[NYTr] CAlif Fires: Fake FEMA Press Conference - News roundup

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Dsent by Davd Grace - activ-l -)ct 27, 2000
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fema27oct27,0,913215.story?coll=la-home-center

FEMA blasted for 'news' conference

Agency employees, not reporters, asked questions at
the event. Homeland Security calls the lapse
'offensive and inexcusable.'

By Jordy Yager, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

October 27, 2007

WASHINGTON  No one had any hard questions for the
deputy administrator of FEMA, an agency deeply
tarnished by its delayed action after Hurricane
Katrina, when he held a news conference Tuesday to
talk about the California wildfires.

"Are you happy with FEMA's response so far?" someone
asked.
 
Indeed, the deputy administrator was. "I am very happy
with FEMA's response so far," responded Vice Adm.
Harvey E. Johnson Jr.

The news conference looked like a success in the Bush
administration's effort this week to demonstrate it
could respond competently to a disaster.

On Friday, however, the agency admitted that the
softball questions were posed by FEMA employees, not
reporters.

The White House was not happy with FEMA's response.

"It is not a practice that we would employ here at the
White House," said Press Secretary Dana Perino,
mentioning three times that it was an "error in
judgment." "It's not something I would have condoned,
and they, I'm sure, will not do it again."

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees
FEMA, was less happy.

"This is inexcusable and offensive, and stunts like
this will not be tolerated or repeated," said
spokeswoman Laura Keehner. "It was a lapse of
judgment, and we find it offensive, and it won't
happen again."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency apologized for
the event, but protested that it was not intended to
deceive. FEMA announced the news conference with 15
minutes' notice and provided an 800 number for
reporters, but it was not set up to take questions.
When no reporters showed up, FEMA provided stand-ins
to ask questions and a video feed. Several channels
broadcast parts of the event live.

"FEMA's goal is to get information out as soon as
possible, and in trying to do so we made an error in
judgment," Johnson acknowledged in a statement. "Our
intent was to provide useful information and be
responsive to the many questions we have received. We
are reviewing our press procedures and will make the
changes necessary to ensure that all of our
communications are straightforward and transparent."

Perino also said that the agency was just trying to
provide information: "There were so many questions
pouring in. It was just a bad way to handle it, and
they know that."

FEMA's "error in judgment" comes just more than two
years after its agonizingly slow-motion response to
thousands of displaced New Orleans residents who
waited for help in dreadful conditions at the
Superdome. Michael D. Brown, the agency's head,
resigned under fire after he became an embarrassment
to President Bush, who appeared out of touch when he
praised Brown with the memorable comment: "Brownie,
you're doing a heck of a job."

Johnson, a retired Coast Guard officer who came to
FEMA after the 2005 hurricane, started the briefing
Tuesday with a brief statement and took six questions
from FEMA employees. On the video, however, it was
unclear who was asked the questions.

The questions focused on FEMA's relief efforts for
Southern California wildfire victims and whether FEMA
had been doing an adequate job.

"I think what you're really seeing here is the benefit
of experience, the benefit of good leadership and the
benefit of good partnership," Johnson said, "none of
which were present in Katrina."

jordy.yager at latimes.com 
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]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/washington/27fake.html?ref=us

Fake News Briefing by FEMA Draws Official Rebukes
By ERIC LIPTON
October 27, 2007

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26  The Federal Emergency Management
Agency staged a fake news conference this week, with
agency staff officials, pretending to be reporters,
peppering one of their own bosses with decidedly
friendly questions about the response to the
California fires, the Department of Homeland Security
acknowledged Friday.

The action, first reported on Friday in The Washington
Post, drew a rebuke from the White House and Homeland
Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, and an apology
from the agency official who was at the lectern,
Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy director.

We have made it clear that such a stunt will never be
tolerated or repeated, a spokeswoman for the
department, Laura C. Keehner, said on behalf of Mr.
Chertoff.

The questions from the staff were posed after FEMA
gave reporters only 15 minutes notice for a news
conference on Tuesday, meaning that other than
television camera crews, no reporters showed up before
questioning began. A toll-free telephone line was
provided so reporters could listen in, but it was not
set up to allow questions.

As a result, staff members asked Mr. Johnson a series
of friendly questions like, Are you happy with FEMAs
response so far? and, What lessons learned from
Katrina have been applied?

Mr. Johnson gave no indication that the questions came
from his own staff.

Im very happy with FEMAs response so far, Mr.
Johnson said in response to one question, according to
a transcript.

Dana Perino, the White House spokeswoman, said the
event was mishandled. Its not something I would have
condoned, she said. And they  Im sure  will not
do it again.
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http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/news/breaking/2007/10/fema_well_ask_the_questions_an.html

Newsblog
The latest local news from the Union-Tribune's
newsroom	
October 26, 2007
FEMA: We'll ask the questions, and give the answers

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency
has been pretty open about how it hopes its response
to the California wildfires will redeem the
organization from its dismal performance after
Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

But FEMA may be trying a little too hard already, by
holding a news conference with staffers acting like
reporters. Check out this back and forth, provided by
a White House transcript of a briefing Friday with
Press Secretary Dana Perino:

Q Dana, on Tuesday, FEMA's deputy administrator held
what was called a news briefing to talk about the
California wildfires. And from what we understand, the
questions were posed not by reporters, but by
staffers, and that distinction was not made known. Is
that appropriate?

MS. PERINO: It is not. It is not a practice that we
would employ here at the White House or that we -- we
certainly don't condone it. We didn't know about it
beforehand. FEMA has issued an apology, saying that
they had an error in judgment when they were
attempting to try to get out a lot of information to
reporters, who were asking for answers to a variety of
questions in regards to the wildfires in California.
It's not something I would have condoned, and they,
I'm sure, will not do it again.

-- Finlay Lewis, Copley News Service

Q Who is responsible?

MS. PERINO: FEMA is responsible, and they have taken
that -- they have accepted that responsibility, and
they issued an apology today.

Q But isn't -- a follow-up on that. Isn't there a
normal morning call with all the press secretaries of
all the agencies here, and whether somebody is having
a press briefing or not is discussed?

MS. PERINIO: We have a variety of ways that we talk to
the -- communicate to the communicators in the agency.
FEMA is not on that daily call, no, and I don't know
if the DHS -- the head of DHS communications knew
about it either. But FEMA has apologized for the error
in judgment.

Q Dana, why didn't this raise alarm bells, in terms of
credibility, with anyone there?

MS. PERINO: You'll have to ask them. They have
admitted that they had an error in judgment. I would
agree with that. They've issued an apology. You'll
have to ask them about why they decided to do that.

Q But isn't the President concerned, at a time when he
is traveling to the area to talk about a very
significant natural disaster -- there have been issues
about FEMA in the past, trying to make a distinction
about progress made, and for them to effectively
pretend to hold a news conference, doesn't the
President have concerns about that?

MS. PERINO: I just said that the White House did not
know about it before hand, and the White House
condones* [sic] it. And they have apologized for it.
They had an error in judgment, they've admitted that.
And I think that what they were -- I don't think that
there was any mal-intent. I think that they were
trying to provide information to the public through
the press, because there were so many questions
pouring in. It was just a bad way to handle it, and
they know that.

Q Will anybody be reprimanded?

MS. PERINO: You'll have to ask FEMA.

Posted by Michael Smolens October 26, 2007 12:37 PM |
TrackBack 
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http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/27/067235

FEMA Sorry for Faking News Briefing 2007-10-26 23:32
theodp
Submitted by theodp on Friday October 26, @11:32PM

theodp writes "The Federal Emergency Management
Agency's No. 2 official apologized Friday 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. In the briefing, Vice
Adm. Harvey E. Johnson Jr., FEMA's deputy
administrator, 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. Almost
makes one nostalgic for the good old days of
Downtown-Michael-Brown."
+++++
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/27/fema_scolded_for_staging_phony_news_conference/

Home * News * Nation
The Boston Globe
FEMA scolded for staging phony news conference
By Associated Press
October 27, 2007

WASHINGTON - The White House scolded the Federal
Emergency Management Agency yesterday for staging a
phony news conference about assistance to victims of
wildfires in Southern California.

The agency, much criticized for its response after
Hurricane Katrina more than two years ago, arranged to
have FEMA employees play the part of independent
reporters Tuesday and ask questions of Vice Admiral
Harvey E. Johnson, the agency's deputy director.

The questions were predictably soft and gratuitous.

"I'm very happy with FEMA's response," Johnson said in
reply to one query from an agency employee. The
Washington Post first reported on the fake news
conference yesterday.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said it was
not appropriate that the questions were posed by
agency staff members instead of reporters. FEMA was
responsible for the "error in judgment," she said,
adding that the White House did not know about it
beforehand and did not condone it.

"FEMA has issued an apology, saying that they had an
error in judgment when they were attempting to get out
a lot of information to reporters, who were asking for
answers to a variety of questions in regard to the
wildfires in California," Perino said. "It's not
something I would have condoned. And they - I'm sure -
will not do it again."

She said the agency was just trying to provide
information to the public, through the news media,
because there were so many questions.

"I don't think that there was any mal-intent," Perino
said. "It was just a bad way to handle it, and they
know that."

FEMA gave reporters only 15 minutes' notice about
Tuesday's news conference. No reporter attended the
news conference in person, agency spokesman Aaron
Walker said. The agency made available an 800 number
so reporters could call in and listen to the news
conference, but not ask questions.

With no reporters on hand and an agency video camera
providing a feed carried live by some TV networks,
FEMA employees posed questions for Johnson that
included: "Are you happy with FEMA's response so far?"

Johnson also said the agency had the benefit of "good
leadership" and other factors, "none of which were
present at Katrina." FEMA's administrator during
Katrina, Michael Brown, resigned amid criticism over
his handling of the disaster.

FEMA is reviewing its press procedures and will make
changes to ensure they are "straightforward and
transparent," Johnson said yesterday.

Material from Reuters was used in this report.

) Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Co
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http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN2636610020071027http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN2636610020071027

FEMA apologizes for fake "reporters"
Fri Oct 26, 2007 5:30pm EDT
By Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The main U.S. disaster-response
agency apologized on Friday for having its employees
pose as reporters in a news briefing on California's
wildfires that no journalists attended.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, still
struggling to restore its image after the bungled
handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, issued the
apology after The Washington Post published details of
the Tuesday briefing.

"We can and must do better, and apologize for this
error in judgment," FEMA deputy administrator Harvey
Johnson, who conducted the briefing, said in a
statement. "Our intent was to provide useful
information and be responsive to the many questions we
have received."

No actual reporter attended the hastily called news
conference in person, although some camera crews
arrived late to film incidental shots, officials said.

A spokeswoman for Homeland Security Secretary Michael
Chertoff, who has authority over FEMA, called the
incident "inexcusable and offensive to the secretary."

"We have made it clear that stunts such as this will
not be tolerated or repeated," spokeswoman Laura
Keehner said. She said the department was considering
reprimands.

The White House said: "It was just a bad way to handle
it." The Bush administration has faced criticism
previously over accusations it masked public relations
efforts as journalism.

FEMA had called the briefing with about 15 minutes
notice as federal officials headed for Southern
California to oversee firefighting and rescue efforts.
Reporters were also given a phone number to listen in
but could not ask questions.

But with no reporters attending and a FEMA video feed
being carried live by some television networks, FEMA
press employees posed questions for Johnson that
included: "Are you happy with FEMA's response so far?"

Johnson replied that he was "very happy with FEMA's
response so far," according to Friday's Post account,
which FEMA spokesman Aaron Walker confirmed,

Johnson also told the briefing that the agency had the
benefit of "good leadership" and other factors, "none
of which were present at Katrina." Chertoff was head
of the Homeland Security Department during Katrina.

FEMA's administrator during Katrina, Michael Brown,
resigned amid widespread criticism over his handling
of the disaster, despite U.S. President George W.
Bush's initial declaration that he was doing a "heck
of a job."

E-mails between Brown and his colleagues over the
course of the storm revealed a preoccupation with his
media image. "I am a fashion god," he wrote.

FEMA is reviewing its press procedures and will make
changes to ensure they are "straightforward and
transparent," Johnson said on Friday.

Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said the White House did
not condone FEMA's action and would not engage in such
practices.

But in 2004 the investigative arm of Congress, the
Government Accountability Office, accused the
administration of "covert propaganda" in distributing
video packages about federal health programs that
looked like independent news reports.

Conservative pundit Armstrong Williams lost a
syndication deal for his column in 2005 and apologized
after a disclosure that he accepted $240,000 from the
Bush administration to promote education legislation
in his commentaries.

U.S. defense officials that year also confirmed that
U.S. troops wrote articles that were planted in Iraqi
newspapers in exchange for money.

) Reuters2007
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http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003663989

FEMA Staffers Posed As Reporters at Press Briefing
By Joe Strupp
October 26, 2007 10:45 AM ET

NEW YORK It appears the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) has found the answer to nosy reporters
in the two years since Hurricane Katrina: have a press
conference and have your own people ask the questions.

According to columnist Al Kamen in The Washington
Post, a FEMA press briefing in Washington, D.C., on
Tuesday related to the California wildfires included
several limitations that made press involvement
difficult.

Kamen writes that reporters had only 15 minutes to get
to the event and could not ask questions if they chose
to link up via a conference call. When the briefing
occurred, Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy
administrator, received a number of questions from
FEMA staffers.

"Johnson stood behind a lectern and began with an
overview before saying he would take a few questions.
The first questions were about the 'commodities' being
shipped to Southern California and how officials are
dealing with people who refuse to evacuate. He
responded eloquently," Kamen wrote. "He was apparently
quite familiar with the reporters -- in one case, he
appears to say 'Mike' and points to a reporter -- and
was asked an oddly in-house question about 'what it
means to have an emergency declaration as opposed to a
major disaster declaration' signed by the president.
He once again explained smoothly."

Kamen later states: "the questions were asked by FEMA
staffers playing reporters. We're told the questions
were asked by Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of
external affairs, and by 'Mike' Widomski, the deputy
director of public affairs. Director of External
Affairs John 'Pat' Philbin asked a question, and
another came, we understand, from someone who sounds
like press aide Ali Kirin."

FEMA officials told Kamen that their people did not
make up the questions and Johnson did not know what
was to be asked.

"We pulled questions from those we had been getting
from reporters earlier in the day," Widomski told
Kamen, adding that, despite the short notice, "we were
expecting the press to come," he said.

"If the worst thing that happens to me in this
disaster is that we had staff in the chairs to ask
questions that reporters had been asking all day,"
Widomski said, "trust me, I'll be happy."

Noted Kamen: "Heck of a job, Harvey."

Joe Strupp (jstrupp at editorandpublisher.com) is a
senior editor at E&P. 
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http://www.rollingstone.com/nationalaffairs/index.php/2007/10/26/real-fake-news-fema-asks-fema-answers/

National Affairs Daily Edited by Tim Dickinson
10/26/07, 1:01 pm EST
Real Fake News: FEMA Asks, FEMA Answers

Al Kamen reports that FEMA is learning lessons from
the Daily Show: Staging a mock press conference, and
airing it as though it were real.

    Are you happy with FEMAs response so far? a
reporter asked. Another asked about lessons learned
from Katrina."Im very happy with FEMAs response so
far, Johnson said, hailing a very smoothly, very
efficiently performing team.

    Very smooth, very professional. But something
didnt seem right. The reporters were lobbing too many
softballs. No one asked about trailers with
formaldehyde for those made homeless by the fires. And
the media seemed to be giving Johnson all day to wax
on and on about FEMAs greatness.

    Of course, that could be because the questions
were asked by FEMA staffers playing reporters. Were
told the questions were asked by Cindy Taylor, FEMAs
deputy director of external affairs, and by Mike
Widomski, the deputy director of public affairs.
Director of External Affairs John Pat Philbin asked
a question, and another came, we understand, from
someone who sounds like press aide Ali Kirin.

Somebody needs to be fired for this.
-- Tim Dickinson 
+++++
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/3629

FEMA's fake press conference backfires
October 27, 2007 - 11:23am.

Agency and White House scramble to recover from
screw-up

Perhaps FEMA should stand for "Fake Every Morning &
Afternoon."

Officials of the embattled emergency management agency
openly admit they screwed the pooch by holding a fake
"news" conference, filling the room with staff members
posing as reporters.

Both FEMA and the Bush Administration scrambled Friday
to try and recover from trying to pass propaganda off
as news: Another black eye for an error-prone
administration.

But their excuses fell on deaf ears.

Reports Reuters:

    The main U.S. disaster-response agency apologized
on Friday for having its employees pose as reporters
in a news briefing on California's wildfires that no
journalists attended.

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency, still
struggling to restore its image after the bungled
handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, issued the
apology after The Washington Post published details of
the Tuesday briefing.

    "We can and must do better, and apologize for this
error in judgment," FEMA deputy administrator Harvey
Johnson, who conducted the briefing, said in a
statement. "Our intent was to provide useful
information and be responsive to the many questions we
have received."

    No actual reporter attended the hastily called
news conference in person, although some camera crews
arrived late to film incidental shots, officials said.

    A spokeswoman for Homeland Security Secretary
Michael Chertoff, who has authority over FEMA, called
the incident "inexcusable and offensive to the
secretary."

    "We have made it clear that stunts such as this
will not be tolerated or repeated," spokeswoman Laura
Keehner said. She said the department was considering
reprimands.

    The White House said: "It was just a bad way to
handle it." The Bush administration has faced
criticism previously over accusations it masked public
relations efforts as journalism.

Although both Certoff and the White House tried Friday
to distance themselves from the debacle, sources
within the Bush administration say both were aware of
the fake press conference before it was held.
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http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3776170&page=1

FEMA's New Deal in California
Skewered Over Katrina, Agency Acts Swiftly on
Wildfires, and So Does Past Director
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES

Oct. 25, 2007  As fires raged in California this
week, FEMA Director David Paulison gave federal
disaster relief a pat on the back, calling his agency
the "new FEMA."

"We're working together as partners," he said at a
Wednesday press conference. "That's how it's supposed
to work."

Paulison, a 30-year veteran of fire and rescue work,
was likely taking a swipe at Michael D. Brown, the
former FEMA chief who resigned in the maelstrom of
Hurricane Katrina.

Now, in what some see as great irony, Brown is
promoting his expertise in disaster management to do
for California what some say he failed to do in New
Orleans.

Brown, the man who led FEMA immediately after the 2005
hurricane, when tens of thousands of people on the
Gulf Coast went without food, power or water for
weeks, is out offering his consulting services to
California businesses affected by the fires. He's also
defending his handling of Katrina and pointing out
that the agency now has some advantages he didn't
have.

"Dave [Paulison] is in difficult position," Brown told
ABC News. "He really has to do what the administration
wants, but has the advantage that Congress is throwing
money at him."

But the man whom President Bush called "Brownie" and
whose seemingly insensitive e-mails and thin emergency
services resume contributed to his downfall, said he
has learned from the Katrina experience.

"I never did say I didn't make mistakes," Brown told
ABCNEWS.com.

"The biggest mistake I made was in communications," he
said. "There are talking points the White House wants
you to say. I should have been more up front with the
public. I should have been more truthful about the
team work and the state being overwhelmed."

'Politics of Disaster'

Brown, in the past a vocal critic of Bush, said his
former boss has given California quicker and better
support than he received in Louisiana.

"I think the president has learned the politics of
disaster," said Brown. "You have to be up front and
support the troops and teams. That lesson everyone
learned from Katrina."

During congressional testimony, Brown pointed the
finger of blame at then Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco
and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

Nagin, who has openly criticized Brown, told
ABCNEWS.com, "I haven't gotten a call from anyone in
California for a reference on him, but I would not
recommend him."

"I was a mayor on the ground, and my city was
devastated," said Nagin. "I looked to the government
for help, but it was slow in coming."

Blanco declined to comment for this story.

Brown, a lawyer by profession, was appointed as
director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in
January 2003 but stepped down Sept. 12, 2005, barely
two weeks after the levees broke and devastation hit
New Orleans.

For two months he continued working within FEMA before
going into consulting on a variety of issues,
including national security and data mining. Prior to
that, he had spent 11 years overseeing horse trial
judges for the Arabian Horse Association.

"My last worst act was Katrina, and that's the
mindset," he said. "But my clients say, here is a guy
who has been at the top of the mountain and the pits
of the valley where he can fill in the gaps about what
does and doesn't work and not be caught off guard
again."

Brown has been both lambasted by former President
Clinton and praised by former New York Mayor and
Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani.

Just last August, Democratic presidential contender
and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards proposed
"Brownie's Law," requiring that "qualified people, not
political hacks" lead federal agencies.

Iceberg Dead Ahead

Comparing himself to the doomed captain of the
Titanic, Brown said he placated his bosses, who
ignored his warnings about impending disaster.

"The captain complained to the engineers about the
ship and the schedule, but he was still a good
employee and doing what the owners wanted," said
Brown. "He did make some mistakes when they found the
iceberg -- he complained about the life boats. But he
was a good soldier."

Today, Brown, 52, has parlayed his work with Homeland
Security as a consultant and public speaker to
students and stores like Nordstrom's -- where he joked
in e-mails at the height of Katrina that the clothes
made him look like a "fashion god."

In his new role as director of Cotton Companies, which
specializes in emergency fire and water damage
restoration services, he sells advice to California
residents and businesses on "proper relief and
recovery efforts and future disaster preparedness."

"Private industry has a lot to offer," said Brown,
whose company is helping some California hotels
remediate problems from the fires.

People in Louisiana may not agree.

"My initial reaction is, who does he think he's
kidding?" said Leslie March of Mandeville, La., a
Katrina volunteer who worked to convince FEMA that
evacuee trailers were contaminated with
health-threatening formaldehyde.

"It was well-exposed that Michael Brown had little
knowledge of disaster management and disregarded the
advice of the professionals working for him and was
more concerned about what clothes he wore on TV when
the tragedy unfolded in front of him," said March.

But Brown said Katrina is precisely why he is uniquely
qualified to offer up advice in California -- even if
public perception is that he bungled the job.

"The media looks for a scapegoat, and I was the face
of the administration and the target of that," said
Brown, who said he spent nearly three years "moving up
the ladder" in 161 declared disasters from Sept. 11 to
the 2004 tsunami.

Embarrassing E-mails

Brown was vilified as insensitive when the press got
hold of his personal e-mail exchanges that showed
images of a man who needed extra time to eat at a
Louisiana restaurant as the situation at the
Convention Center became more desperate.

When those on the ground told him levees had burst and
the situation was "past critical," Brown's response
was, "Thanks for update. Anything specific I need to
do or tweak?"

Memos even showed aides telling him to roll up his
sleeves before television cameras to make it look like
he was "working hard."

E-mails also revealed Brown's own desperation. On the
day the hurricane struck, he asked a colleague: "Can I
quit now? Can I go home?" And as the situation got
worse: "I'm trapped now, please rescue me."

Brown maintains that those e-mails were taken out of
context: "Those e-mails are no different than from a
doctor sitting in an operating room and joking with
others to keep them motivated."

The response by the California Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger to the current disaster has been
impressive, Brown said.

"He's very smart, up front and communicates well and
knows his role," said Brown. "He got on the news
media, told what they were doing and ordered
evacuation and didn't dally around. That would have
made a huge difference in Katrina."

In 2006, Brown testified before Congress that Katrina
-- the worst natural disaster to strike the United
States -- "was beyond the capacity of the state and
local governments, and it was beyond the capacity of
FEMA."

But today, Brown said agencies can better handle these
catastrophes by looking at "lessons learned, not
lessons observed." Prevention is worth more than
response, especially in California where homeowners
continue to build in areas prone to wildfires,
according to Brown.

The same could be said of New Orleans, where Brown has
still not returned. Though Mayor Nagin told
ABCNEWS.com his city was "coming back," Brown
disagrees.

"No progress has been made in the systemic problems
there in terms of social economics and politics," said
Brown. "And the infrastructure of the levee system is
the proof it is still struggling."

Still, Brown is sensitive about the blame game.

"What the public has not really learned is what their
responsibility is," said Brown. "People under a lot of
stress criticize, and there is still a segment of
society that wants to blame."

Copyright ) 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures
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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/26/4839
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/25/AR2007102502488_pf.html

FEMA Meets the Press, Which Happens to Be . . . FEMA
By Al Kamen
Friday, October 26, 2007; A19

FEMA has truly learned the lessons of Katrina. Even
its handling of the media has improved dramatically.
For example, as the California wildfires raged
Tuesday, Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy
administrator, had a 1 p.m. news briefing.

Reporters were given only 15 minutes' notice of the
briefing, making it unlikely many could show up at
FEMA's Southwest D.C. offices.

They were given an 800 number to call in, though it
was a "listen only" line, the notice said -- no
questions. Parts of the briefing were carried live on
Fox News (see the Fox News video of the news
conference carried on the Think Progress Web site),
MSNBC and other outlets.

Johnson stood behind a lectern and began with an
overview before saying he would take a few questions.
The first questions were about the "commodities" being
shipped to Southern California and how officials are
dealing with people who refuse to evacuate. He
responded eloquently.

He was apparently quite familiar with the reporters --
in one case, he appears to say "Mike" and points to a
reporter -- and was asked an oddly in-house question
about "what it means to have an emergency declaration
as opposed to a major disaster declaration" signed by
the president. He once again explained smoothly.

FEMA press secretary Aaron Walker interrupted at one
point to caution he'd allow just "two more questions."
Later, he called for a "last question."

"Are you happy with FEMA's response so far?" a
reporter asked. Another asked about "lessons learned
from Katrina."

"I'm very happy with FEMA's response so far," Johnson
said, hailing "a very smoothly, very efficiently
performing team."

"And so I think what you're really seeing here is the
benefit of experience, the benefit of good leadership
and the benefit of good partnership," Johnson said,
"none of which were present in Katrina." (Wasn't
Michael Chertoff DHS chief then?) Very smooth, very
professional. But something didn't seem right. The
reporters were lobbing too many softballs. No one
asked about trailers with formaldehyde for those made
homeless by the fires. And the media seemed to be
giving Johnson all day to wax on and on about FEMA's
greatness.

Of course, that could be because the questions were
asked by FEMA staffers playing reporters. We're told
the questions were asked by Cindy Taylor, FEMA's
deputy director of external affairs, and by "Mike"
Widomski, the deputy director of public affairs.
Director of External Affairs John "Pat" Philbin asked
a question, and another came, we understand, from
someone who sounds like press aide Ali Kirin.

Asked about this, Widomski said: "We had been getting
mobbed with phone calls from reporters, and this was
thrown together at the last minute."

But the staff did not make up the questions, he said,
and Johnson did not know what was going to be asked.
"We pulled questions from those we had been getting
from reporters earlier in the day." Despite the very
short notice, "we were expecting the press to come,"
he said, but they didn't. So the staff played
reporters for what on TV looked just like the real
thing.

"If the worst thing that happens to me in this
disaster is that we had staff in the chairs to ask
questions that reporters had been asking all day,
Widomski said, "trust me, I'll be happy."

Heck of a job, Harvey.

He's Leaving, Not Quitting

David Denehy, a.k.a. "The $75 Million Man," who headed
a controversial program to dispense that amount to
promote democracy in Iran, is leaving his job today at
the State Department to go private-sector as head of a
small company.

In a recent e-mail, Denehy said that "my decision to
leave the administration is due, in part, to my belief
that I am better able to serve the goals of the
President's Freedom Agenda from outside the
government. While there have been many challenges to
the work we have done together, the rewards have been
equally great."

More than two dozen Iranian American and human rights
groups said the Iran program, which began last year,
was "counter-productive" and led to wider repression
of activists who were accused of being foreign agents
or traitors. Four Iranian Americans were jailed for
"crimes against national security," the groups said in
appealing to Congress to eliminate the program, and
continuation of the program would only further
endanger democracy efforts by giving the Iranian
government "a pretext to harass its own population."

But Denehy, in an e-mail to us yesterday, said he's
not leaving because of criticism of the effort. "I
continue to enjoy the support of my leadership," he
said, and "from Congress and more importantly from
those within Iran who participate in our programs. . .
. I don't back away from a fight."

All the Same?

April 8, 2004: Then-national security adviser
Condoleezza Rice told the Sept. 11 commission that
"terrorism is terrorism is terrorism -- in other
words, you can't fight al-Qaeda and hug Hezbollah or
hug Hamas."

"We don't make a distinction between different kinds
of terrorism. And we're, therefore, united with the
countries of the world to fight all kinds of
terrorism. Terrorism is never an appropriate or
justified response just because of political
difficulty."

Wednesday: Army Maj. Gen. Richard Sherlock, a senior
member of the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told
a news briefing: "There are over 45 different
organizations on the State Department's list of
terrorist organizations, and you can't look at all of
them the same way.

"If you look at all of these as nails, then all of the
solutions you have all of a sudden suddenly start to
appear like a hammer, and a hammer's not always the
right answer."

Hmmmm. . . .

Don't Forget Where You Came From

In June, Paul McNulty left the No. 2 job at the
Justice Department -- and the hassle being called to
Capitol Hill to answer questions about whether
politics played a role in the firing of U.S. attorneys
-- for a big-bucks partnership at Baker & McKenzie
in Washington.

He told the audience at an American Bar Association
conference in Washington yesterday that he's still
getting the hang of his new job. Talking about
criminal-fraud investigations of big companies,
McNulty referred to himself as part of the government,
then laughed and told the crowd: "I have to get the
'we' out of my vocabulary," our colleague Carrie
Johnson reports.

Maybe he needs to remember who's signing his paycheck.
At the conference, McNulty staunchly defended a DOJ
policy that allows prosecutors to strong-arm companies
to comply with the feds.

Resourcefulness at the FAA, Cont'd

The Federal Aviation Administration calls to say that
the poker table and other furnishings bought for the
Atlanta air traffic control center did not cost $3,500
by itself, as we had written Wednesday, but only $795.
And it's a "de-briefing table for trainees," FAA
spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere said, although you "could
flip over the top for the checkerboard on the other
side," which folks could use to relax during downtime.

Of course, they could play poker on it. And since the
FAA can't get around to spending a few bucks to fix
the chronically leaky roof at the center, the
controllers could put their equipment under the table
so it's not damaged when it rains. Beats using the
umbrellas that they have to hold over the stuff now.

"It could be used for other purposes," Spitalieri
conceded.

Research editor Alice Crites contributed to this
column.

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"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in
moral philosophy: that is the search for a superior moral justification
for selfishness." -- John Kenneth Galbraith