BY his own admission, things are going badly for Sheriff Harry Lee and his crisis management efforts. Outside his mobile headquarters truck, two officers grip a stepladder while a third stands on the top rung waving his mobile telephone in the air, searching for a signal. Inside Sheriff Lee, of Jefferson parish in New Orleans, is sitting at a table, fuming. He is doing his best to alleviate the biggest catastrophe he will ever witness, but lacks even the most basic of resources. He cannot communicate with his own officers -- his officers can barely communicate with each other --...