Who's Rules To Play By...

I just finished reading a piece over on MSNBC.com, regarding how Mississippi officials have responded to securing their homes after Hurricane Katrina. They aren't complaining. They aren't whining for help. They're doing. Making decisions and standing by them.

In Gulfport, Mayor Brent Warr asked his police chief if someone confined in their jail could hotwire a fuel truck to resupply afflicted rescue vehicles and emergency generators. He identified a problem, considered the solutions and acted on them. Most importantly, he doesn't seem ashamed or afraid to own up to his actions and decisions.

This is accountability.

Should Mayor Warr be indicted and tried for theft? Technically, yes. He broke the law. However, given the circumstances and the fact that the fuel truck and load he procured is destined to be written off as a storm loss by the owner, why bother?

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But when Lott asked a Harrison County sheriff how they were faring, the sheriff reported that he was worried about FEMA diverting supplies.

Lott told him, "If anyone from FEMA tries to confiscate anything, arrest them."

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Why wasn't this going on in more places? What entitles FEMA to confiscate or divert anything arriving by private means? Should FEMAs representatives who confiscated and diverted private relief efforts be indicted and tried for obstruction of... what... community relief?

Perhaps?

I don't know. It seems to me they were doing as they were taught and as they were told. But they failed to apply the common sense necessary to save lives. Do we create a legal precedent for common sense because of Katrina? One disaster after another?

What happens if we start removing more government entities and start putting them in the hands of corporations? How long before things get out of control and rather than FEMA restricting supplies, capitalism does so?

The Rutans have proved that NASA's bureaucracy and inefficient budgets aren't necessary for human space travel. Are the individuals on the ground, in affected communities, more suited to plan, coordinate and sustain relief efforts than government entities?

... more to come ...