Like other federal agencies under the Bush administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has abandoned its traditional role of setting and enforcing regulations in favor of industry partnerships and voluntary programs.

OSHA’s complete failure to do its job became painfully apparent earlier this week, when the House of Representatives voted 260 to 154 to require the agency to respond to a serious workplace hazard that was first brought to its attention seven years ago.

While shirah and smintheus have been covering the harmful effects of privatization at Walter Reed, there’s been another ongoing story about problems with privatizing federal functions. This time, the work is science, and it could affect all of us.

The Office of Management and Budget is one of the less-well-known tools the Bush administration has been using to advance its agenda of freeing corporations from pesky health and safety regulations. Last January, OMB’s Office of Internal and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) released a proposed risk assessment bulletin that would have made it much more difficult for EPA, OSHA, and other agencies to carry out their function of protecting our health and safety. Today, this boon to corporate interests received a smackdown from none other than the National Academies.

Public Citizen’s Robert Shull, one of the leaders in the fight against this proposal, posted the good news earlier today at the public health blog The Pump Handle. For those who aren’t as familiar with the proposal and the criticisms against it, here’s a bit more background.

Karma Mechanic has a great diary going about using our economic power to change the country. Posters have been suggesting a lot of resources, so I'm compiling them here, along with some general suggestions about using your financial power for good.

Tracking money in politics: Center for Public Integrity, Corpwatch, Public Campaign, Opensecrets.org

Comparing corporations: Ethical Consumer (UK), Idealswork.com, Responsible Shopper

Supporting responsible businesses: Local Harvest (find a farmers' market in your area), National Green Pages (a publication of Co-op America)

Socially responsible investing/shareholder activism: Innovest, Pax World Funds, the Social Investment Forum and its Advocacy & Policy Program

Kerry's conceded, and legal wrangling won't get us the presidency. Still, we need to document all of the reasons why this election isn't completely legitimate, and then get the word out online, in print, and on the air. If we don't, future elections will have just as many problems with missing absentee ballots, hours-long waits at the polls, and unverifiable counts from machines that leave no paper trails.

Several diaries are already discussing suspicious numbers in OH, FL, and elsewhere; a few of them are:
London Yank
katerina
BuckMulligan
davecarden

Please keep recommending diaries like these and posting additional examples. Also, please post links to groups that are compiling evidence of election problems, and let us know how we can support them.