It's just a little over a year since Joe Knollenberg and Trent Wisecup Were Mocked on Countdown

I was reviewing my YouTube account and came across my favorite video.

Birmingham Eccentric Letter: Failing Grades

The Birmingham Eccentric published my letter taking Joe Knollenberg to task for his voting record on health care related issues.

Failing grades

Last month I was taken to task for my letter about Joe Knollenberg. Knollenberg's professional letter writers, some of them volunteers for his campaign and employees of the Michigan Republican party, focused entirely on the wrong issue.

I wasn't criticizing Knollenberg's urging women to do self-exams and to get their mammograms. My point was the hypocrisy of Joe Knollenberg sponsoring a health conference for women when he has such a terrible voting record on health issues. Joe Knollenberg received a 0 rating from the National Breast Cancer Coalition in 2006 and 2007 and voted against expanding SCHIP. Knollenberg sponsoring a women's health conference is like the NRA sponsoring a conference on gun control. (Knollenberg did vote to extend SCHIP, but not expand it) Even when many of his Republican colleagues voted to expand SCHIP to cover an additional 10 million children, Joe voted against it.

Families across Oakland County live in fear that they will have a major health issue that they won't be able to afford to get treated because they have no insurance. Health care should be a right in America, not a privilege of only wealthy Congressmen and women. Doesn't every American deserve the same health care coverage Joe Knollenberg gets?

Some other issues that Joe should pay attention to:

Joe Knollenberg should do something about the outrageous profits of America's oil companies that rip Americans off at the pump, and the speculators that are driving prices up, regardless of supply.

Joe Knollenberg should vote for funding to screen every soldier for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Joe Knollenberg should vote to stop funding a war that our president lied us into and is charging hundreds of billions on our Bank of China credit card to support. Joe Knollenberg and the Republicans have not been fiscally responsible.

Why won't Joe Knollenberg come out in public and let his constituents ask him about his record on important issues and his plans to solve the problems facing them?

Other people have noticed Joe Knollenberg's voting record on health care issues too. In 2007 the Children's Health Fund gave Knollenberg a 0 rating; in 2006 American Public Health Association ranked Knollenberg with a 0 rating; in 2005-2006 American Academy of Emergency Medicine ranked Knollenberg - 50 percent; in 2005-2006 American Nurses Association ranked Knollenberg with a 0 percent.

Those are failing grades in anyone's book.

Disclaimer: I do not work for MoveOn.org or Joe Knollenberg's opponent.

Bruce Fealk

Rochester Hills

Oakland Press: Opposition to Knollenberg well founded

GUEST OPINION

Opposition to Knollenberg well founded

Bruce Fealk of Rochester Hills, is a businessman and local political activist.

Last month the Oakland Press editorial board took me to task for my recent guest column about Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfi eld Hills.
The board and Knollenberg’s professional letter writers focused entirely on the wrong issue. I wasn’t criticizing Knollenberg’s urging women to do self exams and to get their mammograms.
My point was the hypocrisy of Knollenberg sponsoring a health conference for women when he has such a terrible voting record on health issues. Knollenberg has a 0 rating from the National Breast Cancer Coalition and voted against expanding a successful government program that provides health care coverage for millions of low income children (SCHIP). Knollenberg did vote to extend the program. Even when the majority of his colleagues voted to expand the program to cover an additional 10 million children, Joe voted against it.
The issue for millions of Americans is that they don’t have any health-care coverage. Families across Oakland County and this country live in fear that they will have a major health issue that they won’t be able to afford to get treated because they have no insurance.
Knollenberg’s “wellness” proposal won’t help those people.
Oakland County residents are hurting because of $4 gas, lack of health coverage and an uncertain economy. The Bush/Knollenberg economy is a dismal failure.
Knollenberg should start talking about issues that really matter to Americans, like a health care program that makes it so that every American can take their children to a doctor.
Health care should be a right in America, not a privilege of only wealthy congressmen and women.
Knollenberg should do something about the outrageous profits of America’s oil companies that continue to rip Americans off at the pump and the speculators that are driving prices up, regardless of supply.
He should think about what it does to our soldiers being sent into a war zone three, four and five times and what it does to their families.
Knollenberg should vote for funding to screen every soldier for posttraumatic stress disorder so we can try to prevent the unprecedented number of suicides being committed by our soldiers.
He should vote to stop funding a war that our president lied us into and is charging hundreds of billions on our Bank of China credit card to support. Our great-great-grandchildren will be working to pay off that debt. Republicans have not been fiscally responsible.
Those are some of the real issues. Why isn’t Knollenberg talking about them?
Why won’t Knollenberg come out in public and let his constituents ask him about his record on important issues and his plans to solve the problems facing them?
Knollenberg has had almost 16 years to make the lives of his constituents better. My life isn’t one bit better.
Other people have noticed Knollenberg’s voting record on health care issues, too:
2007 American Academy of Family Physicians gave Knollenberg a 0 rating;
2007 Children’s Health Fund gave Knollenberg a 0 rating;
2006 American Public Health Association ranked Knollenberg with a 0 rating; 2005-2006 AIDS Action Council rated Knollenberg with a 0 rating; and 2005-2006 American Nurses Association ranked Knollenberg with a 0 percent. Those are failing grades in anyone’s book. Disclaimer: I do not work for MoveOn.org or Knollenberg’s opponent.

BRUCE FEALK

I hope you watch this video, Joe

This is a really powerful video of a woman and her family that has been abused by our health care system. Joe Knollenberg has called universal coverage "socialized medicine." He has voted against expanding the SCHIP program to 10 million children. So as you watch this video, think about whether Joe Knollenberg really deserves to be re-elected. I don't think so.

Oakland Press Editorial Focuses on the Trees, misses the Forest

This morning's Oakland Press editorial focuses on my recent guest column in the paper. The piece focuses entirely on the wrong issue. My point of the column was not Joe Knollenberg's urging women to do self exams and to get their mammograms. My point was the hypocrisy of Joe Knollenberg being at a health conference for women, when he has such a terrible voting record on health issues. Joe Knollenberg voted against expanding a successful government program that provides health care coverage for millions of low income children (SCHIP). Even when the majority of his colleagues voted to expand the program, Joe voted against it.

The issue for millions of Americans is that they don't have any health care coverage for themselves and their families. Families across Oakland County and this country are afraid every day that they will have a major health issue that they won't be able to afford to get treated because they have no insurance or worse yet, no job.

Oakland County residents are hurting because of $4 gas, lack of health coverage and an uncertain economy and Joe Knollenberg is talking about being called a name.

• Maybe Joe Knollenberg should start talking about issues that really matter to Americans, like a health care program that makes it so that a mother earning minimum wage can afford to take care of her children when they get sick and take them to a doctor.
  
• Maybe Joe Knollenberg should do something about outrageous profits of America's oil companies that continue to rip Americans off at the pump.
  
• Maybe Joe Knollenberg should worry more about our soldiers in Iraq that are committing suicide at an unprecedented rate and others that are coming home and not being able to get the care they need to lead productive lives.
  
• Maybe Joe Knollenberg should think about what it does to our soldiers to be sent into a war zone for 3, 4, 5 times and what it does to their families.
  
• Maybe Joe Knollenberg should vote for funding to screen and treat our soldiers for post-traumatic stress syndrome when they return from Iraq.
• Maybe Joe Knollenberg should introduce legislation to address the mental health issues that are causing our returning soldiers to commit suicide at the highest rates in history.
  
• Maybe Joe Knollenberg should think of what a war that our President lied us into and our country is borrowing hundreds of billions of dollars from China to support is doing to our nation's economy and the fact that our great, great grandchildren will be working to pay off that debt. Those are some of the real issues.
  
• Why isn't Joe Knollenberg talking about those issues, instead of worrying about whether his opponent's campaign literature has a logo on his shirt or not?

Joe Knollenberg has had almost 16 years to make the lives of his constituents better and his most noted legislation is the repealing of a law that required low-flush toilets because they couldn't clear the bowl. I know my life isn't one bit better because Joe Knollenberg has been my Congressman for the last 16 years.

Other people have noticed Joe Knollenberg's voting record too. I repeat these rankings for those that may think that I've veered off course.

Stop your whining, Joe and let's talk about the issues.

2005-2006 Representative Knollenberg supported the interests of the National Breast Cancer Coalition 0 percent in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007.

2007 Alliance for Headache Disorders ranked Knollenberg as a 0

2007 American Academy of Family Physicians gave Knollenberg a 0 rating

2007 Children's Health Fund gave Knollenberg a 0 rating.

2006 American Public Health Association ranked Knollenberg with a 0 rating.

2005-2006 AIDS Action Council rated Knollenberg with a 0 rating.

2005-2006 American Academy of Emergency Mediine ranked Knollenberg - 50 percent.

2005-2006 American Nurses Association ranked Knollenberg with a 0 percent.

2005-2006 National Rural Health Association ranked Knollenberg with a 0 percent.

Joe brings home money for Woodward signs, but says no to money for children's health care

This article showed up in Friday's Free Press. So I guess residents are supposed to say thank you to Joe Knollenberg for bringing home money for signs for Woodward Avenue? Not me. Joe Knollenberg has let voters down on the big issues like health care, voting against expanding a government program that works, the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Thanks to Joe 9 million children won't be able to afford health care. He continues to vote with the President to fund the fiasco in Iraq. He votes for more invasion of our privacy by allowing President Bush to spy on Americans. He votes to allow the President to break international laws by allowing torture of prisoners, leaving American prisoners open to the same treatment by our enemies.

Joe Knollenberg bringing home a few hundred thousand dollars for signage for Woodward Avenue does not make up for all the damage he's heaped on our country. I'd gladly give up the money for the signs in exchange for bringing our soldiers home to their loved ones. I'd gladly give up signs for Woodward in exchange for him protecting our civil liberties. I'd gladly give up the signs for a vote for protecting the health of our children. What kind of human being is Joe Knollenberg that he thinks that signs are more important than children?

How many children will die needlessly that could have been covered by the $845,000 that Joe brought home for signs? Shame on you, Joe.

Fortunately I have health care coverage, so I can afford to say this, Joe, you make me sick.

Woodward Avenue beautification helped by federal grant

December 28, 2007

BILL LAITNER

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Woodward Avenue’s signs and tourist attractions will get a shot in the arm in the new year from a fresh round of federal transportation grants.

News of four grants totaling $845,000 came early this month in a letter from U.S. Rep Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Township.

The letter was being made public this week, said Debbie Schutt, a consultant for the nonprofit Woodward Avenue Action Association, which will implement the grant spending. The actual grant recipient is the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Knollenberg “was instrumental in getting this money,” said Schutt, who lives in Bloomfield Township one block from Woodward.

VIDEO: Joe NOllenGrinch at the Rochester Christmas Parade

Sorry this is a little out of order, but my computer was sick. Here's some video from Joe NOllenGrinch's visit to the Rochester Christmas parade on December 2. We also passed out flyers, urging people to send in a form to Joe's campaign office urging him to change his vote on children's health care.

Law Enforcement urges override of SCHIP veto

This opinion piece is from the Oakland Press on October 13, 2007, oddly enough the same day I shot my now famous video of Joe Knollenberg and Trent Wisecup in the drug store in Rochester. It's signed by law enforcement officials in several cities and Oakland County Prosecutor, David Gorcyca, urging an override of the SCHIP veto by President Bush. They all recognize that treating children's health and mental issues early prevents crime.

Trent Wisecup makes the case for Mental Health Parity. This might not have happened if Trent had received early treatment.

Knollenberg Under Attack by Catholics

Now Joe is under attack from a group called Catholics United, who don't think Joe's vote on SCHIP is a pro-life position that they support. Finally, Joe is being held accountable by pro-life voters.

CLICK HERE to listen to the ad that is currently running



Press Release from Catholics United:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2007

Contact:
Chris Korzen
(202) 903-0856
ckorzen@catholics-united.org

Washington, DC - Catholics United will launch a radio advertising campaign targeting ten members of Congress whose opposition to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) have compromised their pro-life voting records.

The ads, which feature a mother urging her Congressional Representative to support SCHIP, will primarily air on Christian and talk radio stations from Monday Oct. 15 to Wednesday, Oct. 17 as Congress approaches a critical Oct. 18 vote to override President Bush’s veto of bipartisan SCHIP legislation.

“Building a true culture of life requires public policies that promote the welfare of the most vulnerable,” said Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United. “At the heart of the Christian faith is a deep and abiding concern for the need of others. Pro-life Christians who serve in Congress should honor this commitment by supporting health care for poor children.”

Peters Surging, Knollenberg Tanking

It's very bad news for an incumbent when they poll below 50%, so this is very good news for challenger Gary Peters. And the SCHIP polling shows a 14 point swing.

Gary Peters (D): 35
Joe Knollenberg (R-inc): 42
(MoE: ±4.8%)
While the exact trendlines are not available, Knollenberg's 7-point lead is down from a 12-point lead in April. He's also well under the magic 50%
mark, well before the campaign has even been engaged. Not good news for Team Red.

And in a sign of S-CHIP's salience, Knollenberg is very vulnerable on the issue:

Knollenberg's 7-point lead turned into a 7-point deficit after respondents were read both a push question characterizing his position on SCHIP, and the Democratic and Republican arguments for and against the program.

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'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.

Det. News - Knollenberg won't budge

Laura Berman

Knollenberg race heats up

Congressman Joe Knollenberg won't budge. - 10/16/07 -

YouTube: 'Trent Wisecup goes crazy in Rochester'

---

And his refusal to back a bill to ramp up an existing children's health insurance program by $35 billion over five years could be a principled stand.

But his opponents don't think so. And they're using his opposition to the so-called SCHIP bill as a way to publicly launch their 2008 congressional campaign against the seven-term Republican.

It's one example of how the bill, which is unlikely to overcome President Bush's veto this week, is creating political heat.

Democrat Gary Peters, the state lottery commissioner-turned-Knollenberg-opponent, posted a wagon outline on his Web site for little Democrats to print, color angry red and mail to Knollenberg.

Former radio show host Nancy Skinner used Knollenberg's visibility over the weekend to announce her candidacy.

And it all coincided with video of Knollenberg in a Rochester drugstore.

Political trickster hits blog

On Saturday, Democratic trickster Bruce Fealk -- a former court stenographer who now works energetically and nearly full-time to ridicule and undermine the seven-term Republican -- confronted Knollenberg in Lytle, a downtown Rochester drugstore.

While Knollenberg didn't respond to Fealk's challenges about the war and children's health care, he stayed cool on camera.

But his chief of staff, Trent Wisecup, exploded.

Fealk promptly posted four minutes of seething Wisecup footage to YouTube.com.

The outing was a blogger triumph for the dogged Fealk and his bag of political tricks.

"You're not a citizen, you're a political hack," groused Wisecup, who apparently forgot that hacks tend to be citizens, too.

Besides running two anti-Knollenberg Web sites, Fealk owns a gigantic papier-mache head of the congressman that he dons for strategic appearances.

Last summer, Wisecup called the police after Fealk plopped himself on the front porch of Knollenberg's home.

"He's frightened Mrs. Knollenberg, he's upsetting the women in my office," says Wisecup, who calls Fealk "a stalker" and "un-American."

Whatever its merits, the on-line fracas undercut Knollenberg's efforts to recast himself as a moderate since the last election. It's a potent political issue, in part because it so starkly sets off priorities.

It gave Skinner an opportunity to point out that justifying votes against sick children as a budgetary move may not play well for one of the president's strongest allies in the almost-trillion-dollar Iraq war.

The proposed expansion of health care for children includes a 61 cent tax on every pack of cigarettes.

Knollenberg argues the tax won't cover the bill's cost "without 22 million new smokers."

To make that point, Wisecup says, his office plans to mail back the Gary Peters-backed red wagons "with cigarette wrapperson them."

You can reach Laura Berman at (248) 647-7221 or lberman@detnews.com.

Americans United run ad against Knollenberg's SCHIP vote

Here's a pretty powerful ad being run against Joe Knollenberg, urging him to vote to for the SCHIP program.

Bruce finally gets to confront Joe

Well, I finally got to confront Joe Knollenberg about his votes on the war in Iraq and against SCHIP. Trent Wisecup, Joe's chief of staff got pretty heated. Watch for yourself.

Joe at the Republican Debate in Dearborn

It was a beautiful day in Dearborn for a protest. All the Republican losers running for President were inside the Dearborn Performing Arts Center. What an appropriate place for Fred Thompson to make his acting debut on the presidential scene. Joe NOllenberg was there too having a great time with all the other protesters.


Protesters of all ages came out to let the Republican candidates know what ought to happen to Vice President Dick Cheney and President Bush.


These guys said they are with the NSA. I wonder if they were pulling my leg.

Joe to Michigan's Children: DROP DEAD!

I know that sounds cruel, but it's the truth. Joe Knollenberg and George W. Bush are on the same page when it comes to supplying affordable health care to America's children. $35 billion, the cost of 4.5 months of the war in Iraq is what it would cost to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, as the Senate overwhelmingly voted to approve and the House also approved, although not by a veto-proof majority. Joe Knollenberg was one of the Republicans that voted with President Bush, like he does 94% of the time and against expanding this extremely successful program. I hope you're proud of yourself Congressman Knollenberg. The children of Michigan were counting on you and you let them down. So what's new?

Joe Hates Children

In spite of Joe Knollenberg's pro-birth stance, once children are born, he doesn't give a damn about them, as evidenced by his vote against the State Children's Health Insurance Program, commonly known as SCHIP.

Joe loves war, hates children

Joe deserves to be replaced in Congress for this vote alone. Here's what the SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) does.
Washington, D.C. – A bipartisan coalition of Senate and House leaders today announced a bicameral agreement to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for an additional five years. CHIP provides health coverage to American children whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid, but can’t afford private insurance. The $35 billion agreement struck by House and Senate negotiators will bring health coverage to approximately ten million children in need – preserving coverage for all 6.6 million children currently covered by CHIP, and reaching millions more low-income, uninsured American children in the next five years.

Below is an outline of the agreement, which is designed to target specifically the lowest-income uninsured American children for outreach and enrollment. The agreement does not call for CHIP coverage for children in families at higher income levels. Instead, it reduces Federal matching funds for future coverage of children at higher income levels, and provides incentives to cover the lowest-income children instead. CHIP coverage of childless adults and parents will be phased out to maintain the program’s focus on kids.

Investing $35 Billion in New Funding for CHIP. The agreement reauthorizes the Children’s Health Insurance Program, investing an additional $35 billion over five years to strengthen CHIP’s financing, increase health insurance coverage for low-income children, and improve the quality of health care children receive.

Lowering the rate of uninsured low-income children. The agreement will provide health coverage to millions of low-income children who are currently uninsured. The bill also ensures that the 6.6 million children who currently participate in CHIP continue to receive health coverage. Pending final Congressional Budget Office estimates, the reduction in the number of uninsured children will approach four million children.

Improving Access to Benefits for Children (Dental Coverage/Mental Health Parity/EPSDT). Under the agreement, quality dental coverage will be provided to all children enrolled in CHIP. The agreement also ensures states will offer mental health services on par with medical and surgical benefits covered under CHIP, and protects medically necessary benefits (EPSDT) for low-income children.

Prioritizing children’s coverage. The agreement makes several modifications as it relates to populations eligible for CHIP.

Pregnant Women: The agreement provides coverage to pregnant women as a new state option as well as preserving the options to cover them through a state waiver or through regulation.

Parents: The agreement prohibits any new waivers to cover parents in the CHIP program. States that have received waivers to cover low-income parents under CHIP will be allowed to transition parents into a separate block grant. The federal match for services to parents covered through CHIP will be reduced.

Childless Adults: The agreement retains the current law prohibition of waivers to allow coverage of childless adults. Currently covered childless adults will transition off CHIP. For states that have received CHIP waivers to cover childless adults, the agreement terminates those waivers after a one-year period, provides temporary Medicaid funding for already-enrolled adults, and allows states to apply for a Medicaid waiver for coverage.

Providing states with incentives to lower the rate of uninsured low income children. Under the financing structure, states will receive state-based allotments that are responsive to state demographic and national spending trends and allow additional up-front funding for states planning improvements. States that face a funding shortfall and meet enrollment goals will receive an adjustment payment to ensure that no child who is eligible for Medicaid or CHIP is denied coverage or placed on a waiting list. The formula also sets in place new overall caps on federal funding to ensure the program’s expenditures do not exceed the amounts authorized. The agreement provides incentives for states to lower the rate uninsured children by enrolling eligible children in CHIP or Medicaid.

Agreement Replaces CMS August 17th Letter to States. The Congress agrees with the President on the importance of covering low-income children have health coverage while taking steps to address crowd-out and prioritize coverage of lower income children. The agreement replaces the flawed CMS August 17th letter to states with a more thoughtful and appropriate approach. In place of the CMS letter, the agreement gives states time and assistance in developing and implementing best practices to address crowd out. The agreement also puts the lowest income children first in line by phasing in a new requirement for coverage of low-income children as a condition of receiving CHIP funding for coverage of children above 300 percent of the poverty level.

Improving Outreach Tools to Simplify and Streamline Enrollment of Eligible Children. The agreement provides $100 million in grants for new outreach activities to states, local governments, schools, community-based organizations, safety-net providers and others.

Improving the Quality of Health Care for Low-Income Children. The agreement establishes a new quality child health initiative to develop and implement quality measures and improve state reporting of quality data.

Improving Access to Private Coverage Options. The agreement expands on current premium assistance options for states. The agreement allows states to offer a premium assistance subsidy for qualified, cost-effective employer-sponsored coverage to children eligible for CHIP and who have access to such coverage. It also changes the federal rules governing employer-sponsored insurance to make it easier for states and employers to offer premium assistance programs.

Legislative language is currently being finalized, and will be available Monday. The House of Representatives will likely vote on legislation implementing this agreement on Tuesday of next week. The Senate will take up the measure shortly thereafter, to deliver a full renewal of the Children’s Health Insurance Program to the President for signature into law before CHIP’s current authorization expires on September 30.

Joe Knollenberg won't even support children's health care

Yesterday, Congressman Knollenberg voted against a bill, H.R. 3162, commonly known as the State Children's Health Insurance Program, (SCHIP), that provides health care coverage to America's children, the least protected class of citizens in America. Seems like another example of Joe Knollenberg being pro-birth, but not pro-life. How shameful to try to withhold funding for the children of America through this valuable program.

Fortunately, the bill passed the House of Representatives, despite Congressman Joe Knollenberg's No vote. Heres is the link to the bill information. Click here.