Earlier today, the first Viet Nam veteran ever elected to congress, died.
John Murtha (as of this past Saturday, Pennsylvania’s longest serving congressman) was the 19 term representative of Pennsylvania’s 12th district, most notably the home of
Johnstown, and which for most of his service included
Shanksville. He was a hawkish, conservative Democrat, infamous for his involvement in the
Abscam controversy, and most recently
the FBI’s inquiry into the lobbying firm PMA. He could be said to have been very representative, and certainly
very supportive of his blue collar district—
Pro-gun,
anti-abortion, and at first
a supporter of the invasion of Iraq, but eventually
one of its greatest critics. But that criticism came at
a price.
John Murtha was 77.
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posted by Toekneesan
on Feb 8, 2010 -
35 comments
From The Titusville Morning Herald of June 17, 1866, "Our attention has been called to a series of experiments that have been made in the wells of various localities by Col. Roberts, with his
newly patented torpedo. ... The torpedo... is lowered into the well, down to the spot, as near as can be ascertained, where it is necessary to explode it. ... The object of the torpedo is to clean out all the deposits at the bottom of the well."
In the western Pennsylvania oilfields of the second half of the 1800s, "shooters" were men who set off
nitroglycerin charges in wells to get the oil flowing again.
Tales of Destruction relates stories and legends of this absurdly hazardous job.
Additional notes here, in
Samuel Pees's Oil History.
(Previously)
posted by tss
on Nov 5, 2009 -
4 comments
When the modern oil industry began
150 years ago, many speculators moved into Northwestern Pennsylvania. Among them was John Wilkes Booth, who walked off the stage and onto the oil fields in an attempt to increase his fortunes with the
Dramatic Oil Company.
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posted by hoppytoad
on Jan 10, 2009 -
4 comments
A glance will show / Why Phoebe Snow / Prefers this route / To Buffalo.
And Phoebe's right / No route is quite / As short as Road / of Anthracite.
In 1908 the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad began work on the
New Jersey Cut-Off to make its New York to Buffalo mainline (the Road of Anthracite
so liked by
Phoebe Snow) even shorter and faster. It was to have no grade crossings, and was to be as straight and level as possible — through hilly terrain. The 28-mile
Lackawanna Cut-Off, as it is now known, was built over three years, cost $11 million, and was an
engineering marvel of massive reinforced concrete bridges, enormous cuts, and the largest railroad embankment in the world. All of this has been
abandoned for years, though there are plans afoot to restore the Cut-Off for
commuter rail.
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posted by parudox
on Dec 24, 2008 -
17 comments
Pennsylvania polling places regarding September 08 elections to have everything but
voters.
posted by duende
on Oct 26, 2007 -
31 comments
"My first day on the job was the Amish school shooting at Nickel Mines in Lancaster County, Pa. in October of 2006.
Here is some video of what I saw that day." Raw footage from that terrible day, recently posted to YouTube.
1,
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4,
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posted by Toekneesan
on Oct 7, 2007 -
28 comments
Abu Gharib? Feh. The newest Dark Side: telemarketing abuse. The National Republican Congressional Committee has launched a $2.1 million campaign calling individuals, including those on the Federal Do-Not-Call Registry, with automated telephone messages scripted to sound as if they are coming from the Democratic candidate up for election, in the hopes of driving away support come Tuesday's elections. "Hello. I'm calling with information about
[Democratic candidate]," the recording begins, and then pauses for the traditional hang-up. If the recipient does indeed hang up, they then receive repeated phone calls back. This manner of scripting violates
47 CFR 64.1200(b)(1), which requires that "the identity of the business, individual, or other entity that is responsible for initiating the call" be "state[d] clearly" "at the beginning of the message." The New Hampshire Attorney General
got them to stop calling those on the Do-Not-Call Registry, at least. (In their best interests, perhaps, due to
the $5,000 fine per call potentially racking up hefty fines.) This is going on at the very least in the
Pennsylvania 6th, the Connecticut 4th, the North Carolina 11th,, the New Hampshire 2nd, and nationwide.
posted by WCityMike
on Nov 5, 2006 -
142 comments
A third-rate bugging? Did Pennsylvania Republicans plant listening devices to gain an advantage in the next Philadelphia mayoral election? I think they did and in
his words, that's the truth!
posted by Bag Man
on Oct 8, 2003 -
16 comments
22 year old schizophrenic Farrah Russell was rebuilding her life. But when the plug was pulled on the state program that allowed her to subsist, she took her life.
Her heartbreaking story is a cautionary tale of the dark consequences of state budget cuts. While politicians
argue over tax stimulus proposals that
benefit the wealthy, while
wild numbers are applied to war budgets, the States have been forced to cut social programs in order to survive. Whether it's
California teachers,
Connecticut and
New York residents dreading tax hikes,
Pennsylvania public transportation, or
Texas prescription drug coverage for the poor, the States, supposedly United, have been left out to dry. While the States have been forced to cut their programs, groping for survival, Washington remains silent in its
mission. It does
not remember history. Why do we turn a blind eye to the hidden costs? What can be done about this? And how do we make it stop?
posted by ed
on May 5, 2003 -
53 comments
Karl Frank Kleinpaste is on
trial defending himself for tax evasion claiming that he lives in the 'Democratic Republic of Pennsylvania' and is therefore not duty bound to pay federal income tax.
Some think that this will not go very well for him while others
encourage the masses to do the same.
posted by Raichle
on Nov 21, 2002 -
28 comments
Mullet Talk, FM morning radio show comedy at it its finest. Of course, in Pittsburgh we appreciate the finer things in life. Sadly, this is the only episode I could find on the web.
posted by Recockulous
on Sep 25, 2002 -
10 comments
City as Loser? Iron City was ranked last out of 40 cities in this year's "Best Cities for Singles" in Forbes magazine. Not that Forbes is the ultimate arbiter of the single life (don't they specialize in male readers over 35 with money?), but your best defense of Pittsburgh or your own medium- or small-sized town would be appreciated.
posted by engelr
on Jun 11, 2002 -
26 comments
Flight Data Recorder found for United Airlines flight 93 in Pennsylvania. They've also found the signal for at least one of the data recorders on the Pentagon flight, as well. Assuming it's still readable, the flight recorder for UA 93 could give new insight into why the plane went down, and why they're now finding debris 6 miles from the crash site.
(The information for flight 93 came from CNN broadcast, but hasn't made it online yet.)
posted by elfgirl
on Sep 13, 2001 -
13 comments
Deputy Dawg Cracking cases with his service glock, crackhead Bucks County Barney Fife is the new face of law enforcement
posted by Perigee
on May 26, 2001 -
5 comments
One more school shooting. This time it's a Roman Catholic school in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. A girl in 8th grade shot another girl "in the upper body, but the injury was not considered life-threatening."
posted by jason
on Mar 7, 2001 -
25 comments
Pennsylvania's new license plates featuring the state's web address are just plain Sick and Wrong, somehow. Please tell me that other states aren't going to follow suit. I saw my first one yesterday, in Austin, TX, of all places.
posted by beth
on Oct 20, 2000 -
14 comments
