The ‘Jack Murtha Philadelphia Shipyard’?

Reports have surfaced that Pennsylvania Democrats are in favor of naming the iconic Philadelphia Navy Shipyard after the recently-deceased Congressman Jack Murtha.

I have just one question for those who favor of such a preposterous idea:
"Hi. I’m Earth. Have we met?"

On what planet are these people living?

Yes, naming the veritable shipyard —one that played a decisive role in the Allies’ victory in World War II — after a man who flagrantly disregarded that old document called The Constitution for his own political benefit seems like a swell idea.

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A Vietnam veteran, Murtha knew firsthand how difficult fighting could be on both the battlefield and homefront. One would think a war as controversial as Vietnam, in which soldiers became targets of venomous slurs and unfair accusations by the public and elected officials, would have taught Big Jack the lessons of patience, humility and honor.

One would be wrong.

Murtha was one of the leading critics of the Iraq War, advocating a complete withdrawal. Fine. We should have no problem with that, as America is still (nominally) a free country, and Murtha is entitled to his opinion.
But he inexcusably crossed the line when he accused U.S. Marines of war crimes, referring to them as "murderers" engaged in "cold blooded" killing after an incident in the Iraqi town of Haditha.

Making the sin mortal was that Jack didn’t care about due process, completely ignoring the "innocent until proven guilty" tenet we hold so sacred in this country. Last time I checked, you don’t give up your rights as an American when you put on a military uniform. In fact, you deserve those protections more than ever.

In addition to accusing those Marines of such a heinous crime, Murtha also stated that the military was complicit in the murder, stating, "There has to have been a cover-up. … There’s no question about it."

During a national television interview, Murtha stated that he would, "not excuse murder and that what’s happened." This, of course, was well before the investigation was completed, let alone the courts-martial that exonerated them.
Well Jack, I’ve got news for you and your still-living morally-corrupt cronies:
We are not going to let the stellar reputation of the Philadelphia Navy Shipyard be disgraced with your nefarious name.

More important, we aren’t going to excuse you for your unforgivable behavior, which hopefully hasn’t caused an American soldier to die because he hesitated about defending himself in the face of brutal enemy fire.

If that be the case, you’d better run to God for protection from the Marines you might meet in Heaven — assuming you ever get there.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist and investigative reporter who operates his own new site, The Artorius News Bureau. Readers of his column "Freindly Fire" hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has appeared in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris’ recent bestseller "Catastrophe."

Freind also serves as a weekly guest commentator on a Philadelphia-area talk radio show, WCHE, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances. He can be reached at [email protected]