Yeah, that's the ticket. Get the cash to the Caryle Group now while the price is high. 'Cause it's hard to sell off a port when it's radioactive...

Mr. Flynn, the former Coast Guard official, said the best model he has seen is in Hong Kong. Every container in a pilot project there was scanned and checked for radiation before it was loaded onto the ships. The data on each container was then stored. The cost of such a system is well worth it, he said.

"If we get this wrong, we shut down the global trade system," he said. "Knowing that, I have to wonder, why isn't this treated like an emergency?"

So, we even have the technology. Hong Kong can do this, and we can't?

Perhaps the Republicans think the real emergency is getting the money to their pals while they still can. The concerns about voters in the (mostly Democratic) ports come a long way after that. Which is one lesson of Katrina, by the way.