Posted on 09/03/2009 6:15:26 PM PDT by jazusamo
Johnstown, Pa.
If you hate the hubbub of crowded airports, you might want to consider flying out of Johnstown, Pa. The airport sees an average of fewer than 30 people per day, there is never a wait for security, you can park for free right outside the gate, and you are almost guaranteed a row to yourself on any flight.
You might wonder how the region ever had the air traffic demand to justify such a facility. It didn't. But it is located in the district of one of Congress's most unapologetic earmarkers: Democrat John Murtha.
In 20 years, Mr. Murtha has successfully doled out more than $150 million of federal payments to what is now being called the airport for no one. I took a trip to southwestern Pennsylvania to explore how this small town received so much money and whether the John Murtha Airport is a legitimate federal investment.
There are many in Johnstown who see the airport as crucial. Johnstown Chamber of Commerce President Bob Layo tells me: "If the airport isn't paying dividends now, it will in the future." But those dividends appear to be a mirage.
There are a total of 18 flights per week, all of which go to Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C. I was visiting the airport from Washington, but because flights cost a pricey $400, I drove. The drive took less than three and a half hours and cost about $35 in gas—not to mention that it was arguably faster than flying. And this isn't a remote area of the state: Murtha airport is less than two hours from the Pittsburgh airport.
The airport has an $8.5 million, taxpayer-funded radar system that has never been used. The runway was paved with reinforced concrete at a cost of more than $17 million...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
To be added to the Murtha Watch ping list please notify me.
His district is the official home of the dumbest people on the planet.
He called them racist red necks- they re-elected him.
They are a bunch of brain stems.
Bill Russell has a chance though slim. We can hope.
And the morons just cannot understand why the Tea Party people are outraged?!
I would say I'm speechless, but you know better than that! LOL!
LOL!
I hear you Justa. That airport has been nothing but a money pit but then Murthawi seems to have a lot of them.
The AIRPORT for NO ONE should go nicely with the
ROAD to NO WHERE!
Yeah, I love it! I’d forgotten about that pic and his road to nowhere. Kinda surprised no one has written a piece on that.
After he called his own constituents "redneck racists." They deserve him.
I believe there’s a fair percentage of those people that would vote for him no matter what, he brings home LOTS of pork and many have voted for him for over 30 years, very sad.
They are probably conserving ink. They wrote extensively about ABSCAM...it didn't matter. They wrote about "our Marines killed innocent civilians in cold blood" ...didn't matter. He called his own constituents racists and rednecks...and none of them cared. After a while I guess you figure, why bother!
You’re probably right. After all the things he’s pulled over the years and then a while back admitted he was corrupt but that that’s his job it shows a lot of the people there are as corrupt as he is.
The thing is, in all the time I spent there I did not find that to be the case. Most of the folks I met were great. During that "historic" campaign his opponent's yard signs far outnumbered his. I was honestly shocked that the election was not at least closer.
Then again, there was a lot of fear from a good number of folks. Everyone seemed supportive of the Boot Murtha rally, but some told me not to expect a large turnout of local folks. The goons standing across the street watching everyone coming and going was very intimidating to a lot of folks.
If there were actually free and fair elections, minus rampant voter fraud, we may see things turn around. Unfortunately I do not see that happening anytime soon.
Yep. There were never that many jobs to begin with in Western PA. Not even during the boom years. Those people are intimidated by the Dem/union thugs.
I didn’t realize that. I remember you mentioning the goons at the hotel but didn’t equate it to being widespread or them intimidating people at polling places. That explains a lot about election returns always coming in for Murtha as heavy as they have.
That's the truth! I was taken aback at the fear that readily showed on some faces. One couple had coats over their heads and wouldn't stop running until they were out of sight of the glass front of the convention center. They are the ones that identified the union goons.
IIRC, Bob filed an election complaint in regard to one polling place in particular. Never did hear how that turned out.
That is so Murtha it’s scary. Don’t know if Justa has seen Murtha Airlines yet. :-)
ROTFLOL!!! That is an awesome pic and most befitting. Where DO you come up with them?
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