Update #2 - Save Our American Ports (SOAP) and SCRUB THE DEAL! Proposed operation of 21 American ports on the eastern seaboard, from Maine to Texas, by the United Arab Emirates' owned-company Dubai Ports World remains contested today, as Mr. Bush renewed his threat to veto any congressional action blocking the sale. Despite that, the Republican-dominated House Appropriations Committee voted 62-2 (only Reps. Jim Kolbe, R-AZ and Jim Moran, D-VA, voted against the measure) today to bar DP World from holding leases or contracts at US ports. House Republicans, attempting to gain the upper-hand on the aggressive Democratic legislative response over the past weeks to the national security concerns, plan to amend the must-pass $70 billion Iraq war-funding legislation scheduled for passage next week to address those concerns. Another Republican congressman went on record saying that the previous Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review gave security matters only "a very superficial look." Mr. Bush's opposition to legislation aimed at insuring national security is at odds with our national experience and common sense, and he is running the risk of appearing weak on terror - which he is. It's odd that he would threaten to use his premier veto on this issue, parting company with both his own party and the American public, barely 4 months after a scathing 911 Commission Final report graded as "D" all these categories critical to national security:

• "Critical Infrastructure Assessment"
• "Intelligence Oversight Reform"
• "Checked Bag and Cargo Screening"
• "International Collaboration on Borders and Document Security"
• "Maximum Effort to Prevent Terrorists from Acquiring WMD"

Four and a half years after 911, after millions upon millions of dollars appropriated (often without spending guidelines), little old ladies are frisked at air terminals while the cargo holds remain largely unscreened. Now, the scrutiny of the ports deal is displaying the absurdity of form over function, revealing how the cosmetic approaches actually divert scarce (and growing scarcer) resources from more effective prevention measures. We've seen the results of "compassionate conservatism" as we watched horrified while our fellow Americans on the gulf coast begged for assistance, for food, water, sanitation, medical care, and evacuation from Katrina. Recent videotape reveals that Bush knew the danger, knew the urgency, and simply didn't care enough to respond with meaningful action. It's said that past performance is indicative of future performance. By that standard, we are warned to be afraid, be very afraid – and isn't fear of the unknown one of the Bush administration's gambits?