Some Catch-up

Bowe Bergdahl

No, he wasn't a hero.  Also, he wasn't a traitor.

How emotionally disturbed does a young man have to be to walk off a base in a very active war zone, leaving his weapon, armor, and night vision goggles behind?  Maybe it was some sort of psychotic episode.  Maybe it was moral outrage.  Maybe the two are not mutually exclusive.

The five Taliban "leaders," out of the loop for thirteen years, are not likely to present much of a problem to the USofA.  Their successors will not be inclined to step aside to accommodate their return.  Maybe they are propaganda victories, but I suspect their only other use will be as suicide bombers — and I'm pretty sure they won't be volunteering any time soon.  Suicide bombing is for kids.

The Palestinian "Merger"

Bibi is jumping up and down like Yosemite Sam.  I am amused, of course.  Bibi wants the USofA to end all contact with the Palestinians now that Hamas has reconciled with the PLO, but that's not happening.  Abu Masem is a sly old bastard, and I think he's making some good moves right now.

Obama's "War on Coal"

Let the wild rumpus begin!  Okay, it's not Obama's war on coal — the real war is being waged by the natural gas industry.  Natural gas is a much cheaper means to generate electricity than, at the very least, Appalachian coal.  Montana's coal is even cheaper than that, but mostly exported to China, where it brings higher prices.

I guess the "War on Coal" might have some small impact on the midterm elections, but I don't think it will matter all that much.  Employment in the coal industry already has been decimated by natural gas and heavy equipment mountaintop removal.

Mine Safety

29 are dead at the Upper Big Branch Mine. Massey Coal's stock price is down a few points. People are talking about "mine safety."

Uh huh.

One very important safety measure was missing at Massey's Upper Big Branch — unionization. If there are safety problems, you can't count on rank-and-file miners — just trying to get by in a rough economy — to do anything at all to bring it to the attention of the alleged regulators. Who wants to get fired — right?

The UMW is not the union it used to be, but it's still a hell of a lot better than nothing. I don't know if the UMW could have prevented the carnage at Upper Big Branch, but I think the miners there would have had a hell of a lot better chance if somebody — anybody — was paying real attention to safety factors.

Labor continues to cling to Obama. Maybe it's genuine hope, maybe it's desperation. One way or the other, labor should not be taken for granted.

Without labor, the Democrats are dead.