Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Few clamor for Murphy details

Few clamor for Murphy details - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ... but few others are interested in hearing from him.
I feel as if this lead speaks to me -- exactly. To put a spot light on Tom Murphy so as to hear his saga about his firefighters dealing is a waste of time -- unless it is before the courts in terms of him serving jail time or not.

Every dog has its day in the sun. The sun has set for Tom Murphy. His day is done. To look for that to happen again in the future is a waste of time.

I saw Tom Muprhy the other week while he was with his family and I was with mine among the booths at the Three Rivers Arts Festival. I passed along a "happy fathers day" mention and nothing else. I have nothing else to say to him nor do I care that we look in back when we should be looking forward.

So, it looks like Tom Murphy gets to stop paying his attorneys and will be a free man, still, next Fathers Day. Above all, he is guilty of being a jerk and doing great harms to the city and region.

But we live in America -- and this isn't a place where behaviors like those made famous with Stalin's iron fist should be tolerated. I don't need to see the city purge its past boneheaded leaders. Nobody needs to hang from the light posts. Move on.

If Mary Beth B, the attorney who should be pressing charges, won't press charges -- shame on her. But it is her job, for now. And, it is her job to press cases to the courts not do a shell game and try to re-legislate Act 111.

The Q for MBB is getting Murphy off the hook -- and not getting Act 111 on the hook in his place.

3 comments:

Cope said...

Mark, I respectfully disagree with your "what's done is done" analysis. And cut me a break -- I'm following this from afar and not paying as close attention to the details as you and others in Pittsburgh are.

But my take on what I have read is that Murphy is getting off scott free, and if the courts won't hold him accountable, then the media should. Otherwise, it sets a tone of "boys will be boys and politicians will be politicians" in Pittsburgh politics. Letting Murphy off with nothing more than a few hefty legal bills will lead other unscrupulous politicians to believe they can follow suit.

Give credit to Council for doing the job that Pittsburgh's papers and prosecutors have seemed to fail to do; if only council could have done it's job five or six years (or decades) ago.

Mark Rauterkus said...

Break given -- but you (Cope) know this as well as anyone. Points understood as well.

A gent on the steet point out to me the fact that Murphy's "get out of jail card" use, this time, might be just setting the stage for something bigger to hit him next. And, that is an interesting point.

Many I've been talking with are upset that Murphy is getting off the hook. They are pissed.

I can't bless what MBB has done. No way. And, under no situation should Murphy be given MORE limelight to explain himself. I, and countless others, will be there to pull the rug out from his homecoming -- in terms of a political stage.

I'd still LOVE to see MURPHY put under charges for his POLITICAL AD in 2002 -- from his OFFICE -- to endorse Fast Ed Rendell. Murphy didn't do his duty with the Ethics Board -- now still not able to come back to life under O'Connor and the present city council.

Rather than running around after Murphy -- let's be sure he has no rebound -- and let's put the screws to some of the others who still are in office today.

Even Mary Beth B -- the state's attorney who fumbled -- should be put on waivers.

Mark Rauterkus said...

Here is another area where I'd like to see "prosecution."

We should go after those on the Act 47 team AND those who have called themselves the ICA board. Let's attack the OVERLORDs -- for not being over anything at all. For not doing anything. Let's attack the bogus bailout jerks for a bailout that helped with nothing.

There are many to attack -- who still have power.