la liberté avant tout
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — If a Senate candidate criticizes a plan to cut government spending, and exaggerates those cuts over a decade to make them seem massive and frightening, is that misleading and deceptive? According to the self-described “fact-checking” organization PolitiFact, deception is not only welcomed and approved, but also…
For the casual audience tuning into Showtime on Sunday evenings, it’s not likely they’re searching for artful deconstructions of a nation in the midst of clandestine war, illegal surveillance, and retaliatory attacks on civilian populations. But for the award-winning Homeland, still laced with plenty of suspense, sex, and smut, this is precisely what is offered. Using character studies, thematic elements,…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — If Sen. Bill Nelson had his way, local police departments across the country would not only be empowered to go after criminals breaking local laws, but also enforce federal tax crimes related to fraud and identity theft. The Identity Theft and Tax Fraud Prevention Act, introduced by Nelson on July…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — In the last days before election time, the media narrative inevitably falls on tracking quick shifts in public sentiment or mood that may swing the general election, chiefly through public opinion polls and newspaper endorsements. Polls are reprinted almost daily, leaving plenty of interpretation from the pundits…
More from my contribution to this week’s Human Events magazine: FLORIDA McCain stumps in Miami as Romney pulls ahead in Sunshine State With debates out of the way and a full accelerator on political advertising, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are in the last stretch to woo Florida’s independent, female and Latino, voting blocs that could…
My Florida television debut on WTSP News 10 in Tampa, all about the potential for voter fraud and the very real attempt and to intimidate and deceive voters in one of the nation’s most important swing states. I was nabbed for the interview after I wrote “The All-Out Battle to Fix the Florida Elections.” Read…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — For the average voter in the state of Florida, questions about the legitimacy of the election process are about as common as candidates’ specific platforms or policies. In the year 2012, that mantra holds true again. In the past two weeks leading up to the general election,…
More from my contribution to this week’s Human Events magazine: FLORIDA Romney, Ryan, Biden in Sunshine State looking to persuade undecided voters More uncertainty abounds in the race to capture Florida, with only two weeks remaining before the election and more miles due to be logged by the Republican and Democratic candidates. Thursday, GOP vice presidential…
More from my contribution to this week’s Human Events magazine: FLORIDA Romney pushing to lock up support in Sunshine State It seems that a television debate and good press is all that’s needed to turn a presidential campaign around. That’s the scene in Florida fewer than three weeks before the general election, as GOP presidential hopeful…
By Yaël Ossowski | Watchdog.org ST. PETERSBURG — Imagine a civic paradise in Florida: a county in which every citizen over the age of 18 is registered to vote, votes in every election and keeps all information up-to-date with election officials, whether it be a recent move, a death in the family or a name change….
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…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG – As American embassies are overrun by protesters and ambassadors are put in harm’s way across the Middle East, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida wants to continue sending foreign aid to nations who aren’t friendly to the United States. That’s the pitch of a new advertisement sent out by RANDPAC, the political action committee…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG – Organizing for America campaign workers encouraged and tacitly supported a voter who announced her intention to vote in both Florida and Minnesota, despite the fact that doing so is a crime, newly released video purports to show. Watchdog.org obtained the video produced by Project Veritas, the nonprofit investigative journalism group headed by James O’Keefe. The two-part video features…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG— A Barack Obama campaign worker helped an undercover journalist register to vote for the president in Florida despite her expressed intention to vote in another state, video reviewed by Watchdog.org shows. Casting more than one ballot in the same election is a violation of federal and state statutes. Experts said helping someone violate…
More from my contribution to this week’s Human Events magazine: FLORIDA Romney has ‘senior moment’ in Sunshine State The fight for Florida’s 29 electoral votes continues to ramp up in the last month of presidential campaigning. As miles are logged across the Sunshine State’s vast area, poll data becomes more frequent and voters tune in…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — An assistant dean at the University of Miami School of Law encouraged students to vote to retain Florida judges in next month’s merit retention election. William VanderWyden, assistant dean for professional development, urged law students to vote yes on retaining state Supreme Court Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Parienteand Peggy Quince because it is “what…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG – In such a large and diverse state as Florida, it is often difficult to craft a singular political message that will win statewide. It becomes easy to cater to certain groups where support is perceived as very high, limiting the scope of debate to issues that are addressed…
If they do, they will both agree on them all.
More from my contribution to this week’s Human Events magazine: FLORIDA Voters dig in for tight race as candidates turn attention to polls, Cuban exiles As candidates Mitt Romney and President Obama continue to rack up frequent flier miles across the Sunshine State in the last few weeks of the campaign, the focus now has turned…