Fox News: Do we really need a national weather service?

[kpete]

While Americans ought to prepare for the coming storm, federal dollars need not subsidize their preparations. Although it might sound outrageous, the truth is that the National Hurricane Center and its parent agency, the National Weather Service, are relics from America’s past that have actually outlived their usefulness.

The National Weather Service (NWS) was founded in 1870. Originally, the NWS was not a public information agency. It was a national security agency and placed under the Department of War. The Service’s national security function has long since disappeared, but as agencies often do, however, it stuck around and managed to increase its budget.

Today the NWS justifies itself on public interest grounds. It issues severe weather advisories and hijacks local radio and television stations to get the message out. It presumes that citizens do not pay attention to the weather and so it must force important, perhaps lifesaving, information upon them. A few seconds’ thought reveals how silly this is. The weather might be the subject people care most about on a daily basis. There is a very successful private TV channel dedicated to it, 24 hours a day, as well as any number of phone and PC apps. Americans need not be forced to turn over part of their earnings to support weather reporting.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/08/27/do-really-need-national-weather-service/

[SoCalDem]

1. The onslaught never stops

:(

[SpiralHawk]

9. RepubliCorp, Inc. (R) against America

as usual. RepubliCons trashing America, looking for ways to drag America down. Ptoooey.

[treestar]

2. So they'd still be "turning their earnings" over to the private agency

Of all things to get upset about, this is the stupidest.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. Repukes make me vomit. nt

[supernova]

4. How stupid is this moron?

Where does he think those private firms get their research and data in order to make their forecasts?

Further evidence of Fox's limited thinking capacity.

[Renew Deal]

35. Right

Where is the "private" weather channel getting their information from?

[TBF]

5. A better question is whether we really need FAUX news. nt

[Lex]

7. They are dedicated to destroying America

with stupidity.

[Lex]

6. That "very successful private TV channel" gets its info from

the National Weather Service, as do our local TV weatherman, and all those phone apps and PC apps.

The people at Fox News rely on it too. They are so stupid over there that I can't believe people actually watch that station.

[theHandpuppet]

8. Just when you think RW ignorance knows no bounds...

... they expand the parameters. Astounding, and not in a good way.

[Ezlivin]

10. I am incapable of wanting more DOOM for Fox

Oh how I wish they would undergo all of the worst that climate change, pollution and energy shortages could wreak.

To paraphrase Judah Ben-Hur: "I tell you the day Fox News falls there will be a shout of freedom such as the world has never heard before!"

[malletgirl02]

11. National Weather Service

The National Weather Service gave a pretty accurate tracking of the path of the hurricane. By looking at the map they prepared, I knew my area wasn't going to be i its path, so it help calm my fears.

[tridim]

12. Do we really need Fox News?

[OHdem10]

13. Appear to be playing to the most FAR RIGHT elemtents in the

Republican Party.

Fox could be a Main Stream Republican Type Station
and influence more people.

Maybe we should be more grateful they seem to
influence about a third.

That is to our advantage, I believe.

They get eyeballs but people cannot resist the sensational
I guess. Entertainment value of Tabloid TV.

[MatthewStLouis]

14. Trust in soul-less for-profit corporations! Or check on that hurricane yourself!!!

Advertisers and big corporations don't want customers to die in tornadoes, hurricanes and floods! They will keep an eye on the weather for us!

[Faygo Kid]

15. I smell Koch brothers' money behind the "Competitive Enterprise Institute"

What garbage.

[JHB]

31. You smell correctly

Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation (Koch Family Foundations)
Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation (Koch Family Foundations)
David H. Koch Charitable Foundation (Koch Family Foundations)

Plus Mellon-Scaife, Bradley, Olin Foundations, Big Oil, Big Pharma, and others. All the fine, fine citizens.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Competitive_Enterprise_Institute

[hunter]

16. I think we should take our public radio spectrum away from Fox New's...

... and convert it to free, publicly owned wireless internet access for all.

[left coaster]

17. Yes, we do. It's Fux Noise we can do without. nt

[Gidney N Cloyd]

18. This was Santorum's pet cause for years. He hated the idea of just giving away weather info.

Said he had several companies that wanted to take it over.

[MadMaddie]

30. Bingo! Faux wants to get into the business and they can't

have an organization funded by the Government stand in their way.

[kwolf68]

19. LOL

At a loss...

[Bluzmann57]

20. Now this is just too easy

Do we really need fox "news"?
Besides another real obvious question, where does fox noise think the private weather channel gets their info from? The National Weather Service, that's who. Good grief these people are stupid.

[Desertrose]

21. My question...do we really need Fox news?

Why would we not want weather information?

These people are idiots.

[Lucian]

22. That is the dumbest thing yet I've seen come from that website.

[baldguy]

23. "I'll tell you where that hurricane is going. But give me some money first."

Where the fuck do they think the Weather Channel and those internet apps get the information?

That's the trouble with most RW positions: They give a few seconds of though to issues that require at least several minutes.

[xocet]

24. Iain Murray CEI - David Bier CEI

http://cei.org/expert/iain-murray

http://cei.org/contributor/david-bier

The word expert must have been redefined.

[kwolf68]

25. A fooking MBA???

And he writes about science and the environment?

Unreal.

[BiggJawn]

27. Why does it seem more and more that "thinking" is an activity

That isn't practiced very much in "Think Tanks"?

[southernyankeebelle]

26. The only thing I see is the more they and the republicans speaks the

more people will hopefully wake up and not watch or vote for these crazy people.

[Yavin4]

28. A Better Question: Do we really need Fox News?

I say, Hell No!

[jimlup]

29. This is one of the most idiotic RW arguments I have ever seen.

Though it is pretty typical of them. What total empty headed fools they are.

[tsuki]

32. More than we need Fox News. nt

[BlueJazz]

33. I hope I live long enough to see a Strong Democratic President...

...kick Fox's ass all over the dial.

[Renew Deal]

34. That has to be a joke

"It issues severe weather advisories and hijacks local radio and television stations to get the message out. It presumes that citizens do not pay attention to the weather and so it must force important, perhaps lifesaving, information upon them. A few seconds’ thought reveals how silly this is."

The NWS forces "lifesaving" information upon people by interupting their shows. Don't people understand that people have a right to die in a tornado while watching Dr. Phil? F'n socialists!

[neverforget]

36. The Cons are letting their Libertarian freak fly for all to see.

Money above all else.

[Capitalocracy]

37. You're sure they're not accidentally reporting The Onion as fact again?

I guess this answers the age-old question: are there no limits to Fox News's insanity?

[pitohui]

38. wtf in the middle of hurricane season AND a recession they wanna kill more jobs????

this is the most ridiculous piece of horseshit i've read all day and since i've been hanging out online all day avoiding the heat advisory, i've seen considerable horseshit

we need a fucking weather service, it saves lives, and anyway if it isn't national, who the fuck is going to put up the weather satellites and hurricane hunter airplanes? the fucking serbian air force?

we used to be the richest and most powerful nation in the world and now we need fucking russia to put a weather satellite into outer space? and, in a hemisphere where we are second to none w. experience of hurricanes, we are going to outsource our weather service ???

c'mon, they're not serious, at this point, fox is no longer for real, they must be an irony site similar to the onion, even they don't really believe the crap they're selling...

the weather and climate is LIVES, if the weather is not of national security importance, nothing is