It seems that time and time again this FEMA's (and by line of control the Bush Administration's) incompetence is being "routed around" by ordinary citizens that use the alternative lines of information and communication that exist to both ask for and receive help.

For instance, this story about a Wisconsin Bus Caravan that organized a trip to the Gulf Coast within 24 hours.

I wonder of this flattened organizational structure is just a small part of the inevitable evolution of disaster response and recovery.

A study of the flow reputational capital of help requests and responses in this crisis, especially with the tarnishment (perhaps that is too light a word) of the name of the federal agencies, may prove to be quite interesting in the coming months.