Columnists

Public Eye: Employee Choice — Which Side Are You On?

Bob Burnett
Wednesday April 01, 2009
In 1941, the Almanac Singers made famous the 1930s protest song, “Which Side Are You On.” -more-

Now That We Have Our Monster, We No Longer Care

J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Wednesday April 01, 2009
One universal human truth has been made manifest—once more—by the MacArthur shootings. While we can accept and even embrace flaws in our heroes, we are only comfortable when we can place those we wish to consider villains beyond all possibility of redemption and understanding. We wish no complications to dampen the fires of our rage. We want our bad men unsympathetic and monstrous, abandoned even by God and all the angels, like Grendel, the creature in Beowulf: -more-

Wild Neighbors: In the Shrike Zone: Losing the Loggerhead?

By Joe Eaton
Wednesday April 01, 2009
Loggerhead shrikes have learned how to use barbed wire
I miss shrikes. The loggerhead shrike, the local representative of this anomalous family of killer songbirds, used to be easier to see in the East Bay. This winter it was noteworthy when a single bird showed up at the Berkeley Meadow. We can still reliably find them in rural areas like the Altamont Hills, but they’ve become less common along the coast. -more-