Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a longtime fixture on the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending, has died following complications from gallbladder surgery, according to his office. He was 77.Never liked the man, but condolences to the congressman's family and friends.The veteran Democratic congressman recently underwent scheduled laparoscopic surgery to remove his gallbladder.
Murtha was hospitalized in December and had to postpone a hearing with Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the administration's strategy in Afghanistan. The congressman returned to work after a few days in the hospital and helped oversee final passage of the 2010 defense appropriations bill.
Murtha represented Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district in the House since 1974, making him the chamber's eighth most senior member. According to his biography on the House Web site, Murtha was the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress.
He was considered one of "the kings of pork" on Capitol Hill by taxpayer watchdog groups for requesting tens of millions of dollars in earmarks.
On his House Web site, Murtha strongly defended earmarks, saying, "I believe that elected representatives of the people understand their constituents and districts best." Supporters said his efforts have helped bring thousands of jobs to western Pennsylvania.
A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Rep. John Murtha cannot be sued for accusing U.S. Marines of murdering Iraqi civilians "in cold blood," remarks that sparked outrage among conservative commentators.Now that Murtha has basically been granted immunity to say what the hell he wants, you can bet there'll be even more outrageous comments coming down the pipe from this idiot. Bottom line, will Pennsylvanian's ever see the light and get rid of the political stains that are John Murtha and Arlen Specter? Or will they each have to retire first?
The appeals court in Washington dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought by a Marine who led the squad in the attack. The judges agreed with Murtha that he was immune from the lawsuit because he was acting in his official role as a lawmaker when he made the comments to reporters.
Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich of Meriden, Conn., claimed Murtha damaged his reputation by saying the squad he was leading engaged in "cold-blooded murder and war crimes" in Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005.
At a Capitol Hill news conference in May 2006, Murtha predicted that a Pentagon war crimes investigation would show the Marines killed dozens of innocent Iraqi civilians in Haditha.
Military prosecutors have said two dozen Iraqis, including women and children, were killed in Haditha after one Marine died and two others were wounded by a roadside bomb. Wuterich is charged with voluntary manslaughter and other allegations, the only person still facing charges in the attack.
He has pleaded not guilty. He is accused of ordering his men to clear several houses with grenades and gunfire, leading to the civilian deaths.
Republicans and conservatives accused Murtha, a decorated Vietnam veteran and retired Marine Reserves colonel, of convicting the Marines before the investigation was concluded and fueling enemy attacks in retaliation. GOP challengers tried to use the comments against Murtha in the 2006 and 2008 campaigns, but his constituents overwhelmingly re-elected the congressman who has represented them since 1974.
Murtha, who is opposed to the Iraq war, has said he made the comments to draw attention to the pressure put on troops in Iraq and efforts to cover up the incident. He did not mention Wuterich or any other Marines by name.
A three-judge panel on U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that Murtha could not be sued under the 1988 Westfall Act, which gives federal employees immunity from lawsuits arising out of acts they undertake in the course of their official duties.
No one is disputing that there is a problem regarding sexual assaults in the military. And if victims are afraid to speak out or feel that their stories aren't being taken seriously enough, this needs to be addressed and corrective measures need to be implemented immediately. But the last thing the military needs are liberal politicians like Harman looking to score points with their base by going hyperbole with ridiculous remarks that stereotype our troops as being nothing but sexual predators.Rep. Jane Harman, D-California, spoke before a House panel investigating the way the military handles reports of sexual assault.
She said she recently visited a Veterans Affairs hospital in the Los Angeles area, where women told her horror stories of being raped in the military.
"My jaw dropped when the doctors told me that 41 percent of the female veterans seen there say they were victims of sexual assault while serving in the military," said Harman, who has long sought better protection of women in the military.
"Twenty-nine percent say they were raped during their military service. They spoke of their continued terror, feelings of helplessness and downward spirals many of their lives have taken since.
"We have an epidemic here," she said. "Women serving in the U.S. military today are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq."
As of July 24, 100 women had died in Iraq, according to the Pentagon.
Russell’s clear on where he stands. No doubt Barack Obama would label him bitter and clingy. “I am a Conservative,” he says in his defining campaign statement. “I believe in the sovereignty and security of this one nation, under God. I believe the primary role of government is to provide for the common defense and a legal framework to protect families and individual liberty. … I believe that no one owes me anything just because I live and breathe.”Conservatives have a chance to rid themselves of a man who made a name for himself by slandering our troops while for years, ripping off taxpayers in his own district by enriching self-interest groups to which he granted an earmark (including lobbyist firms headed up by his own brother). Come November, conservatives, in particular Pennsylvanians, have a chance to kick one of the most corrupt members of Congress out of office and into the street where he belongs.
The excitement and buzz around Russell stand in stark contrast to grass-roots disgust on the right with Beltway Republicans who continue to push the party to the left in a brain-dead attempt to “rebrand” the GOP. He has united pro-troops families, social conservatives, fiscal conservatives, Reagan Democrats and Independents fed up with Murtha’s culture of corruption dating back to his Abscam days in the 1980s. Murtha was not indicted in the infamous bribery probe, but he was videotaped entertaining a $50,000 bribe from undercover FBI agents posing as emissaries for Arab sheiks trying to enter our country illegally.
A military judge on Tuesday dismissed the case against the highest-ranking U.S. Marine charged in the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha, whittling down the list of those who must still face justice for the 2005 incident to just the accused ringleader.Murtha was running for office when he smeared the troops, so not only was he motivated by his ignorance, but also the support of his liberal base in Pennsylvania. That said, word has it that one of the troops Murtha berated plans on suing him for defamation. Good. Perhaps that will give Murtha a chance to write an apology while he eats a nice, big bowl of crow.Military Judge Col. Steven Folsom dropped all charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, who was accused of violating a lawful order and dereliction of duty, at a hearing at the Camp Pendleton Marine base in Southern California.
Folsom's decision means that, out of eight Marines originally charged in December 2006, six have won dismissals of their charges and one has been cleared at court martial.
There has been a lot of talk about Larry Craig's on again/off again decision to resign from Congress. Like most Republicans, I'm of the opinion that Craig should resign, but wouldn't it be great if he could take a few people with him?
Like who? Glad you asked! For starters, here are a few honorable mentions that probably deserve to be out of Congress -- or in jail if they're Republicans. Alternately, if they're Democrats, you can look forward to their serving in Congress for the next few decades.
Honorable Mentions: Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Congressman John Doolittle (R-CA), Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Congressman Alan Mollohan (D-WV), Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Ted Stevens (R-AL), Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Congressman Don Young (R-AL)
That's enough of the warm-up act. Let's move on to the dirtiest players in the game...
Senator David Vitter (R-LA) & Congressman David Calvert (R-CA): Maybe I'm a little old fashioned, particularly after the moral fecklessness of the Clinton years, but I've always thought that anyone caught using the services of a prostitute isn't fit to be in Congress.
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT): When "Leaky" Leahy was the Vice-Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he regularly leaked sensitive classified information to the press in an attempt to undermine foreign policy decisions that he disagreed with. One of his leaks is believed to have actually gotten one of our Egyptian "assets" killed. He should have been sent to prison to break big rocks into smaller rocks for 20 years over his leaks, but instead he merely lost his seat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Congressman John Murtha (D-PA): The man congressional Republicans call "King Corruption" was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Abscam case -- who, upon being offered a bribe said he wouldn't take the money at that point, but might “change his mind”...“after we’ve done some business.” Despite his sleazy background, Nancy Pelosi supported Murtha in a failed bid for a leadership position in 2006 instead of urging to retire from Congress.
Senator Barney Frank (D-MA): Frank encouraged Larry Craig not to resign, which isn't surprising when you consider that Frank makes Craig look like Billy Graham on the moral front and yet he has hung around all these years. In case you don't remember, Frank used the services of a gay prostitute, allowed the man to move in with him, and then allowed the guy to run a prostitution ring out of his apartment.
Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA): Although he hasn't been convicted yet, he did end up with $90,000 of bribe money in his freezer. Unfortunately for the American people who want honorable members of Congress, but fortunately for "Cold Cash," "Mr. Freeze," or whatever you want to call him, being as crooked as a corkscrew didn't dissuade his congressional district from voting him back into office.
Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL): Back when Hastings was a judge, he was impeached by the House for bribery and perjury and removed from office. Amazingly or maybe not, given the sort of sleaze liberal districts tend to accept from their representatives, he went on to win election to Congress.
Senate Robert Byrd (D-WV): While it's always amusing to hear a Democrat chide the GOP for supposedly being racist and then turn right around and laud a former Exalted Cyclops from the KKK as the "conscience of the Senate," no former member of the KKK deserves to be a member of Congress.
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA): The man Rush Limbaugh refers to as "The Swimmer" is notorious for leaving Mary Jo Kopechne to drown to death while he waited 10 hours before telling anyone because he wanted to plot a media strategy. Had the man been anyone other than a Kennedy, he would have likely gone to jail for manslaughter instead of going back to the Senate.
Someone once said that, “Politicians, like underwear, should be changed often, and for the same reasons.” After reading this list, it’s easy to appreciate how on-the-mark that funny little quip turned out to be.
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