Weekend Digest: The Health Care And Hologram Edition

TV PREVIEW: THE HEALTH CARE SPEECH
This week, Talk Business & Politics recaps the swearing-in ceremonies and the big takeaways from the Inauguration. Plus, next Thursday Gov. Asa Hutchinson will deliver a major health care speech to lay out his vision for the private option and other health care reforms.

TB&P host Roby Brock and KATV’s Janelle Lilley discuss some of the highlights. And, this week’s political roundtable includes Rex Nelson, Frank Scott and KATV’s Elicia Dover. We’ll drill down into the moves of the last week and a preview of what’s to come.

What are expectations for the speech? Will Hutchinson embrace the private option? What other aspects of health care reform will he tout?

Also, there are some good signs in the economy and business confidence has definitely improved. Randy Zook with the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Mike Stafford with CEG Partners explore our latest CEO survey.

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

For our weekend business and political readers:

TARGET RETREATS IN CANADA
Target is done in Canada after announcing it is closing its operations in what Bloomberg calls a “disastrous expansion.”

Target’s retreat, announced Thursday, is a late Christmas present for Wal-Mart Stores, which has already enjoyed more success in Canada than many of its overseas markets.

Wal-Mart has been operating in the country for two decades — a track record Target was aiming to duplicate when it embarked on a plan to enter Canada in 2011.

Instead, Target drew complaints of high prices and poorly stocked shelves. For Wal-Mart, Target’s retreat represents a bright spot for a retailer that has struggled to prosper in other markets, including Brazil and China.

What did Wal-Mart do right to overpower Target and what is the staggering amount the Canadian departure will cost Target? And what did language and long johns have to do with all this? Connect to this link for the full story.

WILL 3D HOLOGRAMS BECOME A WIDESPREAD REALITY IN 2015?
They’ve been around for decades. In science fiction that is, but could 2015 be the breakthrough year for technology to create 3D holograms?

The technology required has only been theoretical up until recently. Now, some of the last barriers to functional holograms are finally being overcome. New types of displays, methods of capturing and transmitting 3D data, and increased Internet speeds have all contributed to research teams across the globe making big developments in the field of holograms.

Go to this link from Tech Cocktail to learn more about some promising prototypes being developed that could eventually make two dimensional viewing obsolete.

HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR EMAIL GETS READ
You’ve sent the email off to the hiring manager in personnel but how sure are you it’s going to get read?

Let’s be real. The fact that Gmail allows you to divide your inbox into five sub-folders can only mean one thing: Most emails we receive are total crap. And when you’re sending a note to a colleague, your boss, or a hiring manager, it’s likely landing somewhere between something critical and Viagra spam or BuzzFeed GIFs.

So, how do you make sure your message gets noticed and—more importantly—read?

Forbes has a solution. Click on this link for “5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Sending Any Email.”

SUSTAINING INNOVATION
Harvard Business Review asks, “Why are some organizations able to innovate again and again while others hardly innovate at all?”

It’s a crucial question. They have debunked the myth of the lone genius, discrediting the idea that innovation is purely a solitary act or flash of insight in the mind of one creative individual.

HBR says the key is “organizing for innovation.”

Innovations most often arise from the interplay of ideas that occur during the interactions of people with diverse expertise, experience, or points of view. Flashes of insight may play a role but most often they simply build on and contribute to the collaborative work of others.

So how does organizational innovation work? Follow this link to find out.

TOM COTTON FOR PRESIDENT
New Republic is reporting “the idea has been floating among politicos in Little Rock.” The story is written by former Arkansas Times reporter David Ramsey.

As Molly Ball put it in her Atlantic profile, “Cotton has always had a heroic sense of himself.” And the current occupant of the White House, don’t forget, ran after just four years in Congress.

Waiting his turn doesn’t suit Cotton. “Some people say I’m a young man in a hurry,” he likes to say. “They’re right.”

Yes, New Republic says he has the resume (Briebert.com once called him “one of the best candidates running for Congress this election cycle – and possibly ever”), but he also “adroitly bridges the contentious factions within the party.”

As Ed Kilgore put it last fall, while vainly hoping Arkansas voters might quash Cotton’s rise: “He manages to be a True Believer in the most important tenets of all the crucial Republican factions. He’s adored by Neocons, the Republican establishment, the Tea Folk, the Christian Right, and most of all by the Con-Con cognoscenti that draw from both of the last two categories.”

For more on this most intriguing story and how “Cotton would be well-positioned to run to the right of Bush or Romney,” go to this link.

OBAMA AND REPUBLICANS STILL FAR APART
Bloomberg Politics reports, “Based on the bills that have passed the House, and Obama’s several veto threats, there’s much more to disagree upon in Washington.”

When the 114th Congress began last week, President Barack Obama said he was confident he and the Republican-controlled body would disagree. “I’m also confident that there are enormous areas of potential agreement that would deliver for the American people,” Obama said.

On Tuesday, Obama, along with Vice President Joe Biden, met with 19 members of Congress to try and figure out (and possibly create) some of those areas of potential agreement. Obama and Republicans agreed on trade, the need for a cybersecurity bill, and a resolution to authorize the fight against the Islamic State.

But Bloomberg says “those were glimmers of hope.”

“In fact, the list of disagreements between the Republican-controlled Congress and the president would appear to be much longer than the one that includes the “enormous areas” of ideological harmony.”

For that “list of disagreements” go here.

60 MINUTES DISSECTS OBAMACARE
60 Minutes reports, “This month marks one year since health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act began, and from the president’s point of view: so far, so good.”

More than 10 million Americans who didn’t have health insurance before have signed up. But congressional Republicans are gunning for Obamacare. Even if they can’t outright repeal it, they want an overhaul.’

And with the debate just getting underway, author Steven Brill, who has spent the past two years immersing himself in the subject, has come out with a new book, “America’s Bitter Pill,” that takes a comprehensive look at what the new law does and doesn’t do.

Brill argues that Obamacare is the product of what he calls an “orgy of lobbying” and backroom deals in which just about everyone with a stake in the $3-trillion-a-year health industry came out ahead – except the taxpayers.

For the 60 Minutes video of this story or the script, go to this link.

PEW RESEARCH TO INCREASE CELLPHONES POLLING
With the number of cellphone-only households increasingly rapidly, Pew Research Center says it “will increase the percentage of respondents interviewed on cellphones in its typical national telephone surveys to 65%; 35% of interviews will be conducted by landline.”

Our goal in making this change is to ensure that all adults are adequately represented in Pew Research Center surveys. Although cellphone-only households are very common today, there are sizable demographic differences between people living in cell-only households and those with landlines.

Take a look at those demographics at this link.

YOUTUBE STAR TO INTERVIEW PRESIDENT OBAMA
The Washington Post reports, “YouTube star GloZell Green will interview President Obama next week after the State of the Union address.”

And the 3 million people who subscribe to her channel know at least two things about what to expect.

What are they and how did Green score this interview? Click here to find out.

A LOOK AT THE EVOLVING NATURE OF GLASS
All Day has put together a beautiful piece called, “The Incredible Changing Nature of Glass.”

Nearly 80 years ago, the first all-glass building was constructed in Toledo, Ohio by the Owens-Illinois Glass Company. Glass was already a mainstream commodity at the time, but if its history and the science behind it are any indication, this wouldn’t be its last innovation. From cosmic cousins to Earthbound creations, someone is always pushing the boundaries of glass.

Learn more at this link.

TODAY’S SUPER BOWL SPECTACLE HAS COME A LONG WAY FROM ITS BEGINNING
Kansas City and Green Bay played in the first Super Bowl. It was 1967 and the Packers dominated the Chiefs for the win.

Though the simulcast and surrounding league and network drama promised big ratings, Super Bowl I didn’t feature celebrity performances. Instead, the national anthem and halftime performances were conducted by the University of Arizona and University of Michigan Bands, and the Anaheim High School Drill Team.

Super Bowl I didn’t fill the Coliseum to its 90,000-person capacity. Instead, 61,946 people attended the game for the then-whopping price of $12 a ticket. Many in the press were outraged at the skyrocketing ticket prices.

For more comparison of then and now, click on this link.