jholt's Blog

As I write it's Wednesday night....the week before Thanksgiving....and I'm in the mood to ramble a bit...

   ---boy did I strike a nerve with my post on "Are We to Blame?" The question of whether media talk of the economic downturn has created a self-fulfilling prophecy? A couple of posters wondered why we did not  do stories on how to survive the economic downturn, instead of all the bad stories. Actually, we have. Heather Claybrook's "Pinching Pennies" stories this week have focused on just that aspect of  making it through tough times on a budget. I've found them enlightening.  Hope we do more.

    ---guess it didn't really help the Big 3 Automaker's cause any that the CEO's all flew in to beg for help on Capital Hill aboard corporate jets. Nice!

   ---spent a morning at Avila University with about 85 high school journalists at the annual American Cancer Society Student News Conference. Many of these kids aspire to jobs in communications. They were sharp, had great questions, and will do quite well I'm certain!

    ---the Arrowhead Armageddon won't have quite the stakes this season as last with Mizzou claiming the North and KU struggling a bit. But it'll be a festive atmosphere. Sure hope that winter weather lurking out there stays away.

    ---no Christmas lights please....too early! Wait til after Thanksgiving! :)

    ---gas prices are down.....for now. Hope that creates a nice little "economic stimulus" of its own as we head toward the critical holiday retailing season.  

Rambled enough....til next time....see you at 5pm and 9pm!

JHolt

       
 

I have heard the theory kicked around, even had friends half-jokingly mention it: "Enough already about the economy!" 

Is the media partly to blame for the country's economic woes? In other words, is it a self-fulfilling prophecy? The more we dwell on negatives, the more consumers pull in their horns, investors bail, and markets tank.

To be sure, layoffs are real, the global slowdown is happening, and gas prices are down for the wrong reasons (hey I love sub-$2 gas as much as anyone, but I wish a recession wasn't the cause).

So, if we (the media) quit harping on it, would that help speed the recovery? I'm not sure I'm convinced.....it's a complex "perfect storm" at work here...but I wonder..........

Your thoughts?

JHolt

  

  

 

       Post election, as the transition of power begins seamlessly and democratically, we have your service and sacrifice to thank for that. I hope and pray we never lose sight of that fact.

      That is something we can certainly agree on in the true spirit of bi-partisanship!

     Thank you to all the men and women who serve, and have served, in our military...the finest in the world. We are grateful always, and particularly this Veterans Day week!

JHolt

     

Well, with no baseball tonight (congrats to Phillies fans!), we can now talk about counterfeit temp tags and our story which will air tonight after all!

One of the police sources I had on this story tells me that you can bet at least 50 percent of those 30 day tags you see on newly purchased vehicles in Missouri are fake. What's the big deal you say? Well, millions in sales, property and other taxes and fees the holders of those bogus tags AREN'T paying (but you, as a law abiding citizen, ARE)!

On Fox Four News at 9 Thursday night, we go along as agents and cops try to shut down some of these operations. It's an inside look at an effort that even they admit will only scratch the surface.

We'll post it on the web too....but see it first tonight at 9!

JHolt 

....and the gap is narrowing.

In our latest Fox TV-Rasmussen Reports poll of the Show-Me state, Barrack Obama's 5 point lead shrinks to 1 point. Surprise, he's coming back (to Columbia, Wednesday).

The survey of 1000 likely voters taken Sunday, Oct. 26 shows 48 percent would vote Obama, 47 percent would vote McCain, with 3 percent not sure. The poll is now well within the margin of error of plus or minus 3 points.

Some other interesting tidbits from the same survey:

--in the latest poll, more Missouri likely voters trust McCain (48%-46%)

--economic issues remain by far the top issue, at 48%. That's held pretty steady over the last month. National security is a distant second at 20%

--and if you had to make the toughest decision of your life, who would you rather get advice from? 50% say McCain.....43% say Obama.

Much more of these Missouri results and more Rasmussen Poll information in our politics section! (Click on News, then Politics!)

It's going to be an interesting rest of this week....and weekend. Anybody else ready for Election Day?????

JHolt 

Heading to St. Louis with Shelli Lockhart Saturday for the third of four debates between the governor candidates....AG Jay Nixon and Cong. Kenny Hulshof.

Should be interesting, and based on our latest Fox TV Rasmussen Reports poll, look for Hulshof to be the aggressor. He's down double digits. Doesn't seem to be getting any traction. The debates become real important for a trailing candidate (see McCain, John).

At any rate, tune in! It's at 6pm on Fox 4! (and Fox 2 St. Louis). Even better, you won't miss Mizzou-Texas...that's at 7pm! KU-OU should be wrapping up! So, get your political game fix...between the college games!

Have a great weekend...see you from St. Louis!

JHolt 
   

...and what a difference a month makes.

Our latest Fox-TV-Rasmussen Reports poll puts Barack Obama ahead by 3 points in Missouri, within the margin of error, but still quite a reversal from the 6 point lead John McCain owned last month. Can you say falling Dow?

Clearly, the economy is top of mind, as the poll of 1000 likely voters taken October 5 shows. A full 49% of the surveyed cited economic issues as the key issue they'll be voting on. National security has fallen all the way to 20%. Can you say no domestic terror attacks since 9/11?

The pundits seem to think the economy is king ("It's the economy, stupid"-James Carville), and clearly the polling bears that out.

More from the poll in our politics section!  Including how Missourians feel about the veep candidates.  

Is it just me, or is it getting nastier?! At all levels! Hang on!

JHolt

 

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    The Friends of Johnson County Developmental Supports board meets regularly to go over budgets, housing, fund raising, and events for people with developmental disabilities. We help raise additional dollars for our parent, Johnson County Developmental Supports. JCDS is a county agency providing job training, work opportunities and more, for the developmentally disabled. "Friends" provides extra money for emergencies, and programs that might not otherwise happen if not for public generosity.  

    Meetings are informative and I'm on a fun board, but recently we were privileged to see firsthand why we meet, and why we fund raise!

    Three terrific programs hosted an open house for us at the Lenexa facility. GEM (Growing Through Engagement & Motivation), OPAL (Older Persons, Active Lives) and PEARL (Participation Energized through Activities & Reality Learning) welcomed board members and the public to see how they provide social and educational outlets for JCDS consumers.



Meeting participants in GEM!

    The consumers couldn't be prouder of their participation, and it showed. We as board members couldn't be prouder of the consumers and wonderful staff who oversee the programs. The GEM and OPAL outlets even have community service components: the consumers giving back!



 The PEARL participants had a cool hat for me!

   Yes, meetings are fine. But seeing up close how donated dollars to Friends of JCDS are making a real difference is, well, priceless. And it's also nice to know that so many of the consumers are loyal Fox 4 fans!

JHolt

PS If you're interested in joining Friends of JCDS and supporting these programs, check out www.jcds.org

                   
 

This week's exclusive Fox-TV Rasmussen Reports polling has some interesting questions and numbers on the impact of the Biden-Palin additions to the respective tickets.

For example, the choices will make a difference to a significant number of adults (46 percent). That would seem to go against the conventional wisdom we often hear that people don't vote for the ticket, they vote for the top candidate ON the ticket. Perhaps the nature of this year's race and the need to reach out to independent voters is giving greater weight to the veep choices.

By the way, 40 percent of the 1000 adults surveyed say McCain got the pick right...40 percent of those surveyed say Obama got the pick right. How's that for a dead even outcome! (National survey conducted September 3-4)

More results available in our Politics section.

One thing we can all agree on: we'll see a lot more of the candidates and their surrogates. Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and a handful of others are on almost every "electoral map" scenario of must-win states. Kansas will be a bystander as a reliably red state...but at least the Sunflower state is close to the action!

You Decide 2008....the post Labor Day countdown to Election Day is on!

JHolt   

.....as daylight gives way to growing darkness, as the final holiday signaling the end of the summer approaches and then passes, it's that annual rite of summer's end. No, no...not the political conventions or bad preseason football, or even cool fall-like nights.

Nope, I'm talking about something I'm really sad to see....the summer slide...of the Royals.

I had high hopes that my team would finish strong. I so wanted the Boys in Blue to leave Cleveland in the dust, and thus leave last place to the Indians. Alas, it doesn't look good.

The team is beat up....pitchers appear tired....crowds are dwindling....and a star off-season acquisition is taking on fans in the stands. Not how we'd hoped it would end.

A month of baseball is left....perhaps the Royals will rally! I refuse to give up. A strong finish is in the cards....so that as winter gives way to spring in 2009...hope will once again spring eternal, and season ticket sales will soar as a brand new Kauffman Stadium debuts. The Royals will contend again...I just know it....so let's finish strong!

 It will make next season more fun to anticipate, and dream about!
 
JHolt  

Need any further proof that the blogosphere is a powerful tool and here to stay? The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is setting up a two story 8,000 square foot "headquarters" to serve hundreds of bloggers expected at the Democratic National Convention in Denver starting next week. It will do the same for the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

Also planning a major presence to help bloggers: YouTube...which didn't even really exist four years ago.

At the RNC, about 200 bloggers have been credentialed to work from the press filing center according to the Journal.

Blogs have become a major force in politics. Chatter in the blogosphere is monitored by the pols, and the pundits, and yes, even the so-called mainstream media. The conventions will be fertile ground.

So while the TV networks have foresaken the primetime gavel to gavel coverage of yesteryear, new forms of media and new watchdogs are providing other ways to follow the party conventions (not to mention the cable outlets).

Just another example of the changing information age in which we live.....

JHolt    

Power that is!

Nuclear power is back, front and center,  with energy a top issue for American voters. Even as oil and natural gas prices drop, no one really believes the era of rising energy costs is over, considering the world's appetite for energy.

So John McCain proposes a new reliance on nuclear power. And the Fox-TV Rasmussen Reports poll this week asks: Are you afraid of Nuclear Power?

The answer--a full 56 percent of the 1000 adults sampled say no. Thirty percent said yes.

It's clear nuclear is back on the table, despite the expense of building new plants and the issues of nuclear waste. And most Americans are apparently okay with that.

What say you? Are you afraid of nuclear? (power that is!)

JHolt        

...that's the title, after much consideration, we came up with for a Problem Solver investigation airing Tuesday night (7/29) on Fox Four News at 9.

While our investigation focuses on one day care in particular, which included some unsafe conditions at times, the real focus is educating on the importance of doing your homework when you shop for a day care. Not just referrals, and visits, but on digging through state records to look for complaints and rules violations.

You might be surprised to see how many violations one day care we were alerted to racked up over the past 15 years or so, and yet was still open for business.   

Here on the web, we will spell out  ways to do that homework. It's not always easy, but it's an important step. You need to know who is watching your children.

Hope it's helpful, and perhaps a bit eye opening, if you're in the market for good childcare.

JHolt

 

 

    

....who DIDN'T see The Dark Knight this weekend??? Oh my....a 155 million dollar opening weekend, and it sure seems as if everyone here at Fox 4 saw the movie. But then...you know me and movies! :)

Something I DID do this weekend was run down to the Farmer's Market in The City Market Saturday morning. It's probably been five years since I'd done that, and I wasn't prepared for the crowd. What a terrific slice of urban life! It was fun to see this area so vibrant, with the market, shops, and residential all part of the mix.

Amazing produce and flowers and people watching. I won't wait five years to go back, that's for sure!

As for seeing a movie.................

JHolt

  

 

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.....that's the headline of the latest FOX TV/Rasmussen poll numbers we'll have tonight (7/9) on Fox 4 News at Nine.

John McCain leads Barack Obama 47% to 42%. But the poll of 500 likely Missouri voters has a 4.5% margin of error. So the results are almost within that margin.

There are some other interesting tid bits, including a clear statement by Missourians that McCain is NOT too old to be president. But another question suggests that Missourians think Obama may be too inexperienced.

And it's clear that Missourians want the US to start drilling offshore. A whopping 67% believe it's time. Clearly, gas prices are taking their toll on public opinion of offshore drilling. 

Lots more numbers to digest--so here's the link: Presidential Race / MO Governor's Race

Missouri is a key state--the candidates and prospective first ladies are already paying their visits. Expect it to get even busier as fall approaches!

JHolt