[mrnoodle]

So the point is about whether their effort is validated, not whether they actually help the situation.

But warch is right, it's not about private citizens attention-whoring. It's about the government's response. And FEMA has responded poorly, probably costing lives. But while we're casting blame (which started almost before the first body was pulled out of the water), let's give a portion to the obstructionists. They initially denounced FEMA as an evil Republican police-state tool designed solely to bug the phones of homosexuals under the guise of protecting us from Martian attack. These are the same people wondering why FEMA isn't wielding more power now.