Watchdog.org
FL: Bill Nelson put on defensive over foreign aid to Libya, Pakistan and Egypt
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…
FL: Obama campaign workers silent in face of voter fraud
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…
FL: Swing-state magnet for fraudulent double voting
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…
FL: Law school dean tells students how to vote because it’s ‘what lawyers must do’
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…
FL: Real energy issues not bubbling to surface in U.S. Senate race
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…
FL: Vote fraud denier Ted Deutch calls for investigation into voter fraud
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — It was just a few months ago that Democratic U.S. Rep.Ted Deutch, of District 19, was ridiculing claims of voter fraud in Florida elections, accusing Republicans and ballot integrity groups of succumbing to the “voter fraud bogeyman.” “The story they tell is one of rampant voter fraud that threatens the integrity of our…
FL: South Florida lawmakers keep tight control on Cuban-American policy
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG – In visiting the diverse political strongholds across this swing state, candidates never shy from articulating views on foreign policy to appeal to certain constituencies. The nation of Israel, an ally of the United States, gets a lot of attention, due to the state’s nearly 700,000 Jewish voters,…
FL: Public pensions in hot water long before 2008 financial collapse
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — Huge gaping holes in public pension funding didn’t arise from the abyss of the recent economic crisis, but instead have been growing larger and larger over time and threaten the budgetary health of every city in the Sunshine State. That was the message of Florida State University’s Leroy Collins…
FL: Partisan forces strike hot in merit retention fight
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — Three Florida Supreme Court justices will have their fates decided by voters this fall, and it is drawing the ire of a growing number of political forces in the Sunshine State. Attention to the issue was first peaked by the involvement of the Republican Party of Florida on Friday which,…
FL: Millionaire Grayson continues his caustic push against the ‘rich’
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST. PETERSBURG — A quick glance at former Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson’s professional record and one would guess he’d hold fiscally conservative sympathies. As a former private-sector economist and telecommunications executive, Grayson made millions of dollars providing goods and services and creating jobs, accumulating a level of wealth which…