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Old 04-19-2010, 08:55 PM
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Exclamation Attention, Mabus: Sink the Murtha

Attention, Mabus: Sink the Murtha

posted at 3:55 pm on April 19, 2010 by Cassy Fiano

Recently, Congressman John Murtha passed away after complications from gall bladder surgery. Murtha, an EX-Marine, was a powerful Democrat, and served as chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

He was one of the major pork kings of Congress, and was a very outspoken critic of the Iraq war. What he’ll go down in history for, though, is as the slanderer of the Haditha Marines. Murtha accused the Marines of intentionally killing Iraqis in cold blood and compared it to the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. Thanks to Murtha, charges were brought against eight Marines. So far, the charges have been dropped against all of them except for one. He’s widely hated throughout the military, and understandably so.

Yet for some reason, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus thought it would be a good idea to name the Navy’s newest San Antonio Class amphibious transport-dock LPD 26… the USS John P. Murtha.

Yes, really. And this is a vessel that will carry Marines. What was Mabus thinking, naming a ship that will carry Marines after a man best known for the slander of honorable Marines?? It’s an outrage and an insult.

The Washington Times recently ran an editorial telling Mabus to sink the Murtha.
The late Rep. John Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, has achieved his highest undeserved honor. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has decided to name the Navy’s newest San Antonio Class amphibious transport-dock LPD 26 the USS John P. Murtha. This is a slap in the face to every service member who bridled when Murtha publicly accused Marines in Iraq of intentionally killing women and children in cold blood.

Murtha made his views known after details emerged about a firefight in Haditha in November 2005 in which 24 Iraqis were killed. Murtha accused the Marines of engaging in premeditated murder and agreed with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that this was “exactly” like the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam. Charges later were brought against eight Marines but have since been dropped against all but one. However, Murtha’s theatrical rush to judgment still rankles Americans in uniform, whose views on the congressman range from disappointment to the belief that he gave aid and comfort to the enemy.

“This dishonors every Marine who will serve aboard that ship,” a Navy officer told The Washington Times. “And it sends a poor message to the acquisition community that politicians can have ships named after them just for sending pork back to their districts.” Milblogger “CDR Salamander,” who served in the Navy for 21 years, told us this was “a naked political move” and “nothing about this man will be inspiring to the crew assigned to the ship.”

To his credit, Murtha was a combat-wounded veteran of Vietnam, but he is hardly unique in that respect. The USNS Benavidez is named for Army Master Sgt. Roy P. Benavidez, who, wounded and under heavy assault, saved the lives of eight men at Loc Ninh in South Vietnam in 1968. He was awarded the Medal of Honor. Likewise the USNS 1st Lt. Harry L. Martin, which is named for a Marine who was mortally wounded on Iwo Jima while leading his men in a counterattack against a massed Japanese suicide charge. The USNS Shughart is named after Sgt. 1st Class Randy Shughart, killed at the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. These are the types of veterans who should be given such an honor, not a political hack whose most successful defensive maneuver was saving his pork-laden earmarks from surprise attacks of fiscal responsibility.

The idea to name the ship after Murtha probably did not originate with the Navy secretary. Some speculate that this is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s parting salute to one of her loyal hatchet men. San Antonio Class vessels traditionally are named after cities, and this is the first such ship to be named after a person. Because this recommendation breaks protocol and tradition, the Navy Department should release the documents that pinpoint its origins and the process by which it was decided.

It’s doubtful that the ship naming will do much to honor Murtha. The brave Marines and sailors who serve aboard this vessel probably will refer to it only as LPD 26 or come up with a colorful nickname like “Porky Pig” or the “Fat Bastard” (the Marine favorite). Perhaps Murtha could still be useful in supplying the ship’s slogan: “Cold Blooded Killers.”
Personally, I like the “Porky Pig”. Seems fitting to me.

Meanwhile, the blogosphere is exploding over this outrage.

Fire Andrea Mitchell!:
The members of the 70’s disco group Village People deserve their names on a Navy ship more than John Murtha does.
Michelle Malkin:
He’s already got a boondoggle airport in his name. Philadelphia wants to name a shipyard after him. The University of Pittsburgh just named a new “Center for Public Service” in his memory. And now the Navy is moving ahead with plans to name a vessel after him.

We don’t need anything else named after this troop-smearing corruptocrat.

Enough already.
Maggie’s Notebook:
What a reprehensible event it is that now puts our sailors serving aboard a warship named after deceased Rep. John Murtha (D-PA).

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is responsible for choosing Murtha’s name to grace a mighty defender of America. Does Mabus know anything about what is going on the real world? Obviously not, because if some pressure was being applied by some influential person…like…maybe Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi or President Barack Obama, Mabus apparently had a very convenient out, according to this: previous San Antonio class ships have been named for American cities -but didn’t take it.
The Jawa Report:
From 9/11 Families for a Safe and Secure America come the news that the Secretary of the Navy has named a new ship “The USS John P. Murtha.”

Tim suggests the Navy instead name the ship The USS Michael A. Monsoor. I agree. Naming it after a hero is much more appropriate than naming it after a slimer of heroes.
Blackfive:
This is probably one of the worst administrative ideas in the history of the Navy (this might be number two) – to name a ship after Murtha and that ship will carry MARINES?! While I believe that a garbage scow should not carry his name, this is obviously pandering by the Navy.
I think Michael Monsoor would have been a great choice to name the ship after, except there’s already going to be one named after him. Instead, I think Michael Murphy would be an excellent choice. There hasn’t been a ship named after Chesty Puller, who would also be an excellent choice.

Hell, anyone except John Murtha would be fantastic. If we’re going to go with Murtha, then why stop there? We could name an entire fleet after troop slandering slimebags: the USS Jane Fonda, the USS Cindy Sheehan, the USS John Kerry, the USS Jodie Evans… even the USS Barack Obama. I bet that would be really inspirational to our sailors and Marines. Is this the road that Mabus wants to start down? No sailor or Marine is going to want to serve on a ship named for a man who accused honorable Marines of murder. This kind of honor belongs to honorable men, which John Murtha was not.

This very well may have been Nancy Pelosi’s idea, but as Maggie pointed out, Mabus had an easy way to get around this, considering this class of ship is usually named after a US city. Why did he not just do that? If it was Pelosi’s idea, then why would he let himself be bullied by her? The entire spectacle is just ridiculous and insulting to every sailor or Marine that has to serve on that ship. Even The Navy Times couldn’t avoid the controversy of this choice. I honestly, for the life of me, cannot comprehend what Mabus is thinking.

(On second thought, there is the USS Jimmy Carter. I guess there’s precedent for this.)

Hopefully, Mabus will realize his folly and give the ship a more appropriate name. Anyone who so severely slanders Marines should never, ever be recognized or honored by the United States Military. Only in the Obama administration could such an egregious insult to our troops ever happen.

There’s only one thing to be done here, and it’s simple enough to do. Secretary Mabus, sink the Murtha.

Cross-posted from Cassy’s blog. Stop by for more original commentary, or follow her on Twitter!

http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives...nk-the-murtha/
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Old 04-20-2010, 05:54 AM
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They ought to name a Garbage Scow after Murtha.
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Old 04-20-2010, 01:37 PM
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Smile COL - you shouldn't be so kind

Yeow - I see you've had a bad day. I know where you're coming from - I have those too! A couple JD's and you'll be in a better mood. Have a good one COLMurph!
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Old 04-28-2010, 08:18 AM
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Lightbulb Controversy flares over ship named for Murtha

Controversy flares over ship named for Murtha


BY PHILIP EWING - STAFF WRITER | POSTED : WEDNESDAY APR 28, 2010 954 EDT

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised the Navy’s decision to name an amphibious warship after Rep. John Murtha, but the formal announcement Friday added fuel to an already smoldering backlash online.


Murtha — “our dear Jack,” as Pelosi referred to him — deserved the honor as a tireless advocate for troops generally and Marines in particular, she said, and she recalled admiring his rapport with them.


“Whether on the battlefield, or on the bedside, he thanked them for their courage, listened to their concerns, and asked them for comment — and he answered their needs, and responded to their calls, whether it was for body armor, up-armored vehicles… radios, you name it,” Pelosi said. “In those minutes [together], he bonded with them especially because he would share his own personal military service with them, and cared for them as a father. They knew it, and they returned his respect.”


Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who technically is the only person in the government with the power to name U.S. warships, also praised Murtha’s history of service. He unveiled an official illustration showing an amphibious transport dock marked with the hull number “26” named John P. Murtha. It will be the first in the San Antonio class not named for an American city.


Despite the encomia from Pelosi and Mabus, thousands of Web users remembered a different Murtha — the one who opposed the Iraq war and accused Marines in 2005 of killing Iraqis “in cold blood” — when reacting to the announcement about the ship named in his honor. A Facebook group called “People Against Naming A Navy Ship USS Murtha” had 1,336 members as of Monday morning, and it was becoming a clearinghouse for angry comments and homemade cartoons criticizing Murtha.


Posters on the Facebook page said Murtha, who served in the Marine Corps during the Korean and Vietnam eras, “betrayed the brotherhood,” that naming a ship for him was a “slap in the face” and that if the Navy wanted to name a ship for him, it should have chosen “a nice, stinky garbage scow.”


The Navy was getting angry responses even on its own official website, where visitors used the same page where the announcement appeared to criticize it. Visitors called the decision to name a ship for Murtha “an absolute disgrace,” “inappropriate” and said it was just as bad as naming a warship for Benedict Arnold.


“The naming of LPD 26 after John Murtha is inappropriate,” wrote David Martin. “There many men and women with greater records of valor and service to the country who deserve the honor of having a warship named in their memory before John Murtha has a warship [named] in his honor. He made sure there was an airport named after himself. What more does there need to be?”

http://www.navytimes.com/mobile/inde...ash_042710w%2F
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Old 04-28-2010, 12:32 PM
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Pelosi: Murtha was “a tireless advocate for our troops, and Marines in particular”

posted at 10:57 am on April 28, 2010 by Cassy Fiano

That was Nancy Pelosi’s response to the news that the Navy was going to name a ship after Marine-slanderer John Murtha. I was browsing the Marine Corps Times, always good for updates and news about the Corps, when I came across this. And it made my blood boil.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised the Navy’s decision to name an amphibious warship after Rep. John Murtha, but the formal announcement Friday added fuel to an already smoldering backlash online.

Murtha — “our dear Jack,” as Pelosi referred to him — deserved the honor as a tireless advocate for troops generally and Marines in particular, she said, and she recalled admiring his rapport with them.

“Whether on the battlefield, or on the bedside, he thanked them for their courage, listened to their concerns, and asked them for comment — and he answered their needs, and responded to their calls, whether it was for body armor, up-armored vehicles… radios, you name it,” Pelosi said. “In those minutes [together], he bonded with them especially because he would share his own personal military service with them, and cared for them as a father. They knew it, and they returned his respect.”

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who technically is the only person in the government with the power to name U.S. warships, also praised Murtha’s history of service. He unveiled an official illustration showing an amphibious transport dock marked with the hull number “26” named John P. Murtha. It will be the first in the San Antonio class not named for an American city.

Despite the encomia from Pelosi and Mabus, thousands of Web users remembered a different Murtha — the one who opposed the Iraq war and accused Marines in 2005 of killing Iraqis “in cold blood” — when reacting to the announcement about the ship named in his honor. A Facebook group called “People Against Naming A Navy Ship USS Murtha” had 1,336 members as of Monday morning, and it was becoming a clearinghouse for angry comments and homemade cartoons criticizing Murtha.

Posters on the Facebook page said Murtha, who served in the Marine Corps during the Korean and Vietnam eras, “betrayed the brotherhood,” that naming a ship for him was a “slap in the face” and that if the Navy wanted to name a ship for him, it should have chosen “a nice, stinky garbage scow.”

The Navy was getting angry responses even on its own official website, where visitors used the same page where the announcement appeared to criticize it. Visitors called the decision to name a ship for Murtha “an absolute disgrace,” “inappropriate” and said it was just as bad as naming a warship for Benedict Arnold.

“The naming of LPD 26 after John Murtha is inappropriate,” wrote David Martin. “There many men and women with greater records of valor and service to the country who deserve the honor of having a warship named in their memory before John Murtha has a warship [named] in his honor. He made sure there was an airport named after himself. What more does there need to be?”
A lot of people wondered if Mabus’ decision to name the ship after Murtha was politically motivated. Now we know it’s true. It’s not surprising, I guess, considering the meager amount of time he actually spent in the military.

I’m just curious, though, where Nancy Pelosi gets off saying that Murtha was a tireless advocate of the Marines. Does she live in some kind of alternate reality?! John Murtha was a constant critic of our military throughout the Iraq war, and deliberately lied and slandered Marines in the Haditha incident. Before the Marine Corps report was even released (not that Murtha read it), or the official investigation even concluded, he went out of his way on numerous media outlets accusing honorable Marines of murdering civilians in cold blood. He repeated this slander over and over again, causing the arrest of eight Marines. All charges were dropped against six, and the seventh was found not guilty. Yet Murtha never recanted his statements, he never apologized for his slander, and was unapologetic about the havoc he wreaked up until the day he died.

It’s a rather odd way of showing how much you care for and respect Marines, isn’t it? I can tell you right now that they certainly didn’t “return his respect”, no matter what Nancy Pelosi may bleat. John Murtha is one of the few people to earn the title of ex-Marine. It’s a pretty difficult thing to do, as Marines take the motto “Semper Fidelis” very seriously. It’s a serious mark of dishonor if you’ve earned the title of ex-Marine, and Murtha did. Heck, I think he’s actually the only person to ever earn that dishonor. He’s also earned the nickname “Fat Little Bastard”.

Haditha wasn’t the only way that Murtha decided to exploit and slander Marines, of course. He also partnered with CODEPINK in their mission to demoralize soldiers when they’re at their lowest: wounded at Walter Reed.

Is this the kind of tireless advocacy for our military that Nancy Pelosi wants? (Wait, don’t answer that.) There’s nothing about Murtha’s service record to honor here. He never had the respect of the Marine Corps, and he was one of the most dishonorable, corrupt, dishonest, slanderous people to ever serve in Congress. Ray Mabus has decided to partner with Nancy Pelosi, and not with the sailors and Marines he’s supposed to represent.

Frankly, it makes me sick to my stomach. I think we need a new Secretary of the Navy. Quick.

Cross-posted from Cassy’s blog. Stop by for more original commentary, or follow her on Twitter!

http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives...in-particular/
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