Charlie at the Big Brass Blog has a list of situations where FEMA and other federal authorities actually thwarted efforts to assists in the Katrina crisis.  Visit his list for the latest:

• A tax-funded, state-of-the-art medical team
• The USS Bataan
• Wal-mart trucks full of ice and water
• The water tankers from the US Forest Service
• A specially trained and self-sufficient relief team from Chicago
• A team of specially trained rescue workers from B.C., Canada
• The Red Cross
• Bush doesn’t order search and rescue helicopters (via Kevin Drum)
• A citizen flotilla of 500+ rescue boats
• Amtrak’s offer of trains to help evacuate victims
• Experienced firefighters
• The Coast Guard’s fuel
• Morticians
• Electric generators
• First responders urged not to respond