NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A new national alert system is set to begin in New York City that will alert the public to emergencies via cell phones.

It’s called the Personal Localized Alert Network or PLAN. Presidential and local emergency messages as well as Amber Alerts would appear on cell phones equipped with special chips and software.

“The lessons that were reinforced on 9/11 is the importance of getting clear and accurate information to the public during a crisis,” New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Verizon and AT&T, the nation’s largest cell phone carriers, are already on board. Consumers would be able to opt out of all but those presidential messages.

But why would we be forced to receive messages from the President? If the tv emergency thing comes on, you can turn the channel. This is a requirement to receive the message.

President Obama’s aides have quietly turned the key in the engine of the massive campaign-in-waiting that’s been operating under the name Organizing for America for the past two years, and will begin his reelection with the sort of online and field organizations most presidential campaigns would be glad to have 16 months from now.

The leadership of the field organization — with hundreds of employees, tens of thousands of volunteers and massive online assets (primarily, a giant email list) — is shifting from the Democratic National Committee to the new campaign in Chicago. And in mass emails and in a quiet series of one-on-one meetings with volunteer leaders, the group is resetting its relationship with its supporters.

And while many Democrats have complained that Organizing for America’s vaunted abilities began to sputter once Obama became president, people watching the organization closely say it has succeeded in what may have been its central mission all along: building an unparalleled reelection organization while staying under the political world’s radar.

in the end, it all relates: what doesn't kill us is making us stronger

if the last two years are any indication, getting stronger won't be the option for the country.

stop ruining my late-night episodes of roseanne!

Can you ever really win with a Roseanne reference?