Did Joe get Yen maniupulation wrong?

I'm no economist, but this seems to make sense to me. It's Toyota combating Knollenberg's argument on yen manipulation.

Weak Yen or Strong Products?

We're going to take an overdue look at an old wives' tale that materializes rather like unwelcome ghosts from time to time.

It is that the Japanese government has somehow manipulated the value of its currency, the yen, to benefit Japanese-based companies that do business in the United States and Europe, holding it artificially low so that the manufacturers are able to realize what amounts to a subsidy on products they build in Japan and sell abroad.

Indeed, this tale of the manipulated yen is far more spectral than, say, Casper, our friendly ghost of theatrical cartoon series fame. It raised its wispy head again late last year, this time in a letter from Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R., Mich.), published in the Wall Street Journal.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the story.

Right to Work is Wrong for Michigan

On Tuesday, January 15, primary election day in Michigan, you may run across people asking you to sign a petition to make Michigan a "Right to Work" state.

DON'T SIGN THAT PETITION!!!!

It will drastically affect you and your family in a negative way if Michigan were to become a "Right to Work" state. Watch this video.

Joe Knollenberg Loves George W. Bush

I wonder how this will look played on television in say, October of 2008.

West Bloomfield Eccentric: Congressional Election Could Hinge on Outsiders

Congressional election could hinge on outsiders
By Annette Kingsbury
STAFF WRITER

In the 1860s, Abraham Lincoln suffered the slings and arrows of nasty political cartoons. In 1964, a black-and-white TV ad showed a mushroom cloud over a child picking daisies, implying that presidential candidate Barry Goldwater would use the nuclear bomb in Vietnam.

In the digital age, you don't have to have money, access to the media or party connections to make waves in politics. Anyone with a camera phone and Internet access can get involved in a big way.

Rochester Hills retiree Bruce Fealk has forced people to pay attention to his campaign to unseat incumbent Congressman Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Township. A liberal, Fealk has put up his own Web sites, hosts a cable TV show and engages in good old-fashioned demonstrating, such as showing up at the Rochester Christmas parade in a big papier mache likeness of Knollenberg.

Michign Progress

Retire Joe Knollenberg

CLICK HERE for the rest of the story.

Detroit News notes Albright hire by Knollenberg

This article appeared on January 2 in the Detroit News, noting Trent Wisecup's run-in with a camera wielding anti-war activist (me) and gives the link to the video and quotes Joe as saying Craig Albright is a professional, maybe implying Trent wasn't so professional?

It looks like rather than take a new tack, Joe prefers to stick with someone he knows. I expect that we'll see more of the same from Joe, rather than learning from his mistakes of the past. That's good news for Gary Peters, his expected opponent in the 2008 general election. This being Joe's last campaign, I'm glad Joe at least isn't going to turn into a Mitt Romney flip-flopper. Oh, did I mention Joe endorsed Romney?

Rep. Knollenberg hires top aide

U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Hills, announced today that he's hired a new chief of staff, Craig Albright, who's worked in Republican politics since the mid-1990s and who's also getting ready to be a first-time dad.

Knollenberg is expected to face another barnburner of a race. He's targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He'll face the winner of the Democratic match between former Michigan lottery commissioner Gary Peters and Nancy Skinner, who held Knollenberg to an unimpressive 52-percent victory in 2006.

The already hot feelings in the race were captured on video and posted on YouTube in October. Knollenberg's chief of staff at the time, Trent Wisecup, got into a testy exchange with a camera-wielding anti-war activist. The video has now been watched 47,696 times. Afterwards, Wisecup announced he had gone on paid medical leave to seek treatment for a mood-swing disorder. Knollenberg's office said Wisecup is no longer employed either on the congressional or campaign staff.

"I'm excited to have Craig on board," Knollenberg said in a statement. "He's a true professional and effective at getting things done. It's rare to find someone with extensive knowledge of both my congressional district and Washington, DC."

Albright grew up in Birmingham and has a BA in economics from Michigan State University.

He worked as a legislative aide in the Michigan state legislature before Knollenberg hired him from 1997 to 2005 (including as campaign manager in 2002). He then worked for Vice President Cheney as deputy assistant for legislative affairs and for President Bush as special assistant for legislative affairs.