Saturday, October 19, 2013

P.M. Headlines


(Bloomberg): "The Tea Party, by the numbers"

(National Review): "Cruz warns Senate GOP: 'Consequences' for supporting 'lousy deal'"

(New York Times): "Democrats aim to restore immigration to agenda"

(60 Minutes): "Dick Cheney calls his current health 'a miracle'"

(Yahoo! News): "Armed gun rights activists rally at the Alamo"

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Sarah Palin drowns in her own verbal diarrhea

By Michael J.W. Stickings

In case you missed it, Sarah Palin was in fine form on Fox News on Thursday, amazing host Megyn Kelly with the enormity of her inanity:

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Listening to Now: Elvis Costello & The Roots: "Walk Us Uptown"

By Richard K. Barry

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On the Hustings


(Washington Post): "Brown tops two Democratic rivals in early poll in Maryland’s 2014 race for governor"

(MSNBC): "GOP shutdown failure gives Dems 2014 optimism"

(Lexington Herald-Leader): "Shutdown over, Mitch McConnell puts focus on Alison Lundergan Grimes over Matt Bevin"

(Real Clear Politics): "Brian Schweitzer mulling 2016 presidential bid"


Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/10/17/2880921/mitch-mcconnell-debt-deal-undermines.html#storylink=cpy
(Tampa Bay Times): "U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young dies at 82"

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On becoming ex-straight

By Frank Moraes


I saw over on Crooks & Liars today that the anti-LGBT activist Peter LaBarbera was pushing the alleged success stories of ex-gay people in the media. His idea is that since Fox News has been so good about distorting demographics by highlighting the few black Republicans, the network should do the same for the ex-gays.

Let's think about that for a minute. I can well imagine why Fox News might have a problem with it. As a people, we aren't too comfortable with sexual vagaries. So even acknowledging that people get confused sexually is likely to turn off the average viewer who is in his 70s. But there is the other aspect of this, which is that almost no one really believes that sexual orientation is something that people decide. I think everyone's experience is like mine: when I reached puberty, I started noticing girls. If I had been gay, it would have been boys. There wouldn't have been a decision. So people introduced to the concept of ex-gay generally think that the people involved are really mixed up or they are simply lying to themselves.

For me, this is kind of personal, but I think most people, if they are honest, will understand if not identify. You can ask my many and varied wives and girlfriends and they will all confirm that I do not have a very great sex drive. But my sexual orientation is pretty strongly heterosexual. Still, I can imagine the effect it would have on me if I lived in a world that told me since I was a kid that heterosexuality was wrong. Or if I were told that God himself hated the fact that I had sex with girls and would torture me to the end of the time for doing it. In that situation, I would be an excellent subject for anti-straight therapy.


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Charlie Cook changes 14 House race predictions in favour of Democrats

By Richard K. Barry

It's one thing to say that, in general terms, that Republicans in Washington are making themselves unpopular with the electorate with their latest shenanigans. The point is that very specific House races in 2014 may be effected, as highly respected political prognosticator Charlie Cook suggests. 

There are currently 231 Republicans, 200 Democrats, and 4 vacant seats in the House. 

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee posted some of Cook's analysis:

He writes:
“Mostly as a result of the damage House Republicans sustained during the 16-day government shutdown, we are making changes to our ratings in 15 House seats, all but one in Democrats' direction. Democrats still have a very uphill climb to a majority, and it's doubtful they can sustain this month's momentum for another year. But Republicans' actions have energized Democratic fundraising and recruiting efforts and handed Democrats a potentially effective message. 

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A.M. Headlines


(National Journal): "Ted Cruz is just getting started"

(Joe Scarborough): "GOP isn’t learning from its mistakes"

(Bloomberg): "Republican civil war erupts: Business groups v. Tea Party"

(New York Times): "States are focus of effort to foil health care law"

(Eric Stern/Salon): "Inside the Fox News lie machine: I fact-checked Sean Hannity on Obamacare"

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Friday, October 18, 2013

Listening to Now: Neko Case - "Night Still Comes"

By Richard K. Barry

This clip is from a program in Canada hosted by Jian Ghomeshi. Jian is primarily a radio host and first-rate interviewer for CBC with a program called "Q." Somewhere along the way it became fashionable to record video of radio hosts doing their shows and run it as a television program.  That's what this is. 

This is Neko Case, an American singer-songwriter who has spent a lot of time in Canada. The song, "Night Still Comes," is from her latest album, which has the very long title: The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You.

It was released on September 3, 2013 on Anti Records.

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P.M. Headlines


(Jim DeMint): "Jim DeMint: We won't back down on Obamacare"

(Politico): "Donors' frustration with GOP mounts"

(NBC News): "NJ Supreme Court rules same-sex couples can marry beginning Monday"

(Washington Post): "Reid: Cruz acted with an eye on the White House"

(USA Today): "Unlike shutdown, GOP says Democrats must bend on immigration"

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Facts lie

By Capt. Fogg

So what did we learn here? Oh come on, we're Americans, we already know everything we need to know and if fact and experience differ from received wisdom? Facts lie.

What did experience have to say about the shutdown? That we love our National Parks says CNN, but did we learn that Democrats want to shut them down and keep veterans from seeing veterans' memorials? Depends on whether you're a Palinist or not, because veterans weren't actually kept out of such places even if she did the dance of the Sugar Plum Furies at the WW II memorial. If you saw it on Fox you'll do doubt see it that way - a humiliation for Obama.

We believe what we want to, and if you think Obama was "inflexible" in refusing to bend over and let the minority party nullify the law, you still think so. Why should a false equivalence be anything but false? If you still think the failure of years worth of legislative initiatives and court battles and seditious propaganda crusades against the Affordable Health Care Act means the will of the people is not served by Democracy you still think so. If you think a system of providing universal care opportunity at lower cost using private insurers who compete in the free market is Marxism, then you must think the Swiss are Marxists who hate Capitalism and will sleep soundly through the cognitive dissonance.


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On the Hustings


(The Hill): "Vulnerable Senate Dems hit fundraising payload in third quarter"

(Roll Call): "Tea Party candidate challenges Thad Cochran"

(Real Clear Politics): "Poll: Grimes edging McConnell in Kentucky"

(National Journal): "Instant analysis of winners and losers can be deceptive"

(Washington Post): "Rep. Bill Young is ‘gravely ill’"

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They learned nothing

By Mustang Bobby

You would think — and hope — that the wingers would have learned something from the 16-day shutdown that cost the country $24 billion and tarnished the already dim reputation of the U.S. economy in the world.

Yes, they did. But it’s the wrong lesson.

For a certain block of House conservatives, the ones who drove Speaker John Boehner toward a government shutdown and near-default against his will, the lesson of the last few weeks isn’t that they overreached. Not that they made unachievable demands, put their leadership in an impossible position, damaged their party’s position with the public and left a deep uncertainty about whether the GOP conference can recover and legislate.

No, what they’re taking away from the 2013 crisis is: They didn’t go far enough.

They aren’t angry with Speaker John Boehner for ultimately capitulating to Democratic demands. They’re frustrated with their more mainstream colleagues who put him in that position.

“I’m more upset with my Republican conference, to be honest with you. It’s been Republicans here who apparently always want to fight, but they want to fight the next fight, that have given Speaker Boehner the inability to be successful in this fight,” Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) told reporters Wednesday. “So if anybody should be kicked out, it’s probably those Republicans… who are unwilling to keep the promises they made to the American people. Those are the people who should be looking behind their back.”

In other words, the shutdown didn’t fail; the Republicans failed the shutdown.


(Cross-posted at Bark Bark Woof Woof.)

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A.M. Headlines


(Washington Post): "Analysis: Republicans reassess after shutdown debacle"

(New York Times): "Two parties start work to avoid repeat crisis"

(ABC News): "Ted Cruz won’t rule out another shutdown, but McConnell does"

(CBS News): "Post-shutdown, how will Congress deal with long-term budget?"

(USA Today): "Tech experts: Health exchange site needs total overhaul"

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Thursday, October 17, 2013

P.M. Headlines


(CNN): "Obama may have won now, but next three years could be tough"

(The Hill): "GOP’s McConnell promises no more shutdowns over Obamacare"

(Salon): "GOP’s huge Tea Party mess has only just begun"

(USA Today): "Obama to tap ex-Pentagon official for Homeland Security"

(The Atlantic): "The Conservative war on the GOP"

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Cruz-in' for a bruisin'

By Carl

So, you know who else besides Weaker Boener stepped on his dick with the shut-down? This guy:
WASHINGTON — It might be time for Ted Cruz to get a dog.

Because as the saying goes, if you want a friend in Washington, that’s what you do. And by the time Cruz’s crusade to defund Obamacare finally crashed to a halt Wednesday, the Texas senator had precious few friends left.

The government shutdown alienated colleagues in both parties. It generated fresh animosity toward the tea party and a flurry of recriminations toward Cruz. Voter support for the Republican Party plunged.

And the health care law survived unscathed.

It’s clear this entire sordid stinking episode was about his 2016 ambitions. It’s also clear that he stands zero chance of being the Republican nominee in 2016. 

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On the Hustings


(Time): "Booker wins New Jersey Senate seat"

(Associated Press): "New Jersey - county vote results"

(PolitickerNJ): "Quinnipiac: Christie leads Buono by 29%"

(The Hill): "Vulnerable House Republicans break with party on debt-limit agreement"

(Roll Call): "Challenger knocks McConnell for forging Senate shutdown deal"

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Back to work

By Mustang Bobby

From the Office of Management and Budget via TPM:
Federal employees furloughed as a result of the government shutdown should expect to return to work tomorrow morning, Office of Management and Budget director Sylvia Matthews Burwell announced in a statement on Wednseday night.

“Now that the bill has passed the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, the President plans to sign it tonight and employees should expect to return to work in the morning,” Burwell said in a statement moments after the House passed a deal to avert default and reopen the government. ”Employees should be checking the news and OPM’s website for further updates.”

For the employees who were furloughed, the bill passed by Congress includes back pay for the days missed.

(Cross-posted at Bark Bark Woof Woof.)

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A.M. Headlines


(Washington Post): "Obama signs bill to raise debt limit, reopen government"

(Fox News): "Obama signs bill ending partial shutdown, raising debt ceiling"

(New York Times): "Republicans back down, ending crisis over shutdown and debt limit"

(The Hill): "Ryan breaks from Boehner, votes 'no'"

(The Hill): "Winners and losers of the debt-limit fight"

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Wednesday, October 16, 2013

P.M. Headlines


(Wall Street Journal): "Senate leaders reach bipartisan deal"

(Politico): "Ted Cruz: A crusader declines to admit defeat"

(Politico): "Congress moves toward vote on budget deal"

(Houston Chronicle): "Why we miss Kay Bailey Hutchison"

(USA Today): "Judge says Mich. gay marriage ban will go to trial"

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The End Times. I mean, games

By carl

Weaker Boehner has had it.

WASHINGTON — A frantic day of legislative maneuvering ended in futility for Speaker John A. Boehner on Tuesday, as the most conservative members of the House refused to back his proposed compromise to end the standoff over the federal budget.

The failure leaves a bipartisan Senate plan negotiated by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as the sole way out of a stalemate that risks a U.S. default on its bills and huge economic disruptions.

A bill that passed the Senate would receive Democratic support in the House, guaranteeing a majority if Boehner were willing to bring it to the floor even without the backing of most Republicans. He is widely expected to do so, however, having run out of time for other options.

The blinking. It happens. I can’t see how 20 members of a minority part – as in they don’t control the Senate or the White House – stands a chance in hell of blocking the budget agreement.


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The Republican Party is destroying America

By Michael J.W. Stickings

It's pretty much as simple as that:

With the federal government on the brink of a default, a House Republican effort to end the shutdown and extend the Treasury's borrowing authority collapsed Tuesday night as a major credit agency warned that the United States was on the verge of a costly ratings downgrade.

After the failure of the House Republican leadership to find enough support for its latest proposal to end the fiscal crisis, the Senate's Democratic and Republican leaders immediately restarted negotiations to find a bipartisan path forward. A spokesman for Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said Mr. Reid was "optimistic that an agreement is within reach" with Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader.

With so little time left, chances rose that a resolution would not be approved by Congress and sent to President Obama before Thursday, when the government is left with only its cash on hand to pay the nation’s bills.

"It's very, very serious," warned Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona. "Republicans have to understand we have lost this battle, as I predicted weeks ago, that we would not be able to win because we were demanding something that was not achievable."

A day that was supposed to bring Washington to the edge of resolving the fiscal showdown instead seemed to bring chaos and retrenching.

McCain, pragmatism renewed, is right. But the problem runs deeper than he imagines. His party has embraced an extremist, anti-American right-wing ideology and policy agenda that is simultaneously nihilistic and absolutist. The pragmatists are recoiling, but they've been playing along for years now, and now it's coming back to bite them. (Consider how McConnell is one of the key players trying to get a deal done. This is a guy who made it his mission, and his party's mission, to obstruct Obama at every turn, to paralyze the government with its disloyal opposition.)

And it's so bad that the relatively sensible House leadership can't even control its own caucus, to the point that John Boehner's speakership is simply a joke.

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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

P.M. Headlines


(New York Times): "Boehner puts off vote as G.O.P. balks"

(Robert Costa): "Bohener searches for votes"

(Roll Call): "The government is already defaulting"

(CNBC): "Fitch puts US AAA rating on rating watch negative"

(Toronto Star): "Iran presents ‘breakthrough’ proposals at nuclear talks in Geneva"

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On the Hustings

Nice casual jacket thingy

(CBN News): "Mike Huckabee says he's thinking about running for president"

(National Journal): "Obamacare may be more political than you think"

(The Hill): "Enzi improves fundraising for primary fight, brings in $850K [Sen-Wyo.]"

(Roll Call): "Special election whirlwind week starts today"

(Real Clear Politics): "N.J. candidates press on as atypical election day nears"

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Rough start

By Mustang Bobby

I don’t think that anyone with any knowledge of the web and the internet thought that the roll-out of the Obamacare websites would be easy or error-free. Ezra Klein doesn’t mince words.
We’re now negative 14 days until the Affordable Care Act and most people still can’t purchase insurance. The magnitude of this failure is stunning. Yes, the federal health-care law is a complicated project, government IT rules are a mess, and the scrutiny has been overwhelming. But the Obama administration knew all that going in. They should’ve been able to build an online portal that works.

Early on, President Obama like to compare the launch of the Affordable Care Act to Apple launching a new product. Can you imagine how many people Steve Jobs would’ve fired by now if he’d launched a new product like this?

So is anybody going to be held accountable? Is anybody going to be fired? Will anyone new be brought in to run the cleanup effort? Does the Obama administration know what went wrong, and are there real plans to find out?

[...]

One thing has gone abundantly right for the Affordable Care Act: The Republican Party. Their decision to shut down the government on the exact day the health-care law launched was a miracle for the White House. If Republicans had simply passed a clean-CR on Oct. 1 these last few weeks would’ve been nothing — nothing at all — save for coverage of the health-care law’s disaster. Instead the law has been knocked off the front page by coverage of the Republican Party’s disaster.

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Senate close to deal ending the shutdown, raising the debt ceiling, and further enabling Republican extremism and obstructionism

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Politico:

Senate leaders are closing in on a deal to reopen the government and extend the U.S. debt ceiling until next year, marking a major breakthrough in an impasse that has paralyzed Washington and struck fears across the globe.

In a furious round of last-ditch negotiations, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were discussing a proposal to reopen the government until Jan. 15 and extend the national debt limit until Feb. 7. The plan would also set up bicameral budget negotiations over major deficit issues, that are to conclude by Dec. 13.

Now, there's hardly any guarantee this would get through John Boehner's House. There's some cover here in forcing Democrats to negotiate, which is usually done on mostly Republican terms, but would the extremist Tea Party minority of Republicans in the House, goaded on by the likes of Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin, really agree to anything without major concessions like Obamacare defunding and/or, oh, I don't know, the immediate obliteration of Social Security? (There would have to be concessions on both sides in any deal, and the ones reportedly in this one are relatively minor.)

But let's assume this deal were to go through? Is it a good one?

Well, it could be worse. Apparently Democrats have rejected McConnell's proposal to prevent the Treasury Department by law from using "extraordinary measures" to deal with the debt ceiling and prevent the country from going into default. (When you're dealing with Republicans, you just can't agree to this. Given Republicans' dysfunctional extremism and rabid partisan obstructionism, you have to have recourse to such measures.)

My initial reaction, though, is that it's a bad deal. Republicans hold the country hostage, shut down the government, threaten economic catastrophe, and see their approval ratings collapse with most of the country blaming them for the shutdown, and what they get is more time to keep doing what they're doing and the opportunity to shift the focus to bipartisan negotiations where they're more likely to be able to control the narrative and redirect the blame for this whole mess onto Democrats?

Yes, this seems like capitulation on the Democrats' part.

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Monday, October 14, 2013

Louie Gohmert still the stupidest member of the House of Representatives

By Michael J.W. Stickings

"Ass backwards" is one way to describe Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert. Not to be too crass, but you have to wonder if when he goes to the toilet he sticks his mouth deep in the bowl because he thinks that's where you defecate from.

And so you knew you could count on him to get the debt ceiling, like everything else, completely wrong

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) isn't sure whether he'll support a debt limit deal, but he is sure of one thing: a debt default would be President Barack Obama's fault.

A reporter for The Young Turks asked Gohmert whether he'd support a bill that would raise the debt ceiling at the Values Voter Summit on Friday.

"The word 'deal' concerns me," he said. "If it's good for America."

When asked whether he would allow the government to default on its debt, Gohmert projected the responsibility for such circumstances onto Obama.

"No," he said, "that would be an impeachable offense by the president."

What's amazing is that Gohmert actually seems to believe his own moronic bullshit. Republicans often say stupid things, but for many of them it's just the usual cynical partisan nonsense. They say down is up even though they know that down is down. But Gohmert and those like him -- and he's hardly alone -- really do seem to think that down is up.

In this case, last time I checked President Obama actually does want to raise the debt ceiling so that the country doesn't go into default. All Democrats do. It's a significant number of Republicans who are playing politics with the debt ceiling, either opposing an increase for right-wing ideological reasons (and disregarding the near-certainty of a subsequent economic catastrophe) or opposing it rhetorically (and holding the country hostage) so as to try to extract concessions from the Democrats in other areas.

Apparently Gohmert is too stupid to understand this.

An impeachable offense? Seriously? What a fucking moron.

Though he faces incredibly (and increasingly) stiff competition from any number of his fellow Republicans, he wins this award running away.

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(Canadian) Thanksgiving 2013

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians.

(And a Happy Columbus Day as well, if you happen to celebrate European imperial expansionism.)

For the occasion, here's that most Canadian of bands, The Tragically Hip, performing that most Canadian of songs, "Fireworks":

If there's a goal that everyone remembers
It was back in old seventy two
We all squeezed the stick and we all pulled the trigger
And all I remember is sitting beside you

 

You said you didn't give a fuck about hockey
And I never saw someone say that before
You held my hand and we walked home the long way
You were loosening my grip on Bobby Orr

Live at The Troubadour in West Hollywood -- yes, some Americans love them too -- on June 10, 2009. Enjoy!

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Sunday, October 13, 2013

Fucking idiots converge on Washington to protest government shutdown

By Michael J.W. Stickings

A group of mostly Tea Party protesters waving the Confederate flag, saying stupid bigoted things, and otherwise pushing their extremist right-wing agenda were in the nation's capital today, forcing open the World War II memorial and taking their loud-mouthed ignorance to the White House to blame President Obama, who also happens to be a black man, for the government shutdown, as if they have any fucking clue what's really going on.

Don't get me wrong, not everyone involved in this "Million Vet March" is a right-wing wacko. It's just that the whole thing was grossly misguided and then taken over by the same old Republican interests that so often hide behind patriotism and use veterans and active-duty personnel alike as pawns in their political game:

Members of the Million Vet March planned on gathering at the World War II Memorial on Sunday despite the memorial being closed due to the government shutdown.

According to a statement on the group's website, they feel military personnel and veterans are "being used a political pawns in the ongoing government shutdown and budget crisis." Organizers say they are not a political leaning group, but call the shutting down of memorials "a despicable act of cowardice."

However, conservative political commentator Sarah Palin and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) arrived and spoke to the people gathered at the memorial.

"This is the people's memorial," Palin said. "Our veterans should be above politics."

Yeah, sure. When Palin and Cruz emerge as the leading voices of your protest, you know you're way out of touch with the rest of America and that you're no longer non-partisan. And if veterans should really be above politics, then Palin, one of the most shameless partisan self-promoters around, should just get the fuck out of the way.

Oh, and if these people are serious about protesting the shutdown, they should have taken their march over to Capitol Hill, where Tea Party-dominated Republicans who have taken the country hostage are the ones responsible for the whole damn mess.

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Steven Wilson: "Drive Home" and "The Raven that Refused to Sing" (videos)

By Michael J.W. Stickings

On October 22, Kscope is releasing a new two-disc set (one CD, one Blu-ray/DVD) from Steven Wilson, Drive Home. It includes live versions of a few of the songs on Wilson's most recent solo album, The Raven that Refused to Sing (and Other Stories), as well as two previously unreleased tracks and the videos for "The Raven that Refused to Sing" and, yes, "Drive Home" (my two favorite songs on the album).

I saw Wilson and his incredible band here in Toronto back in April. The live versions are amazing. (Having just returned from three shows in Australia, Wilson and band embark on another European leg of touring starting on Tuesday in Bristol, England. They can't come back to North America soon enough.) And the videos are simply stunning, matching Wilson's themes of mortality, memory, and isolation with images that give additional life to the lyrics without giving too much away.

Here's "Drive Home" (directed by Jess Cope):


And here's "The Raven that Refused to Sing" (directed by Cope and Simon Cartwright -- see this Vimeo video of Cope talking about making the video):

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