Former San Francisco mayoral candidate Matt Gonzalez is back in the news so it's time to dust off the archive. The comments that his running mate Ralph Nadar made about NAFTA reminded us of a little bit of dirt dug here in 2003.
Turns out that Gonzalez' parents had an interest in a Reynosa maquiladora, one of those manufacturing plants set up on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. That post triggered a detailed response from Gonzalez's spokesman.
Read 'em both and decide for yourself. It's today's HotSpot.
Quick, which is the most common form of food contamination: campylobactor, salmonella, or e. Coli? Recent recalls to the contrary, the answer: salmonella.
If you're wondering what else you know, or don't know, about food safety check out the online quiz from National Geographic. And don't feel too bad if you don't get 'em all: Spot-on food columnist Kevin Weeks missed two.
This year in politics, Independence ain't just a town in Missouri. It's a much-desired, sought-after voting block. Independent voters helped Clinton and McCain win New Hampshire and Obama win Iowa. They'll play an important role here in California.
Purplestates.tv has a silly name - not all politics can be color-coded - but it's a great idea: Video showcasing the thoughts, impressions and ideas of independent voters across the country. It's today's HotSpot.
Time to send you over to check out the fine work of Mystery Pollster Mark Blumenthal. Why? Cause no one explains this numbers stuff better and the polling numbers in New Hampshire are moving very quickly.
The primary, of course, is tomorrow and while Sen. Barack Obama is leading - or neck and neck, depending on how you wanna count - that could change. Mark does a good job of telling us why and what might happen next.
So for today - and probably tomorrow - he's today's Hotspot.
Here's the deal with covering politics: There's a lot of down time. So reporters look for ways to entertain themselves.
Now that you're a full-time political junkie, you can join in the fun. No, you can't swap texts with Dan Balz but you can kill a few hours by swinging on over to Atom Film's hysterical Kung-Fu Election and have the candidate of your choice matched up in a winner-take-all Hong Kong-style Kung Fu battle.
There's plenty more election waiting to come. We're bookmarking this one for future reference.
There are about 2,500 journalists in Iowa today, thousands campaign volunteers, almost two dozen presidential candidates, and way too many consultants, hangers-on and kibbitzers. All squeezed in to watch some 200,000 Iowa residents (a record-breaking turn-out, if it happens) vote in tonight's much-anticipated caucuses.
Bet you don't know what a caucus is. You aren't alone. So here's the LA Times' Q&A on what the caucuses are and how they work. It's today's much-needed how-to HotSpot.
Why should TV and YouTube pundits have all the fun? Media Mandate, a political strategy firm (campaign consultants) wants everyone in on the action. Between now and midnight Jan. 2, you can go to their 2008 Puditology Challenge and make your predictions. Just like Tim Russert or George Will.
Be warned, this prediction contest - which is a bit of gimmick to help Media Mandate collect email addresses - ain't for amateurs. Some of the calls it asks for are pretty tough. But it's fun and it's today's HotSpot.
Happy New Year.
Tired of reading blogs at the office to kill time? Got all your on-line holiday shopping done? Well, today's HotSpot will entertain you through those boring conference calls like nothing else we've seen recently.
Go here, jacksonpollock.org. Start dragging your mouse around. Click to change or add color. Call yourself an artist. We've wasted an entire morning with this thing.
The reinvigorated Afro-Netizen.com isn't the only site on the web compiling news and views from African-American writers. But with pointers to traditional media outlets, blogs, YouTube videos and pretty much everything and anything that strikes founder and chief evangelist Chris Rabb's fancy, it sure is one of of the most interesting. And it's today's HotSpot.
Noting that you "can't have depth without surfaces," Brit journalist Linda Grant has recently started a blog, The Thoughtful Dresser, a site where fashion meets politics and some other things.
It's engaging, it's fun and it's yet another reason why writers and journalists ought to stop worrying about paper - and the status nonsense that comes with it - and just write. It's today's HotSpot.
