SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:17 P.M. ET:

INTRIGUING – There were some intriguing polling results published today.  First, Rasmussen's daily tracker, which had Romney up by four just yesterday, had him up by only one today.  That may be statistical noise, but we'll watch it.  By contrast, Gallup's daily tracker, usually slightly more "Democratic" than Rasmussen's, continued to have Romney up by two.  Most important, new Rasmussen polling has Romney up in Wisconsin by one, possibly the result of Paul Ryan's selection; Ras also now has Romney up two in Florida, 45-43%.

COMPUTERS TOPS, ENERGY LAST IN SURVEY – The computer industry ranks at the top in positive image among Americans, Gallup reports, whereas the oil and gas industry ranks last.  Next at the top is the restaurant industry, followed by the retail and internet industries.  Second from last is the federal government; third from last is banking, and fourth from last is the real-estate industry. 

ONLY THE WELL-MOTIVATED NEED APPLY – Al Qaeda is running an ad on its Shumukh al-Islam internet forum.  The ad seeks jihadists to carry out suicide attacks.  Candidates must be Muslim, mentally mature, dedicated, able to listen, and utterly committed to completing their mission.  By the way, the applicant must state his or her age, which raises serious questions of discrimination.  I'm forwarding the ad to Eric Holder's Justice Department for possible civil rights issues.  We've just got to fight this age bias.

STILL VALUED –  From Fox:  "A rare military cable heralding the end of World War II has fetched more than $20,000 at auction.  The naval dispatch announced the end of hostilities with Japan. It was received aboard the USS Holland on Aug. 15, 1945, days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and was kept in a crewman's shoebox for more than 60 years."  I'm glad to see that historic messages from that era are still considered so valuable.  Maybe there's hope for our heritage.

August 16, 2012