Student Loans: The Feds are Back in the Saddle. And What's On Your Tivo?

Boy, when we pointed out a couple of weeks ago that the average burden of student loans for graduating students is something like $32,000, did we get an earful. Some of you called about loan burdens of more than $100,000.

So when the House of Representatives voted for a bill to take the middleman -- the banks -- out of the student loan business, we figured, ''Aha, another opportunity to hear from you!''

We did, and how. After New York Democratic congressman Tim Bishop laid out the skinny on the bill -- which the Congressional Budget Office estimates could save $13 billion by keeping loan origination in the hands of the government -- we summoned our student loan expert, Mark Kantrowitz of www.findaid.org, to take your questions about consolidating loans, the public versus federal loans, and the rather stupefying intricacies of getting money to go to school.

Several of you called to say that getting loans through federal programs was easier than going through banks -- even though most of the money is federal money anyway. And several of you said you were saddled with what Rep. Bishop called ''Wild West'' loans, bank loans with no limit on the interest rates and discouraging prospects of repayment.

There are links on the Patt Morrison page so you can find out more about the particulars of loans, of consolidation and repayment, and what if anything a new federal bill would mean to you.

What does the new fall TV season mean to you? Our critics said this season might be a bit better than some previous ones, with potential hits like ''Glee'' and some recycled [and not in a good way] themes like ''Melrose Place.'' I say ''our critics,'' including Brian Lowry at Variety, but when it comes to your own Tivo, or Hulu, or old-fashioned TV set, you're all critics. So have at it, and leave a comment here about where you're putting your bets, and your eyeballs, when it comes to new TV shows.

Let's check in in a few months and see what shows are still standing. My money is not on ''The Beautiful Life.'' In the first episode, actress Mischa Barton, a size minus something, can't fit into the dress on the runway. When Brian Lowry said this show was targeted to 20-somethings, I wondered aloud whether that was their age or their weight.

Next time, why does Los Angeles resemble Rome? All those fountains springing up -- actually the spate of broken water mains. Is the whole H20 infrastructure giving way at once?


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