Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder pledged to sign a bill as early as today that would make Michigan the 24th "right-to-work" state in the country. Among other things, the new law would end the requirement that workers pay union dues as a condition of employment.

The following statements from legal and economic experts at The Heartland Institute - a free-market think tank - may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Tammy Nash at tnash@heartland.org and 312/377-4000. After regular business hours, contact Jim Lakely at jlakely@heartland.org and 312/731-9364.

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"This is a great victory for American workers. Now 45 percent of Americans are covered by these laws, and it is only a matter of time before the other big Midwestern states follow suit or have their lunches eaten by Indiana and Michigan."

Richard Vedder
Professor of Economics
Ohio University
Policy Advisor, Economics
The Heartland Institute
vedder@ohio.edu
740/593-2040

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"For the past 20 years, all of the top-performing states in the country have had right-to-work laws. None of the worse-performing states have had such laws. With its right-to-work law, Michigan will become one of the nation's premier performing state economies."

Robert Genetski
Policy Advisor, Budget and Tax Policy
The Heartland Institute
rgenetski@classicalprinciples.com
312/565-0112

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"It's deja vu all over again for those of us who live in Wisconsin, as taxpayers foot the bills for riot police in Lansing and paid holidays for teachers so they can protest.

"And all of the taxpayers in this country paid for the destruction to the Michigan auto industry brought to its knees by union overreaching. Despite these subsidies, GM still went through bankruptcy and has not yet recovered. Yet automakers in right-to-work states are thriving. The handwriting is on the wall; the teachers evidently can't read."

Maureen Martin
Senior Fellow for Legal Affairs
The Heartland Institute
mmartin@heartland.org
920/295-6032
Ms. Martin is a resident of rural Wisconsin.

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"Michigan is poised to open up its labor market and to discover the dynamics of a free market which has been suppressed for far too long by the political class in concert with union leaders. Monopoly power created by union shops where workers must pay union dues or lose their jobs has caused long-term injury to industry in Michigan, resulting in high unemployment and a growing underclass leading to social deterioration. As a Michigan Law School graduate, I congratulate Governor Snyder for his courage in dealing with this corrosive abuse of business and the citizens of the State of Michigan."

Paul Fisher
Senior Fellow for Legal Affairs
The Heartland Institute
media@heartland.org
312/377-4000

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"Everyone is for the freedom of workers to choose whether or not they want to join a union, except for the unions. That is what their opposition to right-to-work means. Right-to-work only means the freedom of each worker to choose, which is central to the entire American social contract. States with right-to-work also enjoy more rapidly growing jobs, lower unemployment, more rapidly growing wages and incomes, and more economic growth. Michigan will now enjoy this too, reversing its decades-long decline."

Peter Ferrara
Senior Fellow for Entitlement and Budget Policy
The Heartland Institute
pferrara@heartland.org
703/582-8466
Mr. Ferrara is the author of America's Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb (2011)

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"With Michigan following Indiana, which became the first industrial Midwest state to establish right-to-work last year, we now have a virtual circle of competition between states to establish the best conditions for job-creating businesses. This will benefit workers, consumers, taxpayers, and the state governments - the latter gaining higher revenues from taxes on growing state economies. It truly is a win-win-win-win situation."

S.T. Karnick
Director of Research
The Heartland Institute
skarnick@heartland.org
312/377-4000

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"This law gives workers more freedom and should make labor unions more accountable to workers.

"Workers will no longer be forced to pay into a union just to earn a living. They won't be forced to see their money used in ways they might oppose. Labor unions will have to earn the support of workers if they want to survive. It's long past time labor unions had to respond to workers rather than workers respond to unions."

Steve Stanek
Research Fellow, Budget and Tax Policy
The Heartland Institute
Managing Editor
Budget & Tax News
sstanek@heartland.org
815/385-5602

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"Unions, as a form of free associations, are a basic human right. In this country, unions were born in free association and were incorrectly attacked under the anti-trust laws. Unions initially rested on their ability to offer not only collective bargaining services to their members, but to provide unemployment insurance and other forms of fraternal relief before the advent of the welfare state, and to certify the quality of their members' work and, so, enable their members to command a premium wage in the marketplace.

"Then something changed. Unions were transformed by the Wagner Act from free associations to extensions of the state's coercive power. Even with the moderating influence of the Taft-Hartley Act, unions evolved into something different. Although there are some notable exceptions, unions have atrophied in the private sector and have grown in the government sector. Even in the private sector, unions hang on in some industries only because of the periodic intervention of the federal government.

"In the meantime, restrictions on labor-management cooperation and on the exercise of share ownership by workers stymies the emergence of a new model for workers, in which those who sign the back of the paycheck develop their common interests with those who sign the front. Restoring the basis of unions in free association should mean that unions - and not the government - assert themselves on behalf of their members in wages, benefits, and working conditions, earning their dues from their members, and enabling their workers to earn their premium compensation packages through their greater productivity."

Clifford Thies
Eldon R. Lindsey Chair of Free Enterprise
Professor of Economics and Finance
Shenandoah University
cthies@su.edu
540/665-5450

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The Heartland Institute is a 28-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.

Amana - The Old Creamery Theatre Company and Bella Sala will bring you an evening of great food and entertainment on Saturday, January 19.

The evening begins at 5 p.m. when the doors to Bella Sala will open for cocktail hour followed by dinner at 6 p.m. The menu includes smoked pork loin, zesty herbed chicken, party potatoes, California blend vegetables, bread and salad. A cash bar will be available.

The Old Creamery Theatre Company will then take to the stage at 7 p.m. to perform Talley's Folly by Lanford Wilson. The play is a romantic comedy set in an old boathouse in rural Lebanon, Missouri in 1944. The story follows two unlikely sweethearts, Matt Friedman and Sally Talley, as they once and for all settle their feelings for one another. Talley's Folly features Old Creamery favorites Deborah Kennedy and Tom Milligan and is sure to be a treat for all.

Tickets for dinner and the show are $45 per person and can be purchased by calling Bella Sala at (319) 545-4255. Purchase of a full table (8 seats) includes a complimentary bottle of white and red wine served with dinner.

Bella Sala is located at 3232 Jasper Ave. NW in Tiffin.

Vernissage

Private  viewing & pre-opening event: " WINTER."

The art of Anna Engelbrecht

DECEMBER 14, 2012

6.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m.

Cocktails and hors d'Âœuvre

1530 Fifth Avenue, Moline.

309-762-9202

www.atthephoenix.com

Please contact the Phoenix Fine Art Gallery for purchase.

" WINTER" continues till February 8th. 2013

About the Artist:  Anna Engelbrecht

Anna Engelbrecht is a Moline, IL native. She received bachelor degrees in both Biology and Art, with a concentration in Photography from Olivet Nazarene University. During her college career she was a finalist in Photographer's Forum 2008 Best of College Photography Contest. Anna's work has been chosen for many juried exhibitions including " Galex 44" at Galesburg Civic Arts Center in Galesburg, IL and the "35th Rock Island Fine Arts Exhibition" at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. As well as a group show: " Paper: In Black and White" at Quad City Arts Center in Rock Island, IL.

Anna continues to live and work in Moline, IL

Between Untested Therapies & Intrusive Politics,
RN Says Individuals Must Take Responsibility for Their Health

There's plenty of information about women's physical and health-care needs. Unfortunately, some of it is incomplete, or based on opinion and conjecture, or it's just plain bad information, says registered nurse Iyalode Edwards.

"Women tend to be more vigilant about their bodies than men, and there is a huge marketplace of literature, products, studies, politics and other opinions on women's health," says Edwards, author of "Multiple Orgasms Made Simple: 'How to Do It' Sex Secrets All Women Should Know!" (www.multipleOmadesimple.com).

"Not all of it makes sense."

It's only natural that women are more focused on their bodies than men because women have the more complex anatomy, she says. But old ideas from a society based in patriarchy, along with today's health market issues, can create confusion. Edwards, who has more than 35 years experience as a registered nurse, clarifies three points about which she sees the most misunderstanding among her patients:

• Untested therapies: Several years ago hormone replacement therapy was all the rage, used almost as a cure-all for post-menopausal women suffering a variety of symptoms. After a few decades, however, a large percentage of those women started suffering ovarian and breast cancer, in addition to other complications. More recently, vaccines for the human papillomavirus have been touted to girls and young women as the new preventative measure against cervical cancer. But thousands of girls have experienced a wide range of side effects, including seizures, strokes, dizziness, fatigue, weakness, headaches, vomiting, weakness, joint pain, auto-immune problems, chest pains, hair loss, appetite loss, personality changes, insomnia, tremors and menstrual cycle changes. Be wary of new cure-alls. Adverse effects are sometimes not revealed until they've been in use for a significant amount of time.

• Health through pleasure: A 2011 survey by Jane Magazine found that, while more than 87 percent of men aged 18 to 26 years old experienced orgasm "most or all of the time" during sex, only 46.8 percent of women could say the same thing. Not only could that percentage be much higher for women, it could be more meaningful, too. "The truth is, if you have all your sex organs intact and can achieve the first level of climax, then you can achieve it multiple times during the same encounter," Edwards says. "You just need information, and there has been too much misinformation disseminated." Sexual satisfaction comes with several health benefits, including improved cardiovascular functioning, sounder sleep and a deeper bond with a partner.

• The politics of women's health: As imperative as it is to know more and listen closely to one's body, it is also important to stay connected to current events since women's health care has become a political football, she says. Comments from multiple elected officials seem to be narrowing the definition of rape, and there are many who support limiting women's care in insurance plans, to name a few public debates. "I want women to be more aware of their bodies," Edwards says. "Unfortunately, the rhetoric of many politicians seems to be pointing backward regarding our health."

About Iyalode Edwards, R.N.

Iyalode Edwards is the author of "Multiple Orgasms Made Simple," a straightforward, step-by-step how-to guide that includes physiological explanations for sensations women experience. Edwards is a registered nurse with more than 35 years of experience. She informally interviewed a number of women and physicians as part of her research.