The California Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry and our own Scott Olin Schmidt weighs in with "Goodbye, Mr. Tonight."
Since much of Spot-on's history as a site is tied up on SF Mayor Gavin Newsome's 2004 decision to grant the licenses the court ratified today, we'll use this opportunity to take you on a short walk down hyperlink lane. Here are some pieces from our archive:
"Free At Last" a look at how the politics of gay marriage affects women - all women.
"A Star is Born," the decision's effect on Gavin Newsome's political career.
"Orders, orders, orders" and "California's Gay Marriage Conundrum" looking at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's sometimes contradictory stance on the issue.
Continue reading "GayMarriage Spot" »
Hey, congratulate Christopher Allbritton! He's having a pretty good year.
Chris was just named a John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University. This fall, he'll be at The Farm as we say out here in Northern California working on finding a business model to support the work that journalists like him do: report from overseas.
We can't think of a better guy for that task. If you're not familiar with Chris' work, check out his bio here. He's been a pioneer in what Spot-on founder Chris Nolan calls 'stand alone journalism' and its great to see Stanford recognize his efforts.
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Today's post by Christopher Allbritton - Iraq's Murky Battle for Basra - is another great example of his ability to get to the heart of Iraq politics in clear and insightful way. That's why we're calling it - and a piece from a few weeks ago predicting the very tensions that erupted last week - to your attention as a solid pieces of analysis and reporting.
A few weeks ago - just as he was settling into Dubai where he'll be writing from now on (fewer explosions) - Christopher filed Worries For Iraq spelling out the challenges the country and the U.S. face as the year moves on. It's a prescient piece that led much of last week's analysis and commentary.
Continue reading "ChrisSpot" »
Today's post by Scott Olin Schmidt on the financial crisis that's been created by the bursting of the housing bubble is one that will sound some familiar notes to long-time readers of this site. is a good example - and we're going to keep saying this - of the way our columnists lead, not follow, with their sharp analysis of current trends and events.
An earlier post from last fall, "Fool Me Once...Not Twice" is also worth a look. It's yet another way to look ahead by looking back.
Continue reading "ScottSpot" »
For those of you who eat meat or have children in the public schools, recent headlines might have been a little scary. More than 140 million pounds of beef are being recalled by the Chino, CA., plant that processed it. Why? Because the plant, Hallmark Meat Processing, was found to use "downer" cows for its burgers and meatloaf.
Kevin Weeks noticed this little item two weeks ago and wrote about it. "USDA - 'D' is for Downer". This week, he's back with some sharp comments about how the USDA isn't as much protection as you might think: No Prevention, No Cure."
Continue reading "KevinSpot" »
We've added another writer to our line-up. Starting today, please welcome Marisa Trevino, an experienced journalist and author of the blog Latina Lista.
Marisa's got a lot to say and she'll be writing regularly for us about immigration issues and pretty much anything else she thinks is important to the nation's Spanish-speaking community.
Her joining Spot-on.com is part of our effort to make sure that you hear new and different voices this election year.
Thanks, as always, for reading. If you'd like to keep in touch more regularly, please consider a subscription to our RSS feed. Updates via RSS are also available via MyYahoo and Bloglines. Our weekly newsletter - it's free, it's fun and we won't sell your name to anyone - is also a nice way to stay in touch. Sign up here.
Edit a newspaper, produce a TV or radio show? Want to add any of our fine writers to your editorial mix? Our syndication fees are reasonable, our writers responsible and our editorial as sticky as fly-paper. And we're always adding writers - strong voices with lots to say and engaging and smart ways of saying it. Drop Doug Page, Spot-on's syndication sales guru, a line.
Doug's got all the details about pricing, availability and delivery.
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For the past week or so Spot-on writers have been part of San Francisco TV station KRON's California primary coverage. The election has, in fact, already started, of course with absentee ballots making their way to election offices across the state but KRON's coverage promises to go beyond California.
Naturally, we'd be remiss if we didn't point out to you producers, editors and publishers that Spot-on's deal with KRON is just one example of how you can get our fine, high-quality editorial for your website. If you want to add any of our fine writers to your editorial mix, give us a shout. Not only are are folks smart, media-savvy and good on-air, we also have a selection of ad-free feeds and offer nightly budget updates to help you improve your editorial offerings and introduce you to our web-based editorial services.
Drop Doug Page, Spot-on's syndication sales guru, a line and he'll get you all the details about pricing, availability and delivery of any of our writers or feeds.
You got Iowa New Hampshire on the brain. Spot-on's got answers to some of your questions. Hell, we even have answers to questions you're just starting to think about in preparation for the nail biter of an election on Tuesday. Here's the line-up:
Scott Olin Schmidt explains why Mike Huckabee won in Iowa in Hope for Huckabee.
He shouldn't win again says Mike Spinney in Pharisees and Tax Collectors (Part One).
Continue reading "IowaSpot" »
Spot-on's New Year's resolutions are many and predictable (like you, we could be thinner, more industrious and a little better about meeting deadline). One thing we want to keep doing is offering you the same ahead-of-the-curve political commentary that's kept you better informed and yes, entertained in the past year.
So we'll start off the new year by reminding you what we did in the soon-to-be-old. Why? Well, most of the comments and observations included in these pieces were well ahead of the conventional wisdom touted on most editorial pages or blogs. We lead. They follow. That's why we're spot-on.
Our Libertarian, Mike Spinney's got the most jaundiced eye of all of us when it comes to the mainstream political candidates. Mike's backing Libertarian Ron Paul and it's not - as some would have it - a protest vote. Check out I'm a Domestic Terrorist.
Spot-on founder Chris Nolan, a cranky Liberal, looked at why Sen. Hillary Clinton isn't as popular as expected with "professional" women. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun says Nolan.
Scott Olin Schmidt, a business-oriented Republican, filed a solid piece on why former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is doing well and what that means for Republicans. Hope for Huckabee. Scott's also been very good on former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's faltering strategy to attract more conservative voters. Rudy Goes Right and Wrong.
Our health care writer, Matthew Holt noted that while headlines have been touting California's partial passage of a healthcare bill, it doesn't really amount to much of a solution to any of the problems plaguing the system. We think healthcare is going to play an increasingly important role in the election conversation. Read Matthew's Last of the Old Solutions for a look at why.
If you'd like to keep in touch more regularly, please consider a subscription to our RSS feed. Updates via RSS are also available via MyYahoo and Bloglines. And our weekly newsletter - it's free, it's fun and we won't sell your name to anyone - will also keep informed of what we're doing. You can subscribe here.
Edit a newspaper, produce a TV or radio show? Want to add any of our fine writers to your editorial mix? We have a selection of ad-free feeds and offer nightly budget updates to help you improve your editorial offerings and introduce our services.
Drop Doug Page, Spot-on's syndication sales guru, a line and he'll get you all the details about pricing, availability and delivery of any of our writers or feeds.
Spot-on likes to pride itself - and why not, we say - on being ahead of the curve. Today, we bring you two great examples along with a preview of our holiday offerings for those of you still at the office.
Continue reading "AheadSpot" »
