Weekend Digest: The Dog Ate My Homework Edition

For our weekend business and political readers:

TV SHOW PREVIEW: CRAWLING THROUGH THE CROSSTABS
On this week’s TV edition of Talk Business & Politics, we’ll drill down in the numbers from our latest polling in the Governor, Senator, and Congressional races. Political scientist Dr. Jay Barth and Republican strategist Clint Reed meet at the roundtable to analyze the crosstabs.

John Brummett, political columnist with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is also our guest. What’s his take on the latest poll results? Plus, he’s a new contributor to Talk Business & Politics and we’ll tell you what his new role will be.

With early voting underway, this week in Arkansas history, we take a look back at what former Gov. Mike Huckabee once said about voting in the Natural State. It caused a state and national uproar at the time.

Tune in to Talk Business & Politics Sunday morning at 9 a.m. on KATV Ch. 7.

Q&A WITH CHARLES SCHWAB
Forbes calls it, “Talking to Chuck: Q&A With Charles Schwab On Investing, Retirement & Wealth.”

In the last issue of Forbes, we ran a short excerpt from an interview with brokerage legend Charles Schwab in which he answered questions from our readers and shared his single best piece of investing advice (hint: it’s really simple).

My conversation with Chuck was far longer than could fit in the print edition, and in the longer transcript below, the 77-year-old billionaire discusses how he first started investing, why the average Joe shouldn’t try to pick the next Apple or Google, and the best financial decision he ever made.

For the full interview, click on this link.

AMERICA’S SKILLED TRADE WORKERS ARE RETIRING IN DROVES
Consequently Richard Perko, the president of a building-maintenance business in Nashville, tells Fortune, “We don’t have the seasoned technicians we once had, the brain trust we need.”

Equally problematic, he adds, is that workers nearing retirement aren’t always suited to climb up to a roof where mechanical equipment is often stored.

That’s why Perko is building a central command center to preserve his company’s institutional knowledge. The idea?

Go to this link to find out how super technology and “smart” safety glasses called XOEye Technologies, are a “game-changer.”

DRONE NATION
Fortune reports, “In demand by Fortune 500 companies and heavily funded by Silicon Valley, unmanned aircraft are rapidly invading the world of business.”

And that means entrepreneurs like T.J. Johnson, 29, co-founder and chief engineer of a Indianapolis drone startup called AirDroids, are bringing more and more inovations to the drone market. His company’s sole product is called The Pocket Drone.

The Pocket Drone—a collapsible, three-rotor aerial vehicle—folds up small enough to fit in a backpack easily, but its three independent propeller motors are powerful enough to carry a GoPro camera. Johnson and his partners think it could be the first in a huge, new category of personal electronics—the small, easily portable flying robot that goes everywhere with you to capture overhead imagery on demand.

Go inside the Fortune post to learn why Johnson’s company has “achieved liftoff” almost as quickly as his invention and discover why AirDroids is just “the tip of the propeller.”

Think of this as a Model T moment—when a new industry finds its commercial footing, and thereafter the world is never the same. All at this link.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO GRILL HIRING MANAGERS
Inc. contributor and recruiter Jerome Ternynck says, “There’s no doubt candidates who ask questions have a better chance of landing their dream job.”

He’s listed eight of the best questions he’s ever heard from candidates.

Follow this link to see them all.

MY DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK
That’s a classic excuse from school days for not completing an assignment, but would you believe equally as lame excuses are used for missing work?

For the last 10 years, job listing site CareerBuilder has put out a list it calls “The Most Unbelievable Excuses for Calling in Sick.”

This year’s excuses were gathered through a Harris Poll that ran from Aug. 11 to Sept. 5, 2014, among 3,000 workers and 2,000 hiring managers.

For some real entertainment, click on this link.

A LEGEND PASSES AWAY
Legendary Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee died this past week at 93.

Benjamin C. Bradlee, who presided over The Washington Post newsroom for 26 years and guided The Post’s transformation into one of the world’s leading newspapers, died Oct. 21 at his home in Washington of natural causes.

From the moment he took over The Post newsroom in 1965, Mr. Bradlee sought to create an important newspaper that would go far beyond the traditional model of a metropolitan daily. He achieved that goal by combining compelling news stories based on aggressive reporting with engaging feature pieces of a kind previously associated with the best magazines. His charm and gift for leadership helped him hire and inspire a talented staff and eventually made him the most celebrated newspaper editor of his era.

A staff and aggressive reporters who captivated the nation with revelations that brought down a president. It became known as Watergate. Read more here.

BRADLEE’S BARBS
Vanity Fair has posted “Ben Bradlee’s 20 Best Verbal or Written Barbs.” They come from author Jeff Himmelman.

Jeff Himmelman’s book, “Yours in Truth: A Personal Portrait of Ben Bradlee,” debuted last month to much fanfare and a certain amount of controversy. Here, the author digs through his files to find his favorite zingers from the mind and pen of his feisty subject.

Himmelman says some of his favorite Bradlee zingers are in the book, some are not. But you can read them all at this link.

DEMOCRATS RELIANT ON AFRICAN AMERICANS TO HOLD THE SENATE
If Democrats are to hold the Senate, it’s “last hope” will be up to black voters reports The New York Times. But will there be enough black voters at the polls?

The confidential memo from a former pollster for President Obama contained a blunt warning for Democrats. Written this month with an eye toward Election Day, it predicted “crushing Democratic losses across the country” if the party did not do more to get black voters to the polls.

“African-American surge voters came out in force in 2008 and 2012, but they are not well positioned to do so again in 2014,” Cornell Belcher, the pollster, wrote in the memo, dated Oct. 1. “In fact, over half aren’t even sure when the midterm elections are taking place.”

The Times says, “Mr. Belcher’s assessment points to an urgent imperative for Democrats: To keep Republicans from taking control of the Senate, as many are predicting, they need black voters in at least four key states.”

Arkansas is one of them. For the complete story, connect to this link.

COULD A SENATE LOSS AFFECT HILLARY CLINTON’S CAMPAIGN?
Hillary Clinton hasn’t announced yet, but more and more signs are pointing to a 2016 presidential run. But what if Democrats lose the Senate after next month’s mid-term? What reverberations might that cause inside the campaign?

Guy Cecil, the executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), has long been seen as a favorite to manage Clinton’s second bid for the presidency. But he’s now in charge of keeping the Senate in Democratic hands, and a big loss could potentially boost other up-and-coming political operatives who want to lead the Hillary 2016 army.

Robby Mook, who managed Terry McAuliffe’s (Va.) gubernatorial campaign, and EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock, are among the other names consistently mentioned as possible leading candidates for the role.

But The Hill reports that “Clinton allies insist Cecil won’t be eliminated from consideration if Democrats lose the Senate — no matter how devastating the loss. They point to Cecil’s overall tenure at the DSCC as proof of his talent.”

However there are other insiders who are not so sure. Get the full analysis at this link.

THE GOP’S SOCIAL MEDIA SAVIOR
Vincent Harris is a 20-something Internet and social media political savant. The brash Texan hasn’t been afraid to ruffle Republican feathers with his criticism of past performance in the new world of digital media.

Bloomberg Politics profiles Harris, who helped Ted Cruz score his upset Texas Senate win. This year, he’s working on Mitch McConnell’s re-election effort and he’s likely to be involved in a major Presidential race in 2016.

What’s his primary philosophy on connecting with voters in the digital age through Facebook, Twitter and much more?

“That’s what’s transforming politics. Everything has to be pithy, everything has to be short, everything has to be succinct. That’s what I’m here to do,” Harris says.

Read more here for his take on the state of politics and what he sees coming for campaigns and candidates. On an Arkansas note, Harris has been consulting with the Hutchinson for Governor campaign, we’re told.

A ROYAL BANNING
The Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants are fighting it out during the annual “Fall Classic.”

So guess which monster-hit song by which artist has been banned by San Francisco radio stations during the World Series?

Mashable has the story at this link.

‘PULP FICTION’ REVIEW FROM 20 YEARS AGO
It’s been 20 years since the Quentin Tarantino-directed film “Pulp Fiction” was released.

It may not have been everyone’s cup of tea at the time — and some critics hated it — but if you’re a fan, you’ve been amazed at how well it holds up over repeated viewings.

What also holds up well? The original Washington Post reviews of “Pulp Fiction.” Check out the original review here.

BACK PORCH SESSIONS
Garden & Gun has something delightful for you.

A live performance in one of its series of Back Porch Sessions, this time with Jason Isbell.

Enjoy by “strumming” to this link.