OMG It's The Prez

Imagine my surprise upon waking up today to see an interesting concept in the news: cell phone alerts for natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and any other event that state or local government might see fit. The premise is simple, if something of importance occurs, the nation or region is alerted via a text message. I for one am in favor of the idea. I think we have all seen people with cell phones (quite literally) attached to their hips, using them in situations both appropriate and inappropriate (emergencies, gossiping on the phone while driving), so why not tap into this technology and use it for something productive? And no, playing Bejeweled doesn’t count as productive. I’ll be the first to admit that the idea of getting a text from the president (not Bush, but rather McCain, Clinton, or Obama) feels odd, and perhaps, even like an overstepping of boundaries. On the plus side, for anyone else out there who may feel the same way, you can opt out of the service completely. Also, for all you penny pinchers out there, the text messages will be free of charge. Though it’s not the same circumstance, I know I hate receiving text messages about the latest services ATT has to offer, but the only thing that could make them more aggravating would be a fee for receiving them. Surely a national or local crisis is a completely different issue altogether, but the cost will remain the same: free. I’m not sure the figures match up as well with my condition, but I know I have a cell phone, yet no TV, so what I consider a somewhat outdated Emergency Broadcast System will surely be getting the 21st century facelift it deserves if by 2010 (as slated) the government and cell phone providers can bring this revolution to the masses.