In a neighborly gesture, Canadians have attempted to send help to Americans hurt in a massive tornado strike and suffering in its aftermath. But that isn't going to happen (tip to Instapundit):
American officials will not allow the 20,000 kilograms of food, blankets and diapers into the country until every item on board is itemized in alphabetical order and has the country of origin of every product noted.
Dennis Sauve, the volunteer co-ordinator for Windsor Lifeline Outreach and the food bank co-ordinator at the Windsor Christian Fellowship, the two organizations that gathered the goods, said it's a "physical impossibility" to do the paperwork required in time to get the perishable food to Oklahoma before it spoils.
Because U.S. President Barack Obama hasn't declared Moore, Okla., tornado a disaster area, the 52-foot trailer of goods is considered a commercial shipment rather than humanitarian aid.
A country that prides itself on a can-do, frontier-conquering attitude is frozen into inaction because the bureaucracy has not managed to check a box to make this act of charity allowable.
If only the paperwork was in order, nobody would worry about Canadians slipping a load of anthrax or maybe a nuke into America in the confusion. It is simply a matter of somebody saying it is okay. And nobody at the border is willing to give that okay to speed needed help to Oklahoma absent that official stamp or signature.
We can mock the Chinese government for being uncomfortable with non-state actors helping disaster victims. And yet here we are.
Our government celebrates the Life of Julia that could not exist without government help--and then makes sure that Julia can get no help that isn't from the government. Convenient, that is.
The Canadians who tried to ship that aid (and what the Hell are "kilograms" anyway? Use pounds, for God's sake, and maybe we'd acknowledge your gesture!) should be grateful we don't charge them with illegally dumping products below production cost on us in violation of NAFTA, or something.
We can be so proud of what we are becoming, eh? We're officially too stupid to be helped.
