Congress apparently didn't read my article of April 7th, 2007 on the practical difficulties of 100 percent cargo inspection called for under House bill HR-1. HR-1 requires 100 percent cargo inspection of all air and ocean cargo.

Forget that we don't have the current technology to perform the scanning. Forget that there is no clearly defined mandate for what's to be scanned. Forget that it will take a loooonnnngg while to figure out the union rules on how this will take place.

The one concession I can see in the passed bill is that rather than implementing this deal by the end of 2010, it has a 5 year implementation window with the ability of the government to extend the deadline 2 years...

The power to do what they like.The French call it Carte Blanche. Seems like they enacted the Law for the sake of a headline rather than for a practical sake. The law may be impossible to enforce but that is beside the point. The Law Authorizes 100% inspection, to be used at the discretion of the management. All findings as presented with regard to the act will be beyond question, and all details may be subject to the provisions of the patriot act. What is found 'cannot' be disclosed for the sake of National Security. At least in a straight Jacket you can dislocate your arm. More and more legislation is being enacted to make a strait jacket seem like a luxury. You have the right to eat, drink and breathe, provided you can afford it.