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Author
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Topic: Rep. John Murtha Dies at Age 77
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blackrams
Member Posts: 14866
From: Frankfort, KY, USA
Registered: Feb 2003
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Rep. John Murtha Dies at Age 77
http://www.aolnews.com/poli...-dies-at-77/19349486
AP WASHINGTON (Feb. 8) – A spokesman says Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a retired Marine Corps officer who became an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, has died. He was 77.
He had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery.
In 1974, Murtha became the first combat veteran of the Vietnam War elected to Congress. He wielded considerable clout for two decades as a leader of the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending. But frustration over the Iraq war led him to call for an immediate pullout of U.S. troops in 2005.
Murtha's congressional career was clouded by questions about his ethics – from the Abscam corruption probe in 1980 to more recent investigations into the special-interest spending known as earmarks and the raising of cash for election campaigns.IP: Logged |
aceman
Member Posts: 3923
From: Brooklyn Center, MN/Omaha, NE
Registered: Feb 2003
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Well, there's a little less corruption in Washington D.C. today.
He wasn't the most ethical person, but he fought for his constituents and for his district to get more than their share of the pork barrel spending.
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blackrams
Member Posts: 14866
From: Frankfort, KY, USA
Registered: Feb 2003
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| | | quote | Originally posted by aceman:
Well, there's a little less corruption in Washington D.C. today.
He wasn't the most ethical person, but he fought for his constituents and for his district to get more than their share of the pork barrel spending.
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Tell me, who would honestly want that as their tombstone epitaph?
Of course, I guess once you're gone, then who really cares besides maybe those who have to live with your legacy.
Ron[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 02-08-2010).] IP: Logged |
aceman
Member Posts: 3923
From: Brooklyn Center, MN/Omaha, NE
Registered: Feb 2003
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I suppose I could have been nicer and said, "Thanks for the nice building I worked in for three years that cost 3X more than it should have cost." IP: Logged |
cliffw
Member Posts: 17265
From: Kerrville, Texas, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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Good riddance. Who does not know of the John Murtha airport. A $150 million dollar facility that served him, and maybe two others. A master of pork barrel spending.
Cool, another special election.IP: Logged |
aceman
Member Posts: 3923
From: Brooklyn Center, MN/Omaha, NE
Registered: Feb 2003
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| | | quote | Originally posted by cliffw:
Good riddance. Who does not know of the John Murtha airport. A $150 million dollar facility that served him, and maybe two others. A master of pork barrel spending.
Cool, another special election. |
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Hehehe, I flew out of that airport over a dozen times. Nice little airport. Reminded me of the set from the sitcom Wings.IP: Logged |
blackrams
Member Posts: 14866
From: Frankfort, KY, USA
Registered: Feb 2003
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| | | quote | Originally posted by aceman:
I suppose I could have been nicer and said, "Thanks for the nice building I worked in for three years that cost 3X more than it should have cost." |
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I wasn't knocking your post. It's unfortunate that we have little, if any nice things to say about Rep. Murtha.
RonIP: Logged |
jaskispyder
Member Posts: 4207
From: Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Registered: Jun 2002
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Well, you write your epitaph in life....IP: Logged |
starlightcoupe
Member Posts: 260
From: Colorado Springs, CO
Registered: Oct 2009
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I'll remember him for his service in Korea and Vietnam and the fact that he held the nation's third highest medal for bravery. Semper Fi, John Murtha.IP: Logged |
blackrams
Member Posts: 14866
From: Frankfort, KY, USA
Registered: Feb 2003
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| | | quote | Originally posted by jaskispyder:
Well, you write your epitaph in life.... |
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So very true.
RonIP: Logged |
cliffw
Member Posts: 17265
From: Kerrville, Texas, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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| | | quote | Originally posted by blackrams:
It's unfortunate that we have little, if any nice things to say about Rep. Murtha.
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Well, he was a Marine VietNam war hero with two Purple Hearts. Or was he ?[This message has been edited by cliffw (edited 02-08-2010).] IP: Logged |
fierobear
Member Posts: 17118
From: Northern California, USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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| | | quote | Originally posted by aceman:
Hehehe, I flew out of that airport over a dozen times. Nice little airport. Reminded me of the set from the sitcom Wings. |
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Tiny airport, few people?
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connecticutFIERO
Member Posts: 7536
From: CT
Registered: Jun 2002
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You don't have anything nice to say because your to wrapped up in your own politics to see a man that served in combat for his country pass away.IP: Logged |
blackrams
Member Posts: 14866
From: Frankfort, KY, USA
Registered: Feb 2003
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| | | quote | Originally posted by connecticutFIERO:
You don't have anything nice to say because your to wrapped up in your own politics to see a man that served in combat for his country pass away. |
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Conn,
I call it like I see it, very similar to the way you do but, after you've served, then come back and talk to me. His Marine service is not in question. Many have served and yet did not come back and earn such reputations.
RonIP: Logged |
cliffw
Member Posts: 17265
From: Kerrville, Texas, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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| | | quote | Originally posted by connecticutFIERO:
You don't have anything nice to say because your to wrapped up in your own politics to see a man that served in combat for his country pass away. |
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Many people served in combat but they did not screw the country.[This message has been edited by cliffw (edited 02-08-2010).] IP: Logged |
blackrams
Member Posts: 14866
From: Frankfort, KY, USA
Registered: Feb 2003
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| | | quote | Originally posted by starlightcoupe:
I'll remember him for his service in Korea and Vietnam and the fact that he held the nation's third highest medal for bravery. Semper Fi, John Murtha. |
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Wikipedia must not have his complete record. 
| | | quote | Originally posted by Wikipedia:
Early life and military service
Murtha was born into an Irish-American family in New Martinsville, West Virginia; near the border with Ohio and Pennsylvania, and grew up in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania; a largely suburban county east of Pittsburgh.
As a youth, he became an Eagle Scout. He also worked delivering newspapers and at a gas station before graduating from The Kiski School, an all-male boarding school in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania.
Murtha left Washington and Jefferson College in 1952 to join the Marine Corps and was awarded the American Spirit Honor Medal for displaying outstanding leadership qualities during training. Murtha became a drill instructor at Parris Island and was selected for Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia. Murtha was then assigned to the Second Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Murtha remained in the Marine Forces Reserve, and ran a small business, Johnstown Minute Car Wash (which still operates in the West End section of Johnstown.) He also attended the University of Pittsburgh on the G.I. Bill, and received a degree in economics. Murtha later took graduate courses from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Murtha married his wife Joyce on June 10, 1955. They have three children and live in Johnstown.
Murtha left the Marines in 1955. He remained in the Reserves after his discharge from active duty until he volunteered for service in the Vietnam War, serving from 1966 to 1967, serving as a battalion staff officer (S-2 Intelligence Section), receiving the Bronze Star with Valor device, two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve as a Colonel in 1990, receiving the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. |
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Murtha
RonIP: Logged |
aceman
Member Posts: 3923
From: Brooklyn Center, MN/Omaha, NE
Registered: Feb 2003
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| | | quote | Originally posted by blackrams:
I wasn't knocking your post. It's unfortunate that we have little, if any nice things to say about Rep. Murtha.
Ron |
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Oh, but right now, my mother-in-law in Johnstown, PA is probably organizing a candlelight vigil. Murtha was revered in Johnstown, PA and justifiable so, I guess, in a twisted way. He did help my father-in-law be declared 100% disabled service-connected due to Agent Orange a couple months before my FIL's death. My old office building, (now closed down 15 years after it was built), was very, very nice. And, that airport along with the military air facility are great.IP: Logged |
cliffw
Member Posts: 17265
From: Kerrville, Texas, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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| | | quote | Originally posted by blackrams:
Wikipedia must not have his complete record. :watchout
Ron |
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No, no they don't.
Murtha has thus far refused to release his own military records.
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cliffw
Member Posts: 17265
From: Kerrville, Texas, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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| | | quote | Originally posted by connecticutFIERO:
You don't have anything nice to say because your to wrapped up in your own politics to see a man that served in combat for his country pass away. |
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A man becomes a politician and politics should have no bearing on our opinions,  ?
Spoken like a true democrat.
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RotrexFiero
Member Posts: 1738
From: Verona, PA
Registered: Jul 2002
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I dont live in his district but close enough to it, and I really disliked his politics, anti-soldier attitude, and frequent condescending remarks. I can understand him bringing jobs to his area, Johnstown would look very different if it was not for him, and why he was so supported there. But, I still felt and always will that he was more into himself, exploited the people of his area, and was another lifelong self-serving politician.
I am not sure of his military career, but it makes you wonder about someone who could make such remarks about servicemen while they were and still are in combat.
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starlightcoupe
Member Posts: 260
From: Colorado Springs, CO
Registered: Oct 2009
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My point in my original post was that I prefer to remember him for his service to our country in time of war than what he did afterward and perhaps I should have explained it a little more. I don't support his politics and I can't respect graft but I don't want to speak ill of the dead. I have no idea what he said about current soldiers. I suppose I could google it but as I said, I prefer to remember him for his service. What was it that Shakespeare said about the bad men do living after them but "...the good is oft interred with their bones?"[This message has been edited by starlightcoupe (edited 02-08-2010).] IP: Logged |
maryjane
Member Posts: 29885
From: Cleveland Tex
Registered: Apr 2001
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| | | quote | Originally posted by starlightcoupe:
. What was it that Shakespeare said about the bad men do living after them but "...the good is oft interred with their bones?"
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Ironic, considering that Shakespear--dead all these many many decades, is respected and revered yet today.
RIP J. Murtha
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NickD3.4
Member Posts: 906
From: Mesa, AZ
Registered: Jan 2008
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Seriously, just because you wore a uniform, or served in combat does not give you a free pass. Coming form a large military family, and serving my countrymen my self, I am sick of people who use it as some get out of jail card. John Kerry was a traitor, and so was Murtha. Did he serve? sure, but that all becomes water under the bridge the second he wasted away tax payer dollars for self gain and betrayed the Marines of this nation by calling them cold blooded murderers. Did he apologize when he was proven wrong? ...no. Timothy McVeigh wore a uniform and served this nation as well, then he betrayed it with terror. Did Mcveigh get a free pass from people? "oh well he served the country" blah blah blah......no, he did not.
This man lied, cheated, abused his power, squandered our money, and condemned out troops with lies. He is a disgrace to the American uniform in any degree, and staunchly represented everything this nation was not about. Fact is, he forgot his roots, and obviously forgot about the code of conduct and HONOR.
I feel for his family, but that as far as it goes for me. a man who betrays their countrymen has no sympathy from me.[This message has been edited by NickD3.4 (edited 02-08-2010).] IP: Logged |
Wolfhound
Member Posts: 4853
From: Opelika , Alabama, USA
Registered: Oct 1999
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Republicans claim to honor veterans but what they mean is Republican veterans. Others are photo shopped and slandered.
parts of videos edited and spliced.
When Murtha was a Hawk, he was a republican darling. When he changed his mind he was slandered and demonised.
This should have been a criminal act. and the producers jailed. For republicans lying is considered freedom of speech.
False witness
http://www.factcheck.org/el...cterizes_murtha.htmlIP: Logged |
NickD3.4
Member Posts: 906
From: Mesa, AZ
Registered: Jan 2008
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| | | quote | Originally posted by Wolfhound:
Republicans claim to honor veterans but what they mean is Republican veterans. Others are photo shopped and slandered.
parts of videos edited and spliced.
When Murtha was a Hawk, he was a republican darling. When he changed his mind he was slandered and demonised.
This should have been a criminal act. and the producers jailed. For republicans lying is considered freedom of speech.
False witness
http://www.factcheck.org/el...cterizes_murtha.html |
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Nice, more gross generalizing. I could care less about the Korea remark. Calling our troops while their in combat on national television "cold blooded killers" talking about supposedly murdering people is plenty. Is that not enough? Murtha was found to be wrong, and the charges were found to be bogus. Any man worth their salt would have at least apologized to the nation and they very troops he insulted, but no. Apparently his ego was more important then the young kids in a combat zone that get to hear this douche bag run his mouth about how they kill the innocent.[This message has been edited by NickD3.4 (edited 02-08-2010).] IP: Logged |
fierobear
Member Posts: 17118
From: Northern California, USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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| | | quote | Originally posted by Wolfhound:
Republicans claim to honor veterans but what they mean is Republican veterans. Others are photo shopped and slandered.
parts of videos edited and spliced.
When Murtha was a Hawk, he was a republican darling. When he changed his mind he was slandered and demonised.
This should have been a criminal act. and the producers jailed. For republicans lying is considered freedom of speech.
False witness
http://www.factcheck.org/el...cterizes_murtha.html |
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I had no idea he was a veteran until I read the obituary stories. What I knew about Murtha is that he was a master of pork-barrel politics. He was considered corrupt:
Earmarks and campaign contributions
Murtha was targeted by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington as one of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress.[13] [14][15]
In September 2006 the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) listed Murtha under Five Members to Watch in its Second Annual Most Corrupt Members of Congress Report. The report cited Murtha's steering of defense appropriations to clients of KSA Consulting, which employed his brother Robert, and the PMA Group, founded by Paul Magliocchetti, a former senior staffer on the Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense.[16]
In 2008, Esquire Magazine named him one of the 10 worst members of Congress because of his opposition to ethics reform and the $100 million a year he brings in earmarks to his district.[17] The Wall Street Journal has called him "one of Congress's most unapologetic earmarkers."[18] According to the Pennsylvania Report, Murtha was one of "Pennsylvania’s most powerful congressman" and a "master of crossing the aisle and bringing pork into his district."[19]
In February 2009, CQ Politics reported that Murtha was one of 104 U.S. representatives to earmark funds in the 2008 Defense appropriations spending bill for a lobbying group that had contributed to his past election campaigns. The spending bill, which was managed by Murtha in his capacity as Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, secured $38.1 million for clients of the PMA Group in the single fiscal law.[20] The PMA Group is currently under investigation by the FBI.[21]
In March 2009, the Washington Post reported that a Pennsylvania defense research center regularly consulted with two "handlers" close to Murtha while it received nearly $250 million in federal funding via Murtha's earmarks. The center then channeled a significant portion of the funding to companies that were among Murtha's campaign supporters.[22]
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NickD3.4
Member Posts: 906
From: Mesa, AZ
Registered: Jan 2008
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which begs the question, if you deal with the devil, does God care you were an alter boy?[This message has been edited by NickD3.4 (edited 02-08-2010).] IP: Logged |
Wichita
Member Posts: 10930
From: Wichita, Kansas
Registered: Jun 2002
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| | | quote | Originally posted by connecticutFIERO:
You don't have anything nice to say because your to wrapped up in your own politics to see a man that served in combat for his country pass away. |
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So did Timothy McVeigh and Lee Harvey Oswald. Do you have something good to say that about them, or are you wrapped up in your own politics to not care how terrible a person John Murtha was just because he had a (D) beside his name.[This message has been edited by Wichita (edited 02-08-2010).] IP: Logged |
Wichita
Member Posts: 10930
From: Wichita, Kansas
Registered: Jun 2002
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| | | quote | Originally posted by Wolfhound:
Republicans claim to honor veterans but what they mean is Republican veterans. Others are photo shopped and slandered.
parts of videos edited and spliced.
When Murtha was a Hawk, he was a republican darling. When he changed his mind he was slandered and demonised.
This should have been a criminal act. and the producers jailed. For republicans lying is considered freedom of speech.
False witness
http://www.factcheck.org/el...cterizes_murtha.html |
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He also criticized the troops for murder. So much of a hawk he is. Murtha was a bad man. Watchdog groups have basically placed him as one of the most corrupt members of Congress, year after year.
If you are booty licking Murtha's asss, then you are a very closed minded and blind to reality person. Your judgment on anybody's character has no merit.
Are there Republicans who are bad? Yep! And I've been very vocal about that. Tom Delay and Ted Stevens. But both are out of office (thank god), but for Dems, they have to literally die, like Kennedy and Murtha (may they rot in hell).
The facts about Jack Murtha's supposed Purple Heart (remember, he is a leftist and you never trust leftists).
* The article cites Harry M. Fox, a former congressional aide to Rep. John Saylor. In 1996, Fox spoke to the Uniontown (PA) Herald-Standard, saying that Murtha wrote to his boss in 1968 pressing for two Purple Hearts – medals that Saylor’s staff determined that Murtha’s wounds did not merit. When Saylor died in office, Fox lost a special election in 1974 to replace his former boss to Murtha. (Upon his return from Vietnam, Murtha had unsuccessfully challenged Saylor in the 1968 election.)
* A former Democratic congressional colleague, Don Bailey, said in an open letter to Murtha in 2002 (more than three years before Murtha came out against the war in Iraq) that Murtha admitted to him in a conversation in the early 1980s that he did not do anything sufficient to earn his Purple Hearts. Following redistricting in 1982, Bailey and Murtha were forced to run for the same congressional seat, which Murtha won.
* Morano/Hall also noted contradictory accounts of Murtha’s alleged combat injuries and his inability to remember where they are:
Murtha's accounts of his Vietnam War wounds may also conflict with the available U.S. Marine medical records obtained by the media.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on May 12, 2002, reported that “Marine Corps casualty records show that Murtha was injured in 'hostile' actions near Danang, Vietnam, on March 22, 1967, and May 7, 1967.
“In the first incident, his right cheek was lacerated, and in the second, he was lacerated above his left eye. Neither injury required evacuation,” the Post-Gazette reported.
But an Oct. 26, 1994, article in the Herald-Standard quoted Murtha as describing two different injuries.
“I was wounded in the arm with shrapnel from a bullet that hit the motor mount of a helicopter. In the other, my knee was banged up and my arm was banged up when a helicopter was shot down from a very few feet,” Murtha told the Herald-Standard.
A man who serviced honorably in Vietnam is John McCain, but leftists have nothing good to say about him.  Hypocrisy at it's best.
Murtha, like Kerry have never released their military service records.[This message has been edited by Wichita (edited 02-08-2010).] IP: Logged |
uhlanstan
Member Posts: 3457
From: orlando florida
Registered: Apr 2007
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Murtha sold out for political reasons,,he did his job in the Marines,there was some dispute from former conrades ,,who were reluctant to slam him..None actually condemed him,,But he may have tried to EXAGGERATE his injuries,,not uncommon among politicians,,Because most people do not understand combat and you have to be a real JOHN WAYNE to crab attention..Its not good enough for many men to say I was there ,,you gotta be a HERO.. This worked for him..
Many Infantry veterans consider a purple heart a badge of honor,,your one of us!! they will overcome political beleave and vote for a combat veteran,, I am guilty...
Murtha should have went to Jail,he was politically protected ,my local politician went to jail for much less..
many young infantry Marines did not get Purple hearts for minor injuries as a matter of pride..Officers needed medals to advance thier career,, many Officers worked/campaigned for medals
I remember he sold his soul for a top house post, the past 2 years, and Nancy Pileoshiet stabed him in the back after he kissed her buttocks and some one else got the post..MADE me feel so good .
Murtha sold out the Marine corps,, falsely accused men of murder to gain favor with the leftist leadership,, they promised him cookies he got none!!
former Sgt, USMC
usmc DUTY HONOR COUNTRY INTEGRITY,,,civilian HONOR LOYALTY INTEGRITY ""HE FORGOT""
HE WAS NO ,, SGT. LEE ERMEY[This message has been edited by uhlanstan (edited 02-09-2010).] IP: Logged |
jim94
Member Posts: 32
From: jacksonville, fl. usa
Registered: Jan 2010
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the more i read the more i like this place, i am a registered independent. thay all stink, i am disaabled.IP: Logged |
heybjorn
Member Posts: 3192
From: pace fl
Registered: Apr 2007
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| | | quote | Originally posted by Wichita:
Murtha, like Kerry have never released their military service records.
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This says it all, doesn't it? If the record of anything shows you acted appropriately, why would not release it? OTOH, if the truth shows you are an incompetent, lying, unqualified whatever, of course you don't want anyone to know. Good riddance. IP: Logged |
blackrams
Member Posts: 14866
From: Frankfort, KY, USA
Registered: Feb 2003
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It will be interesting to see who and what fills his seat.
RonIP: Logged |
fierobear
Member Posts: 17118
From: Northern California, USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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| | | quote | Originally posted by blackrams:
It will be interesting to see who and what fills his seat.
Ron |
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There will be a special election, probably in March.
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blackrams
Member Posts: 14866
From: Frankfort, KY, USA
Registered: Feb 2003
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You can bet your bippy that the White House and the Dem. Leadership won't approach this special election as they did in MA. The people of PA can expect to get lots of attention in the next few months from both sides of the aisle.
RonIP: Logged |
aceman
Member Posts: 3923
From: Brooklyn Center, MN/Omaha, NE
Registered: Feb 2003
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I don't think a Republican could run and realistically win in that district. The whole district is just a bunch of welfare recepients caused by decades of Murtha's pork barrel spending. Whoever wins the special election will probably be tossed at the general election because the welfare recpients...errr... constituents will be wondering what happened to all the $$$ that used to come to Johnstown, Cambria County and Somerset county. That district will be in turmoil until someone can be a pork barrel expert like Murtha or until the district realizes how corrupt Murtha was and starts to learn to live without the welfare receipts.IP: Logged |
texasfiero
Member Posts: 1838
From: Houston, TX USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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| | | quote | Originally posted by Wolfhound:
Republicans claim to honor veterans but what they mean is Republican veterans. Others are photo shopped and slandered.
parts of videos edited and spliced.
When Murtha was a Hawk, he was a republican darling. When he changed his mind he was slandered and demonised.
This should have been a criminal act. and the producers jailed. For republicans lying is considered freedom of speech.
False witness
http://www.factcheck.org/el...cterizes_murtha.html |
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Is it also hypocrisy and slander when we criticize John McCain for his liberal/moderate politics?IP: Logged |
fierobear
Member Posts: 17118
From: Northern California, USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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| | | quote | Originally posted by texasfiero:
Is it also hypocrisy and slander when we criticize John McCain for his liberal/moderate politics? |
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Careful...talk like that will put a liberal into a very uncomfortable endless loop conundrum.
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Pyrthian
Member Posts: 21212
From: Detroit, MI
Registered: Jul 2002
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so, while we are slamming the dead - did this guy EVER hold a job that WASNT taxpayer paid?IP: Logged |
texasfiero
Member Posts: 1838
From: Houston, TX USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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| | | quote | Originally posted by fierobear:
Careful...talk like that will put a liberal into a very uncomfortable endless loop conundrum.
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Yeah, I like watchin' them spin.
 
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