Israeli military strikes against Lebanon are a justified reaction to the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers and years of continuing attacks on Israel by Hezbollah, the Tehran-backed terrorist organization.

This latest outrage is nothing short of an act of war by Hezbollah against Israel.  It was unprovoked, vicious, and designed to further destabilize the situation in the Middle East.

The Israelis are not just responding to one incident, but to years of terrorism by Hezbollah.  Viewed in the wider context - six years of continued Hezbollah aggression notwithstanding Israel's withdrawal from Southern Lebanon - the response clearly is justified.  In fact, if anyone is going to call Israel's response disproportionate, let them say Israel is not doing enough.

It is worth noting that the Hezbollah attack was foreshadowed by a warning on Tuesday by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Israel would be hit by an "explosion" of Muslim anger.  "The fury of Muslim nations is getting more intense," he said. "It is likely to reach an explosion point soon."

During a National Press Club appearance on Thursday with Israeli Ambassador Daniel Ayalon, I quoted the Iranian leader's inflammatory rhetoric and stressed that the kidnappings and attacks were not only an act of war by Hezbollah, but an act of war by proxy by Iran.

The links between Hezbollah and the regime in Tehran are well documented. Hezbollah was created by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in 1982, and it receives most of its external support from the Iranians.  It is highly unlikely that such a provocative act would be undertaken without the knowledge and approval of people at the highest levels of Iran's government.

Clearly, Iran is calling the shots here.

The United States was right to veto the United Nations Security Council resolution.  After Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and southern Lebanon, both areas have become launch pads for unguided rockets -- more than 1000 have been launched on Israel from Gaza already.  Israel has every right to respond to these acts of war with the use of its military.  The United Nations must take no action which would limit Israel's inherent right of self defense.  Rather it should take steps to enforce its resolutions mandating Hezbollah's disarmament and outlawing terror financing.

Law-abiding, tax-paying American workers scored a victory in the long battle for fairness when the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday passed legislation that would reform Federal Prison Industries.

Inmates paid a fraction of the federal minimum wage in prisons across America are currently given contracts for products and services by the federal government, contracts for which private sector firms are not even allowed to compete.

Inmates would still receive the training in prison that will be necessary for them to successfully reenter the workforce under the bill, only private sector firms will be able to compete with FPI for the contracts that they pay for with their tax dollars.

I look forward to the full House again passing the comprehensive legislation - as it did in 2003 by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 350-36 - and the Senate passing a companion bill so that we can finally send it to the President for his signature.

The Internet has provided the world with a new medium that connects people across the globe, sends information within seconds and has brought new opportunities for education and economic growth to millions.  Unfortunately, law enforcement and child protection experts also tell us the Internet has made child pornography easier to disseminate, easier to produce, and easier to turn a profit on.  Recent congressional testimony and a New York Times expose inspired by Justin Berry, a teen who was a victim of the online child porn industry, has brought national attention to this issue.

Facts:
--In 2003, an estimated 20,000 images of child pornography were posted on the Internet every week.
--82% of all child porn cases prosecuted in the US involved images of children under the age of 12 engaged in sexual acts.
--Between 1998 and 2004, child pornography reports made to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children increased from 3,267 to 106,119
--The commercial business of child pornography over the Internet has been estimated to be as high as $20 billion worldwide.
--Over 3.5 million child pornography images have been identified U.S. law enforcement.
-- The number of Internet child pornography images has increased 1500% since 1988
--Approximately 20% of all Internet pornography involves children
--More than half of all illegal sites reported to the Internet Watch Foundation are hosted in the United States.
(Sources: National Criminal Intelligence Service, 8/21/03 and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children).

We have to stop the supply of child pornography by attacking the source.  An estimated 20,000 images of child pornography were posted on the Internet every week in 2003.

This week, I introduced a bill along with Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) that places child porn profiteers directly in the sights of law enforcement.  The Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today's Youth (SAFETY) Act - HR 5749 - goes after the Internet child porn industry, and for the first time, would hold credit card companies and Internet service providers accountable if they knowingly facilitate child pornography.  Included are provisions that create new penalties for operating a child pornography enterprise, new laws holding Internet and financial companies accountable, new avenues for victims to seek civil damages from pornographers, new laws requiring labels on porn sites and new additional resources to law enforcement to prosecute these cases.  Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) introduced similar legislation in the Senate this year.

We can no longer tolerate blind accomplices who leave the doors unlocked on Internet child pornography and we can no longer allow the child porn industry to grow.

I’m encouraged that Senate leaders have accepted protections for Florida offered by Sen. Martinez and me.  But I remain concerned that the proposal could be dramatically altered by House and Senate negotiators tasked with approving a final deal.

Today marks a full year that the Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity post within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been vacant.  The Bush Administration has left this position unfilled since its creation.

This failure reflects the larger inadequacies of the entire Department.  Half of the major Department of Homeland Security offices have critical staff vacancies.  Literally no one is home at DHS to protect our national security.

The reliability of computer networks is a constant need in our daily lives.  But DHS and President Bush have not made cybersecurity a priority in their homeland security strategy.  Filling the Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity position would only be the beginning (not the end) of protecting our nation’s cyber infrastructure.  On the one year anniversary of the creation of this position, I am disappointed, but unfortunately not surprised, that DHS has yet to begin such a critical task.

The Constitution of the United States is over 200 years old.  Does that mean it is not relevant to the issues of today?  The age of a law has no bearing on whether or not it is just.  The opponents of the Voting Rights Act say it needs to be updated, but they never address the over 1000 objections to discriminatory voting plans filed by the DOJ since the last reauthorization in 1982.  They never address the persistent evidence of discrimination in the states covered by Section 5 that affect people in rural areas, the elderly, the disabled, ethnic and language minorities who are all citizens of this nation.

Anyone who is seriously interested in updating the act would introduce legislation that confronts the contemporary evidence of voting discrimination.  Instead, the Westmoreland and Norwood amendments are simply ways for states that violate voting rights law to get out from under the supervision of the law.  It's like the fox guarding the chicken house.  Law is not meant to relieve the discomfort of violators, but to implement a standard of compliance that upholds our principles of democracy.

I think we need a new era of the Voting Rights Act that addresses today's problems, not something 40 years old. Mr. Norwood's and my amendment addresses these problems.

Also, this is not up until September 2007, and I don't know any other reason other than politics that we have to address it now.

I hope that we will pass the Voting Rights Act within its current form resoundingly. I would hate for there to be a perception that this would be a Democratic or Republican victory. It should be a victory for democracy.