This has been a troubling week.

We have all watched with concern the slow drip of revelations regarding the fishy dismissal of U.S. Attorneys in seven states.

Like many of you, I suspect that dirty politics clouded the judgment of senior White House and Department of Justice officials in this affair.  It appears that the Attorneys were fired for refusing to indict Democratic candidates during last year's election.

The most revealing quote uncovered this week, as reported in Tuesday's Washington Post:

"[I]f we don't ever exercise it then what's the point of having it?"

--that from former Alberto Gonzales Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson.

He was referring to the presidential power, newly granted by The PATRIOT Act, to appoint interim U.S. Attorneys following the removal of incumbents.  Previously, interim U.S. Attorneys were appointed by the judiciary in order to deter exactly this sort of scandalous political maneuver. Read more...

In an animated speech from the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) castigated the President for what he views as an "utterly incompetent" Iraq policy.

"Mr. President," Biden said, "you have not only put us in harms way, you have harmed us. You have no policy, Mr. President."

"Did anyone count on the utter incompetence of this administration when they were given the authority they were given," he said, "Absolute incompetence."

"You're leading us off a cliff," he added. "Stop."

The video of the speech is included below.

As we all know, pernicious spyware is growing exponentially. Very few are still unaware of this problem because almost everyone's computer - your father's or mother's or brother's or daughter's -- has become infected by unwanted applications that are noticed when they slow or even cripple your machine. These programs not only monitor a person's Internet usage, but can steal your Social Security and credit card numbers and even use your own webcam to keep an eye on you and your family.

To my mind, invading a personal computer and planting spyware is not much different than breaking and entering a person's house. This bill encourages regulators to slam the window closed on the spies, cheats and thieves who sneak into people's computers.

America seems to be at the dawn of a golden age of citizen-journalism, that great democratic tradition tracing its historical roots to our founding generation.  As the Internet matures and evolves, thousands of activists, enthusiasts and entrepreneurs continue to be empowered to scrutinize the operations of government and report back to their fellow citizens.  They often build on, borrow from, adapt or amplify the investigative work of traditional journalists, who are the backbone and basic muscle in enforcing the public’s right to know.

The investigative reporting of fiscal hawks, campaign finance watchdogs, and consumer advocates has increased in both quality and quantity in recent years.  American democracy can grow healthier as these 21st Century citizen-journalists (exemplified by the new generation of bloggers) contribute to the marketplace of ideas.  And we believe that open and transparent government is a key component to helping usher in the goals of more efficient, more responsive, and — ultimately — cleaner government.

Congress can and must do more to keep the windows open and the sunshine pouring in.  The President’s 2006 executive order on implementing the Freedom of Information Act was a necessary first step.  But the FOIA backlogs and other barriers to obtaining information remain, and this problem can and must be addressed by additional legislation. Read more...

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) discussed legislation she has introduced to provide health care to all children in her Hillcast Wednesday.

The Children's Health First Act, Clinton said, would remedy the problem of the 9 million children that have no health coverage. "Health care is something that I've fought for my entire life. And I think you all know that I have the scars to prove it, " the presidential hopeful said. "I've worked for quality, affordable health care for everyone.

"When I'm President we will have universal health care coverage in our country so that every American has the quality health care they deserve," she added.

You can find the video below.

America's Border Patrol agents are on the front line of protecting us from terrorists, illegal immigrants, and drug-smugglers.  This is a dangerous assignment and one that shouldn't be taken lightly.

I was disappointed to see the recent situation involving two U.S. Border Patrol Agents who caught a drug-smuggler in the act but are now behind bars.  The two agents, Jose Compean, and Ignacio Ramos, were sentenced last October to multi-year prison terms for shooting Mexican citizen Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila two years ago, believing the suspect had brandished a gun during the encounter. As Aldrete-Davila fled back across the border to Mexico, he left behind a van he was driving, filled with over 740 pounds of marijuana.

In exchange for immunity and at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Aldrete-Davila testified that Compean and Ramos had violated his civil rights in the shooting and had failed to follow Border Patrol procedures. While no illegal actions are beyond the law, this case has gone too far and sets a dangerous precedent for our nation's Border Patrol agents. Read more...

In a hearing today with NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, I referenced the fact that we are not very popular around the world, and that one of the unquestioned and positive programs that we have is the space program. It’s universally well thought of around the world, and it gives us a great opportunity to cooperate and collaborate with other nations.

When the Jet Propulsion Lab in my district landed its rovers on Mars, there were nine billion hits in the first two months on the NASA web page. This is one great enterprise that captures the world’s imagination and really shows off what’s best about our country, so I was exploring with the NASA administrator how we can use the space program as an instrument of our public diplomacy. Read more...

General Petraeus, not Washington Democrats, should be making military decisions based on conditions on the ground. Democrats are using a critical troop funding bill to micromanage the war on terror, undermine our generals on the ground, and slowly choke off resources for our troops. Under the guise of supporting our troops, Democrats are actually mandating their failure.

By establishing - and telegraphing to our enemy - arbitrary timelines for withdrawal, Democrats are providing little more than a road map for terrorists, a tool they will use to plot their maneuvers against American forces. Tying equipment and resources to a series of conditions and expectations amounts to little more than a revised version of the previous 'slow-bleed' strategy supported by Democratic Leaders.

Republicans will continue to stand united behind our generals and our troops for victory in the global war on terror, and will oppose Democrats' road map for terrorists. We will not jeopardize the safety and security of American families, or that of those to come in future generations, by giving our generals and our troops anything less than our full and unfettered support.

Today, Senate Republicans agreed to move to a debate on an important question:  Should a majority of Senators direct the activity of the War in Iraq?

Republicans are eager to engage in this debate on the Reid Resolution because it’s different in kind from any previous Democratic proposal.

It is unprecedented in the powers it would arrogate to the Congress in a time of war; it is a clear statement of retreat from the support that the Senate only recently gave to General David Petraeus; and its passage would be absolutely fatal to our mission in Iraq. Read more...