BEGINNING, he said it was for the next TWO MINUTES!!!!!! YEP, it ended AFTER the period, and started about the time that one going out would likely have not needed it regardless of how much they knew!

    And YEAH, it is part of what we pay for in service bills and taxes!!!!!!

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      I'm in the second hour now - there is no storm here - it's not raining - and still the only thing my cable company will show me is the weather channel.

      This is something new - I've been here when tornadoes touched down a couple miles away - when hurricane bands were coming onshore - and only in the past couple of months have I seen this kind of intrusion.

      It's not the cable company - it's the govt program so somewhere along the way something has changed.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        Most messages in the system are restricted to specific states, counties or other geographic areas. But now the Federal Communications Commission has filed public notice of a rule change that would bypass the daisy-chain entirely and give the federal government instant access to all the nation's airwaves at once,....
        testing,testing, 1,2,3???
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        • Profile picture of the author seasoned
          Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

          testing,testing, 1,2,3???
          MAN, THAT IS SICK! I was of the belief that they EARLIER, at least, had a kind of access by the government. STILL, REAGRDLESS, it DOES affect the service YOU pay for, and taxpayers DO pay for it!

          Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

    I can't change the channel - can't watch previously recorded programs....and I'm PAYING FOR THIS SERVICE???
    That's outrageous ... you can't even opt out of that and get the service you're paying for?? It's almost like something out of Kafka, or George Orwell.

    .
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      That's outrageous ... you can't even opt out of that and get the service you're paying for?? It's almost like something out of Kafka, or George Orwell.

      .
      YEAH! I guess it is good that we have the limit on presidential terms. I mean imagine if one got really into having others see him or her, and thought about having a state of the union show every night, ON EVERY CHANNEL!?!?!?!?? BTW THAT would REALLY be like orwell! NOT simply in spirit, but in actual occurrence.

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
    Originally Posted by Kay King View Post


    Hey stupid - do you think I can't hear thunder or see rain???
    Reminds me of road signs here. I drove through thick fog for 15 miles this morning to be greeted by a sign as I left the main road warning me there was fog.

    Sorry, bit off topic.

    Hope your TV gets well soon Kay.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

      Reminds me of road signs here. I drove through thick fog for 15 miles this morning to be greeted by a sign as I left the main road warning me there was fog.

      Sorry, bit off topic.

      Hope your TV gets well soon Kay.
      NOT OFF TOPIC AT ALL! BOTH are about stupid wastes of money that don't do any good. Of course KAY's example is more annoying.

      Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
        Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

        NOT OFF TOPIC AT ALL! BOTH are about stupid wastes of money that don't do any good. Of course KAY's example is more annoying.

        Steve
        Oh yes, much more annoying I agree.

        Imagine though every major road in Britain has them, what an enormous waste of cash and that's just the start.

        Anyway, any improvement Kay?
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

          Imagine though every major road in Britain has them, what an enormous waste of cash and that's just the start.
          I'd rather they wasted the money on those than on speed cameras, anyway. Those are purely financially motivated, for councils to collect speeding-ticket money from people. I haven't actually been "done" by one of them yet, but remain concerned that my father will get them, when he comes over and drives my car: unlike me, he doesn't know where all the local ones are. I don't believe there's any evidence that they reduce accidents at all - they exist purely for money-raising purposes. It's basically a "stealth tax" on motorists.

          .
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          • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
            Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

            I'd rather they wasted the money on those than on speed cameras, anyway. Those are purely financially motivated, for councils to collect speeding-ticket money from people. I haven't actually been "done" by one of them yet, but remain concerned that my father will get them, when he comes over and drives my car: unlike me, he doesn't know where all the local ones are. I don't believe there's any evidence that they reduce accidents at all - they exist purely for money-raising purposes. It's basically a "stealth tax" on motorists.

            .
            Nothing I can add to that at all. Spot on. Total waste of money, for us.

            Funny isn't it though, they make cash on the cameras then frittle it away on nonsensical signs.

            Nothing amazes me anymore Alexa. Not here anyway. Funny old well and I hope you're well.
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        • Profile picture of the author Kay King
          In the end it was over 2 hours of time that my cable system was "taken over".

          I find this more alarming than most of the "official intrusions" we're frequently warned about.

          If there is an actual tornado headed your way - of course it's good to have a warning. However, the old style warning of flashing the information on your TV screen quickly got the message to you. Now your cable box is "acquired" and your TV redirected to a site that may or may not have local info.....and where a long, slow stream of warnings is being scrolled. By the time you read the warning, you'd be toast if there was a tornado.

          You do not have the option of scanning other media sources on your TV - your cell phone is being co-opted by multiple EAS warnings. You lose control of systems YOU put inside your home.

          There are few systems that don't end up overused when they associated with govt agencies. I was a bit chilled to learn changes this summer now allow the President to interrupt me in my home if he wants.

          That infers two things:

          That news I watch should be directed by officials somewhere in the country.

          That someone in the government has the right to interrupt my daily activities in the privacy of my home and manage the information I obtain.

          This the one time of the year I enjoy TV because there are new shows on and new episodes of old favorites (Big Bang Theory). Seems this year 'prime time' has been usurped by multiple govt speeches and "updates" and now by an emergency system that is not well geotargeted. Can you say "election year"?
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          • Profile picture of the author ThomM
            Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

            In the end it was over 2 hours of time that my cable system was "taken over".

            I find this more alarming than most of the "official intrusions" we're frequently warned about.

            If there is an actual tornado headed your way - of course it's good to have a warning. However, the old style warning of flashing the information on your TV screen quickly got the message to you. Now your cable box is "acquired" and your TV redirected to a site that may or may not have local info.....and where a long, slow stream of warnings is being scrolled. By the time you read the warning, you'd be toast if there was a tornado.

            You do not have the option of scanning other media sources on your TV - your cell phone is being co-opted by multiple EAS warnings. You lose control of systems YOU put inside your home.

            There are few systems that don't end up overused when they associated with govt agencies. I was a bit chilled to learn changes this summer now allow the President to interrupt me in my home if he wants.

            That infers two things:

            That news I watch should be directed by officials somewhere in the country.

            That someone in the government has the right to interrupt my daily activities in the privacy of my home and manage the information I obtain.

            This the one time of the year I enjoy TV because there are new shows on and new episodes of old favorites (Big Bang Theory). Seems this year 'prime time' has been usurped by multiple govt speeches and "updates" and now by an emergency system that is not well geotargeted. Can you say "election year"?
            That pretty much sums it up.
            As far as I know around here we still get the ticker scrolling across the top or bottom of the TV screen for a weather warning with that annoying beep.
            As for the election year crap, so far our governor has taken a trip to Israel and Afghanistan and is planning a trip to Puerto Rico. You know to shore up his votes from those countries I guess. He's also beefed up programs that only benefit the 3 cities in the state that are D strongholds (NY would be a red state if not for those cities). Oh and today he announced he is going to wipe out aides in the state.
            He did pass a pathetic medical cannabis bill this year that won't go into effect for a couple of years. When people started bringing their dieing children to him asking him for immediate access, you know to save their children's lives, he said he had to ask permission from the feds for that.
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        • Profile picture of the author seasoned
          Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

          Oh yes, much more annoying I agree.

          Imagine though every major road in Britain has them, what an enormous waste of cash and that's just the start.

          Anyway, any improvement Kay?
          There is a road in my town that I have driven no less than once a week for the past almost 15 years! Some months,I have gone down it TWICE a day. One day, I found that they changed several signs to say it was there thanks to TARP. Tarp happened like 7 years ago.

          Yeah, they waste a LOT of money in the US also!

          Steve
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