Monday, July 07, 2014

OSHA mystery writer



Some serious humor (oxymoron?) for a Monday morning:

There was an article in the June Industrial Safety and Hygiene News that was written by Karl Lody, “the pen name used by an OSHA industrial hygienist.”  I guess that means he doesn’t want (or is not allowed by his employer) to write under his real name. 

I can’t wait to read his articles in the future.  The first one has a line I love – “Karl’s Principle number 1: If it makes sense to you, it may not comply with OSHA.” 

I don’t think this is limited to OSHA – how many government rules and regulations make little logical sense?  They are watered down by special interests, written in complicated legalese, outdated by the time they are passed . . .

And yet one of my other favorite quotes is WinstonChurchill's “ . . . democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried . . .”   Perhaps our sausage making system of regulation is a mess, but what other system is better?

Unfortunately, I think this other Churchill quote seems to be gaining: "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."

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