I have always found it sad, that in my homestate of Pa., that the "Democrat Machine" has always been alive and well back there. The people deserve better, but until they vote out the usual Dems, who have held them hostage for so many years
the people continue to get stuck with those in office. The Dems promise them 'everything, and once in office seem to deliver little'. It has always been a way of life-"promises, but little in
return to the people". If I go back there(as I did recently a few months ago) nothing ever seems to get better.Ex: The roads are still some of the worst in the country, The Pa. Turnpike, is still a
mess as I can remember from the early 50's, and the infrastructure is run down and in disrepair, and does NOT seem to be worked on, but rather, allowed to deteriorate into further blight. The taxes collected from both home owners and business
owners is one of the highest in the country, giving people very little in the way of services in return for the high tax dollars. They continue
to lose the youth out of the colleges, as they are
not paid high wages as in other parts of the country-so the youth leave. What occurs, is then,
Pa. is left with older residents that are then taxed to death, to make up for the lack of revenue
among the younger generations. Home owners pay some of the highest taxes in the country-I know this for sure, as I owned property, and had several business in my hometown for years. They almost seem "anti-business", and sock it to them with so many taxes that people just give up. It is certain of one thing though, that the "crooked politicos, always grease each others' palms"-THIS,
is a 'way of life back there', and they EXPECT THE
PEOPLE TO CONTINUE TO BUY THEIR EMPTY PROMISES, AND PUT THEM BACK INTO OFFICE AT EVERY ELECTION TIME. I have often wondered, just how long it would take, for the Democrat Machine, to be blown up once and for all, and have the people revolt-but, they don't seem to throw the bums out, as it is promises they seem to be taken in by. Murtha has fed "his cronies, himself and his family members, and it is about time, that the people rise up, and rid themselves of this type of crooked politico"...otherwise, it will be, and always has been "business as usual for the people of Pa. from Gov. Rendell and the rest, who have all issued themselves payraises in the middle of the night, at the EXPENSE OF THE PEOPLE OF PA.

Leo, I have to say that this post came as a breath of fresh air. Some have suggested that adding transparency to the earmark process would do less to discourage the process than to turn them more into "badges of honor", at least to their constituency. I never really followed that argument because they've always BEEN badges of honor. What better transparency does is to hold them up to better, more national scrutiny.

I don't think the new law is in effect yet, is it? If not, then perhaps better news is in the offing.

And I view the voters of Murtha's district with as much if not more contempt for having voted for him. The same can be said for Reid and Kennedy voters. And that includes the Tribune Democrat.

SEW: And I view the voters of Murtha's district with as much if not more contempt for having voted for him. The same can be said for Reid and Kennedy voters. And that includes the Tribune Democrat.

It sounds like you have contempt in abundance. So how do you feel about the people of Alaska?

Certainly every district needs someone to get necessary and useful "pork". The bridge to nowhere in Alaska was not very useful and certainly not needed. A waste of taxpayer money. But Murtha's pattern is getting kickbacks and votes from virtually every bit of pork. For years. The voters in his district are aware of that, and apparently approved year in and year out. Corruption, pure and simple.

It truly amazes me how one man so frightens the neocons. You trash him, you slime him, you swiftboat his war record and yet his voice of disdain for our troops getting caught in the Iraqi civil war grows louder.

Not that the Repugs have many many Congressional seats to protect in the 08 election, by all means put a lot of your cash in an attempt to unseat him.

The Tribune Democrat belongs to corporate media and can't be taken as a representation of people who live in Johnstown. But if it makes you feel good by all means hang on to every word of the Tribune's editorial board; LOL.

Gee, no "18 Republicans and only 4 Donkaroaches on CREW's list" comments from the troll pukes yet? Guess they're crafting a new strategy to move the thread away from Lard-ass...

They may want to try here for more info on what it takes for a donk to make the list, for what it takes for a repub to make the list.

Thanks for the link Leo. Dishonesty even while trying to portray a sense of political independence – ” The nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington…”

Wonder what the “Conservative” watch group has on their plate for comparison?

Murtha is yet another good reason for Term Limits.

"Certainly every district needs someone to get necessary and useful "pork"." - SEW

For real, unless we take some of everyones money and give it to a few people, our country will quickly collapse. There are people out there that must spend millions but aren't capable of making it themselves, we must continue to force you to give them your money if you want a strong America.

I think the old conservative position, rather than the new neo-conservative position, was that if a state wanted to build something, the state should pay for it itself. I liked the old pre-neocon position better.

DM: Wonder what the “Conservative” watch group has on their plate for comparison?

The conservative watch group, upon which CREW is modeled, is judicialwatch.org. You might want to go up and look.

Oh, by the way... if you're looking for groups more specifically watching out for pork spending, then I would suggest www.cagw.org (Citizens Against Government Waste) who tend to lean right, and sunlightfoundation.com (The Sunlight Foundation), who tend to lean left (although sometimes they work together) with a number of other groups, are good places to visit.

You trash him, you slime him, you swiftboat his war record and yet his voice of disdain for our troops getting caught in the Iraqi civil war grows louder.

Hey, plaindelusionaljane, we're talking about Lard-ass Murtha here, not John "Spitball" Kerry. Noone's "swiftboated" Lard-ass' war record; in fact, you dumb cow, a lot of us don't even know what he did in Korea and Vietnam. He sure as hell didn't help us win either one, and he's trying to help us lose this one. Guess he's going for the Triple Crown.

I was listening to C-Span's Washington Journal this a.m., and they were discussing AchmadinelibturdT's speaking engagements. Two whacked-out kook broads called, back-to-back, basically asserting that sure, AhmadinelibturdT was a bad hombre, but Bush was worse. Two in a row! All I could think was, that plaindelusionaljane and sunny got on, one after another.

plainsunnyjane, I guess you ladies would prefer a president just sit around the Oval Office, getting hummers, than protect the nation from attack? You deluded cow...

keef: plainsunnyjane, I guess you ladies would prefer a president just sit around the Oval Office, getting hummers, than protect the nation from attack? You deluded cow...

Oh man, this is such fertile comedic pasture. But I can't think of anything that isn't politically, socially, or individually offensive. So I'll just *chuckle* to myself.

By the way, where's Gozer been?

Keefer...did I miss something? Where in the world does pj get that we are afraid of the big, bad Murtha? I think the gene pool could use a little chlorine!

Unfortunately, Byrd from WV isn't any better...I think a lot of people vote for the most familiar name, not the best qualified. Every state seems to have at least one.

Angry Redneck,

I agree!

Murtha and Byrd and the rest of the Liberals are crookeder than a barrel o' feesh hooks, and the people can't even see it. Mr. Byrd has done put in over, I can't remember what the number is now, but somewhere between, like...800 or 8,000 votes, and all just to save face. Just to make an image for themselves and they don't do a darn thing for this state, go to Charleston sometime and that is all you will see, Robert C. Byrd here, Robert C. Byrd there ... just all over the place, Bridges, State buildings, stores and businesses ... and that's the only thing his money has ever benefited, his name, and hasn't helped the State one bit. Yet they continue to doll out the cash and votes for him every election. Shameful!!!

Our state could grow, and prosper, if the people would just use their heads and vote responsibly!

Jeremiah

By the way, where's Gozer been?

Probably got tired of plaindumbjane, sunny, and AhmadinelibturdT. I'm tired of them and their redundant rhetoric too, but I ain't goin' nowhere just yet...

Thanks Rico.

I saw that web site, “judicialwatch.org”, on the link Leo provided and after briefing through it 2 things stood out for me. First, they very specifically state they are a conservative watch group and second, they have numerous cases against Republicans or Republican projects and interest. I haven’t divulged deep enough to see how bipartisan the cases stack up.

With “CREW” I didn’t see any mention of party affiliation but there sure seems a strong bend toward the left based on the primary members running this organization. And though they too have cases against the Democrats and/or Democrat projects and interest, they appear to have a much bigger ax to grind with the Republican Party and the tool they use to measure wrong doing from one party to the next appears quite different.