RUMORS OF CYBER WAR: President Obama’s State of the Union Address included this hidden stock tip: invest in cyber-security companies with government contracts. By Yaël Ossowski | Special to Watchdog.org WASHINGTON, D.C— Speaking to the nation during his 2013 State of the Union address in February, President Barack Obama used the spotlight to warn of the growing […]
The Chuck Hagel witch hunt, brought to you by the Beltway media
By Yaël Ossowski | Watchdog.org ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – If one is to believe the mainstream press accounts from the nation’s capital, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel took a beating from his GOP colleagues during his confirmation hearing to become Secretary of Defense in the Obama administration. HAGEL ON HILL: Republican Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s choice for defense secretary, testifies […]
OSSOWSKI: Puerto Rican statehood could be GOP’s redemption
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — If the Republican Party is looking revitalize public sentiment and renew popular support for its platform and policies, a perfect opportunity can be found on a tiny island in the Atlantic Ocean. Just more than 1,000 miles south of Miami on the “island of enchantment,” the commonwealth of Puerto […]
OSSOWSKI: GOP’s rejection of social liberty lost the election
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — Devotees of the Republican Party will spend the next several months testing various theories of why their candidate Mitt Romney lost to incumbent President Barack Obama in the 2012 general election. Inevitably, some of the blame will be placed upon formerNew Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party candidate who pulled close to 50,000 votes […]
OSSOWSKI: O’Keefe’s antics trap small fish but leave corrupt establishment behind
By Yaël Ossowski | Watchdog.org ST. PETERSBURG — Less than 24 hours after the latest James O’Keefe video sting and there’s already one casualty. But sadly, it isn’t the specter of voter fraud or even doubts about the integrity of voter registration rolls in states across the country. Instead, it’s Stephanie Caballero, an otherwise noncontroversial regional field director for PresidentBarack […]
OSSOWSKI: ‘Makers’ and ‘takers’ are what America is all about
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — Renewed by the efforts of Democratic activists and a leading progressive publication, the national discourse has turned once more to the essential philosophical issue of taxation, a citizen’s most direct, albeit unpleasant, interaction with the government. At issue is the dividing line between Americans who actively […]
OSSOWSKI: Political parties are no longer engines of democracy
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG, Fl. — Twice now, visible to all on national television, Americans have witnessed a democratic process snuffed by inner political party elites. First came the complaints of grassroots conservative activists in Tampa, Fla., at the Republican National Convention, upset by the national committee’s maneuvering granting future presumptive nominees the […]
OSSOWSKI: Good business — barring lawyers from legislatures
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA — In the business world of today, there is much more to worry about than just the bottom line. Entrepreneurs are forced to not only appeal to consumers, but they must also comply with federal, state and local regulations, keep an eye out for upcoming laws that will […]
OSSOWSKI: Government does not create jobs, except for building weapons
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST PETERSBURG — A trait that is often regrettably lost when a politician takes office is consistency in both rhetoric and action. The rhetoric that fiscal conservatives in Florida and across the country have been successful in conveying and repeating is the idea that the federal government cannot create […]
OSSOWSKI: Is the Defense Department a jobs program or a tool for security?
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA— In the decades following World War I, a widespread consensus existed in the United States that armed conflicts were not pursued for defense, protection or necessity, but rather for the opportunity of profitable investment enjoyed by the captains of industry. According to the Senate Historical Office, the 1920s and […]