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.
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.
Congressional contest gets snarky
It was a big week in presidential politics. The presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees started hammering each other on the economy, the war in Iraq and ethics.
But in Oakland County, one congressional campaign was mired in concerns of who said who's a jerk and breast cancer.
Sandie Knollenberg, the wife of U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, a Bloomfield Township Republican, issued a fund-raising letter blasting Democratic challenger Gary Peters for labeling her husband a "jerk" for supporting breast cancer prevention.
But the "jerk" label came from a blog by Bruce Fealk, a Knollenberg provocateur who is not connected with the Peters campaign. Fealk, using wildly creative interpretation, wrote that a newspaper column by Knollenberg suggested that women are responsible for creating their own cancer.
Republicans took another shot at Peters, a former state lottery commissioner. They noted his campaign brochure shows a stern-looking Peters wearing a blue shirt with a Ralph Lauren Polo label. On the inside photo, the Polo label has vanished.
Republican activist Glenn Clark claimed that Peters airbrushed the Polo label to show he's not elitist, suggesting, of course, that he really is. Peters' campaign pooh-poohed the claim as a nonissue to distract from Knollenberg's record.
Economy and war, anyone?
Republicans Vote Against Efficient Schools
Republican politicians are always complaining that public schools are not efficient enough. They use this complaint as an excuse for cutting off the funds that public schools need to give American children an adequate education.
Yesterday, the Democrats in Congress called the Republicans’ bluff. You want efficient public schools? Good. Congressman Ben Chandler, who is very far from liberal, had introduced H.R.3021, the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act. The proposed law would encourage public schools to run efficiently.
No more money-guzzling out of date school buildings. No more safety hazards for American children. The legislation would provide an investment in energy-efficient, healthy, technologically-updated schools. That way, taxpayers would save huge amounts of money on their property taxes by not having to pay so much on energy costs for schools at a time when the price of energy is shooting through the roof.
Under this law, more money would go toward quality education. Less taxpayer money would go to just keeping children warm in the winter, or to protecting schoolchildren in the South from record-breaking heat. For a small national investment in efficient schools, taxpayers around the country would get huge savings for an entire generation to come.
This legislation does exactly what Republicans say they want to do. It makes public schools more efficient. In fact, the bill makes such plain sense that 27 Republican members of the House of Representatives crossed the aisle yesterday to vote in favor of it. Thanks to them, the bill passed, and will become law if passed by the Senate. One of those Congressmen was our own Joe Knollenberg. Let's hear it for Joe. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
2005-2006 Representative Knollenberg supported the interests of the National Breast Cancer Coalition 0 percent in 2005-2006.
Mike Smith of Clawson joins Joe, John and George for a photo op.
SCN: U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg has been targeted by the Democratic Party and is considered to be vulnerable this year, after barely beating his Democratic opponent in 2006. Tell us why you think Gary Peters can be successful in the general election.
Woodward: Gary Peters understands first and foremost what's most important to the voters of Oakland County, and that's leadership that will help create jobs. Gary, in his own rite, has a huge amount of experience in serving his country in the Navy, serving his community while being everything from being a city councilman to being a state senator, completely within the district, to being an administrator when he worked as director of state lottery and generated record revenues for public education. (He has) all those things combined with broad leadership and values in sync with the priorities of this county, and he knows how to run a campaign. But most importantly he knows how to lead with his values and voters in Oakland County want change. They are sick and tired of the same old policies that have gotten our county and our nation in the situation that it is in. Joe Knollenberg has voted with President Bush almost 100 percent of the time and continues to embrace those failed policies. So voters have to ask themselves are they ready for change, are they ready for a new direction, are they ready for someone who's going to fight for job creation and to keep jobs from being outsourced overseas, investment in our young people in terms of early education and higher education, and protecting our environment.
Joe Knollenberg has scored very low in all of those arenas. Voters will have that opportunity. I'm very confident things are going to change.
SCN: We don't nearly as often hear that U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter is as vulnerable as Knollenberg, but his district has traditionally been a swing area. Please explain why you do or don't think the Democratic Party should shift some of its focus away from defeating Knollenberg and devote more toward knocking off McCotter.
Woodward: I think it's a couple things. I think Knollenberg and McCotter are equally vulnerable. There's no question. I think, again, voters in general want a change. I think when you look at Joe Knollenberg's record, he is extremely out of touch, much more entrenched in Washington. Is he easier? I guess I don't know. I do expect significant resources will be spent in the 11th Congressional District, which Congressman McCotter represents. You have to remember this stuff isn't happening in a vacuum, that we're going to have a presidential campaign like Michigan has never seen before. Whomever that nominee is — and very likely, most likely it will be Sen. Barack Obama — you'll see an immense amount of resources spent to make sure we maximize the turnout of every single voter in Michigan, thereby including both congressional districts. I don't believe at some levels there are significant resources that take on incumbents, unfortunately. It's by flawed design that incumbents automatically walk out with huge leads in these kinds of races. You need candidates who can raise money. You have two democratic candidates who really are breaking records across the country in the amount of money they've been able to raise this early in the game. So that's why there's a lot of attention in the Knollenberg (district) but I wouldn't say that we're writing off the other races. I think we are going to have them and can pull off these elections come November. I think there will be a lot of surprises. There will be races that couldn't have of been won, but will be won because voters are frustrated with the direction George Bush has taken this country, and people want change.
Joe Knollenberg wasn't quite so popular. We found Joe's thundersticks in the trash outside the Townsend hotel and there were lots more in trash cans all over downtown Birmingham. 
According to the study, McCain’s economic plan, (which includes a corporate tax cut, a full repeal of the AMT, and an extension of the Bush tax cuts) would leave a debt of $12.7 trillion (the highest since 1951 when America was still holding debt from WW2) by the last budget of a two term presidency starting in 2009 (FY2017). This debt is $3.5 trillion more severe than the one resulting from an extension of current Bush policy, which would leave a debt of $9.2 trillion (43% of projected GDP).
McCain would slash government revenues, which have averaged 18.3% of GDP for the past 25 years, to their lowest levels since before 1962. Revenues would average only 16.3 percent of GDP for the duration of his two terms. Under current Bush policy, revenues would remain above 18 percent of GDP.
This analysis currently incorporates the most generous possible savings McCain has offered thus far: an $18 billion cut of wasteful earmarks and a $15 billion “freeze” in wasteful spending, with the savings grown at the rate of GDP growth over his presidency. These “savings,” which come no where near paying for his reckless tax cuts, already include “heavy cuts in after-school programs, student aid, public broadcasting, and job training.” To fill the gaping remaining hole, McCain supporters have suggested policies that would lead to “massive cuts” in Social Security.Two years ago, in an interview with James Rubin for Sky News, Sen. John McCain expressed a willingness to negotiate with the terrorist group Hamas -- the very group that McCain has been relentlessly using to smear Sen. Barack Obama over the last several weeks.
Rubin has written an op-ed in Friday's Washington Post about his exchange with McCain, and The Huffington Post has obtained exclusive video. Here's the key excerpt:
RUBIN: "Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?"
McCAIN: "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so . . . but it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that."
As Rubin adds:
Given that exchange, the new John McCain might say that Hamas should be rooting for the old John McCain to win the presidential election. The old John McCain, it appears, was ready to do business with a Hamas-led government, while both Clinton and Obama have said that Hamas must change its policies toward Israel and terrorism before it can have diplomatic relations with the United States.
Even if McCain had not favored doing business with Hamas two years ago, he had no business smearing Barack Obama. But given his stated position then, it is either the height of hypocrisy or a case of political amnesia for McCain to inject Hamas into the American election.
Toss-up
- Joe Knollenberg (R), 9th District. Former State Sen. Gary Peters is a viable candidate and all the momentum is against the GOP. While few seem to be enthusiastic Peters fanatics, he's been powerful enough to clear what was to be a competitive primary field. In another year, Knollenberg might be safe, but national trends are against him. (Formerly Lean Incumbent)
BOEING…THE TANKER DECISION…MAKE IT AMERICAN MADE…America’s military deserves the best tanker for the mission and America’s taxpayers deserve the most value for their money. It’s crazy for us to give this contract to the Europeans, when America needs the jobs and America needs to defend itself.
Childers victory gives Dems a third straight takeover
Childers, who beat Davis 49-46 three weeks ago but came up just shy of a race-ending majority, joins new Democratic Reps. Bill Foster (Ill.) and Don Cazayoux (La.) to give Democrats a trifecta of upsets in conservative House districts over the last two months. The loss could send shockwaves through the Republican Party, where murmurs about a leadership shakeup have become more and more audible.
Democrats are backing up the assertion that they remain on the offensive in the cycle following a 30-seat gain, which has historically not been the case after a “wave” election.
A bumpy ride
Your opinion page of April 17 has another letter from Bruce Fealk bad-mouthing Rep. Knollenberg. It is reported that he is well-funded by MoveOn.org, which is backed by George Soros, not exactly friendly to America.
Its goal is to target Knollenberg and others who don't agree with its ultra-liberal biased agenda. So we know what to expect from here to election and as expressed by Bette Davis in one of her movies: "Button your seat belt. We're in for a bumpy ride."
Julius A. Becker
Republicans Vote Against Moms; No Word Yet on Puppies, KittensBy Dana Milbank
Friday, May 9, 2008; A03It was already shaping up to be a difficult year for congressional Republicans. Now, on the cusp of Mother's Day, comes this: A majority of the House GOP has voted against motherhood.
On Wednesday afternoon, the House had just voted, 412 to 0, to pass H. Res. 1113, "Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day," when Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), rose in protest.
"Mr. Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote," he announced.
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who has two young daughters, moved to table Tiahrt's request, setting up a revote. This time, 178 Republicans cast their votes against mothers.
It has long been the custom to compare a popular piece of legislation to motherhood and apple pie. Evidently, that is no longer the standard. Worse, Republicans are now confronted with a John Kerry-esque predicament: They actually voted for motherhood before they voted against it.
Republicans, unhappy with the Democratic majority, have been using such procedural tactics as this all week to bring the House to a standstill, but the assault on mothers may have gone too far. House Minority Leader John Boehner, asked yesterday to explain why he and 177 of his colleagues switched their votes, answered: "Oh, we just wanted to make sure that everyone was on record in support of Mother's Day."
By voting against it
?
This report in from Eric B. at Michigan Liberal.
The Cook Political Report moves Michigan's two biggest races in favor of the two Democrats. The 7th District goes from "Lean Republican" to "Toss up," and the 9th goes from "Likely Republican" to "Lean Republican."
For Mark Schauer, this means the second bit of ratification in the last couple of days. It was Roll Call who most lately called the race a toss up. Without mentioning anything, this really represents a Schauer advantage, since it means moving things in his direction.
As such could be said for Gary Peters, challenging Joe Knollenberg in the 9th. The remarkable thing in the 9th is that Knollenberg enjoys a fund raising advantage over his opponent.
You can show Peters a little extra love tomorrow by showing up between noon and 1:30 p.m. to meet Peters in a live chat with MichLib's readers.
"He said he believes in free trade and making the auto industry raise fuel-economy standards. He said the state's auto industry "is not finished."
"Of course the old kind of doing business is not coming back. ... We've got to retrain and educate workers" to take advantage of the new economy, he said. He believes the Big 3 have leveled the playing field through recent contract negotiations."
Knollenberg aims to aid auto industry
by Greg Kowalski
ECCENTRIC STAFF WRITER
The embattled auto industry would get a helping hand with new legislation being proposed by Congressman Joe Knollenberg.
Speaking at the Automation Alley offices Tuesday in Troy, the Bloomfield Township Republican - who is embroiled in a hotly contested re-election bid against Democrat Gary Peters - unveiled a plan to stimulate the economy and "help the Big Three compete."
"This will be a huge shot in the arm to grow our Michigan economy," Knollenberg said.
The proposed legislation would broaden the availability of research and development tax credits for companies; provide support for research in advanced batteries; create two hydrogen fuel pilot programs; require the EPA to streamline protocols and regulations on biodiesel fuel; and establish an inter-agency federal task force on CAFE standards.
CAFE - the Corporate Average Fuel Economy - standard sets how many miles per gallon a vehicle gets. The standards, 35 miles per gallon by 2020, could cost the automakers $85 billion to achieve and add thousands of dollars to the price of a car, Knollenberg said.
"The entire auto industry will make tremendous investments in technology (with the proposed legislation)," said Robert Babik, director of Emissions, Environment and Energy for General Motors.
He spoke in favor of the legislation, as did Fred Hoffman, director of Government Relations for Chrysler, and Charlie Pryde, director of Government Relations for Ford.
Although the Big Three are competitors, "I don't think there is an inch of space between us in support of the legislations," Hoffman said.
The legislation "will provide critical help to the auto industry," Pryde said.
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said the legislation was a perfect match for the focus of Automation Alley, which is a hub of industry research and development.
"It's good for Michigan and good for the global economy," Patterson said.
Whether it, or at least parts of it, is enacted into law remains to be seen.
On the heels of the announcement, Peters issued a statement blasting Knollenberg.
"Real leadership means not waiting for a crisis to take action," said Peters. "I'm going to go to Washington and I'm going to start fighting for Michigan families and Michigan jobs on day one. I'm going to stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas and stop giving billions in subsidies to big oil companies who are raking in record profits."
Dems add to majority with Cazayoux win in La.
Posted: 05/03/08 11:17 PM [ET] House Democrats continued to expand their majority Saturday night after Louisiana state Rep. Don Cazayoux emerged victorious in a special election for retired Rep. Richard Baker’s (R) district. The win comes two months after Democrats picked up their first seat of the year. In March, Democrat Bill Foster won the Illinois seat of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R). That seat, like the Louisiana contest, was in solidly Republican areas. President Bush carried the Illinois district with 55 percent and the Louisiana district with 59 percent in 2004.
Cazayoux benefited from a strong fundraising advantage over Woody Jenkins — $810,000 to $490,000 — with much of the help coming from national Democrats. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spent $920,000 on the contest.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) only spent $440,000 on the race and Jenkins received less than $40,000 from GOP members.
Funds ban for Carter Center is opposed
Gregg Krupa / The Detroit News
Some Arab-American and Muslim leaders objected Friday to the proposal by U.S. Representative Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Hills, to deny federal funds to the Carter Center in the wake of former President Jimmy Carter's meeting with a ranking member of Hamas.
Amid concerns by the Bush Administration, Carter met in Syria with Khaled Meshal, the chief strategist for Hamas, which the United States identifies as a terrorist organization. Hamas officials also are the elected leaders of the Palestinian Authority.
"As a former president of the United States, you undoubtedly understand that the United States must speak with one voice to our enemies," Knollenberg said in a April 9 letter to Carter. Knollenberg then offered a bill, the Coordinated American Response to Extreme Radicals (CARTER) Act that would ban federal financing of the center Carter established to further human rights.
"Knollenberg's legislation seeks to hamper the efforts of a center that promotes free elections, which the Bush Administration has said is the key to democracy and cultivating progress in the Middle East," said the Council of American Islamic Relations, in a statement.
While the legislation is given little chance of approval in Congress, Arab-American leaders said it was particularly disappointing given Knollenberg's recent efforts to improve relations in the Middle East by forming a bipartisan Jordan Caucus and encouraging relief for the Iraqi refugees.
"There is absolutely nothing constructive about this initiative that supports the Bush Administration's progress towards peace," said Leigh O'Neill of the Arab American Institute.
"I think we are living our last days of the American political era when even a former president can be sanctioned for his political views," said Imad Hamad, regional director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
A group of 50 Republican and Democratic members of Congress recently signed a letter to Carter expressing objections similar to Knollenberg's.
"President Carter or any former president carries with him a weight that other citizens do not," said Nate Bailey, a spokesman for Knollenberg. "And in this particular instance, the action he took was in direct contrast to the stated policy of the United States for more than 20 years."
You can reach Gregg Krupa at (313) 222-2359 or gkrupa@detnews.com.
March 26, 2008
Thanks, Dr. Death: Suicide Doctor's Nader-esque Congressional Race Will Help Hezbollah's Republican Get Re-Elected; SCHLUSSEL Endorses Dems Running Against Hezbo Republicans
A number of readers have asked me what I think of the just-announced Congressional candidacy of Dr. Jack Kevorkian a/k/a Dr. Death. Well, I'm bummed about it, and not for the reasons you might think.
It's rare that I endorse liberal Democrats. But when the liberal Democrat is running against a phony conservative Republican who is one of Hezbollah's two best friends in Congress, I'll take the lib any day. I'd much rather have a sincere liberal than a phony American.
That's the case with Congressman Joe Knollenberg, the man Kevorkian is running against and against whom the liberal Democrat (not Kevorkian) has a chance of beating. I've known Mr. Knollenberg for many years, and he's been my Congressman for several of them. Unfortunately, Knollenberg--along with another Republican, Congressman Darrell Issa--is Hezbollah's go to guy in the U.S. Congress.
Dr. Death's Candidacy May Help Re-Elect Hezbollah's Joe Knollenberg GOP Congressmen Darrell Issa & Joe Knollenberg: Hezbollah's Hookers in Congress; Schlussel Endorses Their Opponents Peters, Hamilton As I've detailed on this site, Knollenberg has taken thousands in campaign contributions from Hezbollah's officially-designated American agent Nijad Fares and his Hezbollah front-group PAC, American Task Force for Lebanon Policy. And in return, Knollenberg sought $268 million--and got over $86 million--of your tax money for Hezbollah. The money--purportedly to rebuild hospitals and orphanages "destroyed" by Israel--actually went straight into the coffers of Hezbollah for the purposes of sending more Isrealis and American soldiers fighting in Iraq to hospitals and their kids to orphanages. Knollenberg and his then-Chief of Staff Paul Welday sought this money at the request of Fares--whose father Issam Fares was formerly the Hezbollah-installed Prime Minister of Lebanon--and pro-HAMAS/pro-Hezbollah James Zogby, head of the deceptively-named Arab American Institute (very little American about it, but for an office address).
Fares, it should be noted, also donated to Muslim Democrat Congressman Keith Ellison and the Presidential Campaign of Jihad Fred Thompson, which was shabbily run by Fares' other pan-Hezbo friend, Spencer Abraham. The is the company which Joe Knollenberg keeps. Check out all of Nijad Fares' campaign contributions (he's a close friend of the Bush family, FYI).
One other thing about Jihad Joe Knollenberg: He also made earmarks of millions in your tax money, sending it to 1) the anti-Israel/pan-jihadist Arab American National Museum, and 2) the deceptively-named "Seeds of Peace" summer camp, in which victims of terror and kids of Muslim terrorists are told they are equal and that Holocaust-denial is a valid position; the camp was founded by Yasser Arafat's favorite biographer.
So, how does this relate to Congressional Candidate Dr. Death? Well, Kevorkian is properly reviled by most conservative and Republican voters. He will only take votes away from Joe Knollenberg's very viable Democrat opponent, Gary Peters. The election will be very close. In 2006, Nancy Skinner--who barely put up a fight and raised little money--nearly beat Knollenberg. And the time is now to do it.
Moreover, if he wins, it's believed that Joe Knollenberg will thereafter retire and somehow get his son, Michigan State Rep. Marty Knollenberg, into the seat. Besides supporting gay marriage and other gay issues, Marty Knollenberg--as I've repeatedly noted--also took oodles of money from Hezbollah's Nijad Fares.
Why would a Texas agent of Hezbollah donate money to a State Representative in Michigan? Answers: 1) To reward his daddy for sending millions of your tax money to Hezbollah; 2) to reflect pan-Hezbollah policy in the Michigan legislature; and 3) to get Knollenberg to "see things the Hezbollah way" should he get to Congress.
Michigan's Hezbollah-Knollenberg dynasty must be put out to pasture. And that's why I'm supporting liberal Democrat Gary Peters for this seat. Dr. Jack Kevorkian's candidacy will put my efforts at Knollenberg Family Retirement '08 in jeopardy. And I'm not happy about it. He's the Ralph Nader in this race between Hezbollah vs. America.
The McCain Hezbollah "Connection" *
April 30, 2008 8:37 PM
The campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., removed a man from his Michigan Finance Committee today.
It started after conservative writer Debbie Schlussel called Michigan businessman Ali Jawad not only a supporter of Hezbollah -- a group the US State Department labels a "terrorist organization" -- but also claimed he was a "key agent of the terrorist group in the Detroit area."
After Schlussel started asking questions the McCain campaign removed him from the finance committee for a May fundraiser.
"Apparently he is a well known member of the Arab-American community in Dearborn," a McCain staffer tells ABC News. "He is also a known Republican donor and former Bush finance committee member. When these rumors surfaced he notified the campaign and we removed him from the finance committee. The guy never raised a dime for us and he isn’t even a contributor."
Yes, that's right, the McCain campaign said they removed him because of "rumors."
Jawad is president of Armada Oil & Gas Company and founder of the Lebanese American Heritage Club.
In 1997 he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor insurance fraud. Prosecutors accused him of submitting names of non-employees to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to receive health insurance benefits and claims. He received two years of probation and he paid approximately $6,000 in fines and restitution.
In this 2002 story, Jawad is quoted saying he "rejects talk that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that should be shunned by the United States and other governments. 'Killing innocent people -- we reject that,' he said. 'Hezbollah does not fit this category. It has protected its people.'"
Read Schlussel's story -- she lays out many charges against him.
You will note in one photograph in Schussel's story, Jawad is sitting at a table with Michael Rosen, a lawyer and policy advisor with the U.S. Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes of the U.S. Treasury Department, and Andrew Arena, Michigan FBI Special Agent in Charge, and formerly in charge of Counterterrorism for the New York FBI.
This all seems a little odd to me.
Is there anyone out there who thinks McCain supports Hezbollah? Was McCain truly offended by the notion that an Arab-American businessman with sympathy for Hezbollah supports him? Or was today's move just to deprive Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, of some future rebuttal?
* I don't mean "Connection" literally.
UPDATE: I spelled Schlussel's name incorrectly in this original post. Apologies to her; it has been corrected. Moreover, Schlussel says that there was more to the conclusion of USA v. Makki et al, than the small fine I reported. More than $252,000 was ordered to be repaid, most of which came from or Armada Oil, and one associate was sentenced to 8 months in prison and about $75,000 in fines and restitution.
