Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has died at the age of 77 after succumbing to an infection following gall bladder surgery a few weeks ago.
Aside from the fact that he served his country as a Marine in Vietnam, I can’t say that I liked him much. Still, his passing is newsworthy.
Congressman Murtha first found its way to the pages of this blog Dec. 6, 2006, as the subject of one of my earliest posts, Anti-War Congressman Earns ‘Warning Label’. Below are links to 15 other posts in which I mentioned the Pennsylvania Democrat’s name:
Nightly Newsers Full of Nightly Surprises — Katie Couric surprised everyone with a “hit piece” on Murtha and the so-called “charities” in his home town of Johnstown that have reaped billions in Department of Defense contracts without having paid any taxes.
Celebs Sport Eye Patches in Solidarity with Pirates — I mentioned Murtha’s name in a not-impossible-to-believe post about celebrities raising money for Somali pirates. It wasn’t true, of course, but it was believable.
Headlines Paint Poor Picture of Murtha’s Past — A federal judge refused Friday to dismiss a defamation case against Rep. John P. “Jack” Murtha (D-Penn.) and ordered the Pennsylvania Democrat to give a sworn deposition about his comments alleging “cold-blooded murder and war crimes” by unnamed soldiers in connection with Iraqi civilian deaths.
Blame Defeatists for Nine-Dollars-Per-Gallon Gas — Murtha was one of the Democrats in Congress I suggest Americans blame if gas prices skyrocketed following an oft-discussed premature withdrawal from Iraq.
Marine’s Family Wants John Murtha Censured — One week after Marine Corps LCpl. Justin L. Sharratt was acquitted of all charges, his family demanded that Congress censure Murtha for saying Marines over-reacted and killed civilians “in cold blood”.
Johnson ‘Dresses Down’ Murtha — Sam Johnson, a Vietnam-era Marine Corps veteran and former prisoner of war who now serves the 3rd District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives, gave Murtha a piece of his mind regarding his stance on the war.
Marine Faces Bogus Charges, Needs Your Help — Murtha was an outspoken anti-war critic who publicly accused the four Marines of being “cold-blooded murderers” and high ranking officers of “covering it up.”
‘Flying Lincoln Bedroom’ Close to Reality for Pelosi — As chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Murtha was the enabler who helped to make it possible for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to waste millions of taxpayer dollars via the use of military aircraft for her travel junkets.
I could have written a lot more about Murtha, including the fact that he was caught on tape negotiating bribes with Arab Sheiks during the FBI’s 1980 Abscam investigation and somehow escaped prosecution as an un-indicted co-conspirator. Instead, however, I would rather use my time and “ink” on better subjects.
If someone died as a result of faulty mechanics in a Toyota or Lexus vehicle, then a recall was indeed necessary. But shouldn’t the playing field be level for all manufacturers, regardless of whether or not someone died?
I ask this question three days after publishing a pair of posts in which I expressed skepticism about the reasons behind the federal government issuing recalls on products made by the Japanese auto giant:
In Is Toyota Paying Price for Not Supporting Obama?, I examined the number of campaign contributions made by Toyota executives to Barack Obama since Jan. 1, 2007, and found that only two of 151 executives listed on the Toyota web site gave a combined total of $2,500 to Obama for America.
Today, however, I discovered something more.
On Feb. 2, the Los Angeles Times reported that an estimated 905,000 2005-’09 Chevrolet Cobalt vehicles, including the Cobalt SS, are the subject of a new investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration due to complaints of electric power steering failure. Such an action is sometimes the precursor to a recall. During the days that followed, Edmund’s Inside Line, The New York TimesWheels blog and two other publications reported the same basic story, informing readers that the investigation was launched after more than 1,100 consumer complaints were received.
According to a Chicago Tribunereport Jan. 26, the Toyota recall was based upon some 2,000 complaints related to 2.3 million vehicles sold.
In doing the math related to these recalls, I found the following:
Only 1 in 1,000 (.001) consumers complained about the Chevrolet product; and
Fewer than 1 in 1,000 (.00009) consumers complained about the Toyota product.
In short, the Chevrolet product has received more complaints per car sold than the Toyota products! So why hasn’t the federal government issued a recall on the Cobalt? Probably because Chevrolet is owned by General Motors (a.k.a. “Government Motors”), a taxpayer-owned company that stands to benefit greatly from having its foreign-owned competitors struggle with the public relations nightmares related to product recalls.
A security breach at Detroit’s Metro Wayne County Airport resulted in the arrest of a man just before 8 a.m. Eastern today. It also prompted re-screenings of hundreds of passengers.
The man apparently walked through the Transportation Security Administration screening area, according to a Michigan Public Radio report, ignoring repeated orders to stop, and proceeded into the main terminal where he was quickly arrested. No details have surfaced yet regarding the man’s race, religion or nationality.
Developing…
UPDATE 2/08/10 at 9:42 p.m. Central: The Detroit Free Press is reporting that the man who allegedly breached security at the Motor City’s international airport this morning was an “Arabic man” and that reports of the man having “wires and other suspicious material hidden under his clothes” were not accurate.
Sunday marked the two-year anniversary of the shootings at Kirkwood (Mo.) City Hall that left six dead, including two police officers and the gunman, and would later claim the life of Mayor Mike Swoboda. A memorial walkway is under construction in Kirkwood at this time.
To read my posts about the Kirkwood shootings, click here or click on the image above.
I just saw Focus on the Family’s Super Bowl ad featuring Tim Tebow and his mom, Pam. Only those who condone abortion and oppose freedom of speech should dislike it.
"Yikes! I Might Be...Militia!"
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has died at the age of 77 after succumbing to an infection following gall bladder surgery a few weeks ago.
