Free Republic

Del Mar College proved to be an unlikely starting and ending point for an investigation by a citizen investigator and activist that resulted in the downfall of one of the most influential members of the US Congress. In the early 1980s, Congressman John Murtha and fellow house members were accused of participating in a scam, known as the infamous Abscam affair, a sting operation conducted by the FBI in which two FBI agents posed as advisors to a mysterious sheik named “Abdul” who was supposedly seeking asylum in the US. The agents said the sheik was willing to pay large...

Iraq vet challenges Murtha in 12th District By Linda M. Ritzer Staff writer lritzer@obserer-reporter.com When Congressman John Murtha called for the immediate pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq in November 2005, it set off a national debate about the war, which continues to stretch the military's capabilities and the country's finances. Murtha's statement also galvanized U.S. Army Lt. Col. William Russell to consider a challenge to the powerful Democratic incumbent. Russell, then a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who served in Iraq, said his decision was sealed when wounded Iraq veterans came to the Pentagon in March 2007. "That was where...

Sunday JULY 20, 2008 Murtha outraised in most recent quarter By MICHELLE GANASSI Daily American Staff Writer In April, William Russell's name didn't even appear on the ballot because of a challenge to signatures on his nominating petition. Three months later, Russell has outraised Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, by $511,000 in the most recent fundraising quarter. The quarter ended on June 30. While the veteran congressmen still has more than $1.6 million in the bank compared to $918,000 for the Army lieutenant colonel, the money is a much needed boost for the political newcomer's campaign. “The average American is saying...

MURTHA WON?  GUESS AGAIN! Dec. 21, 2006... While the world watched (and Murtha partisans gloated), John Murtha won his 17th election back in November.  Many of us were disheartened that we didn’t beat him, but we knew that we had won a moral victory in greatly lowering his usual margin of victory. There was a morale up-tick last month when, on a national news program, Murtha blamed a bunch of “outsiders” for his difficulties in being elected House Majority Leader by his fellow Democrats.  He said they came to his district and “swiftboated” him!  Yessiree—that was our group of...

IT'S HERE!! SIT BACK AND CRANK UP YOUR VOLUME..... WAY UP!Diana Irey's Fight Song! that's right, a FIGHT SONG! CLICK THE GRAPHIC.... Additional thanks to FR's "RedRover" 452 posted on 11/04/2006 6:05:19 AM PST by W04Man (Bush2004 Grassroots Campaign We Did It! NOW.... PLEASE CONTINUE ON TO VICTORY!)

Link to video

Johnstown Veterans Want Answers:The following is the letter Vets for the Truth Boot Murtha Rally co-chairman Craig Minnick sent to Congressman John Murtha challenging him to a debate. Minnick is a resident of Johnstown, PA, a Veteran of Operation Iraq Freedom and Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve.  Craig A. Minnick P.O. Box 844 Johnstown, PA 15905  October 12, 2006   Honorable John P. MurthaP.O. Box 780Johnstown, PA 15907-0780   Dear Congressman Murtha,   This letter is to challenge you, Representative John Murtha, to a debate on the issue of whether you support our troops.  When I returned from...

PA-12: Murtha Challenger Diana Irey: 'This Battle's Worth the Fight' by Ivy J. Sellers — 10-10-2006 @ 05:23 PM The spunky Diana Irey, who is challenging Rep. John Murtha (D.-Pa.) for the House seat he's occupied for over three decades, spoke with conservative bloggers today during our weekly lunch meeting near Capitol Hill. Irey, a petite brunette who's "pushing five feet," stands out in stark physical contrast to the robust, white-haired Murtha -- but the differences between the two don't end there. A staunch conservative, Irey entered the race in March because she wanted to ensure her three teenagers could...

Please take a few minutes to read and listen to what these two men have to say: I want what I have to say today to cause some of the good citizens of the 12th Congressional District of Pennsylvania to vote for a lasting peace and freedom's preservation which can only come from victory and [the] decimation of our enemies. -- David Beamer, Boot Murtha rally, Johnstown, PA, 10/01/2006 CLICK ON THE IMAGE AND START BUTTON TO HEAR HIS SPEECH ...Journalists sheepishly toe the party line defined by the editorials and coverage in publications such as The New York Times,...

Boot Murtha Rally VIDEO ARCHIVE Oct. 1, 2006 -- Johnstown, PA at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena  David Beamerclick on photo to watch the video: time 14:41 minutes    Craig Minnickclick on photo to watch the video: time 11:14 minutes   Quinn & Roseclick on photo to watch the video: time 14:01 minutes   Harry Beamclick on photo to watch the video: time 8:07 minutes   BootMurtha.com

Johnstown Sunday paper:“Local guys with global mission” “Beam and Minnick – much like Murtha – have deep roots in the region” –Johnstown Tribune-Democrat [EXCERPTS] Why would two guys you had never heard of take on political powerhouse John Murtha? Harry Beam, a Vietnam War veteran, and Craig Minnick, who served in the Persian Gulf, say they are not interested in political debates. The believe that the congressman was wrong to call for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and wrong to publicly denounce Marines charged with murdering civilians at Haditha, Iraq. That's why they worked together to organize the "Boot...

Watch David Beamer's Rally speech from the Oct. 1st Boot Murtha Rally now: clickNOTE: this clip is 14 minutes, edited from the full speech. BootMurtha.com

Lieutenant Colonel Craig Minnick is a co-organizer of the Boot Murtha campaign to unseat Congressman John Murtha for his egregious statements regarding our soldiers fighting in Iraq. Craig appeared with me this morning on my radio show, Two-Way Radio with Jason High on NewsTalk 1240 WRTA in Altoona, PA. Craig was articulate and passionate as he explained the reasons that Iraq war vets are opposing Congressman Murtha. It's not about Iraq war policy, it's about a career politician making offensive and irresponsible comments regarding our soldiers. Craig, for the first time, called on Congressman Murtha to debate him publicly regarding...

Haditha Statement by Murtha not holdingReuters is reporting that higher command considered an aerial bombardment in support of the ‘Haditha 8’ Marine squad because the firefight with the insurgents was so intense that day. The following statements are attributed to Maj. Sam Carrasco, who was overseeing troop movements in the area that day. [LINK] [EXCERPT:]"We saw insurgents go into a house, and we did not drop bombs on that house because we did not have (positive identification)," Carrasco told investigators. "They had engaged a previous unit and had run into a house with weapons." "We vectored the (Marine) squad and...

10/03/2006 Dual Rallies Show Pennsylvanians Divided About Murtha By: JIM PANYARD , Special To The Evening Bulletin Johnstown - There were more hawks and doves in this small Pennsylvania town over the weekend than you could find in an aviary. Separate rallies on Saturday and Sunday praised and maligned U.S. Rep. John "Jack" Murtha, a 32-year veteran of the House, for his position on the war in Iraq. Murtha, a highly decorated retired U.S. Marine colonel, wants the U.S. to withdraw. He says the U.S. troops are worn out, the war has been mismanaged and our efforts in the Middle...

For more than 26 years, Congressman John P. "Jack" Murtha (D-Penn.) has not been truthful about his involvement in Abscam, court records and the complete video of his meeting with the FBI show. In recent years, only a 13-second video of Murtha's videotaped meeting with the FBI agents was publicly available. TAS has obtained a copy of the full, original video from a source close to the Abscam investigation on the condition of anonymity. The court transcript is publicly available at the National Archives. (To see the full video, click here. For a transcript of the meeting, click here.) Murtha...

Sorry for the vanity, but does anyone have anything on the current polls of Abscam man v. Irey? It almost seems like a blackout.

Washington, PA is in Murtha's district. The poll results indicate this guy is toast and Irey will win. 6/8/2006 Should there be a constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriages? 199 Yes 134 No 16 Unsure 6/9/2006 Should Rep. John Murtha have gone public about allegations that U.S. Marines killed civilians in Iraq, even though it is still under investigation? 143 Yes 333 No 19 Unsure 6/11/2006 Should high schools name more than one valedictorian? 36 Yes, any student that meets pre-determined requirements should be named valdeictorian 26 Yes, but only the two or three students with the highest grades should be...

WASHINGTON – For more than a decade, Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania has operated a political trading post in a back corner of the House of Representatives. A gang of about two dozen Democrats mill around his seat. A procession of others walk back to request pet spending projects, known as earmarks. And Republicans come by, asking him to enlist some of those Democrats to join them on close votes. “Whether they get what they want in the bill or they get the votes they are looking for, nobody ever leaves completely disappointed,” said Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., who often...