[EAS] About this multilingual order...

[Rod Zeigler]

After reading the last two digests I have some things to interject.
It is not a stretch of the imagination to think if the undefined, 
unfunded, mandatory, and voluntary STATE (not Federal) ECC's can be 
ordered (FCC 16-32) to gather and post information such as this, that 
they can then be ordered to determine what languages each station has to 
transmit alerts in via the STATE EAS Plans that the Federally licensed 
EAS participants have to follow per Federal regulation.
The general thought I get in reading the last two digests is that for 
the most part the thinking is EAS participants may have to go to two 
languages for each alert. In some areas this is the case, in others 
(such as mine) not so much. Our stations are a town of 10K population 
that is about 50% Hispanic. In the schools there are 20+ languages 
spoken. One of our stations covers most of the state, the other two a 
regional FM, and a local AM, none of which have any foreign language 
programming. Trying to put foreign language alerts on the 50KW AM is NOT 
going to fly with the 4,000 owners. Period. (torches and pitchforks, 
etc) That leaves us with the Regional FM. Put the Top 5, or 10 there? 
Put the rest on the local 1KW AM? Even 5 separate translations for each 
alert makes this become unwieldy in a fast moving severe T-storm or 
Tornado event. If not 5 alerts then who do we alert and who don't we 
alert? Using the census? Maybe, until some advocacy group sues because 
the census figures used are not accurate enough (kind of like MMTC that 
started this whole mess) so we have to alert in every language on every 
station until the courts all have a say in it.
Requiring an undefined, unfunded, mandatory, and voluntary STATE 
committee to undertake these types of determinations is in itself worthy 
of a Federal lawsuit. An injunction against any action at all would be 
well worth the trouble should it come to this.
I have written in extremes regarding mandated multi-lingual alerting, 
but it seems these days that extremes are exactly where regulations like 
this go.
I know there was some hope of cooler heads prevailing with a change in 
administrations since this boondoggle was started by the previous 
administration. We have seen some things being taken care of, but this 
item did not seem to make itself known well enough to warrant an 
expedited roll back. Possibly with the Federal appellate court decision 
this week some positive movement to get the idea of mandated 
multilingual EAS shelved for good will commence.
If a station wants to alert in languages not in usual programming on 
their station, they should be allowed to do it. If not, then that should 
be allowed as well. This idea that every person should have their every 
need met by whatever means necessary has to stop somewhere. With the 
line between Federal and State authority all but obliterated with this 
order (16-32) this might be the place for the States and the EAS 
participants to put their foot down and say ENOUGH!

Choose Freedom.

Rod Zeigler

-- 
R. V. Zeigler, Dir. of Eng.
Nebraska Rural Radio Assn.
KRVN-KTIC-KNEB-KAMI
Chairman, Ne. SECC
Exec.Dir. NEBA
www.krvn.com