Say Anything Blog

Good grief…

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s No. 2 official apologized yesterday for leading a staged news conference Tuesday in which FEMA employees posed as reporters while real reporters listened on a telephone conference line and were barred from asking questions. . . .

FEMA announced the news conference at its Southwest Washington headquarters about 15 minutes before it was to begin Tuesday afternoon, making it unlikely that reporters could attend. Instead, FEMA set up a telephone conference line so reporters could listen.

In the briefing, parts of which were televised live by cable news channels, Johnson stood behind a lectern, called on questioners who did not disclose that they were FEMA employees, and gave replies emphasizing that his agency’s response to this week’s California wildfires was far better than its response to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

Did they really think nobody would notice what they did?  And who in their right mind at FEMA thought this was a good idea?

This is really just further illustration for why dependence on government is a bad thing.  We citizens, in our local communities, should do as much as possible to prepare for natural disasters instead of sitting around waiting for the Feds to do it.  Because the Feds will do it badly, then try to convince everyone that they really did it just fine.

And just think, some in this country (see: Democrats) would like to put these people in charge of your health care.

Update:  Jonah Goldberg claims to have found some of the questions asked during the “press” conference:

  Q: Sir, first let me say that that suit fits you perfectly. Now: Let me ask you, What has been the biggest burden for you during these fires? Your sympathy for the victims or your resolution to get the job done?

  Q: Admiral Johnson, would you or would you not agree that this must never happen again?

  Q: Wouldn’t you concur that there are much more efficient ways to disseminate information to the public than dealing with reporters?

  Q: What’s your favorite color?

  Q: In retrospect, wasn’t “Brownie” railroaded?