Nomination For Hero Badge

One of the foundations of bureaucracy is that imagination is not rewarded. Flexibility is the enemy of bureaucracy. Chaos would ensue if people implemented solutions to problems never conceived by bureaucrats.

UPDATE: State decides to drop charges, not a case of right or wrong. Bad PR.

A woman was arrested in North Carolina for rescuing dogs from flood waters. Not the act of rescuing them, per se, but the aftermath of the rescue. Once the dogs are rescued they have to be kept somewhere and there’s the rub. In order to keep X number of dogs the caretaker must have a license from the state and the facility has to pass inspection. The woman arrested did not meet either qualification.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/09/nc-woman-arrested-for-sheltering-animals-rescued-from-hurricane-without-a-license/
Bureaucracy in action

No good deed goes unpunished. This isn’t just about idiots at the state level enforcing a law that could not conceive the circumstances posed by the flooding. PETA and various “animal rights” groups own a piece of the action also.

The licensing requirement likely was enacted to combat “puppy mills” and substandard facilities. The law was crafted to be black and white with no wiggle room. When necessity invalidates the law fanatics and bureaucrats are not flexible enough to make an accommodation. Better the animals should drown than be placed in an unlicensed facility. 

There is something to be said for self sufficiency or promoting non-governmental action to address problems. During Katrina first responders from Texas rushed to New Orleans to offer their help. The help was rejected by FEMA, because the volunteers were not qualified. FEMA required that everybody involved in relief efforts successfully complete FEMA approved “sexual harassment” training. 


“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”


Shakespeare, He had the wrong target, it’s not the lawyers but the bureaucrats