LIFE IMITATES SOUTH PARK...
...imitates The Onion imitates The Simpsons...

Yes, my friends at the Onion, this is very funny

ORANGE ALERT SIRENS TO BLOW 24 HOURS A DAY IN MAJOR CITIES

WASHINGTON, DC—As an additional reminder that the U.S. is on high alert for terrorist attacks, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge announced Tuesday that Orange Alert klaxons will blare 24 hours a day in all major cities.

"These 130-decibel sirens, which, beginning Friday, will scream all day and night in the nation's 50 largest metro areas, will serve as a helpful reminder to citizens to stay on the lookout for suspicious activity and be ready for emergency action," Ridge said. "Please note, though, that this is merely a precautionary measure, so go about your lives as normal."

The sirens, Ridge said, will be strategically positioned throughout each city and will be audible within a three-mile radius. The noise will be loud enough to render conversation impossible within a 200-yard range.

But hmm, this sounds awfully familiar to me...

(puts on simpsons-nerd cap)

I could swear that someone at the Onion was thinking back to the Homer-becomes-an-inventor episode of The Simpsons

Homer: Now, here's my "Everything's O.K." alarm!
[Homer flips a switch the device, and it begins to emit a
high pitched, incredibly loud beep. The rest of the Simpsons
cover their ears as Homer speaks up]
Homer: This will sound every three seconds, unless something isn't
okay!
Marge: Turn it off, Homer!
Homer: It can't be turned off! [alarm fizzles out] But it, uh,
does break easily.

Thematically similar, I suppose, but not outright plagiarism. This isn't 8 Mile here, dudes. (oops, i think i just broke a cardinal rule of blogging! ah well)