Bob Brock wrote:

General Class license still requires a Morse Code test. Morse has not
been "wiped." It has however, been lowered for the two higher class
licenses from 13 and 20 wpm to 5 wpm for both licenses. Morse is not
required for the Technician license which give full priviliges on
VHF/UHF.

So, once again ernie, you are wrong.

http://www.arrl.org/pio/hamlic.html

He's also in Australia, which, to my knowledge, isn't governed by the US
FCC.

I got my Tech license recently, and plan on taking SKYWARN classes in
the spring. The blackout has made me decide to accelerate my purchase
plans for a mobile radio. Handhelds are more portable, but max out at 5w
of transmit power, where most mobiles are 50-55w.

In a life-and-death emergency, anyone is authorized to transmit on any
frequency or any band to try to get help, even if they don't have a ham
license at all.