Opinion: A fitting memorial to Murtha

Feb. 16, 2010 3:27 PM PT

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My old newspaper the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette relates that a priest at the memorial for porkmeister Rep. John Murtha committed an act of drollery:

Father William George, a Jesuit priest and president of Georgetown Preparatory School, read from the Book of Ecclesiastes, the portion about how for everything there is a season and time.

‘The writer of Ecclesiastes could also have written ‘a time to make law and a time to change laws,’ ‘ Father George said, adding, wryly, ‘and, yes, a time to earmark.’

The good father’s affection for Murtha obviously was sincere, because Murtha won’t be sending Georgetown Prep any grants.

-- Michael McGough

Opinion L.A.

Michael McGough

Michael McGough is the Los Angeles Times’ former senior editorial writer, based in Washington, D.C. He wrote editorials for The Times from 2006 to 2021. Before that, McGough worked for 30 years for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a reporter, editorial writer, editorial page editor and Washington correspondent. He wrote about law, national security, politics, foreign policy and religion. McGough is a graduate of Allegheny College and also attended the University of Kent at Canterbury in England and Yale Law School, where he received a master of studies in law degree.

Opinion: A fitting memorial to Murtha

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