And how do you explain away the two other former military men, John Warner and Lindsey Graham? It's amazing that anyone would put any credence in what those who NEVER wore the uniform NOR have children who wear the uniform have to say yet refuse to consider what those who have been there, done that have to say. Why is that?
From the noise out of the WH this morning, it sounds like they're ready to make a deal - the LAST thing this WH needs is for the Senate they've controlled thus far to split at the seams.
John Murtha: Another Term? Another Flaw. September 19, 2006 09:00 AM EST
Since the records started in 1907, Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District has elected 12 Republicans and 6 Democrats. Since 1942 to 1973 Republicans were elected. In 1973 Representative John P. Saylor of Johnstown, died in office. In a special election, a Democrat won the seat by just 122 votes. The full term was awarded to the Democrat with 58% of the vote and he has been reelected ever since. This year he faces his toughest challenge: himself.
As a certified war hero, with the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, two Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star with Valor device, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal upon retirement from the reserves, the Congressman carries the distinction of the first Vietnam War Veteran elected to Congress.
He is the ranking Democrat in the House Appropriations Subcommittee, where he served as its Chairman during the period when al Qaeda was growing and Bin Laden was gaining gaining control and the planning for 9/11 began (1991-1995) and the Administration was shirking its responsibilities as well in defending the nation.
He was initially named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Abscam investigation. The investigation that became a public corruption "investigation ultimately led to the conviction of a United States Senator, six members of the House of Representatives, the Mayor of Camden, New Jersey, members of the Philadelphia City Council, and an inspector for the Immigration and Naturalization Service."
He "... was indicted but not prosecuted because he gave evidence against Murphy and Thompson. The FBI videotaped Murtha as saying, "I'm not interested. I'm sorry... at this point.
"CNSNews.com, a Division of the conservative Media Research Center, reports the full FBI video reveals Murtha later stating on the tape, 'You know, we do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested, maybe I won't.'"
Abscam is short for 'Arab Scam'. With the Congressman having turned on others in order to not be prosecuted himself for his dealings with Arabs, what would give one the reason to believe he would not do it again, especially when it involves Arabs?
Rep. Don Bailey (D-Pa.) was the person who claimed responsibility for saving "...his (posterior)," in the 1981 House ethics panel, where a party line vote is all that stopped the Congressman from being dealt a severe blow to his career in politics.
In 1997 the Congressman "he spearheaded two measures -- one to prohibit non-members of Congress from filing complaints with the House Ethics Committee, and another to reimburse members and regular citizens for legal fees if they are ultimately cleared in a Justice Department probe." Those acts irked the director of the Congressional Accountability Project, Gary Ruskin, into saying, "When it comes to institutional policing of corruption in Congress, John Murtha is a one-man wrecking crew."
In 2005, the Congressman helped write the defense appropriations bill. "It reportedly contained millions of dollars in federal funding for at least 10 companies represented by KSA Consulting -- a lobbying firm that includes the congressman's brother." "Clients of the lobbying firm KSA Consulting -- whose top officials also include former congressional aide Carmen V. Scialabba, who worked for [the Congressman] for 27 years -- received a total of $20.8 million from the bill." "One of the clients, a small Arkansas maker of military vehicles, received $1.7 million, triple its total sales for 2004. Several other clients received money that represented more than half of their annual sales from last year. KSA directly lobbied the congressman's office on behalf of seven companies that received money from the bill. And a defense contractor based in Pennsylvania said he hired KSA on the recommendation of a top" aide of the Congressman.
Meanwhile, Rep. Don Bailey wound up facing the Congressman after a redistricting of the Pennsylvania congressional districts and lost to him. Quoted by the Washington Post, he said "'Jack's a coward, and he's a liar'" for subsequently denying the conversation. 'That just really burned me,' he said." The topic was Bailey's recounting the Congressman's words about his purple hearts in saying, "Hey, I didn't do anything like you did. I got a little scratch on the cheek." The focus is not on whether purple hearts are warranted, and they should not be challenged. The focus is on why Bailey bailed the Congressman out then, redistricting to create a strange district, wound up giving Bailey a reason to challenge the Congressman's character.
"On The FBI's Undercover Videotapes, Murtha Is Seen Talking To Agents About A $50,000 Payoff For Providing Immigration Help For A Phony Arab Sheik. He Refused The Money, Although He Did Say He Might Be Interested After He Got To Know The Would-Be Givers Better." (Charles R. Babcock, "Abscam Attorney Quits Ethics Panel After Murtha Vote," The Washington Post, 7/30/81)
The House Banking Scandal included 10 bounced checks from the Congressman. ("303 Who Wrote Overdrafts On House Accounts," USA Today, 4/17/92) But he denied being part of the scandal and claimed to not have bounced checks, ("Reconciling The Congressional Checkbook," The Washington Post, 10/7/91)
Meanwhile, KSA Consulting client, 'AEPTEC' is announced in Murtha's web site by Murtha as: "'My congratulations to AEPTEC Microsystems for contracting with the Navy to establish and operate the Ready Response Center' said Congressman Murtha. 'This contract illustrates that, in a very short time, AEPTEC has demonstrated its strong capabilities.'" Does it?
On Jun 13, 2005 the LA Times published, "Lobbyist's Brother Guided House Bill" by Ken Silverstein and Richard Simon. In it, we find more details:
"Kit Murtha's first KSA client was AEPTEC Microsystems Inc., a wireless networking company based in Maryland. It was seeking a grant from the state of Pennsylvania to fund construction of a new business complex in Rep. Murtha's district. The lobbyist's client also was a supporter of the lobbyist's brother. Executives of the firm or its parent company donated more than $12,000 to Rep. Murtha's 2002 reelection campaign, records show."
"The appropriations to KSA clients were made through a series of itemized awards attached to the massive Pentagon budget bill. The awards are called "earmarks" and must be sponsored by at least one member of Congress. Requests for defense earmarks from House Democrats are sent to Rep. Murtha's subcommittee staff, which vets the submissions and decides which ones should be included in the final defense budget. The congressman's powerful role as the ranking minority member on the subcommittee makes him a natural target of lobbying efforts by defense contractors. Most of KSA's approximately two dozen clients are small- and medium-sized defense firms, records show. Earmarks in appropriation bills routinely list only an amount of money awarded and a description of the project to be funded -- without disclosing the name of the recipient firm." [8]
KSA Consulting client, 'Applied Ordnance Technology' is announced in Murtha's web site by Murtha as: "'AOT represents the type of organization that is helping to revitalize our communities – small, technology-based companies with potential to grow,' Murtha said. 'AOT's combination of technology and know-how means it can do business anywhere. The fact that AOT chose to do business here speaks to the reputation we're developing as a desirable location for new or expanding tech companies.'" Does it?
"Most of KSA's defense contractor clients hired the firm in hopes of securing funding from Rep. Murtha's subcommittee, according to lobbying records and interviews. And most retained the firm after Kit Murtha became a senior partner in 2002."
Another KSA client company, Caracal Inc., says in its own press release: "Congressman John Murtha was instrumental in attracting the Electro Optics Center to Armstrong County, a major draw for Caracal, and provided about $3 million in funding for the development of the Heritage and Technology Park. In a statement from John Murtha, the congressman said, 'Today's ribbon cutting ceremony is yet another indication that our investment in this region's economic revitalization is paying off. First, we created the opportunity of the Electro Optics Center -- a chance for businesses to tap into the kind of high-tech expertise that can mean the difference between profit and loss or success and failure. Then we sweetened the offer by renovating this Ford City facility for these fledgling companies to get established and grow. This is just what we had in mind, and I'm pleased to welcome Caracal to Armstrong County's economic revival.'"
KSA client company, Mountaintop Technologies, Inc.: "U.S. Rep. John Murtha today announced the awarding of a $6 million contract by the Pennsylvania Army National Guard to MountainTop Technologies, Inc. (MTT), of Johnstown to conduct the test and evaluation of the CL-415 aircraft of Bombardier Amphibious Aircraft of Montreal, Canada."
The LA Times went even further: "Other KSA clients that also gained earmark awards in the 2005 defense bill included: Gensym Corp., based in Massachusetts, received $1.7 million for a battlefield planning tool. Stalder said he lobbied Murtha's office on behalf of the firm. Its 2004 sales were $17.6 million. Applied Technology, based in Johnstown and with 2004 sales of $110,000, is a subcontractor on Gensym's battlefield planning tool contract and will receive a share of funding from the company's $1.7-million award, Stalder said. He said he did not know how much money the firm would receive. Stalder said he lobbied Murtha's office on the company's behalf. Applied Ordnance Technology Inc., a firm based in Maryland with 2004 sales of $13.4 million, received $3.4 million for the Advanced XLR medium caliber gun demonstrator. KSA, which lobbied Murtha's office for the appropriation, received $20,000 from the company during the first half of 2004. ChemImage Corp. of Pittsburgh, with 2004 sales of $4.7 million, landed an appropriation of $3.5 million for 'chemical imaging for food and water safety.' ChemImage paid KSA $20,000 through the first half of 2004. Stalder said he did not lobby Murtha's office on the request."
According to Al-Jazeera, Murtha is "a leading Democrat voice on military issues". One would suppose military spending is a military issue.
Murtha is certainly NOT a 'leading' anything on military strategy, or history for that matter. He said on PBS's News Hour with Jim Lehrer on November 17, 2005; "Well, I say that the fight against Americans began with Abu Ghraib. It began with the invasion of Iraq. That's when terrorism started." Is it?
From a man who did not take money in the 'arab scam' then, but indicated he might: "You know, we do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested, maybe I won't." Murtha tried to force a pull out of American forces in the 'arab' region, even suggesting they be sent to the PACIFIC region, far away from the 'arab region'. Now he has "introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives calling for the immediate resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld".
In it, he says, "Therefore, be it resolved that...It is the sense of the Congress that, for the good of the country, the United States of America must restore credibility both at home and abroad and that the first step toward restoring that credibility must be to demonstrate accountability for the mistakes that have been made in prosecuting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq by immediately effecting the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and replacing him with someone capable of leading the nation's military in a strategy to resolve our deployment in Iraq, prevent regression in Afghanistan, reconstitute our military readiness, and refocus on the threats to national security posed by diffuse and proliferating terrorist cells as well as belligerent states."
"...the United States of America must restore credibility both at home and abroad..."
Yes we must.
The fatal flaw of logic known as inductive reasoning is what drives Murtha's quest to 'solve' a problem that does not exist. His 'restore credibility' is not brought about by Donald Rumsfeld, it is brought about by the left wing lunatic voice being heard louder than the voices of reason and logic and their conclusion that their concocted image of reality is actually real. To jump from 'restore credibility' to "immediately effecting the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld" is a fatal logic result.
We can start by not listening to the lunatic thought and start deductive reasoning in national debate. We can do that by defeating Murtha's bill and humiliating him and his ilk for daring to be seditious during a time of war. They must be held accountable for their sedition. A debate on policy is one thing, an outright attack on the leadership of government, ignoring the facts and creating a political strawman argument to do it cannot be tolerated. At least I hope that is all it is.
We can finish with a thorough corruption investigation of earmarks, contracts, lobbying and special interests in both houses of congress.
In the UK's Telegraph, Listening to The Arab Street, Mark Steyn puts it this way: "Happily for Mr Zarqawi, no matter how desperate the head-hackers get, the Western defeatists can always top them. A Democrat Congressman, Jack Murtha, has called for immediate US withdrawal from Iraq. He's a Vietnam veteran, so naturally the media are insisting that his views warrant special deference, military experience in a war America lost being the only military experience the Democrats and the press value these days. Hence, the demand for the President to come up with an "exit strategy". In war, there are usually only two exit strategies: victory or defeat. The latter's easier. Just say, whoa, we're the world's pre-eminent power but we can't handle an unprecedently low level of casualties, so if you don't mind we'd just as soon get off at the next stop. Demonstrating the will to lose as clearly as America did in Vietnam wasn't such a smart move, but since the media can't seem to get beyond this ancient jungle war it may be worth underlining the principal difference: Osama is not Ho Chi Minh, and al Qaeda are not the Viet Cong. If you exit, they'll follow. And Americans will die - in foreign embassies, barracks, warships, as they did through the Nineties, and eventually on the streets of US cities, too."
gulf - just an opinion - i was there too - not in prison camp, but i heard lots of things that really have bothered me over the years concerning his treatment versus the other prisoners.
hopefully, what i heard was just sour grapes. for sure i wouldn't wish what he went through even on a liberal - lol.
still - i think the guidelines should be "we'll treat your prisoners as well as you treat our prisoners"
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