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Listen, I'm not going to try not to bash Murtha directly, and I didn't in my earlier post. But I strongly disagree with his politics and that's what I'm referring to. I'll address some of your questions below.

Dirt Winston wrote:How exactly does Murtha bringing government money here keep private enterprise from florishing?

As I said, when you have an entire area relying on government subsidies, that will only last for as long as the politician that represents that area is around. Sure, that did result in some high paying jobs. But what do you think would have happened if those government subsidies weren't there? Private enterprises would have seen Johnstown as a great area to build in because you would have had hard working people who would have worked for them at a reasonable wage. Instead, those hard working folks were grabbed by the companies getting the subsidies. That's how socialism kills competition. Who knows how this will all shake out once the dust settles.

Dirt Winston wrote:All of the defense money spent here would be spent somewhere in the country.

No necessarily. Did you ever hear of earmarks? They get tacked on to bills that often have nothing to do with the bill itself as a way of "buying" the politicians vote.

Dirt Winston wrote:The man is directly responsible for several thousand good-paying jobs in the region, which have benefitted everyone in the region, directly or indirectly. How is this a bad thing? It is not his fault that there has been little private investment in the area. It is not his fault that some of these defense contractors took the money they made and built shrines for themselves instead of investing in self-sustaining business, or other business lines.

Yes, this is correct. But were those thousands of good-paying jobs built on a solid foundation? While those jobs last, it's great. If and when they dry up, it's going to be a disaster. That's how it's a bad thing. But I disagree with you - it was his fault there has been little private investment for the reasons I outlined above. How many private enterprises that don't rely on government subsidies build shrines for themselves instead of investing into self-sustaining businesses? Think about that. And look no further than Altoona for how that all works.

Dirt Winston wrote:He provided great opportunity for this area, but we need to do somethings for ourselves if we want to survive.

Can't disagree with you that Johnstown now needs to do somethings for yourself to survive.

Dirt Winston wrote:And as far as the country, Murtha played a huge part in keeping our military strong. Don't you think the other greedy politiciains would have picked the defense budget clean for their own interests if given the chance.

You're probably right about the other greedy politicians. I say kick 'em all out and start over. Most of them are a disgrace, with a few exceptions.

Dirt Winston wrote:We owe our national safety to people like Mr. Murtha who have fought to keep or military funded.

This is where you and I have a fundamental difference of opinion. We don't owe our national safety to politicians. We owe it to the men and women in uniform that are willing to sacrifice their lives for our safety and values of this nation. I know he served, but your statement said people like him that fought to keep our military funded (his role as a politician). I thank him for his military service, and everyone else that has served. But it's not the politicians that keep us safe. I cannot, and will not, thank someone who has wrongfully accused those very men and women of atrocities that proved to be false, all for political gain. And then never stood up like a man and said he was wrong afterward. That's the atrocity.

Dirt Winston wrote:People that complain about Murtha, and then keep electing that crook Wozniak boggle my mind.

I believe Murtha's ethical problems are well documented. Wozniak's are not that I'm aware of. Would you care to elaborate instead of throwing out something without backing it up with fact?

I just don't agree that the government funded companies limit private enterprise. And I don't believe that they are snapping-up all of the good workers either. They need to bring people in from out of the area because we have a lack of qualified, skilled workers.

I'm not thanking Murtha for our safety as much as I'm saying he plays a role.

Yes I threw Wozniak under the bus, so to say. I just have a problem with a guy who has never held a non-government job, who has gone out of his way to milk every dime out of the system; he took the pay-raise, he took the additional catch-up moeny from the pay-raise and didn't pay it back like many others did, and as recently reported he is the leader in undocumented extras to the tune of approximately $38,000 in 2 years. And what exactly has he done for the area. At least Murtha can point to jobs he directly and indirectly created. The State plays a much bigger role in making PA an unattractive destination for companies. What has he been doing the past 20 years to combat this. I won't even mention all of the section 8 properties that owns around the city.