Sugar Daddy Murtha Never Met Johnstown Pork He Didn't Like

A not-so-surprising article by the Wall Street Journal might alter vacation plans next year. Instead of Disney World, families might want to head to Johnstown--America's Pork Palace. John Murtha dishes it out and the Wall Street Journal scoops it up.

If John Murtha were a businessman, he'd be the biggest employer in this town.

The powerful U.S. congressman has used his clout on Capitol Hill to create thousands of jobs and steer billions of dollars in federal spending to help his hometown in western Pennsylvania recover from devastating floods and the flight of its steelmakers.

Johnstown's a friend in need and John Murtha's surely a friend indeed. Murtha might think about moonlighting as a spokesman for the "Other White Meat".

More is on the way. In the massive 2008 military-spending bill now before Congress -- which could go to a House-Senate conference as soon as Thursday -- Mr. Murtha has steered more taxpayer funds to his congressional district than any other member. The Democratic lawmaker is chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, which will oversee more than $459 billion in military spending this year.

John Murtha might switch sides in his campaign against the War in Iraq--if the conflict could be moved to central Pennsylvania. Outspoken war critic Murtha has railed against expenditures in Iraq. Apparently, he'd much rather that more of America's interests be fought and funded in Johnstown.

A review by The Wall Street Journal of dozens of such contracts funded by Mr. Murtha's committee shows that many weren't sought by the military or federal agencies they were intended to benefit. Some were inefficient or mismanaged, according to interviews, public records and previously unpublished Pentagon audits. One Murtha-backed firm, ProLogic Inc., is under federal investigation for allegedly diverting public funds to develop commercial software, people close to the case say. The company denies wrongdoing and is in line to get millions of dollars more in the pending defense bill.

So Murtha is delivering the bacon. While he slanders Marines in Iraq, he ladles out federal slop to military projects that don't benefit anyone but those working in his 12th District.

The Marines Murtha leaped to attack at Haditha might have gotten a fairer hearing if they'd strapped pork chops onto their backs.

by Mondoreb



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