Roll Call's Paul Singer has a jaw-dropper on the local earmarking industry constructed by Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., raising new questions that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., would rather not answer. Murtha has used his perch atop Defense Appropriations to steer millions of dollars in federal contracts to a pair of lobbying firms with close ties to him, including one that used to employ his brother."But in many cases the money is not for local companies, it is for companies that move to the district, and frequently it is for start-ups that essentially would not be in business were it not for Murtha's largesse," Singer writes.(Read Full Post)