Anyone have an opinion of the current mayor of Oakland?

I'm watching her now on KTVU and she sounds like an Amway salesperson.

Nate Silver's 538: Hillary still favored to win Iowa and NH

Iowa: Hillary at 73% http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/primary-forecast/iowa-democratic/

New Hampshire: 53% http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/primary-forecast/new-hampshire-democratic/

Nikki Haley looks frightened, angry or just plain pissed off.

Whatever the case, she looks like she doesn't want to be there.

The Science Behind Brendan Dassey’s Agonizing Confession in Making a Murderer

After 18 years, Avery was freed by DNA evidence, but in a bizarre twist, he was accused in 2005 of another brutal crime, the murder of a young photographer whose cremains were found on his family’s sprawling auto-salvage lot. Again, he was convicted, and this time around, his nephew, the then-teenage Brendan Dassey, was also sent to prison for his role. As much of the internet commentariat has pointed out, while there are major holes in Avery’s case, some of them pointing to dark theories involving police misconduct — Vulture has your details — there just is no case against Dassey when it comes to credible evidence or the timeline presented by prosecutors.

Well, except for the fact that he confessed. Without a lawyer present, the quiet Dassey, whose IQ puts him near the range for intellectual disability, was pretty clearly kowtowed by investigators into a fabricated story, in which he helped his uncle first sexually assault Halbach and then murder her (there is no forensic evidence supporting the gruesome story spun by the prosecutors who convinced jurors to convict Dassey). In the parts of the recording included by the filmmakers, it’s pretty clear that it’s the investigators, not Dassey, who are providing the vast majority of the “details” of the murder, and that they simply keep wearing him down until he tells them what they want to hear.

It’s infuriating to watch. It’s also an example of a really weird quirk of human nature: It’s not particularly difficult to get people to confess to stuff they didn’t do. If you want to better understand why, there’s a 2013 New Yorker article on this very subject that’s an absolute must-read, especially now that the full four-hour Dassey interrogation is online. (Though if you’re mad about young Brendan, be forewarned that this article will likely only make you madder.)

In the article, Douglas Starr lays out the history and methodology of the so-called Reid Technique, an interrogation style centered around reading suspects’ nonverbal cues for signs of lying and wearing down their psychological resistance. For a variety of reasons, researchers now know, the Reid Technique is quite likely to induce false confessions at an alarming rate, and it's premised on the supported notion that nonverbal cues are true indicators of dishonesty rather than nervousness. Unfortunately, it’s caught on in a big way, both in the U.S. and around the world.



http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/01/science-behind-brendan-dasseys-confession.html#http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/01/science-behind-brendan-dasseys-confession.html#

Just picked up my winning ticket.

Retirement here I come!

Rick Rizzo & Tara Key - Good Evening Mr. Peckinpah (VIDEO)

In Defending Controversial Gun Vote, Bernie Sanders Proposes A Measure That Already Exists

Pressed on the issue at a Democratic candidates forum on Monday, Sanders said that he does not think his vote was a mistake, but would consider revising the law to prosecute large gun manufacturers who may know that their guns "are being distributed to criminal elements."

"If you are a gun manufacturer who is selling guns into an area and you’re selling a whole lot of guns, and you have reason to believe that a lot of those guns are not meant for people in that area, but are being distributed to criminal elements, should you be prosecuted? Damn right," he told Fusion's Jorge Ramos.

However, that measure already exists. According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the law that Sanders supported contains six conditions in which gun manufacturers would not be shielded from lawsuits. One of these includes "an action brought against someone convicted of 'knowingly transfer[ing] a firearm, knowing that such firearm will be used to commit a crime of violence' by someone directly harmed by such unlawful conduct."



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-guns_56946081e4b09dbb4bac619b

Russo Bros. Suggest They Would Be Interested In a 'Black Widow' Solo Film!

Another interesting tid-bit from the interview we posted about earlier with the Russo brothers, where they go into great detail on themes and elements of Captain America: Civil War, is their interest in a Black Widow solo film!

On whether they would be interested in a Black Widow film, Joe Russo said:

Kentucky Guv Begins Process Of Closing State's Obamacare Exchange

It looks like Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) will be following through on at least one of his anti-Obamacare campaign promises. The Courier-Journal reported Monday that Bevin sent a letter dated Dec. 30 to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell informing the agency he will be dismantling the popular state exchange program Kynect and transitioning to the federal health care marketplace.

The transition will not affect Kentuckians using Kynect during this current open enrollment period that ends Jan. 31, The Courier-Journal said, and Bevin has made it a goal to complete the switch by the end of 2016.

In a statement, HHS spokesman Ben Wakana said the feds were "committed to work with the state on a seamless transition."

“Kentucky’s State-based Marketplace has helped tens of thousands of Kentuckians shop for and purchase quality, affordable health insurance," he said. "A successful transition from Kynect to the federal Marketplace will require strong cooperation and commitment from the state of Kentucky to its residents who have gained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act."

At the outset of Bevin's gubernatorial campaign, he appeared ready pull out Obamacare out of Kentucky by the root, but as the campaign went on, the Tea Party-backed politician softened some of those promises.


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kentucky-bevin-state-marketplace