Birthday Wishes and Sunday Links

Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone. 24 feels old for sure. But I'm going to be positive and think of myself as an athlete in my prime. Year and a half done with law school and then we'll see where to go from there. ....

Sport Birthday Gifts I'd like from the  Sports Gods


Patriots Victory
Beating Kurt in Fantasy
Lester Resigning
Sandoval Signing

Please and Thank You,

The Sunday links which I'm trying to make a weekly submission here at Ramblings... 

The Way More Important News That Must Be Known and Understood MUST READ 

http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/224281-cyber-bills-fate-hinges-on-nsa-reform

The upcoming Senate vote on a bill to reform the National Security Agency (NSA) could make or break legislation on sharing cyber threat information in the lame duck.

Privacy groups are warning that they will oppose the cyber bill unless lawmakers first reform the NSA’s surveillance programs.

Senate Intelligence committee leaders have been pushing hard to pass the Cybersecurity Intelligence Sharing Act (CISA), which would enable critical infrastructure companies to exchange cyber threat information with the NSA.

Supporters say allowing companies and the government to share information about cyber threats is critical to protecting the country from hackers. But privacy advocates remain wary of the intelligence community.

But if the NSA bill dies, it could also deal a blow to the cyber sharing bill.

“The Senate absolutely must pass USA Freedom before it can even consider taking up cyber info sharing legislation,” said Robyn Greene, policy counsel for the Open Technology Institute.

Some critics of the cyber bill also say that CISA as currently written could weaken reforms enacted by the NSA bill. 

“If CISA passes, it is quite literally an exemption to existing privacy protections,” added Gabe Rottman, legislative counsel and policy advisor with the American Civil Liberties Union.

“It would severely undercut everything that USA Freedom is trying to do.”

CISA’s co-author and main champion, Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), says the White House is adamant about moving first on surveillance reform.

But Feinstein thinks her bill can move independently of NSA reform, and some wonder if she will offer it as an amendment to USA Freedom during the lame duck session.

America's Bi-Polar Impossible New War- complete with a developing beheading video... The video is undoubtedly tragic but I hope the media learns from the prior videos to not show stills or even keep talking about it. If you haven't noticed the news stirs their own hysteria about anything and everything. Yet ignores the impossible reasoning by our top Military advisor provided below

http://www.mediaite.com/online/u-s-military-chief-isis-a-bunch-of-midgets-running-around-with-radical-ideology/

According to Reuters, General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declared that his visit was important because it would show that ISIS forces were not some unstoppable group, but rather “a bunch of midgets running around with a really radical ideology.” { Running around with U.S made military artillery given up by the Iraqi army}

He was hardly triumphant, however. Earlier, he visited a Joint Operations Center and watched a live video feed of a location showing Islamic State’s black flag waving.

[...] Dempsey repeatedly made the point that military force could not root out Islamic State unless Iraq’s government manages to work across the Sunni-Shi’ite divide.

Building trust would take time. So would the U.S. mission, he said.

How long would that take? “Several years,” Dempsey said.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/224309-durbin-congress-should-vote-on-isis-fight-authorization-now

He said the bill should put "a timeframe and some limitations on what we’re doing in the Middle East."

President Obama has said he will seek a new authorization from Congress, but it is unclear if Congress will vote on the bill before the new Congress arrives in January. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in September that a vote should until then.

Durbin responded to reports of a new ISIS beheading video, calling it a "tragic reminder of the savagery of ISIS and the complexity of our challenge."

Durbin said he is still opposed to U.S. ground troops in combat against ISIS, though. 

"The notion of sending in rotational troops as we saw in Iraq in the past and in Afghanistan, I think we learned our lesson," he said. ( WOW SO GLAD )

The President Refuses to Admit He Was a Washington Politician in Getting his Legacy Passed 

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/obama-on-gruber-no-we-did-not-mislead-to-get-obamacare-passed/

Some More Questions for Mr. Wilson 

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/15/michael-brown-shooting-darren-wilson-radio-call-segment-missing

Dumpster fires burn bright Domestically and Abroad .....

 Just when you thought the Affordable Care Act could no longer provide substantive political damage or controversy it turns out the Architect did a fair bit of truth telling. Before we delve into the currently minor but potentially bigger problem his comments could cause here they are if you are currently thinking "what the fuck is jim talking about ? "

Gruber, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who also helped craft that state’s healthcare reform law, said Tuesday that he regrets saying ObamaCare passed because of the “stupidity of the American voter.”

Two additional videos have been released since then. In those clips, Gruber said the law’s passage relied on “basic exploitation of [voters’] lack of economic understanding,” and that Americans are “too stupid to understand" the law's so-called Cadillac tax.

Republicans have pounced on the remarks and are already weighing congressional hearings, which would create an enormous headache for Democrats.

http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/223953-voter-stupidity-remark-gives-gop-new-ammo-on-obamacare

Now I sincerely hope you did not focus on the nonsensical inclusion of the D and R at the end. Gruber was paid 400,000 in consulting fees to pass the President's legacy legislation. This man in order to fulfill that contract has to have the political knowledge to know the consequences of what he is saying and the potential implications.  Then again if he had a smidgen of political knowledge he'd be in fill Lois Lerner mode. 

Obamacare is perhaps the most frustrating name or moniker for the Affordable Care Act. Perhaps I'll post something later about my full and frank thoughts on the Affordable Care Act. My goal is to write a political book one day about President Obama's term from a historic independent viewpoint. I was ineligible to vote in 2008 because my birthday is the fast approaching Nov 16th. However, I would have voted for 2008 Obama in a heartbeat over McCain and a GOP that was finishing up the Bush Era. The incorrect choice the President made in not listening to his COS Rham on the ACA will span several chapters I am sure. 

However, the ACA has become the battleground of the Dems and GOP so much so that Gruber may think his comments will simply get dismissed as political fodder. 

One of my favorite journalists wrote it best today when he summed up the comments thusly 

Back to The Post's story: Gruber's remarks are evidence that the administration intentionally deceived the American public on the costs of the programs. The author attributed that fact to "some of the law's critics." Not necessary; Gruber's remarks may not be dispositive, but they certainly are evidence.

Last year, The Post helped document how Obama and his advisers knowingly misled the public during his 2012 reelection campaign by repeatedly saying that, under Obamacare, people could keep their doctors and keep their health plans. To knowingly mislead is to lie.

"It's hard to know what might have happened if the truth had won the day," writes Post columnistKathleen Parker. "But we do know that truth squandered is trust lost."

And so even I have to admit, as a supporter, that Obamacare was built and sold on a foundation of lies. No way around it, unless you're willing to accept a political system that colors its lies—the reds, the whites, and the blues.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/white-house/obamacare-s-foundation-of-lies-20141112

The whole thing is worth the read. 

Most importantly for you ,the person not reading his article like I suggested, is there is no way a GOP dominated Congress will not hold hearings with this guy as the sole participant. 

Let me paint the opening statement from an independent political observer perspective 

Mr. Gruber was paid handsomely and directly to consult, advise, and write the law. He admitted in the most casual of settings ( an academic talk at an Ivey league school (( Must be something about being around competent questioners Mr. Biden told some foreign policy truths to Harvard earlier this year) ) that the language of the law doesn't reflect reality of it's effect in order to get through CBO budgeting projections and characterizations of being a tax or subsidy. Further, Mr. Gruber would never even try to deny the truth of his comments. His defense yesterday was I shouldn't have said that. 

Mr. Gruber the "Whoops did I say something I shouldn't have" does not work under oath. The ACA and all of it's benefits, for it does have some, have been seriously jeopardized by what essentially amounts to bragging about legislative fraud. The SC also has another crack at the foundation of the ACA when they consider the subsidy language which is another instance where explicit text of the law is defied by reality. To be fair that challenge was always unlikely to succeed because CJ Roberts split the baby in his first holding by letting states opt out of exchanges. 

The Democrats would be wise to not dismiss this as pure GOP fodder. It's extremely difficult to call people stupid to their face, brag about it , then be defended by our Washington politicians no matter the affiliation. Some things get toxic and stay that way. 

While all this goes on at home our great ISIS (daesh) dilemma continues to vex Congress as they decide how they want to shove another AUMF through the legislative branch and onto the financial books of the roaring US Military Industrial Sector. I choose to believe the U.S Army would be flexing the full might of it's muscle if the threat from the daesh was anything like it's been hyped up to be . 

Here's the latest on the middle eastern dumpster fire from Capital Hill 

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/223967-gop-senators-isis-measure-shouldnt-limit-obamas-military-options

And a little Putin to end your reading for the night ( as the US China and Russia hang out in China and Barack causes controversy by chewing some gum. What a world we live in. 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/12/nato-russian-tanks-entering-ukraine

Hello denizens , 

Finished up a big project the last couple of days and wow is there a lot of news to get to. 

So I'll start with the reason why the notorious lazy me started writing today. I've seen Veteran's Day tributes pretty much everywhere. In most ,if not all, people are expressing  thanks and gratitude to those who serve in our armed forces. The Hornstein Family has had an illustrious history of service in the U. S Military. My Dad and his two brothers all volunteered served extensively and carried their Father's name admirably. 

I immensely respect our arm forces and the service they do for our country. However,  it is not enough for the United States to heartily say thank you a couple days a year. Rather, the Country will and must begin to soberly analyze the war torn world we live in now. In all likelihood before a new Congress is sworn in a lameduck despised Congress will authorize another War on Terror. 3,000 plus U.S military casualties , countless injuries, and a continuing mental health problems persistently plaguing troops are just some of the real costs of our last adventure in the quicksand dumpster fire that is the Middle East. 

1,500 more troops were approved by the president to "advise and assist" Iraqi forces in their fight against the Daesh ( arabish word used for ISIS supposedly they detest it so why not use  it ? ). The sad reality is the Iraqi Army is a husk that achieves success almost by accident and realistically can only be relied on to hold their home Shiia territory rather then fight on Sunni lands where the Daesh have been marauding. Mr. Stewart does a terrific job explaining it in a funnier more blunt manner . 

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/stewart-rips-obama-admins-bullsht-on-troops-in-iraq/

Details will be massively important when the new AUMF is written to fight another Middle Eastern War and I hope to make this blog a place to follow. Veterans Day saddens me for the reason I will probably not continue the Hornstein name in the armed forces. That reason is it is a shame and mind boggling how ill directed the best military in the world has been by it's various civilian leaders over the last 14 years. 

To put it succinctly, the Veterans and current service members of the U.S Military honorably serve a crucial role. On this Veterans Days resolve yourself to pay more attention to the yet to be written details of U S Policy carried out by the sometimes far less honorable civilian leaders. If the policy and political mistakes of 13 years ago are repeated you as the American taxpayer will most surely pay for it in taxes while those in the military could pay a much steeper price. All those costs don't need to happen . WE JUST NEED TO LEARN FROM IMMEDIATE HISTORY SO WE DON'T ALLOW IT TO REPEAT. 

Jim            

The President faced the American public or more accurately the press today  and based on my reading of his dutifully recorded quotes the President was unwilling to realistically appraise where his Presidency is going and how it will be impacted by a GOP controlled Congress.

One quote that I saw earlier today said something to the effect of "Americans are disgusted and are just going to keep firing people  through elections till it improves." Sadly, the President from the consensus of reports was not willing to acknowledge the abrupt right hand turn his presidency is about to take as many of his quotes today instead lamented the pitiful and pathetic turnout which by the way is a routine and already accepted fact of midterms. While commenting on the poor turnout is factual the President was simply engaging in one his favorite rhetorical tools where he paints a broad unobjectionable  point in an effort to filibuster and avoid engaging in discussing Washington and political nuance.  

In Washington and political reality, the brutal and historic trouncing the Democratic Party took at the polls on Tuesday was not a repudiation of President Obama but rather the the leadership of the Democratic Party as as whole. While it may be true that the President seems to be bereft of domestic allies he can only thank himself and the power he delegated to now Minority Leader Harry Reid.

In order to fully grasp the abysmal direction willfully and stubbornly charted by Minority Leader Reid one need only consider the various hot button "scandals" that erupted in our politics since the childish and pointless government shutdown battle last year.Whether it be the VA, Underage Immigrants at the border, or previously the ACA rollout the Democrats resisted giving the GOP any reasonable capitulation if it meant admitting an error in policy or direction.

 Lest anyone forget Democrats came out of the shut down battle with sizable leads in the generic ballot and the GOP being bashed for willful self destruction. Senator Reid and the rest of the Democratic messaging machine then cynically decided to emphasize the Koch money in politics, the fair shot agenda, minimum wage, student loan forgiveness, emphasis on women and gay equal treatment pay and rights. All noble goals and issue which never had the needed focus or direction of the Democratic party because in actuality they amounted to show votes of support.

One might applaud Reid and leadership for aggressively pursuing a very Progressive agenda if he wasn't simultaneously shutting down the Senate in a constant and relentless blocking of amendments and by extension debates in the chamber of government known for DEBATING. Reid rhetorically backed a litany of progressive ideas while he practically did just as much as the scorn of all democrats Obstructionist Beohner to shut down any legislative business getting done. However, you can't bash Reid for being inconsistent. In fact he's consistently spoke glowingly about the need and hope for immigration reform and campaign finance while his actions worked only for self preservation.

Democrats need to rebuild their Latino  Millennial and Centrist support because their desperate acts of preservation over the past year have only proven disastrous to themselves. In doing so honesty and nuance about the actual battles going on in D.C will be crucial for expectations and working with a Congress now united by a party that can barely hide its glee and scorn. The President will have to barter and trade with Congress. Some constituencies might end up being disappointed but at this point six years in the President ought to get better at spinning losses than he was in his presser today.

Jim Hornstein

Midterms and Dumpster Fires . But it's Sunday so FOOTBALL

Happy Manning Brady Day.

Politically Relevant News Links

http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-separatists-vote-controversial-election-103409964.html

No mainstream international election monitors were present for the vote, and no minimum turnout was set by the organisers, reflecting uncertainty over how many voters could take part.

"These elections are important because they will give legitimacy," said Roman Lyagin, election commission chief of the Donetsk People's Republic.

- International tensions -

Aside from raising tensions on the ground, the elections have become a new bone of contention between Russia and Western powers backing Ukraine.

The conflict began when pro-Western demonstrators in Kiev ousted Ukraine's Moscow-backed government in February. It then spiralled rapidly, with Russia annexing the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, and separatists seizing towns in the east.

By then, the crisis was turning into the biggest diplomatic dispute between the Kremlin and the West since the Soviet collapse.

Russia, which supports the rebels but denies actually sending them troops or weapons, says it will recognise the results of the elections.

That angered the United States and European capitals, which have imposed heavy economic sanctions on Russia, and back Kiev in condemning the polls as illegal.

In a four-way telephone call on Friday, the leaders of Ukraine, Germany and France urged Russian President Vladimir Putin not to recognise the polls. The White House also said Friday that it considered the vote "illegitimate"

http://news.yahoo.com/kiev-claims-intensive-movements-troops-crossing-russia-133212378.html

Video footage that appeared on YouTube and was rebroadcast on Ukraine's Channel 5 -- but which could not be independently authenticated -- showed a huge column of green trucks snaking slowly through an unidentified city.

Russia has repeatedly denied accusations from Kiev, Western governments and the NATO alliance that it is fighting on the side of pro-Russian separatists who have taken over a swathe of Ukraine's industrial south-east.

However, Moscow openly supports the two self-declared rebel statelets politically and said it would recognise the validity of elections being held there Sunday.

The rebels, who also deny receiving help from Russia, have large amounts of sophisticated, heavy weaponry and no apparent problem in procuring ammunition. They have told journalists that some of their weapons are captured from Ukrainian forces.

A ceasefire was declared on September 5 in Ukraine but is violated daily in the conflict zone which runs along the Russian border. Rebel leaders say they intend to expand their territory as far as the Azoz Sea port of Mariupol.

Apparently Mr. Putin took notice of our general mid term election pause and decided to further engage in the continuing low ebb Cold War in Ukraine. Every time Russia disagrees with the West in a particularly obnoxious way Putin gets all sorts of pats on the back from his conservative domestic allies  who still despise the break up of the Soviet Union. 

It will be fascinating to see how Russia continues to deal with the skyrocketing inflation of the ruble which is a real effect of the obnoxious  movements in  Ukraine. 

Domestically 

The midterms. I may update this later on today or earlier monday but the bottom line is the midterms will be fascinating because polling has been growing more inconsistent recently and mid term turnout is notoriously hard to predict . The GOP is absurdly confident for a variety of real and superficial reasons. Here's some preliminary links and I'll post a more complete prediction and commentary before Tuesday. 

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/222554-elections-to-dominate-sunday-shows

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/222583-nate-silver-gop-probably-wins-the-senate

Statistician and political analyst Nate Silver said Sunday that Republicans have a roughly 75 percent chance of winning control of the Senate in Tuesday's election.

"It's still a close election," said Silver, founder of ESPN's FiveThirtyEight blog. "You have six or seven or eight races that could either way … [But] the polls are clear enough that the GOP will probably win the Senate."

Silver added later that "signs look fairly poor for Democrats" less than two days out.

The assessment echoed a consensus across the Sunday shows that Republicans will have a good night on Tuesday. The GOP needs to gain six seats to take a majority in the upper chamber.

Silver said Democrats "could carve out a path" to retaining control by winning in Alaska, Georgia and Kansas, but he said the party's candidates are "underdogs" in swing states like Colorado and Iowa.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/222574-romney-im-not-running-for-president

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnn-presses-rand-paul-on-his-claim-gop-brand-sucks-isnt-this-about-you-in-2016/

Madison Bumgarner Politics ,Sports and A New Routine

I was at a dinner celebrating the work of a person who had to work with legislators on a constant basis and one of the luminaries who spoke in congratulating this person described him as , " He's the Madison Bumgarner of legislators". For those who live under a rock Madison Bumgarner just finished off a Picasso of a pitching performance for all time baseball history in helping the Giants win their third championship in the last five years.

The remark struck me as both an outstanding compliment to the man getting the award tonight but also as a good question for the national political level. For instance, if any of the Sunday political shows asked lawmakers, other writers, or , more generally pundits who they considered the best legislator I don't think there would be anything approaching a consensus answer or really any satisfactory answer .

Why ?

Because so little legislating actually gets done on the nation level few of our lawmakers today even have the possibility of accumulating the success Bumgarner had in toying with helpless Royals hitters in the playoffs.

My intent is to update this blog with musings of the news clips I usually throw on my facebook wall as a status.This allows me to write a little more then what I usually find appropriate for a status.

In order for national politics to improve the coverage of the participants actions should be as closely covered as we cover our respective favorite sports teams. Nuance and the operating of the particular legislative mechanisms must be more widely understood in order to demand better performance from the legislature.

Our current dumpster fires both domestically and in the Middle East have essentially entered a stalemate/pause phase while both parties await the Mid Terms Tuesday which will decide who holds the Senate. I'll write up a recap of the Sunday political shows tomorrow as well as prediction for how Tuesday might be a nail-biter well into the night.

Sports News

Manning Brady part 16 - strong winds improved pats secondary gives the Pays the win 31 -27

Hot Stove Season - has officially got underway. More information will be posted tomorrow but the three most notable developments

1) Koji resigns for 2/18 with Sox
2) Lind traded for Estrada to the Brewers
3) Howie Kendrick and David Freese on the Trade Market with Angels looking for pitching