How do you know when you're being lied to by the political left? Well, yes, when their lips are moving, but also when they scream "Disinformation!" Such is the case with Biden-Harris's FEMA, which has announced a new website to address what they're calling "hurricane disinformation." The translation of that nonsense little phrase being that they were caught with their pants down after Hurricane Helene, whether accidentally or deliberately, and it's all the fault of disinformation.
The whole thing is straight out of the Democrat Party operating manual.
First, you start with an emergency. Riots, fires, hurricanes — any old emergency will do. In this case, we have a hurricane that devastated a significant portion of western North Carolina, home to a uniquely American population of mountain kin and artsy leftists. It's not the coastal elite and deep-pocketed Democrat donors being affected, so a tepid response is adequate.
Then, you roll out said tepid response. A pallet of water here, a few Army guys there – maybe throw in a wholly inadequate check in the amount of $750 for good measure – and now you can say you've mobilized your troops.
Next, you get your friends in the media to downplay, or downright deny, the catastrophe because it's not politically expedient during a presidential election year. This is the most important step in building your "disinformation" narrative, and you needn't worry that the media won't comply. They will.
Finally, having been called out for being a colossal failure, you deflect with the tried-and-true "disinformation" trope. Adding a website where you can search by so-called "rumor" is the cherry on top of the communist sundae.
The whole thing is playing out in real time right before our eyes, with FEMA director Deanne Criswell holding a press conference Tuesday to bemoan that the level of the perceived mis- and dis-information is something she's "never seen before." She added, "I anticipated some of this, but not to the extent that we're seeing this."
To quote the great Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, she should look in the mirror.
Criswell is deeply worried that all of the kerfuffle will adversely affect FEMA employees:
"If it creates so much fear that my staff doesn't want to go out in the field, then we're not going to be in a position where we can help people," she added. "I worry that they won't apply for assistance, which means I can't get them the necessary items they need to support them."
Imagine how the people of storm-ravaged North Carolina will feel when, in the face of the disastrous response by the federal government, they hear that FEMA is wasting time and resources on a rumor website. They know the truth about FEMA. Forget misinformation; we're dealing with criminally bad mismanagement here.
The goal of the website is abundantly clear when you open it up.
Do your part to the stop the spread of rumors by doing three easy things:
- Find trusted sources of information.
- Share information from trusted sources.
- Discourage others from sharing information from unverified sources.
Jawohl!
This sounds a heck of a lot like COVID days, when Americans were encouraged to turn in their neighbors who dared not comply with the draconian government restrictions. (Heck, even everyone's favorite knucklehead himself, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, set up a tattle-tale hotline.) FEMA knows they've lost the PR war and is trying to deflect responsibility by blaming everyone but themselves.
There's a lot of gobbledegook on the site, but one "debunked rumor" stood out:
Rumor: FEMA distributes aid based on demographic characteristics.
Fact: FEMA provides assistance to survivors regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.
Well, that's demonstrably false. FEMA itself held a webinar just last year "trumpeting the urgent need to move away from policies that benefit the greatest number of people and instead turn focus toward 'disaster equity' where aid is distributed based on innate characteristics like sexual orientation and gender identity."
The site also tried to debunk the "rumor" that FEMA is out of funds for disaster relief, as reported by DHS' own head honcho, Alejandro Mayorkas.
Rumor: FEMA does not have enough money to provide disaster assistance for Helene.
Fact: FEMA has enough money right now for immediate response and recovery needs. If you were affected by Helene, do not hesitate to apply for disaster assistance as there is a variety of help available for different needs.
FEMA is ratcheting up its Keystone Cops routine at exactly the wrong time, with Hurricane Milton tracking at top speeds toward Florida. The bottom line is, if you're doing your job and you're doing it well, you don't need to waste time and resources on trying to prove that you are. FEMA is flailing, and we all know it.