So we can scan every PERSON and all their luggage going onto planes and boats, but checking cargo is too much.

The only reason it is too much is that the flying public doesn't have a single voice speaking for it like the retailers have lobbyists.

That voice is supposed to be the federal government, but too often they take the business interests' position instead of the people's position.

I can just hear our distinguished President defending blocking this legislation. "It's just to hard." in that whiny voice. This is the United States of America Mr Bush. According to you we are at war. This country has always stepped up an made sacrifices when needed. We don't mind sending thousands of our soldiers to die in this war, but heaven forbid we ask business to sacrifice some profits to assure the public safety.

Actually, there's no reason to check most cargo. It comes from trustworthy sources.

Trying to check every cargo is as stupid as our present policy of assuming anyone boarding a plane might be a terrorist. Spend too much time and effort going after non-threats, and you'll be so swamped and distracted, you'll miss the real danger. While the TSA guy is making sure blond-haired, blue-eyed little Susie's shoes are check, the real wacho, looking precisely like every one of the 9/11 terrorists, is walking past him carrying who knows what.

And don't talk nonsense about retailers as bad guys. Since they'd all be affected by this policy, it'd be easy for them to simply pass along the cost. They're looking out for you and I more than themselves. I wish the airlines would display as much interest in the safety and convenience of passengers as WalMart and Costco are doing here.

When is our Country-going to Wake-Up:to the fact-WW III,is here!

Amazing always the rationalizations.
How to talk out of both sides of your mouth at once.

What is good for the Gander, is also good for the Goose. Why should big business be treated any different than individuals?

While I am sympathetic towards the added costs, we have no choice. Failure to screen could lead to catastrophe, which is unacceptable. This is one of the goals of our enemy, of course -- to impose significant costs on our economy through the need for threat reduction and risk management, but we live in a new world where this will become the norm, and the sooner we embrace it, the sooner we can regain some semblance of security and normalcy.

I do think that any additional costs should be borned by the taxpayer through the federal government, since we all benefit from successful cargo screening.

We can fight a war half way around the world, but cant guard our borders and check cargo?

If we don't learn to screen all entry points for nuclear weapons we will fall victim to a nuclear attack- probably stored in a cargo container labled to mimick the other 5 million containers nearby.

Q: Hitler unitarily invaded Poland. Would the world have let the Germans unitarily withdrawal and have a ceasefire? I doubt it.

A: Don't start wars.

Observation: The Japanese totally wiped out our Navy on 12/7/41. The U.S. military was hopelessly undersized. I bet the Japanese were really proud of theirselves on 12/08/41.

Someone probably said, "mission accomplished.."

Bush selling his own people out once again.

Mr. Perry is correct in his posting. The companies exporting their goods to the USA don't want their containers compromised because that would mean they would lose customers. It is absolutely silly thinking you need to check each & every container entering the USA.
CBP (US Customs & Border Protection) already has different methods to screen cargo and only target the "hi-risk" shipments. It is just not necessary to physically check each & every container coming in.

Big business spends big bucks and thats what the politicians are in it for...looks like cargo screening will fail!!!

It'd be interesting to see a sample of the letters blanketing Capitol Hill.
I suspect the writer's singling out of Walmart was not because they received outsized mention in the letter, but because they have taken on the mantle, in the media, of grave venality. I know they're big - the biggest - but retail is huge. Nonetheless, Disney's Ms. Schwartz was employing, I think, a little bit of irrelevant populism is singling out the one retailer.

The reason they check all of our luggage is so we don't get blown out of the sky.

What a crock!
Bush opposes cargo inspection for the same reason he opposes border security: CORPORATE AMERICA and its interests!
Bush and corporate America have a love fest and put financial interests far above security of the nation and its people. If this were not so, we would have secure borders and controlled, not unfettered immigration via lottery visa and other idiotic implementation of already foolish and suicidal immigration law.
In the end, it's all about political correctness.

It’s dispiriting to see how many ignorant and hypocritical people are quick to vent their hatred at “big business,” oblivious to their own use of the products of big business even as the means of their venting. Why not do more than vent? Teach big business a lesson and shut off your Internet connection. But that would require putting your so-called principles ahead of your personal convenience. At least big business, whose only reason for existence, after all, is profit, has a good excuse for doing that.

An incompetent federalized bureaucracy is needlessly tormenting airline passengers and doing its best to devastate the travel industry, but that is not a good reason to try to devastate the retail trade industry, too. Pandering to mean-spirited, envious hypocrites in their petty hatreds isn’t a good reason to do that either.

Let's see if I have this correctly. It's ok to screen every passenger on an airplane, it's ok to screen every single shipment of cargo (even from trusted sources), but it's not ok to put up a fence to protect our borders?? WAKE UP AMERICA! The threat will walk right in now....they don't need to fly anymore...they already proved THAT point. They'll look to prove a different point this time. The threat will come from the north or the south where we are REALLY vulnerable.