FreeYaël

Political reindeer games, crime stats in WI recall race

Thu, 31 May 2012 21:30:17 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Wisconsin Reporter

MILWAUKEE — At the zenith of the hotly contested and increasingly partisan campaign to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who knew the divisive political discourse would center on what constitutes a “violent” crime?

This follows an investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which determined that more than 500 cases of aggravated assault were downgraded to simple assault by the Milwaukee Police Department since 2009, suggesting that violent crimes have risen by 1.1 percent since 2010, instead of the 2.3 percent reported previously.

The discrepancies arose when the newspaper determined that cases that should have been categorized as “aggravated” assaults instead were labeled as “simple” assaults, allowing the police department to remove those cases from the log of, statistically speaking, “violent” crime.

Union prep before WI recall vote calm before storm

Wed, 30 May 2012 20:48:41 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Wisconsin Reporter

MILWAUKEE — The skies may be gray and dreary, but the stern faces of union supporters in the Badger State remain as red as ever.

All across Wisconsin, the organized forces of Gov. Scott Walker’s opposition are pledging voter drives and recruiting allies, while undertaking a significant social media campaign aimed at unseating the first-term Republican governor.

The lines have been drawn in the sand since early 2011, when Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature took to restricting the collective bargaining of most public employees.

Now, in the six days remaining before the 2012 gubernatorial recall election, several trade unions are preparing to help Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett overtake Walker — no matter what it takes.

OSSOWSKI: Electoral reforms increase voter rights, not suppress them

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:30:00 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

TAMPA— The fight to recognize universal suffrage has been bloody, costly and, above all, hard-fought.

Though considerations of race, sex, income, literacy and property ownership once barred certain individuals from the polling place, today these distinctions remain rightfully absent when American citizens casts their vote.

What remains important, however, is not that individuals are allowed to mark their political preferences on a piece of paper, but rather that these preferences are counted accurately and legitimately, so the true will of the people can be recorded.

Nationwide, many states are undertaking efforts to reduce voter fraud, whether it is through requiring identification to match voter profiles, limiting unaccountable third-party registration groups or confirming eligibility and residency.

Allowing individuals to vote only represents one facet of the democratic process — the other, more important aspect is allowing each vote to have equal weight, free of manipulation or rigging.

Read more: FloridaWatchdog.org

Florida Rep. Ted Deutch wishes away voter fraud

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:51:00 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

MIAMI— Just ignore it, and it will go away.

That’s the attitude of U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, who passed a letter to the 24 other members of Florida’s congressional delegation claiming there has been “no history of mass voter fraud” in the Sunshine State and any attempt to confirm voter eligibility amounted to “stripping Floridians of their voting rights.”

Of the 253,000 suspected ineligible voters identified by the Florida Department of State earlier this month, Deutch cites the case of one man incorrectly labeled a noncitizen as a reason for “immediately suspending” the process of updating the voter registration list.

Read more: FloridaWatchdog.org

With private spaceflight, what about all that NASA spending?

Wed, 23 May 2012 09:48:00 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

MIAMI — History will be made at 3:47a.m. EST on Thursday in Florida.

The Dragon capsule will fly by the International Space Station at 17,500 mph, the minimum speed required to maintain orbit around the planet.

What makes the event so noteworthy relies less on the flyby and more on the capsule, the first privately launched space vehicle to breach the limits of Earth‘s lower atmosphere.

The project is the brainchild of billionaire PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, who founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or Space X, to carry forward the dream of space travel into the 21st century.

Read more: FloridaWatchdog.org

When Alberta's Opposition Leader is a Hayekian...

Mon, 21 May 2012 23:08:00 -0400

…we know the voters of the Energy Province made the wrong decision in the April 24th legislative election.

Most were well aware that Danielle Smith, the leader of Alberta’s Wildrose Party and the official Opposition Leader in the provincial legislative assembly, was a libertarian, but now we have confirmation that she be might Austrian as well, as an adherent of the ‘Austrian’ school of economics.

Here are some recent tweets where she documents her love of the Hayek vs. Keynes rap videos put out by Spike TV producer John Papola and George Mason University Professor and modern Austrian Russ Roberts:

I never get tired of watching these videos. Fear the Boom and Bust a Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem bit.ly/hMjUtN (1/2) #wrp
— Danielle Smith (@ElectDanielle) May 21, 2012

Alas, the potential to elect a true Austrian came so close.

I wish there were more than two videos! Fight of the Century Round 2 Hayek vs. Keynes rap video bit.ly/KsZxLe (2/2) #wrp
— Danielle Smith (@ElectDanielle) May 21, 2012

Along the same theme, here is a great interview where she categorizes what it means to be libertarian in Canada and Alberta:

FL Gov. Rick Scott, Spain and the uncertain science of business development

Mon, 21 May 2012 22:51:00 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

TAMPA — As Spain faces massive resistance from investors and the unemployed, a delegation of Florida political and business leaders has swept in to sell the economic virtues of the Sunshine State.

Gov. Rick Scott is trying to “further cement cultural ties” with Spain and promote Florida as the “ideal location” for both business and tourism, according to his weekly YouTube address.

Read more: FloridaWatchdog.org

Unconstitutional President

Mon, 21 May 2012 09:22:15 -0400

OSSOWSKI: Confessions of a standardized testing survivor

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:03:44 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

TAMPA — Even after hours of cramming mathematical formulas, composing rough drafts and tracking down ever-elusive No. 2 pencils, there was no more excruciating experience than having to complete a state-mandated standardized test.

The teachers, worn out from their recent intensive lessons on math, reading and writing expected on the next standardized test, would arrive on test day with the latest Mary Higgins Clark novel in hand.

Anxious students entered the classroom knowing all-too-well that failing the test, which had been drilled into their heads, would mean repeating the grade — risking total social shame.

Read more: FloridaWatchdog.org

Ineligible, dead voters rampant in FL’s registration list

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:01:02 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

TAMPA — At first riddled with individuals suspected of not being U.S. citizens, Florida‘s voter registration list now is facing scrutiny for the dead and buried on its rolls.

After reviewing Social Security records, the state Division of Elections determined that about 53,000 registered voters may be deceased, giving election officials seven days to purge the list of those voters, according to the Florida Department of State.

Read more: FloridaWatchdog.org

The day Mitt Romney came to town

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:22:16 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

ST. PETERSBURG— The comfortable room had patriotic flare and subdued excitement.

The national debt clock stood ticking behind 22 hand-picked senior citizens armed with smartphones, tablets and buttons with U.S. flags.

They were among the 300 supporters of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney gathered Wednesday morning at the Mirror Lake Lyceum downtown.

Read more: FloridaWatchdog.org

FL public sector the biggest single employer

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:19:00 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

TAMPA — In the search to find the biggest job creator in Florida, residents should look no further than themselves — or rather, their government.

The single largest employer in 51 of 67 Florida counties is the public sector, including members of the military, librarians, college professors, prison guards, administrators and health-care workers, according to an examination by Florida TaxWatch, a nonprofit fiscal watchdog in Tallahassee.

Read more: FloridaWatchdog.org

Noam Chomsky on Obama's Assassinations and Latin American Drug Legalization

Mon, 14 May 2012 22:39:00 -0400

While Noam Chomsky, the linguist and foreign policy dissident, is still alive, I am committed to listening to every interview he does.

It does not matter whether or not you agree with him; the man has the memory recollection of an ancient Roman god.

Here is his latest on Democracy Now, discussing Obama’s drone strikes, the inconsequential WikiLeaks and the drug legalization offered by the Latin American countries:

And on the Palestinian hunger strike:

OSSOWSKI: Debate on student loan interests rates misses point

Mon, 14 May 2012 20:39:19 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

TAMPA — For the millennial generation, the attainment of a college degree has always been perceived as the key to the middle class.

Just borrow enough to put yourself through school, they were told, and the benefits of higher education will promise fruitful employment and success.

But increasingly, that path has become laden with rising debt costs and uncertain job prospects, making graduation the most feared day of a young person’s life — especially once that first loan payment comes due.

And to remedy the problem, the U.S. Congress is once more delighted to intervene.

Read more: FloridaWatchdog.org

Influence, earmarks persist in FL senator’s term

Fri, 11 May 2012 19:54:00 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

MIAMI — As a powerful member of the Senate Commerce, Finance and Intelligence committees and the former state treasurer of Florida, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is no stranger to the intricacies of backroom politics.

With 40 years of successive public service in Tallahassee and onCapitol Hill, the senator has garnered a reputation as a staunch Democratic statesman known as an “authentic hayseed.”

But such a long grip on power also has meant budding relationships with key industries and lobbies that seek representation on the Hill.

As chairman of the Commerce Committee’s space subcommittee and only the second sitting member of Congress to fly on a space mission, Nelson has been the foremost advocate for the federal government’s role in funding space and defense — and industries have taken note.

Establishment faces off in FL’s 22nd District

Wed, 09 May 2012 19:46:00 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

MIAMI — More than four months remain until the primaries for the Republican and Democratic parties in Florida, but the parties have decided on their candidates for the 22nd Congressional District.

In the race to replace GOP U.S. Rep. Allen West, who is seeking election in the newly drawn 18th District, the establishments of both parties have set up former stateRep. Adam Hasner, R-Boca Raton, and former West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel, the Democrat, as competitors for the November election.

Read more: FloridaWatchdog.org

Voter fraud in FL? Lawmakers feel vindicated

Wed, 09 May 2012 19:44:00 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

MIAMI — After a litany of civil lawsuits and scrutiny from the federal government, it seems Florida’s Legislature may be vindicated in its efforts to combat voter fraud.

At least three Florida counties are investigating cases of registered voters who do not have legal citizenship status, adding support to the sentiment that precipitated changes to state election laws in March of last year.

Read more: FloridaWatchdog.org

Ron Paul delegation vows to be a force in Tampa

Mon, 07 May 2012 19:58:00 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

TAMPA — For Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus and much of the news media, the presidential nomination process is wrapped up.

The much-televised reality show and political horse race has crowned former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the party’s “presumptive nominee,” amounting to a “complete merger wherein the RNC (which) is putting all of its resources and energy behind Mitt Romney to be the next president of the United States,” the RNC chairman said in late April.

This omits the preferences of the 15 states yet to cast a single vote, as well as party rules that officially bar the committee from endorsing one candidate while another remains in the race.

But for the passionate supporters of Texas U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, the fight to be represented at the GOP National convention here has just begun — much to the chagrin of the entrenched Republican establishment.

Scott on CNBC: Florida really is the place to do business

Fri, 04 May 2012 11:42:00 -0400

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

TALLAHASSEE– Florida Gov. Rick Scott took to CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Friday morning, seizing the opportunity to tout the latest job numbers in the state.

He received praise from interviewer Joe Kernen on taxes and regulations, and even criticized President Barack Obama’s narrow focus on student loan interest rates.

“People want a job, and that’s what I’m trying to do here,” said Scott. “We’re going to let everybody in our state know where the jobs are.

Sam Harris debate with Rabbi David Wolpe

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 17:33:32 -0400