Mcain

Scuttlebutt
1

I am with a lot of people who wonder why Mcain has it in for the Jones Act and I am not a big fan of his political career. I think c.captain does the man’s military service discredit by criticising his time as a pilot putting his life on the line for his country. Yes he might have not aborted his attack run on the power plant when he was acquired by air defense radar, but if a pilot aborted an attack run every time they were locked on

nothing would have gotten destroyed. The pilot’s flying combat missions in the war had to fight under insane rules passed down by politicians who had no interest in winning the war. I guarantee c.captain would have folded like a house of cards the first time the Norh Viet strung him up by the shoulders.

2

Mcain’s actions a generation ago don’t justify his treasonous activities today. If the Viet Cong had offered him what the lobbyists have he probably would have given them everything they asked for as well. String him up by the shoulders obviously was not as effective as cash and other “benefits.”

3

I do not agree with McCain about the Jones Act. I wonder why he takes this anti-Jones Act position. He ought to know better. However, McCain is one of our better politicians. Attack the dumb idea, not the man.

4

I disagree about the man, unless you meant the “better politicians” comment as an insult. I really did like him very much once upon a time, but now he’s out of touch and delusional, and not just about the Jones Act. He’s good at getting re-elected, I’ll give him that, but not much else.

5

[QUOTE=tugsailor;149249]I do not agree with McCain about the Jones Act. I wonder why he takes this anti-Jones Act position. He ought to know better. However, McCain is one of our better politicians. Attack the dumb idea, not the man.[/QUOTE]

Mcain is a politician. He is not in the business of doing what is good or right for the best interests of the American people, he is there to serve those who financed his campaigns. He owes his position and privilege to a handful of lobbyists and wealthy contributors who have no hesitation to sell American security, jobs, and our future to the highest bidder for their own short term gains.

Mcain is a poster child for all that is wrong with Congress and our self appointed political royalty.

Ask Mcain if he is just as eager to open the airline industry to Air Bumfukistan, who I am sure, could sell seats from JFK to Orlando much cheaper than Delta since they wouldn’t have to deal with all those messy things like the taxes and labor laws and safety issues that American carriers have to.

If we had representatives with the balls to force the foreign flag shipping industry to meet the same requirements and limitations as foreign air carriers in this country we would be far more secure in every aspect than what Mcain seems to want for the American people. The sooner he and his ilk are relegated to the cesspool of political scum the better.

6

The Jones Act, the oil and gas industry, and John McCain are not the problem. The tax and regulation environment in this country that makes businesses prefer to do business overseas is the problem. The problems being experienced in shipping and shipbuilding are no different than any other big business in the United States. IT DOES NOT MAKE BUSINESS SENSE TO DO BUSINESS IN AMERICAN WHEN IT CAN BE DONE CHEAPER OVERSEAS. When we incentivize shipping companies to work under the Jones Act at costs favorable to their clients through a forgiving tax and regulation environment, ONLY THEN will the Jones Act (and our jobs!) be safe from scrutiny.

C.Captain, I know the idea of helping big business in anyway is distasteful to you and your lefty cohorts but damn it, how the hell else are we supposed to maintain a shipping industry (or even an economy!) in this country!? I’m a big believer in mom-and-pop businesses, they’re what keep this country wholesome and strong. All good things start close to home, but not every job can be accomplished by small businesses. If small businesses are the glue and fasteners then big business is the planking of the hull. As long was keep letting toredo worms and termites (taxes and regulations) run rampant, the ship will never stay afloat.

The Jones Act is not safe as long as this country continues to punish success with tax and regulation.

7

[QUOTE=Dawn patrol;149240]I am with a lot of people who wonder why Mcain has it in for the Jones Act and I am not a big fan of his political career. I think c.captain does the man’s military service discredit by criticising his time as a pilot putting his life on the line for his country. Yes he might have not aborted his attack run on the power plant when he was acquired by air defense radar, but if a pilot aborted an attack run every time they were locked on

nothing would have gotten destroyed. The pilot’s flying combat missions in the war had to fight under insane rules passed down by politicians who had no interest in winning the war. I guarantee c.captain would have folded like a house of cards the first time the Norh Viet strung him up by the shoulders.[/QUOTE]

I am only going to reply to this by saying that I read “Faith of My Fathers” but while I do not have the book in my library to reference, I very clearly recall him stating in his description of the mission against the power plant that the orders the A-4 pilots flew under included to not continue with an attack if acquired. I don’t know about you, but I do not want my mates to take it upon themselves to interpret my orders to them but to just follow them as written. In the case of McCain that day, a plane and its pilot would have returned to the ORISKANY intact and alive to make another sortie. The cost to the USN for his gung ho bravado caused John McCain to lose for the Navy a valuable plane and a highly trained pilot. Maybe all missions cannot be flown 100% safe but when even the author states disobeying orders it is not indicative to me of a pilot who had the best of judgement.

further he had three significant flying accidents even before being sent to Vietnam

During a March 1960 practice run in Texas, he lost track of his altitude and speed, and his single-seat, single-pistoned-engine AD-6 Skyraider crashed into Corpus Christi Bay and sank to the bottom.

around December 1961 he collided with power lines while recklessly flying too low over southern Spain.[61] The area suffered a power outage, but McCain was able to return his damaged Skyraider to Intrepid

In November 1965, he had his third accident when apparent engine failure in his T-2 Buckeye trainer jet over the Eastern Shore of Virginia led to his ejecting safely before his plane crashed.

even if we give him the last one, the two previous accidents were both pilot error and I do not believe the Navy routinely even then would allow a man to lose one and almost lose another plane to keep flying but would wash them out and assign them to the fleet but somehow McCain kept his wings. I will not speculate why this occurred but will allow others to make their own inferences.

lastly, regarding his capture and time he was a prisoner of the North Vietnamese, I cast no aspersions against McCain. He showed amazing fortitude to survive his ordeal and he must be given great personal credit for those 5 1/2 years he suffered under their abuse and torture. I do not pretend for a minute that I could have endured such horrors but that does not exonerate him from failed judgement in his original mission.

8

[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;149253]The Jones Act, the oil and gas industry, and John McCain are not the problem. The tax and regulation environment in this country that makes businesses prefer to do business overseas is the problem. The problems being experienced in shipping and shipbuilding are no different than any other big business in the United States. IT DOES NOT MAKE BUSINESS SENSE TO DO BUSINESS IN AMERICAN WHEN IT CAN BE DONE CHEAPER OVERSEAS. When we incentivize shipping companies to work under the Jones Act at costs favorable to their clients through a forgiving tax and regulation environment, ONLY THEN will the Jones Act (and our jobs!) be safe from scrutiny.

C.Captain, I know the idea of helping big business in anyway is distasteful to you and your lefty cohorts but damn it, how the hell else are we supposed to maintain a shipping industry (or even an economy!) in this country!? I’m a big believer in mom-and-pop businesses, they’re what keep this country wholesome and strong. All good things start close to home, but not every job can be accomplished by small businesses. If small businesses are the glue and fasteners then big business is the planking of the hull. As long was keep letting toredo worms and termites (taxes and regulations) run rampant, the ship will never stay afloat.

The Jones Act is not safe as long as this country continues to punish success with tax and regulation.[/QUOTE]

You do not know what you’re talking about, unless you’ve been a small business owner.

I’ve been a small business owner, trading in steel and a sub-contractor to 2 of the top 10 defense contracting fabricators cos in USA. I’ve supplied Kiel Blocks, prefabricated fibreglass rebars for the Marine Corps officers swimming pool, fabricated rebars for some few gates, etc in Pearl Harbor. Not to mention some steel that were used to construct demo houses that looked like the mud houses in Afghanistan for the soldiers to train in and various other defense products. How I got these business without having to lobby, is something I alone know.

Taxes and regulations in this country heavily favor big businesses and NOT small businesses. The govt. subsidies, tax rebates etc that big corps get are not passed on to the consumer, but kept with themselves and thereby, at each and every stage, costs keep increasing. Name one subsidy or a tax rebate that a small business gets? Big businesses set up their own retail operations, which thanks to the lobbying done by the US Chamber of Commerce, is recognized as a Small Business. Take steel for example. Nucor, a prominent steel maker, has Harris Supply as its retail front and is a Small Business. Really! How does a small business mom and pop owner competes against that? If Nucor is the fastner, then Harris is the glue. And, if the volumes are good enough, Nucor will bypass you, raising their prices to you, go direct and offer a lower price to the customer. Oh, and no credit for supplying to you. Cash ONLY, please.

Loans: All these big corps get loans at an extremely advantageous rate with barely any collateral. As a small business owner, try applying for the govt. guaranted SBA loan. The SBA loans are all given through too-big-to-fail banks. Go to the banks and they want collateral, in spite of the loan being govt backed. Go to the US Chamber of Commerce for help, and they look you down their nose and just shrug. If you have collateral, why would you be approaching for a loan and increase your overheads? A fact that simply bypasses them. The reason why I had to close down my business and come back to shipping is that I was refused a loan, even when one big Air Force contractor was giving me a specialty steel supply job and I did not have the money.

I am a 1st Gen immigrant from one of the BRICS countries. Pray tell me, what can be done cheaper overseas that cannot be done in this country? If not cheaper, than at least better? It has become cheaper to manufacture overseas, simply because factories and industries have been systematically destroyed in this country. The only thing that makes it cheaper is the foreign exchange rate. China has deliberately kept her currency artificially lower and now that too is beginning to hurt. The Chinese are now setting up plants in Vietnam where is even more cheaper and looking towards India, provided India waters down her anti-pollution laws. Which, is not going to happen.

Jones Act: With a background in shipping, steel and some chemical manufacturing, I can confidently say that one BIG reason that makes ships in USA expensive to make is Steel. USA has everything from coal to iron ore and yet, why is our steel the most expensive in the world? E.G Rebar: Ex-factory, rebar in US is approx $39/lb compared to imported and landed, approx 28/lb. An oil co gets a billion in subsidy/yr. Before WW2, the steel industry wanted subsidies to set up plants. After the war, they again wanted subsidies to survive. Then, they wanted the govt to underwrite their pension funds to survive. Read this. Yet, everybody cries wolf, sheds tears, happily pocket all the money and then lobby against the Jones Act. Seriously!

Taxes: As a small business owner, there is ZERO tax relief and ZERO loophole available. My total taxes (Fed+State) came to approx 43%. Show me one big corp which pays that kind of tax. If anything, Obama has increased taxes on the small business owner (around 2011, I think) and added an indirect tax recently, otherwise known as the ACA. Do a research on the taxes paid in the countries where all these big corps have plants and you’ll find that they happily pay their share of taxes there and lobby for less and less taxes here, mis-informing the citizens of this country and pushing their share of tax burden on people like us. Chevron, GE, Boeing ALL have a negative tax rate, mister.

Ever seen the port waters in Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, Africa, etc? You want to do away with regulations which keeps this country pollution free?

The Jones Act is not safe as long as politician like McCain continues to punish the middle class with taxes and regulations and favors ONLY the big corps.

9

Negative ghost-rider. I’m glad that as a small business owner you were able to secure prestigious contracts, and I wish all small business owners could be so lucky, but small business owners cannot afford to own and operate huge tonnage merchant fleets. That would make them big businesses. Since you asked, my family and I have owned and operated a successful small business for almost 90 years but I still stand by my original statement. Nothing get’s done without big business and the way things stand now big businesses are punished for their success. At any point have I said that it is easier to be a small business owner? No, I didn’t, but small business owners simply aren’t enough to get the job done.

10

[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;149277]Negative ghost-rider. I’m glad that as a small business owner you were able to secure prestigious contracts, and I wish all small business owners could be so lucky, but small business owners cannot afford to own and operate huge tonnage merchant fleets. That would make them big businesses. Since you asked, my family and I have owned and operated a successful small business for almost 90 years but I still stand by my original statement. Nothing get’s done without big business and the way things stand now big businesses are punished for their success. At any point have I said that it is easier to be a small business owner? No, I didn’t, but small business owners simply aren’t enough to get the job done.[/QUOTE]

Go to Asia and you’ll meet plenty small business owners with tonnage fleets and ship operators as well. Varun Shipping in India is the 1st that comes to mind. OEL is another. And, they all started small and family owned. Go to Greece and most started with 1 or 2 rusty ships and slowly started building up. Nobody built up a fleet overnight. Neither did A. P. Maersk.

Let’s not forget the history of McAllister and c.captain: Read the history of McAllister (humble beginnings) + c.captain (Started with Orca and now +1). Big cos.!? Really?

You keep on touting and playing for big business, but as far as I am concerned, given sufficient govt support, small businesses can do it and even better. As for success, the internet medium that you’re using, was invented with tax payers money, before it was handed over to your cherished big cos. Those big cos also got subsidies to lay cable from the fed and the state govts to deliver the internet to the end consumer. Yet, the customers are charged hand over fist to get and use the internet. Pocketing the subsidies, charging the customer the full amount and making money while lobbying for a monopoly is not success, BUT robbery.

11

[QUOTE=smoker;149279]Let’s not forget the history of McAllister and c.captain: Read the history of McAllister (humble beginnings) + c.captain (Started with Orca and now +1). Big cos.!? Really?[/QUOTE]

I don’t know about McAllister but in the case of my operation, you simply cannot get much smaller I believe (at least in gross annual receipts)…however I endeavor to persevere and continue to grow no matter how incrementally slowly.

btw, got a fine 92’ vessel presently in my sights for conversion to an uninspected 12pax prospect for SW Alaskan expeditions. Problem is she needs to be repowered…

anyone here want in with me?

12

[QUOTE=c.captain;149305btw, got a fine 92’ vessel presently in my sights for conversion to an uninspected 12pax prospect for SW Alaskan expeditions. Problem is she needs to be repowered… anyone here want in with me?[/QUOTE]

Kudos to you c.captain for not only perserving, but also exemplifying the spirit of entrepreneurship and small business owner, the kind which built this country.

IF I had the capital, I’d have happily joined you, but may I suggest:

  1. SBA Loan: Although, theoretically govt backed, the banks will want a collateral and you already have it. The interest will depend upon your credit rating. The big advantage is that, a: You can slightly modify the terms to suit you and more importantly b: You are not sharing ownership with anyone. The last I heard, CapitalOne Bank is offering SBA loans at advantageous rates and conditions.

  2. If that fails, you may want to look into crowd funding. Finance will come in cheap, but buying yourself into full ownership may become a costly affair.

  3. You must have heard of/drank Samuel Adams, the kraft beer co from MA!? The owners are into funding micro businesses. Their way of giving back to the society. You may want to contact them, too.

Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your impending 3rd ownership and smooth sailing ahead :slight_smile:

13

[QUOTE=smoker;149309]Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your impending 3rd ownership and smooth sailing ahead :)[/QUOTE]

your congratulations are premature…I do not even have a business plan put together for her yet however I have hopes…

except hopes don’t buy oneself SQUAT…what I need is M_O_N_E_Y!

.

14

You could start a kickstarter!

15

[QUOTE=rshrew;149317]You could start a kickstarter![/QUOTE]

actually I would like to speak with you about this…when you gonna be back in the NW?

16

Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again

17

just got back today I actually have a buddy who is interested in this sort of thing.

18

[QUOTE=beekerbetter;149330]Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again[/QUOTE]

I thought you shrunk to the point of becoming invisible to the human eye…I guess you are still only a very small person

btw, nice pony you have there Hoss…what’s its name?

.

19

[QUOTE=c.captain;149346]
btw, nice pony you have there Hoss…what’s its name?
.[/QUOTE]

His Chinese name would be Wee Hong Dong

20

I said it in another thread. McShame is all about destroying American jobs and businesses in favor of the illegal aliens. Hell, he fought his own state about passage of 1070. Yes, he acquited himself honorably as a POW, but the only reason he was a POW was because he was a crappy pilot. He was accepted into Navy aviation, despite being among the lowest in his class at USNA because of nepotism. Daddy was an admiral. That’s how he kept his wings despite two planes wrecked due to pilot error. He has become a self serving traitor in my eyes.