Wisecup Video Dooms Knollenberg Campaign

The story below appeared in today's Oakland Press on the front page. While it focuses on technology in political campaigns, the real story is how Joe Knollenberg chooses to go into full attack mode on a voter and dare I say, political activist, Bruce Fealk, instead of confronting the serious issues of this campaign, the war in Iraq, health care for children, and all of our citizens, 47 million of whom are uninsured. America is the only industrialized country in the world not providing health care coverage to ALL of its citizens, and there is also the lack of compassion of Joe Knollenberg, George W. Bush and their fellow Republicans for basic needs of Americans, and instead they continue to pour our hard earned dollars down the rat hole we refer to as the war in Iraq.

Worse yet, they are beating the drums to start a new war with Iran, that will unleash untold horrors on the world and cause death and destruction beyond imagination. All the while, they ignore the crisis being caused by climate change. As long as they have theirs, to hell with the rest of us.

They ignore the horrors of Darfur. New Orleans is still not on its way to a meaningful recovery and yet President Bush and Joe Knollenberg want more war, more debt and less compassion for middle class Americans that built this great nation. And they call me un-American. How dare they.


Keith Olbermann did a feature story about Trent Wisecup's rant in Rochester on Saturday.

My appearance on The Young Turks on Air America Radio

Joe takes down attack videos on Bruce Fealk

Now, this is curious. All of a sudden the two videos that Mike Brownfield, Joe's campaign manager recorded specifically to attack Bruce Fealk have disappeared from Joe's YouTube account. Could it be because there is going to be a story in Saturday's Oakland Press about Bruce's encounter with Joe and Trent Wisecup that has gained national attention? I agree they weren't very good videos, but taking them down wasn't necessary. Perhaps Mike didn't like the fact that my video of Joe and Trent in Rochester was kicking their asses and has over 34,000 views and theirs had less than 200.

Inquiring minds want to know where the video went? What are you ashamed of, Joe, Mike and Trent? Cant' wait for the article in the Oakland Press Saturday morning.

No amount of money is going to help Joe this time

The story below appeared in today's Detroit News. But no amount of money is going to help Joe Knollenberg this time around. He's on the wrong side of every major issue, the war, SCHIP, warrantless wiretapping, Social Security, health care. His message is falling on deaf ears, except among the 24% of the country that still support the failed leadership of George W. Bush.

Detroit News

Friday, October 26, 2007
Decision 2008

GOP rep expected to face tough race
National campaign leader says voters are upset with incumbents, but he predicts Knollenberg will keep seat.
Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
The head of the National Republican Congressional Committee conceded Thursday that veteran U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg of Bloomfield Hills faces a tough ride in his re-election bid next year, adding that voters are in an anti-Washington, anti-incumbent mood.

But U.S. Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who heads the committee, believes Knollenberg will defeat his Democratic opponent, most likely Gary Peters, the former state lottery czar who is piling up cash and endorsements.

The battle in Oakland County figures to be the most hotly contested of Michigan's 15 congressional races.

"Michigan is going to be a very competitive state presidentially, as it has been the last couple of times," Cole said in a conference call with political reporters.

But he said Knollenberg, first elected in 1992, should prevail. "I don't see people at the end of the day defeating a guy who is that senior, that well prepared and that well respected."


Find this article at:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071026/POLITICS/710260360/1022/POLITICS

Joe's message to children, DROP DEAD!

Well, I'll say one thing for Joe Knollenberg, he's stubborn, maybe even as stubborn as George W. Bush. Joe voted against the SCHIP again today. Even though there is overwhelming support for expanding this hugely successful program, Joe voted against the children. Joe's slogan, Warfare, not health care. I have a feeling Joe is going to pay dearly, with his job, for this vote against the children. Maybe Joe just doesn't care any more. He knows he won't be re-elected next November, so he just doesn't care what voters think any more. That's all that makes sense to me any more. I personally called Joe's office today asking him to vote for the children. All I got was a polite, "I'll pass your message along to the Congressman." Another example of Joe's tin ear.

Joe AWOL on War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2007

I guess Joe really loves Halliburton and Blackwater. He didn't even bother to vote on the War Profiteering Prevention Act. Joe wouldn't want to hold war profiteers accountable. It's hard to imagine how Joe could just decide not to vote on a bill of such importance

10/9/2007--Passed House amended.

War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit profiteering and fraud involving a contract or the provision of goods or services in connection with a mission of the U.S. Government overseas. Imposes: (1) a fine of not more than $1 million and/or a prison term of up to 20 years for knowingly defrauding the United States or a provisional authority in connection with such a mission or for materially overvaluing any goods or services with the intent to defraud; (2) a fine of not more than $1 million and/or a prison term of up to 10 years for falsification or concealment, false statements, or false documents in connection with such contracts or goods or services.

Grants extraterritorial federal jurisdiction over war profiteering and fraud offenses. Permits venue for the prosecution of such offenses in any district where any act in furtherance of an offense took place or where any party to a contract or provider of goods or services is located.

Allows criminal forfeiture of property obtained from a war profiteering or fraud offense. Makes war profiteering and fraud a predicate offense for money laundering and racketeering offenses.

Trent Wisecup Rant Covered by Fox 2 News

Fox 2 News in Detroit also covered Trent Wisecup's rant in Rochester last weekend.

Detroit News doesn't care about no stinking facts

I checked my e-mail this morning and find this piece of garbage article in my e-mail box from the Detroit News. I have written an e-mail to Nolan Finley, the editorial page editor for the Detroit News. I hope he will call me so he can get his facts straight.

End gotcha politics in Oakland race
Video ambushes of Peters, Knollenberg cross the line

Politics has never been a game for the thin-skinned. A certain amount of insult and abuse comes with the territory.

But the early politicking in the congressional race in southern Oakland County is crossing a line we cringe to see crossed, and portends a needlessly nasty and off-putting campaign.

Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Farmington, faces a vigorous challenge from recently retired Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters, a Democrat from Bloomfield Hills, and others.

Move.on.org, the left wing Democratic fundraising apparatus, is targeting the race because of Knollenberg's narrow margin of victory in the last go-round.

The Move.on.org money helps pay for a bag of dirty tricks. Bruce Fealk, a Democratic operative, has made it his mission to follow Knollenberg around firing questions at him while filming with a video camera.

MoveOn.org does not help pay for anything I've been involved in, least of all the giant head of Joe Knollenberg. Second, this is the only time I've had an actual encounter with Joe Knollenberg himself. All my other encounters have been with Knollenberg's staff, mostly district office chief, Shawn Ciavattone.

Fealk also dons a papier mache Knollenberg head, which he's worn while sitting on the porch of the congressman's home.

This is also not true. I was on Joe Knollenberg's porch for all of about 30 seconds, but I was NOT wearing the Joe Knollenberg head. Here's the video to prove what I'm saying.

I have never harassed, at least by the legal definition below, Joe Knollenberg, or anyone on his staff. I have pictures and video to prove what I'm saying, too. I wonder if Trent has anything to back up what he's saying? I'm sick of the right-wing smear machine smearing 12-year-old and 2-year-old children, as well as myself. It's time we stand up to the bullies on the right and let them know we aren't going to take it any more.

A person is guilty of harassment if:
(a) Without lawful authority, the person knowingly threatens:
(1) To cause bodily injury in the future to the person threatened or to any other person;
(2) To cause physical damage to the property of another person;
(3) To subject the person threatened or any other person to physical confinement or
restraint; or
(4) To do any act which is intended to substantially harm the person threatened or any
other person with respect to his physical or mental health or safety; and
(b) The person by words or conduct places the person receiving the threat in reasonable fear
that the threat will be carried out.

I have only been contacted by one reporter from The Detroit News, Laura Berman, for her story last week, and Laura did get a few facts wrong too, which I hope this post corrects.

Bruce's Letter in Farmington Eccentric

Un-American?

Recently, I had a run-in with Congressman Joe Knollenberg in a local drugstore in Rochester that made it into the local and national media.

I wanted to ask Knollenberg about issues, namely his votes to continue to fund the war in Iraq, even though more and more evidence comes out every day that there is no military solution to the debacle there.

Secondly, I wanted to find out why he voted against expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program that would provide affordable health care to the low end of middle class citizens' children. Joe basically brushed me off and his chief of staff, Trent Wisecup, engaged me and proceeded into a tirade telling me I was un-American and that I was not a citizen, but a "political hack" due to my activism.

Since when do we lose our citizenship for being politically active? In the old days, dissent and activism were revered and admired. Not any more, at least not by Republicans, who think we should all just follow our leaders. Not in these days of the unitary executive (translated dictator) where the president claims more and more power and dissent is now considered un-American.

The Republicans in Michigan assail the governor for Michigan's job losses. Yet, Wisecup in his tirade attacked me, saying I want Toyota to win. Fact is, Toyota is a Michigan employer. Toyota employs 677 people at their York Township facility and Trent's rant attacked a major Michigan employer. Toyota employs several thousand people in the United States and they invested $150 million in their research facility in York Township, Michigan in 2005. It doesn't seem like a good idea, to me, to attack a company with that many good paying jobs that are so hard to come by these days in Michigan.

Joe and Trent are on the wrong side on almost every issue facing middle class Americans. A new poll from CBS News reveals that 81 percent of Americans support expanding SCHIP. Over 70 percent think America should responsibly withdraw from Iraq, but not Congressman Knollenberg, Trent Wisecup or George W. Bush.

I hope more of you will join me in getting up off your butts and make Congressman Knollenberg, Trent Wisecup and those of their ideological ilk accountable to the voters. Joe Knollenberg was elected to be our representative, and he works for us, not the other way around.

Bruce Fealk

Rochester Hills