Senators issued satellite phones, offered demos on upgraded security devices(cbsnews.com)
cbsnews.com
Senators issued satellite phones, offered demos on upgraded security devices
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senators-issued-satellite-phones-new-security-measures/
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If cost isn't an issue there are existing commercial satellite phones and phone services that have been around for quite some time see Iridium, Inmarsat, GlobalStar. Or if you want a middle-of-the-road option so to speak there is Garmin InReach service that would allow texting via the Iridium satellite network.
In this case the officials are being issued phones. Some companies issue phones to employees. If your job is critical during a catastrophic event then your company should issue you a satellite phone. Perhaps corporations could get bulk discounts. Each neighborhood's CERT team should maybe invest in at least one phone to text others.
Of course if they are planning for a full scale nuclear exchange then those options may be useless when the different layers of the atmosphere are charged. HAM radio operators or even CB radios may be more useful for local communications. Long distance would require a courier and a lot of bottle caps. I have no idea what they are actually planning for. Perhaps EMP floated in on a few balloons that takes out power continent wide? Overload of the power grid? [1] Halting all petroleum imports and re-shuffling the locally produced fuel transport networks? Go 100% green in 2024?
[1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36097173
In this case the officials are being issued phones. Some companies issue phones to employees. If your job is critical during a catastrophic event then your company should issue you a satellite phone. Perhaps corporations could get bulk discounts. Each neighborhood's CERT team should maybe invest in at least one phone to text others.
Of course if they are planning for a full scale nuclear exchange then those options may be useless when the different layers of the atmosphere are charged. HAM radio operators or even CB radios may be more useful for local communications. Long distance would require a courier and a lot of bottle caps. I have no idea what they are actually planning for. Perhaps EMP floated in on a few balloons that takes out power continent wide? Overload of the power grid? [1] Halting all petroleum imports and re-shuffling the locally produced fuel transport networks? Go 100% green in 2024?
[1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36097173
> I have no idea what they are actually planning for.
The article said:
> The devices are part of a series of new security measures being offered to senators by the Senate Sergeant at Arms, who took over shortly after the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
I assume they figure that the next insurrection may involve the loss of cellular communications, which is reasonable to expect from a decent coup attempt. The authorities might plan on jamming cell phones themselves, want to deprive the insurgents that communication channel.
The article said:
> The devices are part of a series of new security measures being offered to senators by the Senate Sergeant at Arms, who took over shortly after the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
I assume they figure that the next insurrection may involve the loss of cellular communications, which is reasonable to expect from a decent coup attempt. The authorities might plan on jamming cell phones themselves, want to deprive the insurgents that communication channel.
I did read that but just assumed it was hyperbole. Jan 6 was some broken windows and doors. [Edit] And some people got hurt though I expect this in a big riot A few militia members had weapons but nothing high-tech and most despite being dressed up as soldiers had no combat experience. They had been planning that incursion for over a year on a public audio blog. I think the only real surprise was that the militia that normally wore Hawaiian shirts were not wearing them. Journalists from Frontline had been embedded with a few of the militias for a year leading up to the event and they had been coordinating with POTUS the entire time. These guys were not qualified or capable enough to cause a wide spread cellular outage.
But what happened on January 6 was enough that representatives had to flee. The people responsible for security would want to address the possibility of something like this, or worse, occurring in the future. Why would they not respond to this with improvements? Security forces have their own separate communications, it makes sense for representatives to be reachable in an emergency also. January 6 may have been a reminder of that, at the least.
Why would they not respond to this with improvements?
They had every opportunity to improve the situation by having the nation guard present. They were offered and declined. That small contingency of capitol police would have be overwhelmed by a Walmart super-sale stampede and it was not fair to make them absorb the known incoming riot. That is why it does not surprise me that the police let many of the rioters in without resistance on one side of the building. Those that resisted were easily overwhelmed. If anything I feel bad for those cops that were put in harms way. The incident was avoidable or at very least the national guard could have quickly asserted control. It was also not cool making the national guard members sleep in a cold parking garage. Most guard members were not dressed for sleeping in a garage in 20-30F weather.
They had every opportunity to improve the situation by having the nation guard present. They were offered and declined. That small contingency of capitol police would have be overwhelmed by a Walmart super-sale stampede and it was not fair to make them absorb the known incoming riot. That is why it does not surprise me that the police let many of the rioters in without resistance on one side of the building. Those that resisted were easily overwhelmed. If anything I feel bad for those cops that were put in harms way. The incident was avoidable or at very least the national guard could have quickly asserted control. It was also not cool making the national guard members sleep in a cold parking garage. Most guard members were not dressed for sleeping in a garage in 20-30F weather.
> They had every opportunity to improve the situation by having the nation guard present.
I would assume that the circumstances around the deployment of National Guard are being looked at, also. The article didn't comment on this, they were talking about satellite phones. And satellite phones would still be useful in situations, such as what happened January 6, even if the national guard were present.
I would assume that the circumstances around the deployment of National Guard are being looked at, also. The article didn't comment on this, they were talking about satellite phones. And satellite phones would still be useful in situations, such as what happened January 6, even if the national guard were present.
And satellite phones would still be useful in situations, such as what happened January 6, even if the national guard were present.
Maybe it would be useful for a minute to the congressional folks on the upper floors. I would be surprised if either satellite or plain cellular would work at all in the hallway effectively a tunnel they were escorted to. Maybe cellular-over-wifi would work. Adding to this every office in the capitol building has a hard wired multi-line desk speaker phone.
All logistical communications would be by UHF trunked and P25 encrypted 2-way radios by capitol police assuming they were on the tactical channels. Their radios can also operate point-to-point without the need for a repeater. Politicians would be instructed to end their call and "Come this way".
Where cellphones would have been useful is if everyone started recording video and put their phones in shirt or pants pockets to act like body cameras.
Maybe it would be useful for a minute to the congressional folks on the upper floors. I would be surprised if either satellite or plain cellular would work at all in the hallway effectively a tunnel they were escorted to. Maybe cellular-over-wifi would work. Adding to this every office in the capitol building has a hard wired multi-line desk speaker phone.
All logistical communications would be by UHF trunked and P25 encrypted 2-way radios by capitol police assuming they were on the tactical channels. Their radios can also operate point-to-point without the need for a repeater. Politicians would be instructed to end their call and "Come this way".
Where cellphones would have been useful is if everyone started recording video and put their phones in shirt or pants pockets to act like body cameras.
I agree with what you said that satellite phones would not have been useful the day of January 6, 2021. You weren't saying that they shouldn't get satellite phones, right? Or that a security review prompted by January 6 has nothing to do with the decision to offer them satellite phones? Why would it be hyperbole?
I assume the security folks wanted to make them (the representatives) more secure in general, including having better communications, based on a review of January 6, and in some scenarios satellite phones would be useful. Like if they had to be evacuated, etc. Do you disagree?
I assume the security folks wanted to make them (the representatives) more secure in general, including having better communications, based on a review of January 6, and in some scenarios satellite phones would be useful. Like if they had to be evacuated, etc. Do you disagree?
I respectfully think at this point we should agree to disagree as we are going in circles. There was no indication that cellular networks were at risk and all critical communication was being handled by capitol police over encrypted trunked two-way radios. The only thing members of congress should be doing is following directions from police. Senators being issued satellite phones would not have added an value to that incident. Those phones are useful on boats, islands and sometimes on trails but to jki275's point one needs a very clear view to the sky.
I still think the phones are for something else entirely.
I still think the phones are for something else entirely.
Yeah, we are kind of missing the bigger picture. The article said there was a new Senate Sergeant at Arms after January 6, he offered representatives the phones, "to ensure a redundant and secure means of communication during a disruptive event."
So the phone may have been prompted by January 6, but were not necessarily intended for January 6 scenarios. For example, I assume these phones might come in handy if hackers or saboteurs took out or jammed the cell phone network while terrorists somewhere set off a tactical nuke, etc. It seems remiss not to have the infrastructure set up before hand. Senators using police radios may not be as secure as having communications prepared for them in advance, even if not perfect. Just in case.
Is that what you meant when you said that you thought the phones were for something else?
So the phone may have been prompted by January 6, but were not necessarily intended for January 6 scenarios. For example, I assume these phones might come in handy if hackers or saboteurs took out or jammed the cell phone network while terrorists somewhere set off a tactical nuke, etc. It seems remiss not to have the infrastructure set up before hand. Senators using police radios may not be as secure as having communications prepared for them in advance, even if not perfect. Just in case.
Is that what you meant when you said that you thought the phones were for something else?
You're not using a sat phone anywhere in those kinds of buildings ever. Those phones are hard enough to use standing in an open field looking at a clear sky while the sats are passing directly overhead.
I think you’re understating what happened.
Several people were seriously injured in the January 6 incident/riot/insurrection. 138 police officers were officially injured in the line of duty on that day and they caused 2.7 million dollars in damages.
There are multiple death’s associated with the event though only the single death of a rioter by gunshot wound is a direct result of physical conflict. Still that’s far more than just some broken windows.
Several people were seriously injured in the January 6 incident/riot/insurrection. 138 police officers were officially injured in the line of duty on that day and they caused 2.7 million dollars in damages.
There are multiple death’s associated with the event though only the single death of a rioter by gunshot wound is a direct result of physical conflict. Still that’s far more than just some broken windows.
I agree with all of that and would add that it could have all been avoided if they had not redirected the on-site national guard members to go hang out and eventually sleep for a month in a parking garage. The initial wave of 7000 troops would have been more than enough to keep everyone 500 feet from the building.
What do you mean what about us? We got what we wanted; tech jobs, new phones each year, all the anime, Marvel, and Star Wars content we can stomach!
If the public wanted security and sustainability it should have acted less like a drunk in a whore house.
If the public wanted security and sustainability it should have acted less like a drunk in a whore house.
Well, you better be ready to pay up. Which is the inherent problem here.
Creating a robust, well-tested emergency satellite comms system that nobody uses day to day costs a lot of money to develop and maintain…and nobody wants to pay for that.
Creating a robust, well-tested emergency satellite comms system that nobody uses day to day costs a lot of money to develop and maintain…and nobody wants to pay for that.
A 300 min annual prepaid plan with Iridium, retail rate, is ~$1400/year. Assuming no government discounts, you're looking at probably less than $2M-$3M in phone costs for 535 members of Congress and first year service, with <$2M/year service upkeep.
I assume it would be relatively straightforward to onboard another part of government assuming existing awards, based on my experience with US government contracting.
https://www.usaspending.gov/recipient/586ca912-a43c-d9a3-fbd...
I assume it would be relatively straightforward to onboard another part of government assuming existing awards, based on my experience with US government contracting.
https://www.usaspending.gov/recipient/586ca912-a43c-d9a3-fbd...
"Large scale emergency preparations in the USA fell to the wayside long ago."
Not really. The preparations have shifted a little. It seems the government doesn't want to really encourage individuals to prepare the same way it did during the cold War, and to a certain point many individuals wouldn't care to anyways. I'd imagine a lot of that is to increase the reliance in the government and limit the number of people who have the resources to radicalize.
The government still stockpiles emergency response medications and has plans to distribute them. FEMA has all sorts of resources including COWs (cell on wheels) for communication. But really, communications are secondary for ordinary citizens. You'll still have emergency services who can communicate, hams (including RACE), and stuff like that. They're more worried about food, water, shelter, meds, and order.
On the personal side, we can just look at early covid. People were freaking out and panick buying. It wasn't a big deal for my family. We were raised to have about 2-4 weeks worth of food on hand and just rotate your stock as you buy new stuff. Whether it's a pandemic, storm, production issue, or attack, it's pretty good advice. It can even help if you lose your income suddenly.
Not really. The preparations have shifted a little. It seems the government doesn't want to really encourage individuals to prepare the same way it did during the cold War, and to a certain point many individuals wouldn't care to anyways. I'd imagine a lot of that is to increase the reliance in the government and limit the number of people who have the resources to radicalize.
The government still stockpiles emergency response medications and has plans to distribute them. FEMA has all sorts of resources including COWs (cell on wheels) for communication. But really, communications are secondary for ordinary citizens. You'll still have emergency services who can communicate, hams (including RACE), and stuff like that. They're more worried about food, water, shelter, meds, and order.
On the personal side, we can just look at early covid. People were freaking out and panick buying. It wasn't a big deal for my family. We were raised to have about 2-4 weeks worth of food on hand and just rotate your stock as you buy new stuff. Whether it's a pandemic, storm, production issue, or attack, it's pretty good advice. It can even help if you lose your income suddenly.
Get some FRS radio (walky talky type) in a bubble pack, maybe get a few extras for neighbors, and befriend your local ham. Talk to neighbors about emergency plans so you can coordinate helping the needy, tracking water/food deliveries, and making sure those in need get their meds. Cheap/disposable radioes are good enough for talking to local neighbors and the ham can handle communications across the state, country, or even world if necessary.
After all in many emergencies the people you want to talk are local and likely don't have a sat phone.
Most cities have radio nets where they go over emergency plans for whatever earthquake/storm/fire emergencies are relevant. Often they help out with local events like bike/horse/marathon races that go outside the bounds of cell reception.
After all in many emergencies the people you want to talk are local and likely don't have a sat phone.
Most cities have radio nets where they go over emergency plans for whatever earthquake/storm/fire emergencies are relevant. Often they help out with local events like bike/horse/marathon races that go outside the bounds of cell reception.
I got a feeling satellite phones wont help them, unless they prepare for getting lost on a hike to some forest.
Like, who are you going to call. Their phones are not working either.
Like, who are you going to call. Their phones are not working either.
I suspect the US Army has a satellite phone or two, and I bet senators have the phone numbers of a general or two.
> Ummm, what about the rest of us?
You will have to fight for your country. / s
You will have to fight for your country. / s
IMO: HAMs will likely be more helpful than these will. This is more of the result of professional confusion/processes etc.
In the event of a widespread communications outage, I’m not too concerned about whether some senator can call his mistress. Just another waste of taxpayer dollars. They want satellite phones, cut spending elsewhere. This has little to do with Jan 6. It’s just another perk for our ruling class.
I think I'm missing something -- why would someone use a (presumably closely-monitored) government-issued satellite phone instead of a personal phone to call a mistress?
Considering the frequency of trading stocks ahead of legislation, payola and other graft, I doubt too many are worried about word of a mistress getting out. It’s a badge of honor in DC
You don’t but our political system expects senators to be able to be around.
I think criticizing this needs to be mixed with criticizing the entire form of governance here
I think criticizing this needs to be mixed with criticizing the entire form of governance here
It is not the form of government that is the issue. It's the corrupt dinosaurs that have for too long rigged elections in their favor and Congress today is hardly different from the old Soviet Politburo - a description given me by a friend that escaped the Soviet Union in the early 80s. Term limits would help since machine politics controls elections in most states.
Money will always corrupt and speak louder than people.
Majority of people are also very easy to manipulate.
So no I think this is a feature of the government. No matter who is at the helm.
Majority of people are also very easy to manipulate.
So no I think this is a feature of the government. No matter who is at the helm.
A lot of important people where I work (something important you're probably using right now) were recently issued these as well.
Is it possible to obtain phones like the Iridium 9575A or Sectera models as a non-government user? Seems like the non-secured versions are usually available but if encryption isn't really export controlled anymore I don't see why these phones aren't available to everyone.
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It says "over 50" but... why not 100? Is there some reason any senator should be without one if there's a worry? I'm pretty sure we can afford a few more phones.
From the second paragraph of the article: “The satellite phone technology has been offered to all 100 senators. CBS News has learned at least 50 have accepted the phones…”
Makes me wonder if CBS News asked how many accepted the phones and were told "the majority did" with no specific number given.
Thanks, I missed that because I saw several previous versions of this story that left that out.
Given our geriatric government, I could believe many of them do not regularly use phones. As of 2015, Senator Lindsey Graham claimed to have never sent an email [0].
[0] https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/lindsey-graham-ive-ne...
Edit: median Senator age is 65 https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/aging-congress-boomers/
[0] https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/lindsey-graham-ive-ne...
Edit: median Senator age is 65 https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/aging-congress-boomers/
If I could change one thing about federal office eligibility it would be to add a mandatory retirement age of 65. That would go for elected office as well as agency and judicial appointments. There are too many old people set in their ways at the highest levels of governent who need to get out of the way. And I say that as someone who's less than a decade away from that age himself.
What's interesting is they can offer experience, and while some is still relevant (history rhymes), some isn't. They're also more likely to have mental acuity declines (Feinstein's had a few). They might also be less invested in long-term policies and more concerned with near-term, retiree-friendly policies. Or they could be a Jerry Brown who comes back without political ambitions, just wanting to do the right thing. Or you get a Ruth Bader Ginsburg whose lasting legacy was the overturn of Roe because she couldn't step down at 80.
65 is hardly old though, and the population of people over that age is only growing. You’d be better of having some kind of public service test every decade for everyone than an arbitrary age cutoff that is going to result in a lot of wasted human potential.
"set in their ways" == "have experience with life and don't agree with me"
That said, some are just TOO old to do the job: Feinstein, for example.
That said, some are just TOO old to do the job: Feinstein, for example.
> mandatory retirement age of 65 > too many old people set in their ways
Surely we could find a more discriminating measure of competence than age?
Surely we could find a more discriminating measure of competence than age?
They are elected. People are choosing the old.
As bad as it is in the US, the UK's House of Lords is next level.
One of the biggest lies in modern society is that voting some how reflect the "will of the people"
So much research proves this to be false, I am surprised people still assert it.
Voting is probably the worst way pick a leader or representative, random selection would net better results
So much research proves this to be false, I am surprised people still assert it.
Voting is probably the worst way pick a leader or representative, random selection would net better results
> One of the biggest lies in modern society is that voting some how reflect the "will of the people"
So much research proves this to be false, I am surprised people still assert it.
As the joke goes, democracy is the least bad system we have tried.
I’m not sure where you are but there are places that do it better than others, and while shitty situations still occur in the better systems, chucking the baby out with the bath water would be a mistake.
Back to my point though, I can’t see any disagreement with the idea that US voters are picking old senators to represent them. Why is this happening?
As the joke goes, democracy is the least bad system we have tried.
I’m not sure where you are but there are places that do it better than others, and while shitty situations still occur in the better systems, chucking the baby out with the bath water would be a mistake.
Back to my point though, I can’t see any disagreement with the idea that US voters are picking old senators to represent them. Why is this happening?
>>As the joke goes, democracy is the least bad system we have tried.
This implies that the US system has been static since our founding. My position is that many of the problems we face as a nation today are directly or indirectly a result of modification to the foundations of our government replacing non-democratic checks with more democratic ones.
Directly applicable here is the passage of the 17th amendment where by previously the State government choose their Senators, as the Senate was to be representative of the States not the people. Thus why there are equal numbers for every State.
As a result of this democratic change in the government the people now have 2 houses in congress, and the State's have no representation at all. This also completely changed the power dynamic and effectively rendered the 10th and 9th amendments void
This implies that the US system has been static since our founding. My position is that many of the problems we face as a nation today are directly or indirectly a result of modification to the foundations of our government replacing non-democratic checks with more democratic ones.
Directly applicable here is the passage of the 17th amendment where by previously the State government choose their Senators, as the Senate was to be representative of the States not the people. Thus why there are equal numbers for every State.
As a result of this democratic change in the government the people now have 2 houses in congress, and the State's have no representation at all. This also completely changed the power dynamic and effectively rendered the 10th and 9th amendments void
The other joke is: if voting made a difference, it wouldn't be allowed.
Voting systems can be improved, but somewhat problematically the people in a position to improve things are those who depend on the broken system.
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Enough of the ageism in tech
"tech"?
This is politics, way more complicated.
This is politics, way more complicated.
Cognitive decline is a real thing.
Experience counts for a lot, but it doesn't help with creativity.
One of the things in technology is that novel problems often require novel solutions - and most of us aren't Knuth.
Beyond a point age counts against you more than it helps.
Experience counts for a lot, but it doesn't help with creativity.
One of the things in technology is that novel problems often require novel solutions - and most of us aren't Knuth.
Beyond a point age counts against you more than it helps.
I am going to guess you are in your 20's or 30's...
I bet when you hit 50 you will be seeing the world differently
I bet when you hit 50 you will be seeing the world differently
I'm as likely to complain about agism in sport as to change my position on this.
The simple truth is that sometimes reality is shit, and none of us is immune to decay.
We can't yet change the nature of aging, but there is value in wisdom and it does lead to people being pushed upwards in organisational hierarchies.
But it's not a column - it's a tree, so there's also exponential decay in the number of people required.
Meaning that the vast majority get pushed out not up.
Look at C-levels, there's agism there as well - but the population isn't high enough to counteract the average trend at lower levels.
Biology does not care about your feelings, eventually everyone ceases to function at a cellular level - this is gradual rather than sudden, it sneaks up on you with the men you used to be nipping at your heels, but surpassing you in the end.
The same will happen to them one day.
Sucks to be a meat machine.
Just be glad you're in a field that depends on the mind rather than the body.
The simple truth is that sometimes reality is shit, and none of us is immune to decay.
We can't yet change the nature of aging, but there is value in wisdom and it does lead to people being pushed upwards in organisational hierarchies.
But it's not a column - it's a tree, so there's also exponential decay in the number of people required.
Meaning that the vast majority get pushed out not up.
Look at C-levels, there's agism there as well - but the population isn't high enough to counteract the average trend at lower levels.
Biology does not care about your feelings, eventually everyone ceases to function at a cellular level - this is gradual rather than sudden, it sneaks up on you with the men you used to be nipping at your heels, but surpassing you in the end.
The same will happen to them one day.
Sucks to be a meat machine.
Just be glad you're in a field that depends on the mind rather than the body.
You have said alot of words with out saying anything to support your position on ageism.
Sure we all will suffer decline, and we will all die, this truth does not support wide scale discrimination on generalized age. We all will suffer this decline at different points in life, based on many factors age, diet, exposure, etc etc.
Some people in their 30's may already be suffering this decline, where others in their 70's have not yet...
So then the case should be made for individualistic competency based parameters, not an arbitrary age based delineation.
your statement was in support of that idea that simply based on age alone, not cognitive, competency or other factors should be the determination of your fitness for a given role in society. Later comments you then want to change this goal post to be competency based, so which is it, at age 65 should every person be put out to pasture, or should it be individualized competency based, where if a person is suffering from decline and can not longer do the job then and only then do they get removed?
Sure we all will suffer decline, and we will all die, this truth does not support wide scale discrimination on generalized age. We all will suffer this decline at different points in life, based on many factors age, diet, exposure, etc etc.
Some people in their 30's may already be suffering this decline, where others in their 70's have not yet...
So then the case should be made for individualistic competency based parameters, not an arbitrary age based delineation.
your statement was in support of that idea that simply based on age alone, not cognitive, competency or other factors should be the determination of your fitness for a given role in society. Later comments you then want to change this goal post to be competency based, so which is it, at age 65 should every person be put out to pasture, or should it be individualized competency based, where if a person is suffering from decline and can not longer do the job then and only then do they get removed?
> your statement was in support of that idea that simply based on age alone, not cognitive...
> Cognitive decline is a real thing.
Literally the first line of my first comment on the issue.
> Cognitive decline is a real thing.
Literally the first line of my first comment on the issue.
Your arguments and feelings on the topic don't really matter, discrimination against older employees is illegal.
Discrimination on the grounds of age might be, discrimination on the grounds of competence is not.
It's one thing to accept a device as an emergency backup, and it's another thing to know whether the device and its user will be ready when that emergency comes. Will the firmware be updated? Will the user be familiar with its operation? Will it be incorporated into regular drills and practice scenarios?
Another thing to know is that members of congress lie. Routinely, about matters big and small, for fun, for no reason, for personal gain, for amusement value, sometimes more then once in the same sentence.
Members of congress who tell you they have never used email are lying. It's a nice thing to be able to say when someone asks them to produce email records.
There's not a single one that doesn't have [email protected] or whatever for when they need it, and I'm willing to bet on that.
Except for maybe Feinstein. I'm not convinced she's aware of the internal combustion engine at this point.
Members of congress who tell you they have never used email are lying. It's a nice thing to be able to say when someone asks them to produce email records.
There's not a single one that doesn't have [email protected] or whatever for when they need it, and I'm willing to bet on that.
Except for maybe Feinstein. I'm not convinced she's aware of the internal combustion engine at this point.
Graham has been office since before email became ubiquitous. He's always had an aide to handle that for him.
So in the event of a communications blackout they will be able to continue obstructing the running of government.
I'm on the "please obstruct it" side and thought this was funny.
Let's laugh together instead of silencing each other.
Let's laugh together instead of silencing each other.
Ummm, what about the rest of us? Large scale emergency preparations in the USA fell to the wayside long ago. Maybe the new satellite messaging features just starting to roll out would help, although I doubt they have been tested at scale with tens of millions of people trying to use them at the same time.