News of the death of 77-year old Congressman John Murtha, of Pennsylvania, on Monday garnered the usual coverage afforded a high-profile political leader by the news media and the Beltway elites.

Even Republicans fawned over his long record in the House of Representatives. For example, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said, “Every person who serves in the military has lost an advocate and a good friend. The House of Representatives has lost one of its own.”

One can only wonder if Rep. Boehner recalls that Murtha publicly called U.S. Marines “cold-blooded murders” during the height of warfare in Iraq.  

It should be remembered that John Murtha never apologized for his allegation that U.S. Marines were guilty of killing Iraqi civilians in cold blood. 

Murtha made the comments in question during a press conference he held, and during his frequent appearances on TV news shows, claiming “Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood.”  Murtha made his remarks regarding an incident that happened in Haditha, Iraq. 

During a news conference, Rep. Murtha  discussed the incident with reporters as he continued “the Murtha anti-war diatribe,” and said that the U.S. should pull the troops out of Iraq.

He said a Pentagon investigation would ultimately show that the troops in Haditha “overreacted because of the pressure on them and killed innocent civilians in cold blood.” The Marines involved had not been tried yet but were either in a brig at Camp Pendleton Marine Base or resticted to the base pending legal proceedings.

Murtha, who claims close ties to top defense officials as a retired Marine colonel and the top-ranking Democrat, said he had not read the Pentagon report because was basing his information on frequent discussions with “the commanders,” he said, “People that know what they’re talking about.” Murtha did not disclose the names of these commanders or their connection to the incident and subsequent investigation.

Eventually all of the Marines involved were found not guilty, yet Murtha refused to apologize.

Murtha’s position on the Iraq war and his biting comments did much to erase the memories of his ties to the Abscam corruption investigation and the susbsequent allegations of his shenanigans with his brother’s consulting firm. The anti-war leftists — including members of the news media – appear to overlook corruption on the part of their heroes, said one political observer.

Murtha was a holier-than-thou Democrat with ethics concerns. The House Ethics committee was considering investigating Rep. John Murtha for multiple ethics violations. The investigation would have centered on Rep. Murtha’s involvement with his brother’s firm KSA Consulting. The story, which originally ran in the Los Angeles Times on 13 June, surrounds the 2005 appropriations bill that funded $20M to companies for which KSA Consulting lobbied.

Murtha was a leader on the House Defense Appropriations Committee. An aide to Murtha, Carmen Scialabba, also worked for KSA. Also reported by the L.A. Times is that KSA directly lobbied Murtha’s office for funding on behalf of 7 of its clients and that a Murtha aide advised a defense contractor that it needed to retain the services of KSA Consulting.

While his passing is indeed sad, the United States is better off without having John Murtha in the U.S. Congress. God rest his soul.

It is disheartening when a public official is found to have done something to lose his constituents’ trust. Even more so when it is a Republican doing this deed. Let me set the stage here. Back in July during a session at the California State Capitol, California State Assemblymember Michael Duvall was speaking. And I am not talking about a bill or other related business. Let’s just say that he was caught with the microphone on. The phrase that he used during his time front and center?

“So, I am getting into spanking her. Yeah, I like it…”

I apologize in advance if the controversy about where President Obama was born still manages to find its way into the blogosphere and beyond; however, there are a lot more questions than answers in reference to where Obama was actually born.

But perhaps more fuel has been added to the fire as it has been learned that the hospital where Obama claimed to have been born at refuses to provide documentation of any sort confirming that Obama was born there – all of this without getting permission from the President himself.  The only thing that you can consider “evidence” – if you want to call it “evidence” – is a letter on White house stationery, dated January 24, 2009.  The letter is below:

Dear Friends,

I am writing to share congratulations on the centennial celebration of the Kapi`olani Medical Center for Women & Children.

Kapi`olani was one of Hawai`i’s earliest hospitals, and it has served many generations of Hawai`i’s people with distinction. The Medical Center reaches out to children of all backgrounds, and treats more than 62,000 children per year. As a beneficiary of the excellence of Kapi`olani Medical Center – the place of my birth – I am pleased to add my voice to your chorus of supporters.

Hawai`i has always been a home to me, and I’m pleased to take part in your celebration. Thank you for your hard work, and I wish you all the best for the next one hundred years.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

Naturally, the hospital – whether for privacy issues or for whatever reason – has refused to confirm or deny that Obama was born there; according to Kristy Watanabe, PR specialist for the hospital,

“Our comment to everyone who has been calling is that federal law does not permit us to provide any more details concerning information [about Obama's birth] without authorization from Mr. Obama.”

She also added that in response to the many requests to the question of Obama’s “birth” taking place there, she replied, “This is our response, and we can’t say anything more than that.”  Which brings us to the question that everyone wants to know:  Where was Barack Hussein Obama really born?

According to WorldNetDaily, they have an affidavit which was submitted by Rev. Kweli Shuhubia, an Anabaptist minister in Kenya along with a second affidavit signed by Bishop Ron McRae, the presiding elder of the Anabaptists’ Continental Presbytery of Africa.

In his affidavit, Shuhubia claims, “it is common knowledge throughout the Christian and Muslim communities in Kenya that Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., was born in Mombasa, Kenya.”  He further stated in his affidavit that he visited Obama’s grandmother on October 16, 2008 so he could conduct a telephone conference interview with McRae in the United States.

During the phone interview, McRae specifically asked twice to Obama’s grandmother, “Were you present when your grandson was born in Kenya.”  And both times, she replied yes.  Also included in the affidavit was this gem:

“Ms. Sarah Hussein Obama was very adamant that her grandson, Senator Barack Hussein Obama, was born in Kenya, and that she was present and witnessed his birth in Kenya, not the United States.”

Both Shuhubia and McRae confirmed that Ms. Obama never changed her answer in reference to the aforementioned question.  The affidavit documents that Obama’s step-grandmother was asked this question several times – both in her native Swahili language and in English – and her answer never wavered.  She in fact said that she was present when President Obama was born in Kenya.

It gets even stickier as the office of Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle has repeatedly denied requests to obtain a copy of the hospital-generated, long-form original birth certificate.  Apparently according to Hawaiian law, those entitled to obtain a copy of the birth certificate are:

• the spouse or parent of the registrant
• a descendant of the registrant
• a person having a common ancestor with the registrant
• a legal guardian of the registrant or a person or agency acting on behalf of the registrant.

Well folks, based on all of this, the controversy will continue and the plot thickens accordingly.  But I would suspect that a petition will inevitably go through the courts in Hawaii which will demand that a copy of Obama’s birth certificate be produced.

And assuming that after it has been satisfactorily proven that Obama was not born in a Hawaiian hospital, then probably a journey to Kenya – presumably Mombasa – will be the next logical step.  By the way, if Obama was in fact born elsewhere other than the United States, that’s gonna open up a can of legal worms to sort out.  And I guarantee you folks, it will not be pretty for Obama.