A Response to the Pennsylvania GOP...

Although I don't live in Pennsylvania, I somehow got on the PA-GOP email list, and was sent a fundraising letter for a supposedly up and coming PA GOP star who wants money.

Well and good, but the PA-GOP has an absolute treasure trove from which to rally around the troops if it so chose, but instead, it chooses to sit on it.

Below was my rant response:

Dear PA-"GOP."

Right now you have a United States Congressman; a Democrat, at that, who is embroiled in the middle in a huge scandal with a pay-for-play, quid-pro-quo lobbying firm that is finally closing its doors because they know that the gig is up.

Perhaps you've heard of this congressman. Yeah, from PA-12... ever hear of him?!?

You know.. John "Jihad Jack" Murtha.

Oh, you have? Perhaps in passing?

Well, PA-"GOP" leaders-- I have a question for you regarding Jack "Jabba The Hut" Murtha, who just happens to reside in your own backyard. And that question is:

What is your MAJOR MALFUNCTION, PA-GOP?!?!

Why aren't you shouting from the rooftops from one end of the gerrymandered confines of PA-12 to the other the incontrovertible FACT that JACK MURTHA IS
A LYING, TRAITOROUS CROOK?!?!

Or are you, too, as deep in his slime-filled pocket as are a lot of defense contractors, lobbying firms, front-end laundering operations and dirty congressmen?

Why did you NOT LIFT A FINGER to help when William Russell ran against Murtha??!?

Why did your local... ah-hem... Johnstown-area "REPUBLICAN" leadership try to get Russell, an honored military veteran, thrown off the ticket???

As you may or may not know, I and a number of very talented, passionate folks have run a blog called "Murtha Must Go!!" and we have since 19 May, 2006 chronicled Murtha's misdeeds, from Abscam to Haditha and beyond.

Congressman John P. Murtha made it personal for me when he went and unjustly pronounced guilt against the Marines in the Haditha incident. On national TV. He did this when my own son was in theatre and in harm's way.

As you can imagine, this didn't sit too well for me.

So, from a livingroom in friggen St. CLOUD, Minnesota, I and my compadres (living in places like North Dakota, Texas, Chicago, and yes, one or two in Pennsylvania) have done more to expose this creep in the past two and three-quarter years than you and your ENTIRE STATE PARTY have done for the past 34 years that the gasbag has been in office!!

Murtha deserves to be spending the remainder of his days in an 8 x 10 cell in Leavenworth, not roaming the hallowed halls of congress!

What's it going to take to get the local and state PA-"GOP" leadership to finally get off of their, as Murtha would say, "Big fat backsides" and get this clown out of office, once and for all, if not behind bars??!?

As I've stated before, I (and I'm sure I can speak for my co-contributors) are more than willing to do the heavy lifting that's requried to expose this creep.

But it's high time you as a state party start putting cronyism aside and concentrate on principles, for a change. You call yourself "Republicans"--well then start acting like REPUBLICANS, already, instead of a group of obsequious toadies that kowtow to corruption!

Exasperated and Flummoxed,

Leo J. Pusateri, Jr., founder and editor

Murtha Must Go!!

Awwkwaaaaarrrd!

So, Jihad Jack was at a Boy Scout dinner the other day. What do you think the major topic of discussion was that evening? Was it the Eagle Merit Badge? Was it how to tie a slip knot? Well, not exactly. But if there was a merit badge to be given for sleazy political corruption, they got a good firsthand education from the "master":

Guests Talk About PMA Investigation At Boy Scouts
Dinner

Thursday, February 19, 2009 –

updated: 10:41 pm EST February 19, 2009

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. -- Rep. John Murtha was in Johnstown Thursday night for an annual dinner event for the Boy Scouts. WJAC asked some of the big name guests what they think of the investigation of the lobbying group PMA and its ties to the congressman.

The Penn's Woods Boy Scout Group wrapped up their latest fundraiser with the annual Harry E. Mangle memorial dinner at the Pasquerilla Conference Center. CEO of Concurrent Technologies Corporation, Ed Sheehan, was honored for his service to the community. The keynote speaker for the night was Chris Matthews, the host of "Hardball" on MSNBC.Matthews showed off some of his merit badges from his time in the Scouts.

The mood was lighthearted, but the topic looming over the evening was Murtha and his ties to the lobbying group PMA. It, along with Kuchera companies in Windber, were raided by the FBI in recent weeks."I've read what you have read," said Matthews. "I have to tell you the guy (Murtha) has been fabulous in the Congress."

WJAC also talked with the honoree, Ed Sheehan, about the latest news that PMA is closing."We've been working with PMA since the beginning and they've provided a great service for us," said Sheehan.

"We'll have to look elsewhere for lobbying companies but it will have no impact on our business."

Of course PMA's closing [I didn't know that was happening... hmmm..] would have no impact on Concurrent Technologies' business; they do a pretty good business with Jihad Jack all by their lonesome.






That aside, you think ol' Jihad Jack was adjusting his tie and his collar, sweating bullets, losing his appetite and feeling just a tad uncomfortable while all that talk was going on?

There was a veritable Who's Who of greasy political pork present at that reverie.

If I was a parent of a scout at the gathering, I'd no doubt have my son take a shower when he got home.

Murtha & PMA: The Political Equivalent of "Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts?"

It just gets dirtier and dirtier...til you wouldn't want to touch it with a ten foot pole attached to a pair of salad tongs.

PMA’s founder, Paul Magliocchetti, is a former House Appropriations Committee aide who has a long-running relationship with Murtha, D-Pa., the chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

Murtha, who used to boast that his middle initial stands for “power,” carved out $38.1 million for PMA clients in the fiscal 2008 defense spending law, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Indiana Rep. Peter J. Visclosky , who serves on Murtha’s subcommittee and additionally is chairman of the subcommittee that allocates money for the Pentagon’s nuclear programs, earmarked $23.8 million for PMA clients in the fiscal 2008 defense spending bill.

And the fun doesn't end there (emphases added).

No Overhead?

Curiously, in the last four election cycles, PMA’s political action committee reported expenses of only $18, according to federal campaign finance reports compiled by CQ MoneyLine.

It reported no payroll costs.

The $18 was for re-ordering checks and another bank fee.

Now that PMA has been the focus of news reports, several lawmakers have said they’ll give away some of their campaign money.

“My campaign has informed me that the PMA Group has made contributions to my re-election committee in past years. I have directed that all contributions ever received from the PMA Group be returned to them,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren , D-Calif., chairwoman of the House ethics committee. “I do so without making any comment to the veracity of the allegations against PMA Group.”

[snip]

The inventory of PMA’s contributions and earmark benefactors includes a number of House members who have clout by association, because they are Murtha’s friends or his proteges in the Pennsylvania delegation — a group that congregates along the southeast edge of the House chamber in what’s been known for years as Murtha’s corner.

Among the top 20 recipients of PMA campaign dollars since 2001 are Pennsylvania Democrats Mike Doyle ($69,400), Tim Holden ($57,275), Paul Kanjorski ($37,150) and Chris Carney ($38,500) — even though Carney was first elected in 2006.

In the PMA donation top 30 are Pennsylvania Reps. Patrick J. Murphy ($29,250), Allyson Y. Schwartz ($25,000) and Jason Altmire ($24,500). Schwartz was first elected in 2004, and Altmire and Murphy first won their seats in 2006.

Those Pennsylvanians combined for $17.3 million in PMA earmarks in the single fiscal 2008 bill shepherded by Murtha.

Rep. Michael E. Capuano , who is often only partially visible in the House chamber because he stands behind Murtha’s back row with his arms over the railing, has taken $54,000 in campaign contributions from PMA sources in the last eight years.

In the fiscal 2008 bill, he requested a successful $2 million earmark for Parametric Technology Corporation, a PMA-represented information systems company with offices near Capuano’s Boston-based district and in Murtha’s district in western Pennsylvania.

Capuano also secured $800,000 in that bill for another one of the lobbying firm’s clients.

But Murtha's greasy tentacles go way beyond PMA itself. A reliable source emails

If anyone really wants to follow the money they should look at Murtha's creation in Armstrong County. The Electro-Optics Center. I understand that Murtha has funneled over $250 Million of earmarks through that place. It goes back out to PMA clients. while a little stays there. It is basically a front organization for PMA and Murtha to hide earmarks to defense buddies.

Supposedly this is where most of the money goes and then kicked back to Murtha:

Tuesday 3 March 2009

Fort Belvoir Officers’ Club

5500 Schulz Circle

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6102

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Electro-Optics Center

We are proud to announce Congressman John Murtha as the Keynote Speaker along with other prominent guest speakers.

Please RSVP for the meeting by using the following link

http://www.electro-optics.org/psu/webform10.aspx

There is a $30 fee for this meeting

For questions, please contact Kathy Kovalcik

e-mail: eoa@eoc.psu.edu phone: 724-295-7016

Continental Breakfast @ 7am. Meeting starts at 7:45 am

More information and final agenda to follow in the near future.

Accommodations are available, with a block of rooms being held under "Group
Code PSU"

Courtyard by Marriott

14300 Crossing Place

Woodbridge,VA 22192

703-491-4525

Rooms are on a first come, first serve basis and cost is the responsibility of the attendee. Please note Block rate is available until 12 February 2009

We value our ongoing partnerships and look forward to future collaborations.

Hey PA-12--feel like taking a shower, yet?

A sad anniversary...

John Murtha: 35 years of pork-laden, self-serving, troop-smearing corruption.

Happy anniversary.

Hey PA-12...

Why couldn't you have elected a guy like this?

Under no circumstances does state Rep. Dan Moul want Pennsylvania considered as a potential site for the relocation of suspected terrorists now being housed at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

And in a defiant move against President Barack Obama's plan to close the Cuba-based prison and relocate the facility somewhere within the U.S., the Adams County representative has drafted a resolution he hopes will stop Pennsylvania from being on the short list of potential sites.

"These people are trained killers, and they're trained to kill Americans. That's what they were born, bred and raised to do is to kill us, infidels," Moul said. "And as soon as they land here, the United States taxpayers, you and I, would wind up paying for legal services for these people who would like to do nothing more than to kill us."

With that rationale, Moul, R-Conewago Township, is looking for co-sponsorships on the resolution that, if passed, would urge Congress not to transfer any Guantanamo Bay detainees to the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He intends to propose it to the state House of Representatives in a few weeks.

The resolution states Moul's opposition to taxpayers funding housing and legal services for suspected terrorists and to detainees being afforded civil rights.

It also recommends that detainees instead be transferred to maximum-security facilities within their country of citizenship or in the country where they were originally captured.

"If we bring them here, it's going to cost the taxpayers millions and millions of dollars over the years," Moul said. "There would be plenty of attorneys lined up at the prison gates to represent them and charge the United States taxpayers tons of money to give them representation, which I feel they do not deserve. I don't want to spend one more nickel on them than I absolutely positively have to."

Nothing at all like the terrorist-loving, "Blame the troops first!" Jihad Jack Murtha.

So tell me, PA-12... how's that pork workin' out for ya?

BTW--there's still a chance in 2010.