Union busting

The struggle in Wisconsin by union workers and their supporters continues to draw national attention. It is likely to be the first of several state-level struggles to defend workers rights. It's too soon to see what effects this may have but at least the workers there have decided not to go down quietly. Solidarity events are taking place today in many places, including West Virginia.

In the words of Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, what's happening there is a case of "pure, unadulterated union-busting."

It is likely, alas, to be an interesting year.

(Goat Rope's ongoing series on Beowulf should resume tomorrow.)

THE COSTS OF COAL are the subject of a new study, as Ken Ward reports in Coal Tattoo.

ASHES, MOLES, FORTRESSES AND SUCH are discussed in the latest edition of the Rev. Jim Lewis' Notes from under the Fig Tree.

ALICE! Cooper, that is.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED