Why is it suddenly a priority to test the United State's Emergency Alert system tomorrow?

Iran?

GQ. I wondered the same.

Gotta turn up the fear machine with upcoming current events.

At the risk of underreacting and being underly paranoid, it seems to me to be something that’s long overdue. The emergency alert system has only ever been tested at the state and local levels and natural disasters and emergencies don’t always respect state borders. Does anyone have any information on when the decision was made to test the system at the national level? If it was made after Irene and after the east coast earthquake it really makes sense. Irene was a huge storm that caused damage over a wide area, and the earthquake, unlike a lot of earthquakes, was felt over a wide area too, all over the east coast. Anyway, it’s something that makes sense to me; to test the system at national level, no matter when they decided. FEMA, on it’s webpage about the test says the day and the time for the national test were chosen because:

The November 9 date is near the end of hurricane season and before the severe winter weather season. The 2 p.m. Eastern broadcast time will minimize disruption during rush hours, while ensuring that the test can occur during normal business hours across several time zones.

And, @zensky, you guys may have something to worry about with Iran, but what exactly could they do to us right now or in the near future? I believe the longest range missile Iran has is the Ghadr-110 which has a range of about 1800 km, and I don’t think anyone is absolute certain about that one, I don’t think. They could hit Israel with it, but certainly not the U.S.

I tend to agree with @Blackberry – the test is to emphasize the “need” for the US to continue to have the Patriot Act & the Dept. of Homeland Security.

because it makes more sense than putting it off till next week/month/year.

It should be good to go at a seconds notice.

Don’t put off something that you can do immediately.

The asteroid was close today. In this FEMA test, there were MRE’s bought, huge coffin liners are all prepared.
The diaster in Japan last year, is probably what prompted this.

I have bought some water, a cook stove, flashlights and now consider myself ready for 2012 and beyond. If I had a generator.

Much better to be safe and prepared for the worst.

@Linda_Owl The Emergency Broadcast System was started in 1963 and replaced in 1997 with the Emergency Alert System. It’s not exactly the work of neo-facist reactionaries. It’s something any nation needs in order to alert it’s citizens in the event of an emergency.

Should the system be dismantled so we can all be in dark and vulnerable should there be a local or national emergency?

Edit: Though maybe it is merely a relic of the Cold War, and is no longer needed. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was a long time ago.

The Chinese might be coming to foreclose?

It’s only a couple of short months till 2012. You have to test it before the end of the world, now don’t you.

The email I received from my local Village trustee mentioned the asteroid as the reason it was being tested Nationwide.

@lillycoyote Terror, unleashed by or sponsored by Iran through Hizballah, Hammas and connected to Al Qaida can, and has hit the States.

@zensky O.K. I was thinking more a long the lines of a direct attack from Iran. They can’t do that.