THIS is a CLOSE-UP?

Not to make the 2012 campaign about one issue, but if we're talking about an issue close to my heart (higher education), there's pretty much one choice.  From Vol. 30, No. 1 of the MEA Higher Education Advocate: [I] Obama worked with Congress to freeze student loan interest rates and secured more money for Pell Grants, making college more affordable for more than 7 million students [ Education Week 6/29/12; The Washington Post 8/3/12]. In contrast, Romney supports cutting Pell Grants by 25% or more (Paul Ryan's budget creates a 50% cut in Pell Grants), and said he wouldn't to anything to make college more affordable, declaring Americans should "get as much education as they can afford" [ The New York Times , 3/5/12; Mitt Romney Campaign Speech, Virginia, 6/27/12]. [II] Obama fought to save the jobs of educators including higher ed professionals across the country, protecting more than 450,000 education jobs from layoffs and keeping class sizes small.  ...

Suede (or the London Suede for the would-be U.S. audiences that never materialized) managed a nifty trick in the '90s Britpop scene -- they were ahead of the game and behind the curve, laying the foundation for countless bands yet failing to reap the full rewards.  Their first splash came with their '93 self-titled debut, before Britpop was even a twinkle in the eye of the Gallaghers, with a decidedly English glam flavor providing an alternative to the U.S.-led pathogen of grunge.  And in the duo of singer Brett Anderson and guitarist Bernard Butler, Suede had the best U.K.-born creative duo since Morrissey and Marr.  But like their progenitors in The Smiths, the tensions between Anderson and Butler proved to be too much, with Butler leaving Suede in '94 after their second album Dog Man Star .  As most punters saw Butler as the creative genius behind Suede, it was assumed that Anderson would make his rumoured drug addiction a full-time gig, with Suede being rele...