Republicans pass Christmas Resolution, but Joe votes against children's health care and for torture

I have to admit to being a little confused this morning. As Christmas approaches, it makes me wonder what the Christmas spirit really means and how Christian Republicans translate their faith into their political life. I wonder what Jesus would say about how the U.S. Congress voted yesterday. Congress approved a non-binding resolution recognizing the importance of Christmas in America. Yet the same people, Joe Knollenberg among them, twice voted against expanding health care to more of America's children, and he's for allowing torture by America's armed forces, CIA and contractors on behalf of the U.S. military and all Americans, for more war, threatening war with Iran, for more spying on Americans and countless other measures that go against the historical moral position of America, not to mention the President continuing to diminish the power of Congress in general and disrespecting the checks and balances the founding fathers wrote into the Constitution that Joe Knollenberg swore to uphold when took his oath of office while his right hand was on a bible.

But Republicans still try to claim the moral high ground based on their "pro-life" position on abortion, but justify their pro-capital punishment position somehow. "Faith" whatever that means in America today, has been a topic of much discussion in our presidential debates, even though the Republican party only has one candidate that is on his first marriage, and he's a Mormon. Rudy Giuliani's shortcomings (a polite word for corruption) are now coming to light. First it was the fact that his mistress had a security detail paid for with public funds. Yesterday it came to light that one of his clients was a company that provided data mining services to U.S. intelligence agencies and Rudy's company, Giuliani Partners was paid a commission by the company he helped and that that help consisted of setting up meetings with Vice President Cheney with the data mining company.

The most religious of the Republican candidates, Mike Huckabee, thinks women in this country should be subservient to their husbands and HIV patients should be put in quarantine.

How in the world did we get to this point in American politics?

Joe Votes to Allow Torture

Joe Knollenberg voted against banning waterboarding to interrogate detainees. Joe wants America to continue to break international law and against the Constitution of the United States.

This morning the House Republicans once again affirmed that they want the CIA to disobey international law AND use interrogation techniques proven to result in false or inaccurate intelligence. In short, the Republicans love torture.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation to bar CIA agents from using waterboarding during the questioning of suspected terrorists...

The House, in a 222-199 vote, passed annual policy legislation for intelligence agencies that included the ban on the use of simulated drowning in interrogations.

``This would mean no more torture and no more questions about what the CIA is allowed to do behind closed doors,'' said Representative Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat...

The legislation approved by the House today would require that all U.S. spy agencies follow the Army Field Manual's interrogation standard, which doesn't authorize waterboarding or other harsh techniques.

To become law, the legislation approved today would have to be approved by the Senate, which hasn't scheduled a vote, and be signed by Bush, who has stated his opposition.

Gary Peters Receives SEIU Michigan Endorsement

Joe Knollenberg got a 0% rating last year on the AFSCME scorecard. Today the SEIU Michigan Council has endorsed Gary Peters, in his congressional campaign for Michigan's 9th district. "Our members firmly believe that Gary Peters is the best candidate to represent the citizens of Michigan's 9th District," said Phil Thompson, SEIU Michigan State Council president and executive vice president of SEIU Local 517M. "He has a proven record of standing by working families, particularly when it comes to providing access to quality and affordable health care." Gary has also received the earliest Congressional endorsement from the AFL-CIO, been endorsed by the Michigan Building Trades, American Federation of Teachers, and the local Operating Engineers, Communication Workers, and Pipefitters. Peters was proud to accept the endorsement, saying "I'm extremely pleased and honored to get the support of the SEIU Michigan State Council. The SEIU believes, as I believe, that working families deserve a voice in Washington and that it is time for a change." Michigan's 9th District is currently represented by Joe Knollenberg. Last year Knollenberg received a dismal 0% rating on labor issues in the AFSCME House Scorecard.

Getting the endorsement was a very thorough and unique process. Gary Peters and other candidates in Michigan's 9th filled out a questionnaire, met with SEIU members who filled out assessment forms, and took part in a "Walk a Day in My Shoes" event where the candidates worked side by side with an SEIU member. Marge Faville, the secretary-treasurer of SEIU Healthcare Michigan and the Michigan State Council treasurer, said Peters understands the struggles that SEIU members face. "Gary Peters understands our values and our concerns," Faville said. "He spent a day side-by-side with a home care worker as part of our endorsement process, and we were very impressed with Gary's passion and his grasp of the issues SEIU workers face." Faville went on to highlight two of Gary Peters key beliefs that impressed SEIU members: Ending the war in Iraq, and supporting children's health care. "Gary Peters wants to end the war, bring our troops home and make sure their children get the health care they need through an expansion of the S-CHIP program. Those two issues are extremely important to SEIU members, as they are to Michiganders as a whole. Our members are excited to support a candidate who shares their vision for a better Michigan and a stronger America." SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Marge Faville

Joe Knollenberg, fool him once, you can fool him again

It's unbelievable. The National Intelligence Estimate, which is the best assessment of 16 intelligence agencies now concludes that Iran discontinued its nuclear weapons program 4 years ago. I haven't hear a word from Joe Knollenberg about this dramatic finding, but recently Congressman Knollenberg has been beating the drums of war against Iran.

On October 15 he gave a speech at the Holocaust Memorial and here is part of what he said, which I obtained from his own web site. CLICK HERE for the link to Joe's web site.

I don’t want to get political this evening. We are here to support the Holocaust Memorial Center. But I am increasingly worried about the situation in Iran. The current dictator in Tehran is a menace to the state of Israel. He’s a menace to the United States. And he’s a menace to people around the world who want to live in freedom.

The Iranian president has said on many occasions that he wants to destroy the state of Israel. I believe him, and I think we have to do everything in our power to prevent him from obtaining nuclear weapons. I know the war in Iraq is not popular. But what happens if we lose in Iraq.

The Iranian dictator, who is supporting the insurgency in Iraq, will move quickly to establish a Hegemonic presence in the Middle East. Moderate Arab nations like Egypt and Jordan will be at risk of falling victim to the scourge of radical Islam.

Now we know, from the most recent NIE, which Vice President Cheney tried to withhold from the public for a year, that Iran is not the threat that the neocons and Joe Knollenberg, have been making it out to be. In fact, it was all a lie and Congress must now hold George W. Bush to account for his lies. Joe Knollenberg needs to be held to account too.

Here is another quote from Joe's web site on a "Hegemonic Iran." CLICK HERE to read the entire page.

The Iranian president continues to march forward with his nuclear ambitions in defiance of the international community. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is hell-bent on developing nuclear weapons because he wants to dominate the Middle East. If the United States withdraws from Iraq before the country is secure, Ahmadinejad and his desire to construct a hegemonic state will be empowered. Iraq will become a haven for radical Islamic fundamentalists who want to destroy Israel and the United States.

You would think with the recent release of the NIE that Joe Knollenberg would reassess his position. But not Joe. He's as stubborn as George W. Bush and takes his marching orders from George W. Bush.

Joe Lets America Down Again - Votes No on Energy Bill

I wish I had good news to report, but Joe Knollenberg let America down again and as expected, voted against the energy bill. It did pass 235-181, but Republicans in the Senate are threatening a filibuster and President Bush is threatening a veto if the bill were to pass the Senate. Looks like another example of obstructionism by the Republicans and Joe Knollenberg.

The Democrats in the House have reached a compromise on fuel economy standards calling for a 40% increase by 2020, including trucks and SUV's. Finally! Some action. It's not nearly enough, but it's a good start. According to this article a vote will take place next week. Let's start calling and writing Joe's office now to urge him to vote yes on this important legislation. Given Joe's history of screwing consumers and the environment, I'm sure Joe will vote No, but miracles do happen. Call Joe's office in Washington D.C. at (202) 225-5802 or go CLICK HERE to send him an e-mail.

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.

What to expect from Republicans in 2008

There is a special election today in Ohio's 5th Congressional District. The Republicans keep playing the same old song, fear. Here's a commercial they are running against the Democrat in the race, Robin Weirauch. I'm sure it's what we can expect next fall against Gary Peters.

Politically Speaking Confirms: Wisecup Leaves

Knollenberg aide leaves

Trent Wisecup, who was U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg's chief of staff, is no longer with the office.

Knollenberg's office confirmed this week that Wisecup isn't working for the Bloomfield Township Republican but declined to discuss why, saying it was a personnel matter.

Last month, Wisecup took a leave of absence a couple of weeks after a video posted on YouTube showed him screaming at a persistent Democratic activist. In an e-mail to reporters, Wisecup said he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Wisecup declined to comment Monday.
CLICK HERE to link to the Free Press

Joe NOllenGrinch took to the streets of Rochester Sunday

Rochester held its 56th Annual Christmas Parade on Sunday, Deccember 2 and Joe NOllenGrinch was on the street with his message that Joe Knollenberg stole children's health care this Christmas. Joe didn't even show up for the parade this year. All his buddies were there, but no Joe. Another no show for Joe. I doubt he was missed though.

Will Joe hold Auto Companies Accountable on Fuel Economy?

The Democrats in the House have reached a compromise on fuel economy standards calling for a 40% increase by 2020, including trucks and SUV's. Finally! Some action. It's not nearly enough, but it's a good start. According to this article a vote will take place next week. Let's start calling and writing Joe's office now to urge him to vote yes on this important legislation. Given Joe's history of screwing consumers and the environment, I'm sure Joe will vote No, but miracles do happen. Call Joe's office in Washington D.C. at (202) 225-5802 or go CLICK HERE to send him an e-mail.

Vote No On Joe Ranks above Knollenberg campaign web site on Google

It's hard to believe, but Vote No On Joe now ranks above Joe Knollenberg's official campaign web site in the Google search engine and just one spot below Joe's official campaign web site on Yahoo.

Representative Joe Knollenberg
Official web site for Representative Joe Knollenberg (R - MI).
www.knollenberg.house.gov/

Joe Knollenberg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph (Joe) Knollenberg (born November 28, 1933) is a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, representing Michigan's 9th congressional district in the ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Knollenberg - 50k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Vote No on JOE (Knollenberg) joe knollenberg, joe knollenberg, joe ...
I got word today that there is a rumor that Trent Wisecup is no longer working for Joe Knollenberg. I sent an e-mail to Trent's address and it bounced back, ...
votenoonjoe.blogspot.com/ - 191k -

Joe Knollenberg -- The Official Campaign Website of Congres

Trent Wisecup Fired?

I got word today that there is a rumor that Trent Wisecup is no longer working for Joe Knollenberg. I sent an e-mail to Trent's address and it bounced back, another indication that Trent is no longer employed by the Knollenberg camp. It's a good thing Trent is on his wife's health care, what with all the medication he needs, now that he's been diagnosed as being bi-polar and undoubtedly he'll be needing psychiatric care, which isn't cheap either. Without his wife's health care, Trent would know what it's like to be one of the 47 million (37 million if you believe Trent) without health care coverage. I'm going to miss you, Trent.

Nominate Joe Knollenberg for Grinch of the Year

NOMINATE JOE KNOLLENBERG AS YOUR FAVORITE GREEDY GRINCH!

CLICK HERE to nominate Joe Knollenberg

For more than a decade, JwJ coalitions across the country have held local 'Grinch of the Year' elections to determine the most deserving greedy Grinch in their hometowns. This year, national Jobs with Justice will sponsor the seventh annual online Grinch of the Year election to determine the national figure who does the most harm to working families.

Please submit your nomination for the national Grinch of the Year by Friday, November 30th. Be sure to include a few sentences on why you think your nominee is deserving. We will be annoucing the nominees and beginning the election in a few weeks.

More Health Care News for Joe

This article appeared in the Nov. 29 edition of the Detroit Free Press. There are some interesting statistics here. CLICK HERE to read the full article. The part I liked was this.

Dr. A. Mark Fendrick, director of the University of Michigan's Center for Value Based Insurance Design, said lower health premiums in the state reflect Michigan's strong union history that bargained for workplace benefits and made it "a national leader regarding the provision of generous and affordable health insurance."

Basically unions are helping to keep the overall cost of health care below the national average.

Report links higher rates of uninsured and suicide

Joe, since you're a good Catholic, I would hope that this report gets your attention and may even change your mind on voting for measures that provide health care for Americans.

Report links higher rates of uninsured and suicide

November 28, 2007

By MARILYN ELIAS

USA TODAY

The higher the percentage of residents in a state who say they can't afford health care, the greater the prevalence of serious depression and the higher the suicide rate in that state, suggests a report released to USA TODAY.

The state-by-state analysis also links fewer suicides to more adults receiving mental health treatment, greater availability of psychologists and psychiatrists, and "parity" laws requiring equal insurance coverage for physical and mental illness.

(Since your own chief of staff, Trent Wisecup apparently suffers from a serious mental disorder, maybe you will support mental health parity in health care coverage. Is he back to work yet, Joe or was the whole paid leave a cover for Trent being fired or let go from the campaign? Is he still on the payroll?)

The report doesn't prove that lack of care causes depression or suicide, says senior author Tami Mark of Thomson Healthcare. "But it suggests we should be monitoring mental health care and comparing outcomes," she says.

Mark used federal data on mental health and state databases to develop a "depression index," ranking states and the District of Columbia on seriousness and prevalence of depression, as well as suicide rates.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the story

Joe, What Good is a Cutting Edge Cancer Center...

... if people can't afford to get treatment there? Joe Knollenberg's web site brags about how Joe helped get funding for a cutting edge cancer center. But guess what, even people that have insurance may not be able to receive the treatment afforded by this center if we don't change the way we pay for health care. Please read yesterday's post about Fred Holling, who is now in the hospital and needs treatment that his Blue Cross policy won't pay for. He's having to hold spaghetti dinners to try to raise the money needed to get the treatment he needs to stay alive.

Joe Knollenberg's health car plan consists of a $200 tax credit that goes to employers, not the employee, for having wellness programs. Please tell me, Joe, what good does that do for a person that gets cancer and their policy doesn't cover their treatment, someone like Fred Holling, who played by all the rules, but still can't get the treatment he needs.

Joe, this is why we need universal, single-payer health care

I opened up my Oakland Press electronic edition today, and there on the front page is the story below, about a man that worked hard all his life, has purchased health insurance that he pays for himself who gets sick. He assumes that his treatment will be covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield. He trusts that the premiums he's paid all these years will take care of him. But unfortunately he was wrong. He needs an expensive, life-saving procedure that isn't covered by his insurance.

If you haven't read about Joe Knollenberg's health care plan, Joe says that it would be great if employers received a $200 tax credit for offering their employees a wellness program. Ain't that great? But what about the 47 million without health care coverage, 9 million of whom are children? Joe's excuse for for voting against the Children's Health Insurance Program - it's paid for by raising the taxes on the 22 million people who smoke cigarettes by 61 cents per pack.

What about people like Fred Holling who have bought and paid for private insurance, but when the time comes, they turn down their customer for the treatment they need? Oh, and Joe doesn't believe Fred should be able to sue his insurance carrier either. So people like Fred Holling have no recourse against their insurer, who has taken his money all these years, and yet when the time comes to take care of their customer, they tell him, sorry, you're on your own. So, what does Fred have to do, hold fundraisers, to help raise the money needed to pay for his treatment. It shouldn't be this way in America, the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't offer its citizens universal health coverage. Oh, Republicans and Joe Knollenberg get on their soap box and preach that universal health coverage is leading us down the path to "socialized" medicine, as if using that word scares us into submission. Joe would rather spend America's financial resources, and use our national credit card, borrowing money from China to pay for the disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan. How's that for having your priorities straight?

The time has come for Democrats and Republicans to get busy in Congress to pass John Conyers' universal, single-payer health care legislation, so people like Fred can get the treatments they need, without having to beg relatives, friends and strangers for the money to pay for the care they need. What do you say, Joe? Will you help John Conyers pass H.R. 676 now?

CLICK HERE for the rest of the story

It Looks Like Joe and the Republicans Have a Problem in the Hispanic Community

It's interesting that Joe Knollenberg and the Republicans are trying to court the Hispanic vote, when it now appears, according to a Washington Post article, they are slow walking applications for citizenship, which could keep hundreds of thousands of new Hispanic citizens from voting in the 2008 Presidential election. CLICK HERE to read the Washington Post article.

There's also a new report out showing that Hispanic voters are breaking overwhelmingly for Democrats and that may be the reason that the government is not processing new citizen applications as fast as they might otherwise. CLICK HERE to read the report.

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.

9th District Campaign Intense, but not "weird"

Last November 15, the Birmingham Eccentric ran a story, "The Strange Saga of the 9th U.S. House Race" and an accompanying opinion piece entitled "Campaign is already weird" One thing conservative writers like Greg Kowalski are very good at is putting emotional words into their stories. Below is Greg's opinion piece, although it doesn't have his name attached, and my reply. Even though, when you ask, they say they are not partisan, reading their stories, you can't help but notice how biased they are. I do give Greg credit, though, for running my reply, unedited, except I had to shorten it to meet the 400 word guideline. And I do appreciate Greg's campaign advice, but with Joe's approval rating at 33% I tend to think that people are paying attention to this race and Joe's voting record and position on issues, maybe due in part to the letters to the editor campaign, the admittedly unique tactics and the truth being told about Joe Knollenberg.

Campaign is already weird (from the 11/15/07 Eccentric)

The November 2008 election is shaping up to be one of the most bizarre in memory.

And it's still 2007.

The big race on the ballot locally will the be 9th U.S. House seat currently occupied by Joe Knollenberg. The Republican from Bloomfield Township has been in office since 1993 and has been a consistent conservative. Only recently has he tried to distance himself from President George Bush and taken up the cause of the American auto industry and its plight.

Knollenberg has come under bitter attack by political foes who are taking their message to the street - literally - following Knollenberg to businesses and even going to his home to challenge him with their questions on such issues as the Iraq war and health insurance coverage.

On an anti-Knollenberg Web site, Joe is held responsible for just about everything bad there is including the number of soldiers killed in Iraq and the $9 trillion national debt.

We're not in the habit of giving campaign advice, but the anti-Knollenberg camp might note that such overkill tactics are not particularly effective in this area where voters tend to be more moderate and reasonable.

We will, however, continue to push for clean election campaigns. Knollenberg is vulnerable on many issues and there is no need to resort to such cheap, and frankly weird, tactics.

My Reply in Thursday’s Birmingham (Thanksgiving Day) Eccentic

Not so weird (My title was, "Campaign is intense, but not "weird")

The only people that are calling the occurrences in the 9th District race weird are members of the press. I think it's important to point out a few things that Kowalski's story, "Strange Saga" overlooked and get a few facts straight. First, there was an incident in a drugstore in Rochester, but I have not been following Knollenberg around. I have been looking for an opportunity to question Knollenberg about the issues important to Oakland County and I had that opportunity in the drugstore.

In the recording in the drugstore, Knollenberg's chief of staff, Trent Wisecup, totally lost his cool when I questioned Knollenberg about his positions on children's health care and Knollenberg's continued support of the war in Iraq. Knollenberg is for more war and death and against providing health care for our children. I would like to see Knollenberg get his priorities straight. I have every right, as an American, in fact it's my duty as a citizen, to ask questions and get straight answers from my representative in the people's House.

Knollenberg also voted against the Health and Human Services bill and helped to block an override of President Bush's veto.

This bill would have provided $3.4 billion for state unemployment insurance and employment services, $340 million to strengthen mine safety protections, $183 million to enforce wage and hour laws, $37 billion for school districts across America, $16.4 billion to lower the costs of student loans, $2 billion for affordable, high-quality child care for low-income families, $7 billion for Head Start programs and $2.2 billion for community health centers, all worthwhile expenditures, especially when compared to more than half a trillion dollars that has been spent on the war and the estimated $1.5 trillion that has been spent so far when all the expenses to the American public are taken into consideration.

Knollenberg can no longer claim to be a fiscal conservative, as he has played a role in the $9 trillion national debt, twice what it was before Bush took office, caused by Bush's tax cuts that benefited the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.

As Kowalski's article pointed out, Knollenberg's approval rating is down to 33 percent, so people are now paying attention to this race and are starting to realize that Knollenberg doesn't represent their views on the issues and they are ready to vote a Democrat into office next November.

Bruce Fealk