Please Continue to Pray for our Troops…

RESCUE AND PROTECT: Staff Sgt. Edward Rosa reads the Bible and extends a cigarette to Pfc. Jorge Rostra Obando, who was stunned by an explosion in Afghanistan’s Arghanab Valley. One comrade was killed and two injured in the blast. Pfc. Rostran asked the sergeant to read Psalm 91, a favorite from his childhood. (Ricardo Garcia Vilanova for The Wall Street Journal)

Al-Qaeda’s North African Network Threatens to Bomb USA/England World Cup Game

From The Sun in the UK:

Al-Qaeda: We’ll Blitz World Cup

Al-Qaeda  have vowed to bomb the World Cup – with England players top of their hitlist.

The terror group pledged to target the match between England and the USA in South Africa in June, warning “hundreds” of fans could die.

A branch of al-Qaeda which last year killed British hostage Edwin Dyer, 61, in Mali made the threats. They also vowed to target resorts, hotels and car parks used by supporters during the tournament. And they claimed explosive devices which cannot be detected by security scans would be used.

The threats appear on al-Qaeda-linked websites. A statement said: “How beautiful would the game between England and the USA be when broadcast live from a stadium full of spectators – when the sound of an explosion rumbles through the stands. The resulting death toll is in the dozens and hundreds – Allah willing.”

[…]

The threats from al-Qaeda’s North African network were last night being taken seriously by terror experts.

Neil Doyle said: “They have a track record for violence.”

I’ve long feared terrorist attacks at sporting events. Let’s pray security is good enough at the World Cup to stop whatever Al-Qaeda has planned.

(HT: Drudge)

Poll: 51% Say America Less Respected Now Than It Was Two Years Ago

Hope and Change indeed.

From the Washington Times:

Poll Shows Obama, Dems Losing Ground

A majority of Americans say the United States is less respected in the world than it was two years ago and think President Obama and other Democrats fall short of Republicans on the issue of national security, a new poll finds.

The Democracy Corps-Third Way survey released Monday finds that by a 10-point margin — 51 percent to 41 percent — Americans think the standing of the U.S. dropped during the first 13 months of Mr. Obama’s presidency.

“This is surprising, given the global acclaim and Nobel peace prize that flowed to the new president after he took office,” said pollsters for the liberal-leaning organizations.

Amateur

Obama on the campaign trail, June 4, 2008:

“… I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on earth. This was the moment – this was the time – when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves and our highest ideals.”

Romney leads 2012 GOP field in new Gallup Poll

UPDATE at 2:48pm: Allahpundit chimes in:

Question: If both Romney and Palin announce that they’re running, does Huck drop out and play kingmaker instead? He’d have an outside shot to win a head-to-head race with Romney on the strength of the “anyone but Mitt” vote from evangelicals and “true conservatives.”

Hey! I’m an Evangelical (well, a Christian who goes to a non-denominational church at least) and a “true Conservative,” and I’m for Romney! Many of my friends are as well, and none of them have ever said that they wouldn’t vote for Romney based off of his being a Mormon.

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Rasmussen also had Romney ahead in a poll they took on July 6th, which had him with 25% of the vote. Palin came in second with 24%, Huckabee had 22%, and Gingrich had 14%. Both Pawlenty and Barbour polled 1%.

Here are the results from the new Gallup poll, conducted from July 10-12:

1. Mitt Romney: 26%
2. Sarah Palin: 21%
3. Mike Huckabee: 19%
4. Newt Gingrich: 14%
5. Tim Pawlenty: 3%
6. Haley Barbour: 2%

Comparing it with the Rasmussen poll, Romney gains a point, Palin and Huckabee lose three, Gingrich stays the same, and Pawlenty and Barbour remain irrelevant.

But here’s where the data gets really important:

No real surprises here. Among Republicans, Sarah Palin remains the most popular and unpopular candidate. And as you can see, virtually everyone on the Right has an opinion about her.

That’s not the case for Romney and Huckabee, who are both liked and disliked about equally, with many on the Right not having an opinion either way. Whether that’s a positive or negative for them remains to be seen.

Moving on to what all Americans think about the leading three candidates:

Palin’s numbers are about what’d you expect, and while having 43% approval isn’t shabby, you don’t want that to be accompanied with 45% disapproval. That’s why Huckabee has to be feeling pretty good about these numbers. He rivals Palin in popularity among all voters, but his unfavorables are 22 points lower. Granted, there are many who have  “no opinion,” so it’s somewhat unfair to compare, but looking at the numbers we’re given, he polls well.

It’s hard to get a proper context on Romney’s numbers (which by themselves are pretty good) until you look at this next graphic:

In five months, Romney has improved his image dramatically. While his favorables are up just three points, his unfavorables have dropped 17 points. That’s HUGE. He still needs to get his favorables up, but as long as he keeps giving foreign policy speeches at the Heritage Foundation or appearing on Meet The Press to knock the Stimulus package, he will. Especially if the economy keeps dragging.

Recent polls show HUGE shift among those who think country is on the right/wrong track

Check these numbers out, via RealClearPolitics:

To recap, that’s a –26 point spread for Diageo/Hotline, –16 point spread for CBS, and a -7 point spread for Rasmussen, all within about a month’s time.

Stunning.

Dennis Prager on the potential ban on smoking in the military

Prager is dead-on here, and very funny to boot.

From his show on July 10th:

Story about the potential ban is here.

The best video you’ll watch all day

Thanks to Ed at HotAir for bringing this to the blogosphere’s attention. It’s from 2007, but as the saying goes, better late than never. While the MSM was busy covering Michael Jackson’s death, they were also busy not airing stories like these.

There’s no way to embed the video, so here’s the link, and here are some screen caps to preview what it’s about.

The protagonist (and hero):

The antagonist:

That's a RPG

The heroes:

Fox News tries to make amends for wall-to-wall Jackson coverage…

…with a four-minute interview of Martha Gillis, the aunt of 1st. Lt. Brian N. Bradshaw, who was killed on June 25 in Iraq when an IED exploded near his vehicle.

Fox, along with the rest of the media, should be embarrassed by their nonstop coverage of Jackson over the last two weeks. However, kudos are in order for Fox, who made a step in the right direction with this interview.

Media fawns over Jackson, forgets our soldiers

UPDATE at 12:36pm: Here’s a video from Fox News earlier today, in which they share a letter that was penned by the aunt of 1st Lt. Brian N. Bradshaw (third soldier down), castigating the media for focusing so much on Michael Jackson, and so little on our fallen soldiers.

Btw, notice how long it takes Fox to get rid of the little “Michael Jackson Tribute” video box? How pathetic. This is DURING A STORY about how irresponsible the media has been, and they still choose to keep it up there for nearly a minute.

______________________________________________________________________

While the media continues to fawn over Michael Jackson, these are the true heroes they should be devoting wall-to-wall coverage to:

Name: Pvt. Steven T. Drees

Hometown: Peshtigo, Wisconsin, U.S.

Age: 19 years old

Died: June 28, 2009 in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Unit: Army, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

Incident: Died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained in Konar Province, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire and a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher.

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Name: Pfc. Peter K. Cross

Hometown: Saginaw, Texas, U.S.

Age: 20 years old

Died: June 26, 2009 in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Unit: Army, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

Incident: Died of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over.

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Name: 1st Lt. Brian N. Bradshaw

Hometown: Steilacoom, Washington, U.S.

Age: 24 years old

Died: June 25, 2009 in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Unit: Army, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Incident: Killed when a makeshift bomb detonated near his vehicle.

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Name: Spec. Joshua L. Hazlewood

Hometown: Manvel, Texas, U.S.

Age: 22 years old

Died: June 25, 2009 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Unit: Army, 614th Automated Cargo Documentation Detachment

Incident: Died of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.

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Name: Spec. Casey L. Hills

Hometown: Salem, Illinois, U.S.

Age: 23 years old

Died: June 24, 2009 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Unit: Army, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment, Pago Pago, American Samoa

Incident: Killed during a vehicle roll-over.

Romney/Thune 2012

[UPDATE on 4-18-10]: This is no longer my dream ticket for 2012, as I just don’t see how Romney’s going to be able to explain away his Mass. health care bill, especially in the wake of ObamaCare. I’m still a big fan of Thune, however, and would like to see him on the ticket.

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My ticket for the GOP in 2012:

First, the positives:

1. Romney and Thune are incredibly eloquent and articulate speakers.
2. Romney has been getting favorable press coverage as fellow 2012 candidates have fallen by the wayside. Even if Sarah Palin announces that she’s running for president in 2012, Romney is now clearly seen as the frontrunner.
3. Romney’s knowledge, experience, and background on economic issues will offer a big boost to him if the economy doesn’t improve by 2011-2012.
4. Romney’s won three straight CPAC straw polls.
5. Romney’s national favorablity rating has risen 10 points since February 2008, according to a Pew Poll that was just released. In the same time frame, his unfavorable rating has fallen 16 points.
6. Thune is also popular, as he has a high favorability rating (57%-32%) in South Dakota, according to a Research 2000 poll conducted in April. In that poll, when matched up with Tom Daschle, whom he beat in 2004, Thune wins the hypothetical rematch 53%-40%. That’s a clear sign of Thune’s popularity, as he beat Daschle by just 2% back in 2004.
7. Thune was just elected chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, making him the #4 GOP leader in the chamber. Before that, Thune had served as Republican Conference Vice Chairman and Chief Deputy Whip.
8. Thune is a staunch Conservative (more here), who received a score of “88.8% Conservative” by the National Journal on senate votes in 2008. He also receives high marks from the American Conservative Union. This would draw Conservatives who were wary about Romney to the ticket.
9. Thune and Romney are both married, (Romney for 40 years, Thune for 25) and have good kids who have stayed out of trouble.
10. Thune is a strong, committed Evangelical Christian who would draw hesitant Christians (“Oh no, Romney’s a Mormon!”) to the ticket.

Now, the negatives:

1. Romney and Thune are good-looking white men, which is HUGELY problematic for a variety of reasons. (“Too slick” factor (mostly with Romney), minority voters wouldn’t be drawn to the ticket, two white men against a black president, etc. etc.)
2. Thune’s name-recognition is quite low.
3. Many Conservatives see Romney as too moderate, and may stay home regardless of who he picks as VP.
4. Thune’s name-recognition is quite low. (So important, it has to be mentioned twice)
5. Romney needs to learn how to connect with “the common man.” Thune has a knack for that (how could you not in South Dakota?), but Romney doesn’t. Case in point, while speaking to a group of black kids on the campaign trail in ’08, Romney thought it’d be hip to say, “Who let the dogs out?” Hey Mitt, that song is NINE YEARS OLD. That comment made it seem like you’d never talked to young, black kids in your life. You’re going to need to avoid awkward exchanges like that if you’re going to win in 2012.
6. Palin voters really don’t like Romney. If she doesn’t run, he’s going to have to convince them to vote for him. As I said above, Thune helps a little bit with that, but I don’t know how much.
7. The Mormon thing. Sad, but true.
8. Romney owns mutliple homes, a fact that Dems would exploit in a second. He recently sold two of them, but he still owns two more, worth several million dollars each.
9. Romney’s a flip-flopper. Yes, he’s come over to the right side (no pun intended) on many issues over the years, but voters don’t like flip-floppers. Especially Conservatives.
10. If the economy rebounds before 2011-2012, Romney doesn’t have a shot, regardless of what he says, does, or who he picks as VP. Right now, I’d say there’s a 50/50 chance of that happening, though I may be being optimistic. If it does rebound, however, Obama will win re-election. Simple as that.

So, what do you think? Are my positives and negatives accurate? Are there any major ones that I missed? Let me know.