From USATODAY.COM:

House easily passes anti-terror bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — Anti-terror legislation sailed through the House on Tuesday, the first in a string of measures designed to fulfill campaign promises made by Democrats last fall.

Patterned on recommendations of the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks, the far-reaching measure includes commitments for inspection of all cargo carried aboard passenger aircraft and on ships bound for the United States.

The vote was a bipartisan 299-128.

“Our first and highest duty as members of this Congress is to protect the American people, to defend our homeland and to strengthen our national security,” said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Several Republicans criticized the legislation as little more than political posturing in the early hours of a new Democratic-controlled Congress.

Democrats want to “look aggressive on homeland security. This bill will waste billions of dollars, and possibly harm homeland security by gumming up progress already underway,” said Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky.

In a written statement, the Bush administration listed several objections and said it could not support the measure as drafted but stopped short of a veto threat.

(more here)

Political Posturing?

It shouldn’t have taken 5 years (since 9/11) to get cargo ships inspected.   

So I guess 12 years of endless “Flag Burning Amendments”,  Terri Schiavo, Telling people whom they can and cannot marry, and cutting taxes for the extreme wealthy wasn’t any sort of “Political Posturing”.

The Republicans just got owned. 

The new Congress just demonstrated more responsibility, morals, intelligence, and ethics in the first few days of the 110th Congress than those other clowns did in 12 years.

Keep crying Hal Rogers,  maybe we’ll see your arse booted out in 2008.