More FEMA Shanigans: No Promotion After Staged News Conference

by Lucas O'Connor [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

I was going to make this a quick hit but it's a little too ridiculous to not allow for comments.

File under "heckuva job from the gang that can't shoot straight" in your FEMA folder.  It was announced earlier today that FEMA's external affairs director Pat Philbin would not be promoted to head of public relations for the director of national intelligence.  The decision comes after Philbin set up a fake briefing in which actual reporters called in but could not ask questions while Deputy Director Harvey Johnson took questions from FEMA employees.

FEMA Director David Paulison said disciplinary measures are being taken against several employees over the staged California Wildfire briefing, which Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff ripped as "one of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I've ever seen since I've been in government."  Dana Petrino, in her infinite brilliance, noted that "It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House."

FEMA, interestingly, is one of the few organizations to have not come under particular criticism for its response to the wildfires and its performance has been well received for the most part.  But I guess even (apparently) doing things right doesn't preempt obfuscation and coverup these days.