Airport to Nowhere? or is it just plain mischief?

[TheCoxwain]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/23/murtha.airport/index.html


<snip>

OHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Located outside a small Pennsylvania city, John Murtha airport may not see many passengers. But it's seen plenty of arrivals of tax dollars from Washington, most recently economic stimulus funds.

The airport offers three commercial flights. In between the arrivals and departures, airport officials admit there are few faces around the facility.

"When the flights are coming in, there are people. Other than that, it's empty," said Scott Voelker, manager of the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport.

But one face is everywhere. Rep. John Murtha, the airport's namesake, is hard to miss.

Considered one of "the kings of pork" on Capitol Hill by taxpayer watchdog groups, the 19th-term Pennsylvania Democrat has piloted almost $200 million from Washington to Murtha airport. Much of the funding has come in the form of legislative earmarks that are attached to bills before Congress.

Taxpayer watchdogs have said earmarks -- often derided as "pork-barrel" spending -- are designed to fund congressional pet projects.

Murtha dumped in nearly $200 million into this project that has virtually no passengers. It's practically a museum piece," said Steve Ellis with the Taxpayers for Common Sense.

[babylonsister]

1. Saw this story yesterday (on NewsHour, maybe?). Doesn't do anything

for Murtha's image. A state-of-the-art air traffic controllers' facility, with no controllers at all.

[TheCoxwain]

2. I am more concerned about Obama's pledge of strict oversight

to the extent that it might become an exploitable issue

[babylonsister]

Obama had nothing to do with this specific airport. I wouldn't worry

about Obama being exploited for something he had nothing to do with.

[Buzz Clik]

3. I had to check the address line of my browser. This is DU and not the Free Republic?

I guess that bashing Democrats with unsupported aspersions like, "one of 'the kings of pork'" has become the norm for this place.

And don't bother with, "Yeah, but it's the truth!" bullshit. It's an opinion and not the truth, and an opinion normally offered by assholes on the right.

[TheCoxwain]

4. Copy /pasted from CNN ....so you like it or not .. this is going to get out there

[Buzz Clik]

5. I don't like it any more than I look crap from Newmax being pasted in here.

You pasted that shit here -- complete with insults -- with no comment. One can only assume that you support the spirit of that article. If you do not, feel free to say so.

[TheCoxwain]

6. Look ... I am just alerting you guys to a potential shit storm. Pukes are experts in

making up shit out of thin air and I just wanted to see if this shit is real or made up.

[Initech]

7. And yet these bastard complain about wasteful government spending.

Hypocritical much?

[Egalitariat]

8. Murtha has made no bones about the fact he feels it's his primary job to earmark his district

It's an unbeatable strategy to keep an incumbent in office.

I hate it b/c it's dishonest and unfair. But it's legal, and many incumbents need it and would never change it, so what are you going to do?

[spinbaby]

9. There's an airport in Latrobe, too

It's a huge convenience for people living out there not to have to drive to the Pittsburgh airport. I know a couple living in Nanty Glo who use the Johnstown airport all the time and would be quite upset if they lost it. Why shouldn't rural Americans have decent access to air travel?

[davidpdx]

10. Here's the ABC Video coverage of it

I think this is ridiculous. The small airport in the area I grew up in handles more passengers a day then this airport. What a waste of money.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=13150986&ch=4226726&src=news