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The U.S. Navy's Name Game (a new ship named after Pennsylvania congressman John Murtha?)
Time ^ | 1/09/11 | Mark Thompson

Posted on 01/12/2011 9:44:24 AM PST by Libloather

The U.S. Navy's Name Game
Posted by Mark Thompson
Sunday January 9, 2011 at 8:30 pm

Prospective parents battling over the names of their unborn kids have nothing on the U.S. Navy, which is in the middle of a spat over the wisdom of naming a new ship for the late Pennsylvania congressman John Murtha. In fact, it has kicked off a bigger battle over just who, or what, should be honored with their names on the great gray hulls of the nation's warships. "It comes down to two points," says military historian James Caiella. "Who and what we are as Americans, and what symbols do we want to represent those ideals?"

**SNIP**

But Mabus' decision has unleashed a continuing torrent of opposition from many former sailors and Marines. They say that naming a vessel for Murtha rewards a lawmaker who called for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq in late 2005 during the war's toughest days, and one who was implicated in bribery and pork-barrel politics. On Friday, a former Murtha aide-turned-lobbyist was sentenced to 27 months in prison for evading limits on campaign donations; Murtha also was an "unindicted co-conspirator" in 1980's FBI-run Abscam sting.

And that isn't the worst of it, according to sailors and Marines: putting Murtha's name on an amphibious warship designed to carry 700 Marines is outrageous, they maintain, given Murtha's 2006 charge that Marines in the Iraqi city of Haditha "killed innocent civilians in cold blood." (One of the eight Marines charged in the case still faces trial; six have had their charges dismissed and one was acquitted.)

(Excerpt) Read more at swampland.blogs.time.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: abscam; haditha; jamescaiella; johnmurtha; military; murtha; namesake; navy; pennsylvania; pma; ship; usnavy
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1 posted on 01/12/2011 9:44:29 AM PST by Libloather
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To: Libloather

How about the USS Mutha?


2 posted on 01/12/2011 9:45:38 AM PST by DarthVader (That which supports Barack Hussein Obama must be sterilized and there are NO exceptions!)
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To: Libloather

My Navy vet hubby is all for sinking even the IDEA of doing such a thing!


3 posted on 01/12/2011 9:47:25 AM PST by SumProVita (Cogito, ergo...Sum Pro Vita. (Modified Decartes))
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To: Libloather

Is there a word for this? Yes. It’s an abortion.


4 posted on 01/12/2011 9:48:04 AM PST by Mach9
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To: Libloather
Garbage scow maybe.

How about the USS Obama with a 100% gay crew?


Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

5 posted on 01/12/2011 9:48:04 AM PST by The Comedian (Sarah Palin: America's last, best hope.)
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To: Libloather

Garbage scow?


6 posted on 01/12/2011 9:48:39 AM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (FreeRepublic. Monthly Donors Welcome.)
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To: Libloather

Can we just murthball it?


7 posted on 01/12/2011 9:48:51 AM PST by bunkerhill7
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To: Libloather

A dinghy maybe. But not a warship. Fat Jack didn’t “believe” in war.


8 posted on 01/12/2011 9:49:16 AM PST by FlingWingFlyer ("New laws are always a "good idea" until the first time you have to enforce them." - Unknown)
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To: Libloather

At least it’s not a Submarine named afetr Bawney Fwank.....


9 posted on 01/12/2011 9:49:59 AM PST by sniper63 (Did you plug the hole in the border yet daddy........)
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To: Libloather

Carter....Murtha....who’s next, John Kerry?


10 posted on 01/12/2011 9:50:43 AM PST by Mr. Mojo
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To: Libloather

I can also see a USS Code Pink in the Navy’s future.


11 posted on 01/12/2011 9:50:54 AM PST by FlingWingFlyer ("New laws are always a "good idea" until the first time you have to enforce them." - Unknown)
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To: Libloather

The Obama navy shows itself. Next is the USS JANE FONDA


12 posted on 01/12/2011 9:51:32 AM PST by Lexington Green (Bring Our Troops Home - Send The Democrats)
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To: The Comedian
Garbage scow maybe.

The garbage scow is a useful, even necessary vessel for proper harbor operation. It should not be dishonoured with murtha's name.

13 posted on 01/12/2011 9:52:12 AM PST by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilization is Aborting, Buggering, and Contracepting itself out of existence.)
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To: Libloather
NO! NOT AN LPD!! ARRRRRRRGH!









Former LPD-8 sailor . . .

14 posted on 01/12/2011 9:54:33 AM PST by guitar4jesus (Biofuels, AGW, Globalism, Green Movement -- Strong Delusions! . . . . 2Thes 2:11)
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To: Libloather
“It comes down to two points,” says military historian James Caiella. “Who and what we are as Americans, and what symbols do we want to represent those ideals?”

Wrong. It comes down to “How can we get a bigger budget out of Congress?” Otherwise, SSNs would be named after fish, just like WWII SSs (and the USS Nautilus). CGs would be named after cities, CVNs after famous ships or battles (Enterprise, Saratoga, Yorktown), etc.

15 posted on 01/12/2011 9:55:49 AM PST by Little Ray (The Gods of the Copybook Heading, with terror and slaughter return!)
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To: Libloather
Why USS John Murtha? Why not USS Julius Rosenberg or USS Alger Hiss?
16 posted on 01/12/2011 9:56:36 AM PST by Fiji Hill
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo
Garbage scow!


17 posted on 01/12/2011 9:56:47 AM PST by jiggyboy (Ten percent of poll respondents are either lying or insane)
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To: Libloather

If they do name the ship after Murtha, they’ll probably have to adjust the navigation system to prevent it from always trying to redeploy to Okinawa.


18 posted on 01/12/2011 9:57:26 AM PST by rightwingintelligentsia (Forcing one person to pay for the irresponsibility of another is NOT social justice.)
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To: Libloather

Change the name of an existing nondescript sort of vessel such as a barge or something of that nature to Murtha if it’s so damned important to have his name on a naval vessel, and then sink it as a reef off the coast of Louisiana, or someplace to improve fishing.

Probably be the only positive thing associated with the bastard.


19 posted on 01/12/2011 9:59:33 AM PST by rockinqsranch (Dems, Libs, Socialists, call 'em what you will, they ALL have fairies livin' in their trees.)
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To: Libloather; smoothsailing; Just A Nobody; 4woodenboats; American Cabalist; AmericanYankee; ...
"Name a ship after a congressman who disgraced himself by rushing to judge that fellow Marines had committed murder in Iraq?"

No way, shape or form this should happen, it's outrageous.

Ray Mabus is a disgrace for even considering this, let alone actually going through with naming this ship for a corrupt, lying politician.

20 posted on 01/12/2011 10:03:48 AM PST by jazusamo (His [Obama's] political base---the young, the left and the thoughtless: Thomas Sowell)
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