How does everyone think the electon results will affect those of us who work in the oilfield? I do not see anything good coming from it. I may be a little pessimistic but i belive i am being realistic.
People usualy get a pointy stick for bringing up politics here
It was not my intention to start a debate about politics, I would have asked the same question if the other guy would have won. I just wanted to get a idea of what people are thinking. The last thing I want is the pointy stick!
no good man, you should stop right there. Saying “I do not see anything good coming from it.” set the whole tone of your question. I will not go any further than saying just stop please. One more thing, did you see any other election post on here? I dont have a stick but others do.
Election? Don’t they have meds these days to help with that?
Oh fer ___ sake.
I voted, but to be honest, I think that the future of our industry is in OUR hands, and ours only. Both Presidential candidates this election cycle have demonstrated in one way or another the willingness to kick the American merchant seaman to the curb in the interest of: safety, “the children,” gas prices, economic stability, Christmas, environmentalism, Ground Hog day, and whatever fillintheblank holiday or sociopolitical reason you can think of.
I met an American 2a/e this week who, with overtime, made 25k last month. I will meet this month a Greek/Chinese/Filipino/Malay/Indian who will be lucky to make that in a tour of eight to ten months.
And I will now be a major nationalist jerk and say this: let’s keep it that way. Let’s do!
If we don’t fight for ourselves, no matter who becomes President, or Senator, or Dog Catcher, we will make what the Greek/Chinese/Filipino/Malay/Indian seafarer will make, and we will like it, or we will go work for Walmart.
I am not being a drama queen, not tonight anyway. The attack on our lives is underway. How will we rise to the challenge?
I am late getting here so my sincere thanks to all the rest of yous who took are of this little matter for me.
[QUOTE=catherder;87941]The attack on our lives is underway. How will we rise to the challenge?[/QUOTE]
We’ll all bitch and complain and gnash our teeth and wail at the sky but until we get someone or an organization to grease the wheels, I mean lobby our leaders in Washington or vote ALL the bums out and make them enforce the laws on the books and perhaps strengthen them, nothing will happen.
Unless a real leader like LCDR Quniton McHale stands up and leads us to the promised land, we are all doomed. The rest of the country will do the same on every important issue too, argue amongst themselves like a bunch a cackling hens, not work together and then “blame the government” which is us.
Before I get pounded, show me a real leader out there NOW besides the one I just l named. After this last election and with the collection of wienies, flamers and political hacks as far the eye could see that ran and could not get a consensus together to unseat what seemed an easily beatable candidate. Where do you propose we start?
I agree we need a real leader, to take control of this country, not a politican.
I want to use a little saying that my grand father told me many times before he passed away. I think it is most fitting here.
If you toss a turtle into a pot of boiling water, he is not going to be happy and want to jump out. However if you toss a turtle in a pot of cold water, then gradually turn the heat up, you can boil him alive before he knows what is happening.
Wake up people the water is getting warm!!!
I agree. It will not be a politician, but he/she (not a hermaphrodite, just covering both bases) will have to fulfill that duty. While I feel that as a Master, in most cases, on board the vessel I am right. In the real world, whether you like it or not, you have to compromise. One great and one good great examples, whether you agree or not, are Bill Clinton and Dwight Eisenhower. There are others but it is late and I am tired. Whether they were liked (Ike) or detested (bubba) they were able to bring people of differing beliefs and creeds together and get them to work toward a common goal. Ike to win a war, bubba to balance the budget, believe it or not. Granted the economy was different but it was done with a republican congress no less and he was being investigated for getting blow jobs from an intern in the oval office. Granted, that dropped him as what I would consider a great leader, he did have chutzpah.
I think that balancing the budget and enforcing existing laws is a good start. These are two issues that if not dealt with will kill us. If we can’t balance our checkbook then we are no better than other countries that are relying on others to bail them out. I may not agree with all the laws in this country but I HAVE to abide by them. The government can not pick and chose which ones it will enforce, even on themselves. If it is a regulation, I follow it because it is what the government (us) has decided. If I disagree, I will work to get it changed, period. That is my duty as an American as well as the rest of us. This is not going to be easy but it is not going to be as bad as the Civil War or WWII but it will be difficult.
However, if our parents (in some cases) and grandparents in others could do something as incredible and self-sacrificing as defeating fascism and communism, why can not we enforce our own laws and get our politicians to balance the checkbook?
The only reason I can see why not is because we have seen the enemy and he is us…
healthcare seemed to be the important thing with Obama except its the economy that pays for it so sureky fixing the economy was the first thing to fix?
I’m sure IF the economy was the top agenda for Romney he work work on that to fix it
unfortunately where’s the lobby group for the economy?
This is not something that I really want to discuss. It’s over and done.
[QUOTE=AHTS Master;88069]This is not something that I really want to discuss. It’s over and done.[/QUOTE]
thanks for that…let’s move on to action we can take as a community of professionals to hopefully get our rights recognized by the Administration.
Personally I pray that we see the backside of LaHood in a new Cabinet. I believe he said he would leave in a 2nd Obama Administration? Next to go MUST BE MATSUDA!
I did not start this post to have a debate about healthcare or any other political subject other than how the election will affect the offshore oil industry.I was wrong to display my political feelings in my question. For that I apologize, the last thing i want is for this forum to turn into another Gulf Chat. i was simply wanting to get a feeling from those who make their living in this industry.I will rephrase my question. Will the recent election have a effect on the oil industry, good or bad?
I wish we had an organization that represented all mariners in the US, add opposed to representing companies like the AWO. The unions should be doing that because the mariner having good jobs keeps them in businesses but they seem to be acting like a representative for the companies, not workers.
[QUOTE=rkbakula;88080]I did not start this post to have a debate about healthcare or any other political subject other than how the election will affect the offshore oil industry.I was wrong to display my political feelings in my question. For that I apologize, the last thing i want is for this forum to turn into another Gulf Chat. i was simply wanting to get a feeling from those who make their living in this industry.I will rephrase my question. Will the recent election have a effect on the oil industry, good or bad?[/QUOTE]
I thiink its safe to say that the Romney was more drill happy then Obama, but right now we are growing at a pace so rapid that we are going to find trouble finding qualified competent people to crew the 60-80 some odd deepwater rigs expected to be delivered over the next 10 years. With that being said I’m not trying to show support for either candidate but right now we have it pretty good and I don’t think the election outcome will put anyone on the streets or “the damn oilfield gonna go to shit”
The current administration has waived the Jones Act 3 times already (post DWH, releasing oil from the strategic reserves, sending oil to NYC) when there were US flagged hulls available. Whos to say they wont do it more??
I was not pushing for total change in my post. I was just using the big picture as an example of what WE as Mariners need to do to protect and help ourselves.
I can not and will not discuss politics anymore, just that we need to form a consensus in all our endeavors and save ourselves, whether it is our community or our country.
I am sorry if anybody thought I was going political, that was not my aim.
I am actually going to make a political statement against my own “pointy stick” rules which is that although I am a Democrat, I must say that the first Obama Administration was an [B][I][U]APPALLINGLY DISMAL MISERABLE FAILURE[/U][/I][/B] to do one single thing to maintain, yet alone improve the US merchant marine and greater maritime industry. Waivers continue to be given out for US federal statues to be circumvented which has harmed both US business and labor )although I think that they did more to disenfranchise labor that business). David Matsuda is a useless puppet monkey to the worst Secretary of Transportation as far as fostering a healthy maritime industry that I can recall in three plus decades. LaHood is simply horrible for us and my great prayer is that he will be soon gone yet he must be replaced with a person who genuinely is aware that maritime is critical and important to the US transportation infrastructure as highways, trucking companies, railroads and airlines. We must have modern ports and healthy profitable ship operating companies. We must have vibrant shipyards building modern commercial vessels. We must have the qualified labor pool for national defense. We must get energy from the sea in both the GoM and Arctic.
How can we as a community impress upon this new second Obama Administration to appoint a Secretary of Transportation and new MarAd Administrator who will look hard at stopping the slide into oblivion that our maritime community if slowly headed towards? How to get that message to be men and women who have the power to do something? That is the political discussion needed both here in this forum and in the halls of Washington.
Let’s be open and talk about this but just not in a partisan fashion. All the parties are evil here. LaHood is a republican and I do not honestly believe that Romney had any intention to do one single thing to help the maritime industry as does Obama. Maritime is simply dying in our Nation’s capital as we breath today.
I DON’T CARE WHAT EACH OF OUR OWN POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS ARE RIGHT NOW. RIGHT NOW WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES WHAT DO WE ALL HERE NEED TO DO TO HELP OUR INDUSTRY TO LIVE A HEALTHY LIFE AND NOT DIE ON THE VINE?
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It didn’t matter who won as long as the majority can still keep their lifestyle there won’t be any change. As long as they can all be good little consumers and charge stuff on their credit cards and eat they won’t notice what’s happening. They all go to their jobs rush home and watch their shows on tv totally oblivious to the world. Everyone is caught up in the cycle of life living paycheck to paycheck. Just how they want it. If you try to engage most people in this discussion it makes their head hurts and they need to take one of their pinkies. If they do wish to talk about these things you realize how uninformed most people you know are about life in general. They believe whatever the talking head on whichever network they like says. It’s to far gone to affect any change now. It’s definitely the oft mentioned giant squid. Every time you get to close to it or reach for the helping tentacle offered you get stuck. Anyone making any noise is just an agent of Goldstein.