Yeah sweetcheeks, you absolutely will.
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Let me guess. You didnât vote for change?
No, back when Obama was running I was a Republican. I have since learned the error of my ways.
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Record booming economy, record wages, the lowest inflation in the world, overall an amazing time to be an American. Only delusional fools like you think thereâs anything wrong with the last 4 years.
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If people believed that noise, Harris would have won. You will never admit it but Biden/Harris were a colossal failure. You know it in your heart. Sleep safeâŚ
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Because itâs a lie that only delusional fools believe.
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More than half the country must be foolish. At least I wonât be lonely.
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I voted for President Trump for the obvious reason that I love this nation and the Democrat-Communist party which it has turned into in the last 20+ years is insane and treasonous. I will end that part of my reply. During his first term I took the opportunity and convinced about a dozen other mariners to faithfully write emails to the President via the White House Portal. The letters were virtually the same every day to expand the PL480 law into 100% carriage on US Ships, defense of the Jones Act citing the importance of maintaining it and for expanding the US foreign deep sea trading fleet. Also pushed at that time for the CBP Customs Service to stop granting Jones Act waivers and also reclass activities carried out by foreign support and industrial vessels in the OCS as a violation of the Jones Act. I am not taking credit but Trump actually was seriously mandating that 100% of PL-480 food program and the other food program, (name escapes me) on US flag vessels. He was talked out of it by Corker of TN and Brownback if memory serves me. Corker the never Trump hater of the Merchant Marine from an inland state along with the others succeeded. He ended up having a falling out with them but not before he dropped the idea. He knows his enemies and the backstabbing assholes in the beltway this time around and I will be starting up the writing campaign the minute he is sworn in. I am long in the tooth and at the twilight of my career but owe it to young mariners like you who deserve the opportunities I had as a hawsepiper and hopefully to grow the industry. The worst impediments arrayed against us are many and almost all imbedded in outdated tax, depreciation laws, and unfortunately the way that shipping for Jones Act trade is tethered to the shipyard industry. The Jones Act does not block foreign vessels from being flagged in for foreign deep sea trade as I have exclusively worked on foreign flagged in ships for over 30 years, but the laws and financing are making it tough even for MSP and ACP program ships to run profitably, and now we are having a hard time manning the few ships we have. Good Luck and forget the naysayers, I was told the industry was dead 30 yrs ago and its tough but still alive.
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Possibly the greatest example of sarcasm I have ever read. Phoenix, he is saying you shouldnât believe any of what youâre espousing.
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I was trying to avoid chiming in, but I too am confused. In the last four years my home value has doubled, my investments and 401k has more than doubled, the economy is steaming, GDP growth is positive, unemployment is trending towards historic lows, inflation is back to normalization from post-pandemic recovery, so much so that the Fed just cut rates against, the fact that I personally havenât locked my front door in nine years is my anecdote to crime ratesâŚam I living in some alternate reality? What is this colossal failure I keep hearing about?
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And the pandemic related inflation in the US has been (by far) the lowest of all developed nations. Period.
But people are pissed off with blatant illegal immigration and the amount things rose in cost from a loaf of bread to a car.
Remembering that most Americans have no investments and many cannot afford to buy a home or have $600 spare cash in the bank.
The Dems hardly spoke to those things and with the helping hand of the GOP, accomplished little that got publicity. Actually they made a lot of good long term policy decisions and kept Amurca from coming undone. Investment in infrastructure sorely needed, and similar. But stoopid shit too like canceling student loans and not cranking down on the border BS. If someone spends $300k loan money getting a degree in Ancient Greek Archaeology well maybe they deserve to go bankrupt.
I think people tend to think about what is right in front of them. Inflation we canât ignore. The rest of what Americans perceive as problematic⌠well the GOP has a far better messaging machine and simpler messages. Easy to digest be it the Truth, internet gobbledygook or smoothly delivered lies.
I mean come on. GOP Message: Stop illegal immigration and deport those that snuck in.
Dem Message delivered late: We propose to implement a plan that, when the number of untimely border crossings exceeds the average of an historical zenith on an ebbing tide, with exceptions, will result in the temporary detention of the unannounced visitors, not to exceed 36 hours due to the stress that could be inflicted upon the aspiring folk.
I mean people just donât vote for that gobbledygook either. They donât feel it in their gut.
Now the simple, repeated, appealing lies and knowing malfeasance of Trump and his accomplices will serve to distract people like us from whatever special interests intend to accomplish. Be it good for us or not.
So who knows what the fate of the Jones Act will be. I think we will discover there is organized opposition to it and they have a solid chance to get their way.
America has indeed shifted to the hard right with big shifts in every liberal area. Iâm not sure Trump & Co will be the answer, being hopelessly unqualified for complex challenges but they did a fine job keeping the messages simple and some main ideas central in the discussion.
Which shipmates here in the Forum lean GOP or Dem is rather clear. Iâve never seen a GOP supporter get much further than baseline, core stick in your gut messages that as written make sense. True or not.
As for the Dem leaning, the feelings speak about what affects what and when and why. Like why drilling and development are currently at the levels they are instead of higher. It is not the result of one thing. But none of that hits hard in the gut and is easy to lash out atâŚ.
It is abstract and long winded and when a pack of decent bacon is $9.99 and $300 doesnât fill the grocery cart, well I ainât thinking abstract. Iâm on the phone to my wife asking if we need that many Pampers for the grandkids.
Most people will be happy if that which is right in front of them is either dealt with or a new âproblemâ is publicized enough to distract them.
So there we are. Good Luck Jones Act. My money is on it facing heavy seas dead ahead.
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And debt went down because USA is doing so well?
It surprises me ship that you need me to explain it to you. Youâre a smart guy.
My proof? The election. It wasnât even close.
The fact that Trump won in the fashion he did demonstrates that Biden/Harris are a failure. The only reason Harris even had the appearance that she had a chance was the media repeating over and over that she is good for the country. Itâs a referendum in epic fashion. Buyers remorse. Canceling the check. Harris lost to Trump in higher numbers than even the true believers thought possible. Failure. Biden? There would be no surprise there. Even his handlers who told him what to say and when to say it, his staunch supporters who believed in him and the media and Democratic Party who lied for him knew he would have lost even worse than her. Failure.
Maybe you believe that the a significant percentage of the Right are racist, that we get together and quietly talk about how we hate gays, want to not allow women to have freedoms or want a civil war? I canât cherry pick talking points to disprove your beliefs about your leaders. No one would hear anything new and there would be no point.
Like I said youâre smarter than that. Look around. What America said was they failed.
Stay safe
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Tradewinds article from 16. Sept. 2024:
Splash 24/7 20.Sept. 2024:
Here you see one of them in their younger days:
(No info on present location)
Source: BERING ENERGY photo, LNG Tanker - Taken on Aug 30, 2013 - VesselFinder
The last one, âGulf Energyâ, is back in Haugesund:
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/photos/of/ships/shipid:711387/shipname:GULF%20ENERGY?order=date_uploaded
We exist [steam engineers with LNG PIC]âŚjust a few of us, but we exist. I doubt any will work for AMO wages, though. Finding USA mates with LNG PIC may be harder, though.
*do note: all the LNG container ships donât count for LNG Tankerman PIC.
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Where/how did you get the LNG PIC?
Young men of Gen Z overwhelmingly voted for Trump.
Cope and seethe.
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How does anyone get a Tankerman PIC? They all worked on LNG tankers.
There are [very few] USA sailors working on LNG tankers. Imagine that! They are even union! MEBA had a ship that would go to Boston.
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I think thatâs the biggest hurdle. AMO did have an agreement with Shell a few years ago where they had some 2M/3Mâs on a handful of foreign LNG carriers but idk what happened with it.
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