For profit colleges see massive reductions in enrollment.

Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Joe Ely, and Guy Clark — My Baby Don’t Tolerate, from Austin City Limits.

Speaking of sand and petroleum, does the Back East Earthquake mean Mother Nature wants Obama to quash the Tar Sands pipeline? Given that DOMA hasn’t been repealed yet, it’s not like Talibangelicals can claim it’s because the Administration loves teh gheys.

How do you parody people who are already caricatures?

I read about 80-100 news sources, from blogs to online news sites to traditional media, every day. Wake up, fire up the computer, scan, scan, read, scan, read, scan. And this is not including the email pitches I get, the various blasts of press releases and other information shared by colleagues and readers and friends, the contacts with whom I periodically check in, and on and on. Most of what I do at Firedoglake does not appear on screen.

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Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the Clinton welfare reform package, which “ended welfare as we know it.” In a sense, we didn’t really know how that would turn out until a time of stress. Unfortunately, for the group of low-income Americans who need welfare, that stress has been part of their lives for almost a decade.

First, the disclaimer. I’m an ecosystem researcher and I’ve been working in the Nebraska SandHills for 10 or so years. The SandHills are the major recharge zone for the Ogallala (or High Plains) aquifer. That’s where water goes into the system to (hopefully) replace what we take out via wells.

The SandHills are also the largest “grass stabilized” dune field in the world, and without the grasses, they would be the largest sand dune field in the Western Hemisphere. The soils are very very sandy and porous, allowing quick and efficient infiltration of any fluids that happen to impinge upon them.

My colleague and I have just made the first measurements of the recharge rate (although only at a single point) in the region and I have a pretty good idea of how easily things can work their way down to the water table (i.e. the aquifer).

I am not …

By popular demand, we’re celebrating the honorific that has been bestowed on our community by offering a special Firebagger membership level of $65 per year that comes with an “Official Firebagger” t-shirt.  (If you’re already a member, you can order t-shirts and tote bags here.)

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One of the policy items you hear the Administration tout as part of defending their record is the food safety bill. Food policy experts considered it flawed, but generally a step in the right direction, and the first overhaul of the nation’s food safety system in decades. There’s every reason for the White House to use that as part of their list of accomplishments.

There’s only one thing: as a result of the legislation, the FDA has more responsibility but does not have more money.