Imagine calling 911 and being told your call cannot be accepted, because you're not using the government's accepted brand of cell phone or approved wireless carrier. Or consider having your tax return tossed out because you used the wrong brand of envelope to send it in.

Sound far fetched? Unfortunately, it's not: The Federal Emergency Management Agency is currently accepting online file claims from victims of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent floods… but only if they're using the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer on a recent version of Microsoft Windows! Otherwise, they have to use the ever-efficient phone system– and let's hope they've got touchtone!

All I can say is… what the hell? Has the U.S. government — the perpetrator of a multitude of rules, laws and standards — not heard of Web standards? It's not hard to create a Web application that runs on all current browsers — most companies today make this a minimum requirement for any public Web site. Why limit the online FEMA system's use to only those careless enough to still be using Microsoft's three-year-old piece-o-crap Internet Explorer? Why rule out Firefox users, Safari users Opera users, and Macintosh users of all ilk?

It doesn't cost any more to make a site that works for everybody; you just have to give a damn in the first place.

I've been telling people that Paypal sucks ever since the company quietly tried to remove $1,000 from my account three years ago without contacting me nor the original sender. I ended up having to close my account because they kept removing funds that weren't theirs. But now I have even more reason to hate them:

target="_blank">The bastards have blocked funds raised by donors intending to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

I know they're not regulated by banking laws, because somehow they exist outside the laws of mere mortals, but for crying out loud, will you people stop giving these bastards your money?!! Send a freaking check or money order!

We've heard it already: Who's to blame for the staggering incompetency and resulting human suffering going on right now along the Gulf Coast? I've heard arguments blaming the president, Congress, FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers and a host of others. The fact is, they're all to blame. In one week, our government has failed in the only jobs it was set up to do — Remember "establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty?" It's a tall order, indeed, but the people in office today are there because they told us they could handle it. That's why we elected them.

I personally know some of these people, and I even like a few of them.

Still, these are the people we hired to make sure things like this don't happen. And collectively, they all failed.

I'm not providing links so you can fire off angry letters (you can search google for such addresses), and I'm not indicating party affiliation so you can feel smug or indignant when counting Ds and Rs. And I'm not listing past representatives to whom these people might assign blame: These are the people we hired to handle this — which meant fixing past problems — because they assured us they could. These are the people that failed us.
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We've seen the images by now, and I can only imagine the grief and frustration currently being felt along the Gulf Coast of the United States this week. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. For the rest of our readers, please see

this page for a list of organizations seeking donations and volunteers to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Keep in mind that volunteers are not encouraged to head to the strike zone themselves. Right now, cash is the best gift you can give these people. Thanks.