I've been reading up on this in the last year or so. The sugar companies were some of the driving forces behind damming Lake Okeechobee in the 19th century, and draining the Everglades so they could use the land, which subsequently polluted what was left of the Everglades.

You sound like the very mature students I have seen as undergraduates who are really ready, and far better suited, for graduate school -- quite a different form of education (at least in the liberal arts; maybe not so much so in professional schools).

More apt for you may be studies of how the brain matures, as it certainly helped me to understand the problem in reverse when I went to graduate school at an advanced age but took one of those combined undergrad-grad courses, for its topic . . . and I did miserably.  The prof, bless her, told me a few things that, along with a condition of one of my children, got me reading into studies of the brain, and specifically about when we form synapses.

Essentially, it comes down to rote learning being better suited for the younger brain and big-picture, trend, etc., thinking -- synthesis -- being more the capability of the mature brain.

So the system isn't really rigged against you.  It's a system, after all, so it is set up to serve most students.  And it serves most of them well.

So hang in there, and you'll do great in grad school.  But to get there -- now, I'm no expert in this, but having worked with this myself, with a child of my own, with other students, etc. -- here are a few things that helped me and them:

Avoid courses that base a lot of the grade on rote tests and such stuff.  Learning what I learned about my child's learning really changed my teaching and also taught me to have her look for courses based far more on in-class participation, on term papers, etc.  Your counselor ought to be able to help find such teachers (another tip: take teachers, not courses -- if you find a teacher suited to you, take as many of his or her courses as you can).  Also, at my campus and many others, you can see syllabi ahead of time on line or in department files, open to the public, to find out about grading formulae, etc.

Also, you might ask about quick, no-cost or cheap study skills courses to go back to the basics that you did in grade school before your brain grew ahead of the rest of you.:-)  But again, be glad you have this, ahem, "problem."  More often, we see rote learners who never quite mature to grasping big ideas.  You are a gift to good profs just waiting to get you into the right courses.

Roll Call: Former Bush Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge busted by the Justice Department for failing to register for two years for lobbying for Albania, at $40k a month:

For almost two years former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge failed to register a nearly half-million-dollar lobbying contract that he had with the government of Albania.

Ridge filed a registration statement on behalf of the country earlier this month after being contacted by the Department of Justice.

"It was brought to my attention after the contract expired and my lawyer said under the circumstances I probably should have filed," said Ridge, who is a national co-chairman of Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) presidential campaign and has been mentioned as a potential vice presidential running mate. "I didn't think it was [necessary] to register."

Guess he forgot...  too busy counting all that dough.

"It's a Big Club and You Ain't In It"

Politicians are irrelevant.   You have owners.

Focus on strategies... when writing a paper, make it 30% or so longer and edit down for focus.  My son also benefits from 5x8 cards with factiods to regurgitate for subjects that don't interest him and the instructors expect nothing more than regurgitation.

Here's a link to our first read for any who are interested:

A number of locals have decided try to place a referendum question on a coming ballot.  The purpose:  to rename the main sewage treatment plant for George W. Bush, effective January 20, 2009.

While the linked NYT article says it's an honor he's not likely to embrace, I have to beg to differ.  Seeing as how he spent a lot of his earlier days hugging the porcelain appliances which form the outermost dendrites of the system whose main trunk may be named for him, he's already well on his way to taking it into his embrace.

Obama's campaign issued a statement on June 20 declaring that the Democrat supported a compromise proposal to rewrite a warrantless surveillance law, but Obama is not expected to vote on the legislation (HR 6304) this week.

Clerk will call the roll

Speaker: We are not in a Quorum call ... clerk will call the roll.

Clerk: Mr Acaca ...

(Roll call inaudible)

So, we get no resolution of that question....

TL'ers will have things to say about the list -- although more states are mentioned in the story.  Still, Obama's deputy campaign manager lists these 14 as the focus:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reduced what had once been a $5 billion punitive damages award against ExxonMobil to about $500 million. The ruling essentially concluded a legal saga that started when the Exxon Valdez, a supertanker, struck a reef and spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into the Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989.
...
Justice John Paul Stevens, in a dissent, said he would have upheld the original jury award, which the federal appeals court in California had reduced to $2.5 billion.

"In light of Exxon's decision to permit a lapsed alcoholic to command a supertanker carrying tens of millions of gallons of crude oil though the treacherous waters of Prince William Sound, thereby endangering all of the individuals who depended upon the sound for their livelihoods," Justice Stevens wrote, "the jury could easily have given expression to its moral condemnation of Exxon's conduct in the form of this award."

I'd try to get a sense of the big picture before my classes started, usually a pretty vague sense that I'd flesh out as I went along.  The details "stuck" a lot better when I could see where they fit in as I was learning them.  Sometimes this was a lot of extra work, sometimes not so much.  I found that reading my texts through at least twice - once for the big picture, once specifically looking for supporting details - helped, too.

Beyond that, the two sides are negotiating precisely what kind of role she will have at the convention, including what night she will make a prime-time speech and whether her name will be placed symbolically into nomination. They are discussing whether Mr. Obama's campaign will provide a plane and staff for Mrs. Clinton as she travels on his behalf. [Italics added.]