Columnists

I tend to take house finches for granted, as I suspect most birders do. But there’s more to these ubiquitous little birds than meets the eye. -more-

Voters will determine 33 Senate seats in 2006. According to veteran DC prognosticator Charlie Cook, 17 incumbent senators are all but guaranteed reelection. In order to regain control of the Senate, Democrats will have to win at least six of the eight Republican seats that are in play and retain all eight of the contested Democratic sets. -more-

This fall brings an enormous lesson in civics and how to understand the secret and inner workings of our government. Sometimes in the rush surrounding a particular event or action or piece of legislation, details get lost or overlooked, and it is only with the passage of time, and patient digging, that we begin to learn the truth of how a particular government action came to be. Thus it is with our emerging understanding of the actions of the Bush Administration with regard to terrorism both before and after the September 11th attacks. -more-

There was a time not too long ago when “Jamabalaya” was just a Hank Williams song. The rich cuisine of southern Louisiana—Cajun, Creole, and their hybrid offspring—wasn’t well known outside the region. Then, as fiddler Michael Doucet recalls, -more-

It’s funny that humanity ever had trouble identifying itself as part of the continuum of animal life on this planet. Anyone who has ever looked into the eyes of a dog or cat must realize that there is as much of a person inside that creature as can be found in you or me. -more-

I must have passed this place a thousand times without going in. I think it used to be called “The Windmill Nursery” and it still has the eponymous windmill, an old but still unrusted Aeromotor, evidently not in current use. -more-

How’s Your Earthquake Knowledge? -more-