la liberté avant tout
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — As Florida’s state lawmakers head back to Tallahassee this week to begin committee sessions that will largely determine the Legislature’s agenda for next year, all eyes are on House Speaker Will Weatherford. The 32 year old Republican businessman will be sworn in on Tuesday as the first House speaker…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG ─ To ban or not to ban, that is the question. Throughout the state of Florida, lawmakers and citizens’ groups are casting their ire on cell phones, demanding the government step in and ensure safety and transparency in one fell swoop. In one case is a proposal to…
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…
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…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott had little reason to worry as the election results were tabulated. His party’s presidential candidate may have lost, but Scott is confident that he will have a Republican-controlled House and Senate for another two years, allowing him to continue his agenda as the self-appointed “jobs governor.” With a few…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — Though in-person early voting has been only a novelty in Florida elections since 2004, organized groups statewide have taken up the issue as their last chance of winning the election in the final hours. Reports of long lines and excessive wait times have flamed up concerns for party…
By Yaël Ossowski | Watchdog.org ATLANTA — In the sparsely populated Atlanta suburb of College Park, dozens of pro-life activists gathered outside a local gynecologist office Friday afternoon to call out the negligence of one man: United States Attorney General Eric Holder. The nation’s top prosecutor, they claimed, was not only allowing abortion providers to fraudulently…
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…
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…