Michelle tries to make friends

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE   HOMOPHOBIC SENATOR BARACK OBAMA DISPATCHED WIFE MICHELLE TO TALK TO GAY PEOPLE YESTERDAY AND ASSURE THEM THAT SHE AT LEAST WAS NOT HOMOPHOBIC.  YET ANOTHER MOVE FROM THE REPUBLICAN PLAYBOOK -- THE WAY POPPY BUSH WOULD HIDE BEHIND BIG BABS ("SHE SUPPORTS ABORTION!") OR RONNIE BEHIND NANCY ("SHE SUPPORTS ABORTION!") AND BULLY BOY BEHIND PICKLES ("SHE SUPPORTS ABORTION!")  IT IS TOTALLY MEANINGLESS.   SAID ONE GUEST, "THAT WAS HIS WIFE?  I THOUGHT THAT WAS A DRAG QUEEN."     FROM THE TCI WIRE:   Starting with war resistance.   Iraq Veterans Against the War Matthis Chiroux remains in the news.  Chiroux announced June 15th that he would not report to duty (as he'd stated he wouldn't on May 15th). South Carolina's WIS News 10 reported on some reactions yesterday (link has text and video):   David Stanton: Being called to deploy?  It is a possibility that all of South Carolina's bravest face but the refusal of one soldier to go to Iraq has many military members talking.  Sgt. Mathhis Chiroux was honorably discharged about a year ago.  He served in Germany, Japan, Afghanistan and the Phillipines.  Chiroux was then called back to duty for service in Iraq.  But Chiroux says he will not report to Fort Jackson as ordered.  As Trey Paul found out some have a hard time supporting the decision.   Mst. Sgt. Gary Villanueva: My father always taught me that a handshake was a man's honor. And signing on the dotted line is equivalent to a handshake.  And s-s-so if they made that comitment I believe they should honor it and if they didn't, quite frankly, I question them as a man.   Trey Paul: We asked and Mst. Sgt. Gary Villanueva did not hold back.   Gary Villanueva: Maybe it's best if they don't come into the military because that type of person I would really question my . . . uh . . . back half of my life. And then protecting me or any other individuals I fight with.    Trey Paul: When it comes to a soldier who doesn't complete a military contract lets just say Villanueva doesn't agree   Gary Villanueva: I-I-I uh really think that uh there subject to the punishment that the military law stipulates because they signed a contract.   Trey Paul: Villanueva is one of several soldiers here at Fort Jackson taking part in the IRR -- that's the Individual Ready Reserve.  It's the same type of program that Sgt. Matthis Chiroux was required to attend.  Other reservists like Sgt. Nolze don't agree with Chiroux either but he thinks he understands where Chiroux's coming from.   Specialist Joshua Nolze: Up until a couple of years ago the military never really used IRR and they told you when you signed the contract, 'Don't really worry about it.  You're not going to get called up.'  Now days, it's a different story, different world. You're getting called up so it's something you've got to think about before you sign up.    Trey Paul: The IRR works like this: As a soldier you always sign at least an eight-year contract. Most spend at least two of those years serving active duty.  The remainder of the contract is spent in some form of the reserves.  Mostly the IRR.  First Sgt. Reid is helping train these reservists.   1st Sgt. Michael Reid: I also have mixed feelings because some of these young fellows have already been two or three times and probably don't want to go back.   Trey Paul: Since 9-11 a spokesman for the national IRR says Chiroux is just one of seven-hundred who have been a no-show   Gary Villanueva: Whether I agree or disagree with this war is im-imaterial.  But one thing I'm soli-  I'm sure of, that there are servicemen overseas that need support and that's why I'm coming back to support them.   Trey Paul: At Fort Jackson, Trey Paul, WIS News 10.        IVAW notes:   How you can help:     Contact your congressional representatives and ask them to publicly support Matthis.    Contribute to IVAW's legal defense fund to help Matthis and other resisters. Send a message of support to Sgt Matthis Chiroux at thankyoumatthis@ivaw.org.  Find out more about Matthis Chiroux.   Moving to Canada, "I'm refusing to kill innocent people and I'm the one waiting to go to prison and they're the ones setting us up to commit war crimes and they go free," US war resister Ryan Johnson explains to Bill Kaufmann in "Writing on wall for deserters" (The Calgary Sun). Ryan and his wife Jenna Johnson moved to Canada in June 2005.  Johnson notes that if a war resister is deported in July, he would most likely be the next one.  May 21st was when Corey Glass was told he would be deported. Corey Glass is an Iraq War veteran and a US war resister. He went to Canada seeking asylum -- the kind of welcoming Canada provided to war resisters ("draft dodgers" and "deserters") during Vietnam. After being told he was being deported, he's been 'extended' through July 10th. June 3rd Canada's House of Commons voted (non-binding motion) in favor of Canada being a safe harbor for war resisters.  Douglas Glynn (The Barrie Examiner) quotes Corey stating, "The motion is not legally binding, though the majority of Parliament voted for it. I realized innocent people were being killed. I tried to quit the military while in Iraq," he said, "but my commander told me I was just stressed out and needed some R and R (rest and relaxation), because I was doing a job I was not trained to do. I went home on leave and said I was not coming back."  Ryan also notes the motion and points to the apparent dismissal of it by Stephan Harper (prime minister of Canada) wondering, "He ran on a platform of democratic reform -- he should take some advice of his own."       Canada's War Resisters Support Campaign will hold a "Rally to Stop the Deportation of Parkdale Resident Corey Glass" July 3rd, begins at 7:00 p.m. (with doors opening at six p.m.) at the May Robinson Building, 20 West Lodge, Toronto: "In 2002, Corey joined the Indiana National Guard. He was told he would not have to fight on foreign shores. But in 2005 he was sent to Iraq. What he saw there caused him to become a conscientious objector and he came to Canada. On May 21, 2008, he got his final order to leave Canada by July 10, 2008. Then on June 3 Parliament passed a motion for all the war resisters to stay in Canada. However the Harper government says it will ignore this motion."  They are also asking for a July 2nd call-in.  Diane Finley is the Immigration and Citizenship Minister and her phone numbers are (613) 996-4974 and (519) 426-3400 -- they also provide her e-mail addresses minister@cic.gc.ca ("minister" at "cic.gc.ca") and finled1@parl.gc.ca ("finled1" at "parl.gc.ca").     To pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca").  Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote.  Now they've started a new letter you can use online here.  The War Resisters Support Campaign's petition can be found here.   There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Megan Bean, Chris Bean, Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum. Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).     [. . .]   Turning to the US political race for president, Josie Swindler (Radar) reports MTV had decided to take political advertising. Wait?  Madonna, naked with the flag around her wasn't political speech?  (Well, it sure wasn't art.)  But, Swindler reports, there's a catch.  They will allow the GOP and the Democratic nominees -- whomever they might be -- to buy ads.  And other candidates?  MTV v.p. of communion (I'm being sarcastic) Jeannie Kedas states, "We would consider and accept third-party advertisements on a case by case basis." Which is a good time to note that  Bill Coleman shares his thoughts on the presidential race in a letter to the Bennington Banner: In reality, candidates such as Ralph Nader are disregarded from the outset because the election of someone such as Mr. Nader would bring about a true day of reckoning for American corporations. As long as these corporations are permitted to on the one hand have the same or greater rights than individual citizens, and on the other hand to never face the death penalty or anything more than self regulation or slap on the wrist fines, they can continue to wreak havoc everywhere they go and drain average people of every last cent of economic vitality they can muster. Yes, Ralph Nader supports an end to corporate personhood, in contrast to Barack Obama or John McCain, whose campaigns are awash in contributions from corporate America. The differences between Mr. Nader and the candidates that you are permitted to read about or see on television each day are very far reaching and vast.    The candidates you are allowed to see . . . To MTV, according to today's news, or not to MTV.     Two upcoming events for the Nader campaign: (1) "Private Conversation and Fresh Summer Buffet on the River" fundraiser in Litchfield, Conn. Sunday at 2:00 pm and (2) a Honolulu Nader for President 2008 Rally Thursday (July 3) at 8:00 pm at the Univeristy of Hawiaii.  For more information on the events, click here.   Team Nader notes:   Ralph Nader will be a guest on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Sunday June 29, 2008. (Check here for broadcast times in your area). By the way, there are many definitions of "talking white." Here's our definition, from the Nader/Gonzalez dictionary: Talking white means telling the white corporate power structure what they want to hear, rather than calling them out and telling them what they need to hear. Onward   And please note, whether George Steph plays it straight or goes into attack mode, don't turn off your television after -- you'll miss out on the unintentionally hilarious roundtable to follow featuring two Punches and two Judys.   RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot" "Other Items" "'Awaken' and 'Spin'" "I Hate The War" "Katty-van-van frets the 'big stuff'" "Rice with Mushrooms in the Kitchen" "darren manzella and other things" "talking post" "Tomas Young and thoughts on war resistance" "Wounded, Tomas Young, etc." "Resist" "Nader, Carly Simon" "James Burmeister and Matthis Chiroux" "This and that" "Congress, Ralph Nader" "" "" "Bambi's confession" "THIS JUST IN! THE HOPE AND HYPE REVUE!"