Fighting in Ferguson

 The aftermath of the jury's verdict that Officer Wilson will not be indicted, has left Ferguson in flames. Rioting after the news broke have destroyed at least a dozen business, most to far gone to save. I think that this is not the way to protest what they say is racial prejudice. Whether this was the case in this police shooting, I can't and won't speculate, but the actions of the protesters are doing more harm to them selves then anyone else. The damages to the building and cars will eventually need to be payed for and that money used to pay for the damage takes away from the city. This violence needs to stop. I have nothing to say on the issue of the case, it was the jury's job to review the evidence and that can't be questioned. That is how our judicial system works. I find this whole thing strange and I don't think I can ever understand the actions taken either by those involved in the shooting or the rioters.

Tragedy strikes Fraternity house.

The tragedy of a death of someone so young, its scary to say the least. Has a high school student not even a year away from joining a college community and with friends are already in college, its not hard to see how this tragedy could happen to some one I know. Its even more scary that he was from Western New York where I live. I would love to say that I know for sure that this couldn't happen to me or any of my friends, but I can't know that. I would hope that none of my friends would ever drink underage or even get drunk while of age, but that's not my place. My advice to all is to be carefull and I hope that this tragedy will prevent others from doing the same. 

More Tests?

Albany came out on November 17th to clarify that Common Core field tests are mandatory for all New York schools. I looked up what these field test are and its just bug fixing in a way. The companies and the Federal Government who created Common Core are trying to see where things are working and where things are falling apart. Teachers and school districts are not happy with these field test. Honestly, certain districts are fed up with the amount of testing being done right now. With the already established standardized tests, teachers are frustrated with the dwindling teaching time. If the trend continues there wont be anything to test on. Kids are not test scores, yet that is what school has become. In my opinion these test are actually making things worse. Things need to change, because where we are heading right now is not the best road to go down.

A call for open Internet

Washington Post published a piece on November 11th titled "Obama’s call for an open Internet puts him at odds with regulators" by By Brian Fung and Nancy Scola. True to its title the article goes on to explain what President Obama is up against. President Obama idea is to protect smaller Web start-ups by stopping the favoritism with internet providers and major Web firms. The problem is how to go about it. The authors Fung and Scola are very well written and use many interviews and comments to gain the full spectrum of issues and opinions. This article intrigued me and I may at a later date research more into this issue. Th article was excellent and I suggest that you give it a read. One question that did come to my mind while I was reading and was not fully answered was how President Obama plans to handle this issue. 

Prevailing Wins

The Republican party was able to keep their predicted win of a majority in the Senate. Not surprisingly though, many factors led to the Republican's win (the first time since 2006). Midterms are notoriously know for drawing middle age and older white voters to its poles. Also due to President Obama's lower ratings people are itching for a change of power. Republicans managed to hold out on many of the races that were very close. In the coming years it shall be interesting to see how a Republican controlled Congress works with our Democratic president.

Who shall prevail?

As the polls come to a close and the votes are being tallied the question is who shall win the Senate majority.   According to NY Times Republicans have a 75% chance of gaining the majority in the Senate. The likeliest break is set as 47 Democrat seats to 53 Republican seats. Democrats could still pull a quick trick but in all, except the Kansas's race, predictions match across the board. Only time will tell, who shall prevail.