Did I say "mediocre?" What was I thinking?

Yesterday, I wrote:

"It's not that agencies such as the Red Cross and FEMA are above criticism in the ways that they handle disasters and humanitarian crises - but those clueless idealists should wake up and smell the coffee! It takes years to establish the funding, training, and infrastructure needed to do even a mediocre job."

If the reports I've been hearing and reading are accurate, some agencies that are responsible for responding to the Katrina emergency can't even dream of attaining the relatively high standard implied by the term "mediocre." This tragedy has turned into a scandal and a source of shame.