FEMA, the US Government agency that all US Citizens hope & pray would protect them in case of disaster – seems to be losing their credibility in the eyes of the nation.

After FEMA royally messed up during Hurricane Katrina – they must have figured that an easy way to make themselves look good in their response to the San Diego wildfires – was to stage a press conference!

The Associated Press reported the following:

FEMA scheduled an early afternoon news briefing on only 15 minutes notice to reporters here Tuesday to talk about its handling of assistance to victims of wildfires that were ravaging much of Southern California.

But because there was so little advance notice for the event held by Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy FEMA administrator, the agency made available an 800 number so reporters could call in. And many did, although it was a listen-only arrangement.

At the news conference itself, some FEMA employees played the role of reporter, asking questions of Johnson – queries described as soft and gratuitous.

“I’m very happy with FEMA’s response,” Johnson said in reply to one query from a person the Post said was an agency employee, not an independent journalist.

Asked about this, Mike Widomski, FEMA’s deputy director of public affairs, said, “We had been getting mobbed with phone calls from reporters, and this was thrown together at the last minute.”

Johnson issued a statement Friday saying that FEMA’s goal was “to get information out as soon as possible, and in trying to do so we made an error in judgment.”

“Our intent was to provide useful information and be responsive to the many questions we have received,” he said. “We can and must do better.”

(Source: FoxNews.com)