I agree with Jamie. As I have said before and hope someone is listening, VOTE OUT ALL INCUMBENTS. That includes those from Dog Catcher to the President.

Good luck with that.

Now if this man was our first black president our country would have someone to be proud of !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Phillips says some good lines, but a few points he needs to be enlightened about. "we need to get rid of: the Department of Energy, EPA, OSHA and IRS,” OSHA was possibly one of the very best organizations created! I have to work with them, under their guidelines, and follow their rules daily. Without them, contractors would be allowing employees to wear unsafe equipment, work in unsafe environments, and safety all around would go unchecked. What is Phillips thinking?

Also, the EPA can be a pain to deal with, but States are not allowed to regulate Federal lands. So, although Alabama does have ADEM, it cannot regulate our Federal Forrests.

“Can a woman raise a child by herself? Yes. Is it fair for her to do that? No, it’s not,” Phillip said. “There are basic differences between men and women. Women are a lot more sensitive. They cool us down.” Not a smart thing to say. Why is it unfair for a mother to raise a child by herself? If you are going to throw that statement around, you better clarify exactly what you mean. Many mothers raise children, by themselves, because they have no other choice.

Not sure if I can get behind this one yet or not.

Q: What's the difference between Obama's cabinet and a penitentiary?

A: One is filled with tax evaders, blackmailers and threats to society. The other is for housing prisoners. -Letterman

RE: someone concerned

OSH Administration is weak; we can do more at the state and local level to protect our workers under the act.

From OSHA: "Since passage of the OSH Act in 1970 fewer than 100 cases have been prosecuted while more than 300,000 workers have died from on-the-job injuries.

In the 1980s, the State of Texas and Los Angeles County demonstrated that aggressive criminal law enforcement procedures improved occupational safety and health. In Texas, the number of trenching fatalities dropped dramatically when one county adopted a well-publicized criminal prosecution effort".

The same holds true for the EPA vs. state enforcement of environmental policies, the states do a much better job than the feds.

As for the comment about mothers having to raise children alone not being fair, that’s just opinion and I’ll voice mine like the candidate and yourself; I don’t think it’s fair either that women are usually the ones stuck to do all the child rearing in broken homes.

Just my 2 cents…

Hmmmmm from...if you will go onto OSHA's website and actually read the causes of death for many of these individuals, it had nothing to do with anything OSHA regulates. I saw numerous cases where an employee was shot or murdered, an employee began having convulsions and died, there are just too many to name. Anytime an employee dies on the job, it has to be reported to OSHA, whether it was job related or not.

Yes sir that's correct. You and I are on the same page as far as the need for employee protection goes, I just feel the states can do a better job.

I find it hard to believe the federal agency is necessary when they have prosecuted < .00003% of the cases (and not successfully prosecuted all) involving the death of a worker.

I think that comes from the idea that policy makers in a state or county are more likely to be influenced by local outcry for safer workplaces than some detached fed worker in an office 1000 miles away who was appointed rather than elected by those same folks. That’s probably the reason that state run programs tend to be more stringent.

From OSHA: “State?run programs are required to be “as effective” as Federal OSHA, but SMACNA contractors are encouraged to be mindful of the special requirements state?run OSHA programs may have that could be more stringent than the Federal OSHA program. For example, California is a state?run OSHA program and those regulations tend to go “above and beyond” what Federal OSHA requires.”

again that's just my .02...

Hmmmm, ok, that makes sense! I can get on board with a state-run program/entity as long as it, at the very minimum, adheres to current OSHA standards. Of course, if it is run by anyone elected, we will see politics and money play an issue and that is unacceptable. I don't know of a program in Alabama that enforces OSHA regulations other than OSHA, so I can't say whether or not it is running well. I do know that state employees and contractors are governed by OSHA rules and I am glad we have them.

I guess I just misinterpreted your comment. Sorry about that. I was interpreting your comment to read that you felt no need for OSHA. My mistake.