Issue date: November 5, 2000

Last week's Best of the Web

Election Day help

till on the fence about who to vote for Tuesday? Not convinced there's all that much difference between the candidates anyway? Don't throw in the political towel yet. At least a dozen Web sites can help you sort out the differences and make up your mind, with balanced information and expert commentary on the candidates.

Voter.com is a great one-stop resource for election headlines, issue round-ups and discussion boards for voters left and right. In fact, it's hard to think of a resource Voter.com doesn't provide, whether you're looking for information on the New York Senate race or just trying to find the nearest polling both. A handy "Compare Candidates" tool lets you pit the presidential and vice presidential hopefuls head-to-head on such issues as abortion, the economy and foreign policy to find out where the candidates stand. Then move on to the "Columnists & Opinions" section, where commentators, including William Safire and Eleanor Clift, weigh in on what those promises really mean.

If you're more interested in local races, click on your state to get the names and biographies of candidates in the running. For instant activism, the site tells how to join a cause you believe in and send e-mail to local and national officials. Now that's democracy.

It's not too late to get informed! Here's a sample pre-election to-do list:

By Rula Razek, editor in chief of Internet Cool Guide 2001 (internetcoolguide.com).

Movers, shakers and their bookmarks

Question: Is B. Smith a person, a restaurant, a TV show, a book or a magazine?

Answer: All of the above, plus, of course, a Web site (bsmithwithstyle.com). Here, Smith, 51, host of the Food Network's B. Smith With Style (weekdays, noon ET), tells us where she prefers to surf:

-- Tameka Hicks

Photo by PETER FREED, USA TODAY
Illustration by NEAL ASPINALL for USA WEEKEND