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David Bowie - Bowie Secrets @Conan O'Brien

It's been a sad 24 hours for all of us, and it's nearly 2 AM here, so I'm gonna turn in. But before I do, I just want to leave you with something funny from this great artist. Good night.

Putin: too early to speak about sheltering Assad in Russia

Source: AP

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that it would be too early to speak about granting political asylum to Syrian President Bashar Assad, a Putin ally and arguably the main obstacle in the Syrian peace process.

Russia began carrying out air strikes on the positions of Islamic State fighters in September in support of Assad's army which critics say are aimed against Assad's opponents.

Russia, the United States, Middle East nations are promoting talks between the Syrian government and opposition, and Assad has been seen as a highly divisive figure.

Putin said in an interview with the German daily Bild published on Tuesday that Moscow is advocating for a constitutional reform in Syria and if the next election is democratic, "Assad won't have to go anywhere, no matter if he is elected president or not."

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/0c3af1c6ac5c426d80e000117c1b3d35/putin-too-early-speak-about-sheltering-assad-russia

What Happens If Bernie Wins Iowa AND New Hampshire?

By Josh Vorhees

Bernie Sanders has a legitimate shot to sweep the first two nominating contests of 2016. That’s the big takeaway from the latest polling from NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, which found Sanders and Hillary Clinton running neck and neck in Iowa and New Hampshire with three weeks to go until the former and four until the latter.

A Sanders sweep—possible, albeit still not probable at this point—would fundamentally alter the Democratic race. In the span of eight days, the self-styled democratic socialist would be transformed from establishment gadfly to real-life Democratic challenger. The political press, long desperate for intrigue and uncertainty in a race that has so far been devoid of it, would shower Sanders with attention and praise while simultaneously questioning whether Hillary Clinton was doomed to suffer the same fate she did in 2008 at the hands of another unlikely challenger. (Expect every talking head on cable TV to remind you in unison that only once in modern political history has a nominee from either party failed to win either of the first two states—a stat that sounds rather ominous until you consider the non-incumbent sample size.) Bernie, in turn, would see a bump in the polls and an uptick in his fundraising, all at a time when many would-be primary voters are paying attention to the 2016 campaign for the first time. All this would be a big deal for Sanders.

What would not change, though, is that Clinton would remain the clear favorite for the Democratic nomination.

Even if Hillary staggers out of New Hampshire with her second loss in as many contests, she’ll still have the same massive advantages she enjoys today: the campaign and super PAC cash, the ground game, the endorsements, the pledged superdelegates, and the general support of a party establishment that won’t soon forget that her challenger is not technically even a part of the Democratic Party. An unexpected loss in Iowa and a less surprising one in New Hampshire wouldn’t change that.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/01/11/bernie_sanders_could_win_iowa_and_new_hampshire.html

Something of a bait-and-switch piece, but I found it interesting enough to post anyway. Besides, Hillary might still win the nomination, even though Bernie now has the wind at his back.

RNC Chair Refuses to Say Whether Ted Cruz is Eligible to be President

Source: Mediate

In an interview with TIME magazine, Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus refused to say whether or not he thought Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz was eligible to be president.

“A topic in the news today: Ted Cruz was born in Canada,” TIME asked. “Is he constitutionally eligible to be President?”

But Priebus shot down the question. “Listen, I don’t get involved,” he said.

“I’m not going to get in the middle of all these candidate issues. It’s a bad place for me to be,” he added. “I’ll let all these folks argue about this stuff, and I’m going to stay out of it.”

Read more: http://www.mediaite.com/online/rnc-chair-refuses-to-say-whether-ted-cruz-is-eligible-to-be-president/

Dad of Washington school shooter faces sentencing over guns

Source: AP

SEATTLE (AP) — The father of a teenager who used his dad's gun to kill four classmates and then himself at a Washington state high school was scheduled to be sentenced Monday on firearms charges.

Raymond Fryberg was convicted in September of illegally owning six firearms, including the gun that his 15-year-old son, Jaylen, used in the 2014 school shooting.

A domestic violence protection order filed by Raymond Fryberg's former partner in tribal court should have kept him from owning a gun. But a record of the 2002 order never made it into any state or federal criminal databases used by firearms dealers conducting background checks during gun purchases because of a flawed reporting system between tribes and outside authorities.

Prosecutors say Fryberg lied on a form he filled out when he bought the guns to hide the restraining order. His lawyers said he didn't know he was prohibited from having firearms.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/99f7d125a46b42feac70e2345decca3c/dad-washington-school-shooter-faces-sentencing-over-guns

My Curse Upon Dan Snyder is Still Working

The Washington NFL team will not win another Super Bowl until Snyder (widely regarded as the dumbest team owner in all of professional sport) is gone, and that reprehensible nickname is changed.

The Blair Walsh Project

Or.....

The Schadenfreude of Scott Norwood.

Broke, unemployed and on disability: How the Oregon militants can afford to play ‘patriot’ games

This thread was locked in LBN, despite garnering 59 replies and 73 recs, and I've been advised to repost it here:

Super Bowl 50: Chiefs 32, Cardinals 25

The playoffs don't even start until tomorrow, but I'm confident that everyone here will agree with me. Sure, we might differ on the final score, but we all know the Chiefs will be champs.

As this is my 32nd post on DU, I will not post again until the Chiefs score those 32 points. Good evening!