Looks pretty plain to me.

BTW, just how many Oil Rig Service jobs (including crew and supply boats) do you think are Unionized?

Try, “None.”

The Largely Uninformed hit at this bait every time the Big Money starts another assault on the US Merchant Marine, and I traced it right back to a press release attributed to Heritage Foundation on Tuesday. 

The Usual Suspects in this show will always turn out to be: ArcherDanielsMidland (and whichever politicians they buy), ConAgra and Cargill, with substantial support from Lazard Freres and the Heritage Foundation.

Jessie Helms and Charles Grassley are the great cheerleaders of the, “Let’s Kill the Merchant Marine” game. 

Andrew Card was another troll for Lazard Freres, trying gamely to kill off the tanker trade while he was US SEC TRANS.

We usually see articles like: 

“COOK ON US MERCHANT SHIP EARNS MORE THAN CAPTAIN     OF AIRCRAFT CARRIER,”

and there is always some “massaging” of the numbers…such as comparing the highest paid Chief Steward under American flag while he was working 64 hours/week of Overtime during DESERT STORM, versus ONLY the Net of a USN Officer commanding a helicopter landing ship. Ignoring that the Chief Steward on the merchant ship has to buy his own health insurance, grave, kids’ college, etc., versus the Commission-to-Crypt system DoD has for CDR or CAPT Unknown.

Helms was especially gratuitous in 1999, telling hog farmers in North Carolina that the cost of their Feed was high because, “…the Maritime Unions and the Jones Act have it tied up so bad, it has to be brought in by rail and truck.”

CBS and the WSJ were just tickled shitless to repeat this lie.

Problem was, there were NO BULK GRAIN TERMINALS in ANY port in North Carolina.

I know this because eleven of us got in our cars, pulled out our credit cards, drove the ENTIRE coast of NC, from Calabash to Kitty Hawk, and found not a single facility that could unload feed grains.

The point being, even if the Tug and Barge folks hauled it for FREE, there was no way to get the (hypothetil) feed off a barge or a ship, at any place where sea water or fresh touched North Carolina, and get it to the hog farms.

Documented same with video tape (U-matic) and affidavits, sending same to CBS and the author of the WSJ article.

Did you see THIS on CBS?

Nope. No interest. “That was two weeks ago.” 

THE PURPOSE OF THE JONES ACT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS A CADRE OF TRAINED MARINERS (DECK AND ENGINE), LONGSHOREMEN, SHIPWRIGHTS, and ELECTRICIANS TO SUPPORT THE PERPETUAL “STEEL BRIDGE” THAT US PRESIDENTS LIKE TO THROW ACROSS THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS TO SUPPORT “OUR TROOPS,” WHETHER THE ECONOMY IS UP, DOWN OR SIDEWAYS.

You know all those Reserve Fleet ships in Suisin Bay, and Beaumont and Houston and Portland and New Orleans?

If you ACTIVATE these ships, WHO WILL RUN THEM?

You think it’s like a bass boat? You just point it and shove the throttle home?

Do you think the US NAVY will do the work?

ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL!!!!

Your statement was:  ”So the Jones Act is to protect jobs for the unions.“ 

Nothing about Obama and Israel.

And, your statement is incorrect. The Jones Act is to protect you from godless Communists, potential Yellow Perils, etc.

“Now, shut the fuck up and move along…”

I am TRULY stunned by the originality of that.

For commentary of that quality I find that I usually have to visit a Down-Scale nail salon.

Nuff said.

http://www.charlotteconservative.com/index.php/2010/01/the-obama-loser-jinx/

“Is that a cellphone vibrating in your pocket or are you glad to see me Obama?”
This guy ?

As Obama and his wife, Michelle, strolled triumphantly into his victory party in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 3, Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” was blaring. In it, Jay raps, “I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain’t one.”
Now once upon a time not too long ago
A nigga like myself had to strong arm a hoe
This is not a hoe in the sense of havin a pussy
But a pussy havin no God Damn sense, try and push me.
THOSE LYRICS?

Or this one flipping off Hillary Clinton??
Or this one flipping off McCain?

The mysognyst pig is the asshole you voted for , now what does that say about YOU? Look Jackie, own the sexist pig you voted for! Even his own wife called him PATHETIC, on national TV.

Seriously, quit whoring for your political pimp BO. Ya that’s right, Jackie. I said it. The fool’s out there pimping everything insight for a buck and lie. Including you.

Question : Who the hell signs a letter like that? (Barak Obama is President??- wtf is that?

That’s the $100,000 dollar question, which never gets answered fully.  Any system that is non-transparent and difficult to understand to the point of seeming to be deliberately complicated in order to keep citizens from either asking questions or never getting to the truth, NO, THE PROCESS IS NOT FAIR.

My question is, “How can any democratic republic survive under these kinds of election shennaigans?”  Answer:  “It can’t.”

I couldn’t agree more.  And it feels DAMN insecure in here!