la liberté avant tout
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA — With the election season intensifying, candidates are looking to the mass collection of tea party groups statewide for support and endorsements. In nearly all of Florida’s 67 counties, there are more than 100 tea party groups, among other concerned citizen groups, according to FloridaTeaParty.net, which bills itself as…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST PETERSBURG — Imagine a congressman who has been in Washington, D.C,. long enough to witness the drawing down of theVietnam War, the shake-up of Watergate, the perilous Iran hostage situation, and the fall of the Berlin Wall — not to mention every significant political event of the 1990s and 2000s. Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Young, of…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA— Ever thought of taking all those saved sick days and vacation days and exchanging them for some cold, hard cash? That’s the promotional offer being handed out to Florida state employees when they retire, resign or receive their pink slip, as enshrined in state law. Public sector employees were awarded $51.7…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA — It is a standard claim that has become irrefutable mantra in Sunshine State politics. “As goes the Tampa media market so goes Florida,”Tallahassee-based Democratic strategist Steve Schaletold the New York Times during the Republican presidential primary in January. “As I4 corridor goes, so goes Florida,” wrote theWashington Times editorial board at the beginning of the 2008 presidential cycle….
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA — Often seen brandishing party talking points on national television and defending the president’s economic record in campaign speeches across the country, there are growing indications that U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, moonlighting as the Democratic National Committee chair, may need to begin defending her own record to keep her job come election…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA — The congressman with a knack for colorful hyperbole and an audible distaste for Republicans is back After losing District 8 to Republican Daniel Webster in the 2010 midterm elections, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson now is aiming for the newly configured and Democratic-friendly 9th Congressional District, south of Orlando….
Far removed from the sandy beaches and tropical wonders of Florida, I have explored and enjoyed the wonders of Vienna and the outlaying region for the past 12 days. While markedly shorter than my six month educational séjour in 2011, this trip was meant for a renewal of sorts—an opportunity to both reset my intellectual curiosity and embrace…
Considering my free time and my new found allegiance to autonomous servers and websites, I have created my own travel website while I am on the European continent. Appropriately, I have titled my site Leben un Lieben in Wien, or Living and Loving in Vienna. The site is hosted through World Outline program and the OPML server mastered by podcasting pioneer Dave Winer,…