January 26, 2015

It's only going to get worse: States Consider Repealing Prevailing Wage Laws

Amid strong Republican gains in statehouses nationwide in recent years, debates over "right-to-work" legislation have generally been the most prominent union-related issues.

Union-heavy states Indiana and Michigan enacted such laws, which prohibit requirements that workers join a union as a condition of employment, in 2012. Now, lawmakers in those states and a handful of others are considering overhauling or eliminating another labor-supported policy: prevailing wage laws.

Prevailing wage laws require laborers on public works projects to be paid at the average wage — including benefits and overtime — of workers within that particular area. The Davis-Bacon Act has mandated such standards on federal projects since 1931, and many of the 32 current state prevailing wage laws have been on the books for decades.

http://www.mbtmag.com/news/2015/01/states-consider-repealing-prevailing-wage-laws?et_cid=4382859&et_rid=652347563&type=headline

January 23, 2015

Mississippi Wouldn't Allow This Teacher to Show Kids How to Use a Condom. His Simple Solution Is...

Mississippi Wouldn't Allow This Teacher to Show Kids How to Use a Condom. His Simple Solution Is Brilliant.

In Mississippi, where education laws require "stressing" abstinence, teachers are prohibited from "any demonstration of how condoms or other contraceptives are applied." Nonetheless, 76 percent of Mississippi teenagers report having sex before the end of high school, and a third of babies in the state are born to teenage mothers. One teacher came up with a creative solution for imparting some wisdom to students about condoms—watch it below.

January 21, 2015

Republican candidates have to audition for the Koch's before they can run for office

‘Koch Primary’ Tests Hopefuls In the G.O.P.

WASHINGTON — When Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky went to Kansas last year to campaign for Gov. Sam Brownback, he quietly requested a private meeting with the oil billionaire Charles G. Koch in his Wichita headquarters.

The senator’s pitch: Of all the potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates, he best reflects the views of Mr. Koch and his younger brother, David H. Koch.

Similarly, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas popped through Wichita in October for an audience he had requested, and he told the elder Mr. Koch that the Republican Party needed a grass-roots conservative like him to take back the White House.

And Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey has worked to cultivate a relationship with the younger Mr. Koch, stopping by his Manhattan office, calling him to talk politics and socializing with him, their wives included.



Perhaps no organization commands more deference in Republican politics nowadays than the sprawling operation established by the Koch brothers. And this week, the intense competition among Republicans for their embrace and attention will break out into the open. An invitation-only group of 2016 hopefuls will travel to a resort near Palm Springs, Calif., for the Koch brothers’ annual winter seminar, kicking off the so-called Koch primary.

Mr. Cruz, Mr. Paul and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida have all received invitations to the event and are expected to attend. Other invited Republicans include Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, who is not expected to make it because of a scheduling conflict.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/us/koch-seminar-is-early-proving-ground-for-gop-hopefuls.html?emc=edit_th_20150121&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=45299538&_r=0