WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Tuesday named Henry "Hank" Paulson as his new Treasury Secretary, enlisting one of Wall Street's most powerful players to help him claim credit for the economy's strength and lift his sagging popularity.

Did you catch that last line? I’m not positive, but that sounds a whole like conjecture, opinion, spin, or any other name you’d like to give a zinger like that.

Last time I checked, the President is supposed to have someone fill that seat when it’s vacated. And the fact that Paulson “won strong initial approval from lawmakers who must approve” tells me that there may yet be other reasons for his nomination than the one this “report” immediately tries to draw you to.

And yet another note: If Bush is mishandling the economy so bad what exactly is there to take credit for? These guys really have to get their story strait before they make up the news next time.

By the way, for the record: The economy is strong… it’s our government’s credit line that isn’t. The dollar value is falling, but it has much less to do with the dreaded Tax Cuts that you’ll hear the left screech about, and much more to do with Bush and Congress’ fool-hearty spending habits. Cut the spending, and the deficit falls while the dollar rises.

At least once in your life, you've felt the call to duty. Some feel it in a charitable work. Some feel it in a political campaign they volunteer for. Some feel it in something as simple as giving out change to that poor man on the corner. However, there are some that feel the call to serve they're fellow man, and their nation to utmost of their ability. Those brave young souls join the armed forces, knowing full well that it will require great sacrifice of them. It will require them to go to places they do not like, and in places that do not like them. They know it will take them away from those whom love them, and from those whom they love. They know that they will give up those very things they are protecting, so that the rest of us may have them.

This, in the English language has a word that describes it: Noble.

On this Memorial Day, I ask you to remember those Americans that gave the ultimate sacrifice, in service to their nation, so that we may enjoy so many of the benefits and privileges that are bestowed upon us today. I invite you to follow this link to a presentation that was put together by someone with far more talent than I. Thanks to Mustang, please visit his site. You may not agree with his politics, but of this rest assured: He is a true patriot... one of the few left.

Semper Fi, and God Bless
-G

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him: “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied: “You’re in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above ground elevation of 2346 feet above seal level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees 49.09 minutes west longitude.

She rolled her eyes and said: “You must be a Republican.”

“I am” replied the man. “How did you know?”

“Well,” answered the balloonist: “everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help to me.”

The man smiled and responded: “You must be a Democrat.”

“I am.” Replied the balloonist: “How did you know?”

“Well” said the man: “You don’t know where you are or where you’re going, you’ve risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You’re in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it’s my fault.”

HAHA, laugh, it's funny no matter what your party is.

• House of Cards
• Paper Tiger
• Two Legged Stool
• Rubber Sword
• Toothless Guard Dog

All of these have about as much use as the President’s new plan to send the National Guard down to the border states for immigration control.

(Reuters) Bush told the nation Monday he would dispatch 6,000 National Guard troops to the 2,000-mile border as part of a new plan to tighten security and placate those who want a crackdown on the millions of poor who seek work each year in the world's richest nation.

But here’s the catch:

Addressing fears of militarization of the border, Bush said troops will be there for one year and will not engage in law enforcement, but rather assist the 12,000-member U.S. Border Patrol with administration and surveillance.

So, were going to give the border patrol a 6000 man (and woman) strong clerical work force that just happens to be trained at doing missions just like the one that needs to be preformed along the border? What a joke… why not just go to Net Temps.com and get you a bunch of temporary secretaries and other administrative assistants.

Good Grief

For your retribution is at hand.
The long campaign against the inequity of the evil “MSM” (Main Stream Media) and their bias against all things conservative will finally be challenged in the public light for all to bear witness to its dark underbelly.

WASHINGTON (Examiner.com) - New White House Press Secretary Tony Snow continued to go after the media Thursday by accusing the Associated Press and Washington Post of unfair coverage of President Bush.

Since starting his job Monday, Snow has challenged five major news outlets in a clear signal that he will be more aggressive than his mild-mannered predecessor, Scott McClellan.

…

This week he has hit back at The New York Times and USA Today. On Thursday, he criticized the AP for a story headlined: “Army Guard, Reserve fall short of April recruiting goals.”

The White House countered: “The Army National Guard, Air Force Reserve, and Marine Corps Reserve all have exceeded or achieved their year-to-date recruitment goals.”

But beware ye jubilant traditionalist, because this confrontation will work both ways:

“The White House is clearly manipulating what I broadcast to fit their agenda,” wrote reporter Jim Axelrod on a CBS blog. “And they are wrong to do that.”

Axelrod suggested he was the victim of “selective editing on the part of the White House to make their own political points.”

“Very simply, the White House is cutting and pasting to make a point, something they accuse their critics of doing constantly,” he said.

When it’s done in the media, we call it “unfair bias”, and when it’s done by government officials, we call it propaganda… You say tomato, I say bull crap!
Give me some truth already, Good Grief!

While I normally don’t post things related to the apocalyptic prophecy, or get into other expressly religious opinions on my site, I decided to post something about this.

(AP) BAGHDAD, Iraq - The fortress-like compound rising beside the Tigris River here will be the largest of its kind in the world, the size of Vatican City, with the population of a small town, its own defense force, self-contained power and water, and a precarious perch at the heart of Iraq’s turbulent future.

The new U.S. Embassy also seems as cloaked in secrecy as the ministate in Rome.

“We can’t talk about it. Security reasons,” Roberta Rossi, a spokeswoman at the current embassy, said when asked for information about the project.

The story came out about three weeks ago, but I noted the many references back to the Vatican, and the fact that per prophecy, there is supposed to be a new Babylon built for antichrist. I would imagine, that per prophecy, the antichrist’s reign on the earth will be a pretty violent time, and such things like self contained power and water would be useful.

Also, with note that it is currently a US building, and the antichrist is supposed to be a ruler over all nations as is this “New Babylon” or “Mystery Babylon”, I think that the article has another point worth noting:

This huge American contingent at the center of power has drawn criticism.

“The presence of a massive U.S. embassy — by far the largest in the world — co-located in the Green Zone with the Iraqi government is seen by Iraqis as an indication of who actually exercises power in their country,” the International Crisis Group, a European-based research group, said in one of its periodic reports on Iraq.

So it wouldn’t be too far fetched to imagine that a couple of events could take place within the next 5 years:

-Embassy complex is completed

-Self sustaining Iraqi government in place asks US to remove large scale presence

-US turns over compound to UN to replace New York as it’s headquarters.

Suddenly, many pieces fall into place right from the Scripture. I’m not trying to be a nut here, but I thought it was something worth thinking about.

Bible reference: Revelations 17

(3)Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. (4)The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. (5)A mystery was written on her forhead:
BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES,
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
(6)I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.

….

(18)And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Foreign ministers of major powers failed to come up with a joint strategy for dealing with Iran after Tehran sought to influence the negotiations with a stunning last-minute diplomatic maneuver, officials said.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said a U.S.-hosted, three-hour meeting on Monday of ministers from Russia, Britain, China and Germany did not reach agreement.

Never mind that the letter had nothing to do with negotiations and/or diplomacy over the current controversy. This is yet again, a typical example of why the UN is so ineffective.

(Reuters) But a copy of the 18-page letter, sent on Monday, showed it focused mainly on alleged American wrongdoings and contained no ideas for ending the standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Say what you want about NATO, but the UN is absolutely worthless. It is a haven for nations that want to have an impact in world events, but never actually take action (read: France). It has become an open forum for widespread anti-Americanism, where any country that openly defies the United States, reguardless of situation, is applauded (even if secretly).

In a related story:

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Rights champions hope for a new beginning at the United Nations on Tuesday when the world body elects 47 nations to its new Human Rights Council, even if some of the worst abusers end up winning seats.

"This is a great opportunity to make a fresh start," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, cautioning, however, that U.N. members should vote carefully because the council's first members would have a heavy responsibility in setting up the way the new rights body works.

The UN will spend more time dithering over who should be on the “prom committee” rather than take action in Darfur, Iran, China, Iraq, etc…

This explains why liberals love the UN so much. You get to voice all the wonderful intentions you have without ever being forced to take action… after all, you need “consensus” to take action, and when asking over 50 nations what to do… you’ll NEVER get a consensus.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's president sent an unprecedented letter to President Bush on Monday, suggesting ways to ease tension over Tehran's nuclear program, but it was not clear if it offered any compromise.

The White House said it was unaware of any letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte said the move may have been timed to influence a UN Security Council debate on Iran.

However, we here at In The Middle of America have obtained an exclusive look at this letter, and have translated it for you:

Dear George;

While I understand that you are upset with our move to price our oil based on the Euro instead of the Dollar that is no excuse to let Israel claim they will wipe me off the map. I know I started it, but come on, politician to politician; you know how you have to “rally the troops” right?

Look, I need nukes to wipe out infidels in this region, and you need oil to keep running your decadent society, so how’s about we come to an agreement and we give you guys oil, you let us build our nukes? Besides, what’s a couple of hundred thousand Jews between friends?

By the way, we still can’t price our oil on the dollar. You’ve over-extended the United States credit so far that all of us have bets on when your currency is going to crash. Sorry about that, I know you were really hoping we’d come around.

Well, I have to go, I’m off to Bahrain where the magic shield will protect me from Allah’s sight while I gamble, drink, and fornicate. Vladimir says “Hi”.

Hugs and kisses to the girls

-Ahmadinejad

You didn’t think I was serious did you?

(BREITBART.com) The head of the Senate Republican committee paints a dire picture of Democratic congressional control, warning that the opposition party would "put the war on terrorism on the back-burner" and maybe even impeach President Bush.

In a fundraising appeal this week, Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., asks for immediate financial help "to prevent the most left-wing Democrat Party in history from seizing control of the United States Senate" in the November elections.

A disaster for Republicans she means, seriously, almost half the nation are Democrats, so it’s a bit too much of a blanket statement… and yes, they will try to impeach Bush, their radical base will string them up if they don’t.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Boston Herald) “Sometime around 2:45 a.m., I drove the few blocks to the Capitol Complex believing I needed to vote,” his second statement said. “Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication.”

Questions arose surrounding the wreck amid police reports that Kennedy was “staggering” and appeared intoxicated after nearly hitting a Capitol Police cruiser and then striking the barrier.

The incident became public when the union representing Capitol Police alleged in a publicly released letter that superior officers prevented rank-and-file cops from properly investigating the crash.

He said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after House votes and took “prescribed” amounts of Phenergan and Ambien.

A Kennedy drinking and driving? It’s not like he got drunk, drove a girl into a river and then left her for dead or anything. Besides, if you’re on prescription pills and driving… it’s like a mulligan, everyone is just supposed to excuse it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Human Events online)Christian activists are planning a boycott of the soon-to-be-released Da Vinci Code movie, which one influential pro-family group is calling “blasphemous.”

I’m a Christian, and I’ve read the book… it was a great piece of fiction, and a good read. Boycotting it only means you fear that folks can’t think for themselves, and heralds back to the days of book burning. If you want people (especially folks that still need to be saved) to quit thinking you’re all a herd of mindless sheep, stop trying to treat everyone else that way.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Herald Tribune) MOSCOW Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday delivered the Bush administration's strongest rebuke of Russia, saying in a speech to European leaders in Lithuania that the Russian government "unfairly and improperly restricted" people's rights.

Read: Official response to Amnesty International’s report on U.S. Human rights abuses: "See, see, they do it too!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(BREITBART.com) Protesters repeatedly interrupted Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld during a speech Thursday and one man, a former CIA analyst, accused him of lying about Iraq prewar intelligence in an unusually vociferous display of anti-war sentiment.

"Why did you lie to get us into a war that caused these kind of casualties and was not necessary?" asked Ray McGovern, the former analyst, during a question-and-answer session.

NOTE: Former CIA analyst, perhaps a disgruntled former analyst?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Korea Times) Korean Scientists Develop Female Android

Their men are all addicted to video games, and now they are making girl robots… I smell a distinct opportunity for American dorks looking for prom dates. Look guys, their men are all busy playing on Play Station and waiting for their girl robots… those real ladies have to go somewhere.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cuban President Fidel Castro was furious when Forbes magazine estimated his fortune at $550 million last year. This year, the magazine upped its estimate of the communist leader's wealth to a cool $900 million.

Just as Marx had always envisioned it… a truly classless society where all were equal and everyone served the state for the betterment of the people… Long Live Socialism and Communism!

Hurry!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said on Tuesday that high gasoline prices which have skyrocketed to a near record are a "crisis" for Americans.

Hurry!

(BREITBART.com) Worried about the political heat from high gasoline prices, the House is preparing to vote on a bill that would impose criminal and civil penalties on any energy company caught price gouging.

The legislation, offered by Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., calls for penalties of up to $150 million for refiners and other wholesalers and $2 million for retailers.

House leaders said a vote was expected as early as Tuesday afternoon.

A separate bill would streamline the permitting process for refinery expansion or construction of a new refinery.

With gasoline topping $3 a gallon across much of the country, lawmakers have been scrambling to put together legislation aimed at soothing public anger, hoping to demonstrate that Congress was doing something about high energy costs.

Super Scurry!

(Columbia-AP) May 2, 2006 - State Representative Todd Rutherford has found a way to fight higher gas prices.

The Columbia Democrat uses his new golf cart to go from his home to the State House, as well as his downtown office and courthouses. Rutherford says he bought the electric vehicle last fall when Hurricane Katrina sent gas prices to around $3 a gallon.

If they make a bunch of noise and shuffle around, do you still feel good about them TRYING real hard? How about they just take off some of the taxes? That is the quickest and most efficient way to lower gas prices… oh wait, that’s just CRAZY talk.

What planet are we on here? Geena Davis ACTED like the President under SCRIPTED scenarios, SCRIPTED dialogue, and SCRIPTED responses where they had the perfect SCRIPTED results… now we give her a UN award for it? Is this why Hollywood takes itself so serious in political matters? Because the far left feeds the fantasy?

(BREITBART.com) To the strains of "Hail to the Chief," actress Geena Davis accepted an award night for her television portrayal of the first woman president of the United States from an organization which is seeking to turn fiction into reality.

When the star of the ABC television show "Commander in Chief" got to the podium Tuesday, she was given a red, white and blue sash to put on over her gown, similar to one worn by Chile's first woman president, Michelle Bachelet. "This is the coolest thing I ever got! Wow I love it!," she said.

"So many countries have had a female head of state before us," she told the 500 guests at a dinner in the U.N. Delegates Dining Room. "So it is certainly time."

The award was presented by The White House Project, a non-profit organization which works to promote women's voting, political participation and leadership, with a goal of putting a woman in the White House.

And then the cherry on the cake… bold statement with no logic or fact behind it:

"I think it's appalling that we haven't yet [had a female president]. The crime is not that it's taken so long, but why haven't we done it yet?" she said to loud applause from the predominantly female audience that included Martha Stewart and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.

They have to RUN for office before they can BE President, we can just wish on in there. Good Grief…

300,000 people protesting for the right to break the law and get away with it:

(BREITBART.com) More than 300,000 people marched through the streets of Chicago for immigration rights as cheers, songs and the beat of drums drowned out the sound of cars honking in support.

A seemingly endless sea of people holding signs calling for amnesty for illegal immigrants and an end to deportation and raids walked beneath a colorful array of flags chanting "we want to pay taxes" and "we want to own homes" in Spanish.

Or the fact that without them, parts of the American industry shut down?

(LA TIMES.com) The normally bustling downtown Los Angeles produce and garment districts were virtually shut down today, and truck traffic at the ports was down sharply after many employees protesting the nation's immigration policy's did not show up for work.

The dearth of activity in the produce and garment districts, both heavily dependent on immigrant labor, was so far the most dramatic sign of the impact of today's organized immigration protests on local commerce. Only sporadic business closures and staffing shortages reported across the remainder of Southern California.

What has happened to our country? Is this the first sign of “Re-Conquistadores”? Who is really responsible? Do you deport the worker, or arrest the employer? I think we’ve got ourselves a fine mess that our politicians have avoided for too long, and now it’s EVERYONE’S problem.