One Vote

In 1645, One vote gave Oliver Cromwell  control of England.

In 1649, One vote caused Charles I of England to be executed.

In 1776, Congress passed by one vote that American's official language should be English and not German.

In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr deadlocked  on electoral votes with 73 each.  After 37 separate  ballots in the House of Representatives, a Federalist changed his one vote in favor of Thomas Jefferson.

In 1839, One vote margin elected Marcus Morton governor of Massachusetts.

In 1845, One vote margin brought Texas into the Union.

In 1846, President James Polk asked Congress for a Declaration  of War against Mexico.  That one vote margin for War not only brought us victory but it also got us the territory which is now Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and California.

In 1850 to 1890, One vote admitted California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho into the Union.

In 1868, President Andrew Johnson missed being impeached  by one single vote.

In 1875, France became a Republic  instead of a Monarchy by just one single vote.

In 1876, Samuel Tilden won the presidential election  by over a half million votes over Rutherford  B. Hayes. But because of confused returns in some states, a special commission decided by a single vote, Hayes the winner.

In 1912, Less than one vote per precinct, in one state, elected Woodrow Wilson president.

In 1923, One vote made Adolf Hitler head of the Nazi Party.

In 1941, One vote saved the selective service just weeks before Pearl Harbor.

In 1948, If Thomas Dewey had received one more vote in each precinct in Ohio and California,  his race with Harry Truman would have been decided in the House of Representatives.

In 1960, John Kennedy beat Richard Nixon for president by less than one vote per precinct.

In 1969, A change of one vote per precinct in three states would have made Hubert Humphrey president instead of Richard Nixon.

In 1982, In Illinois, Governor  Thompson  defeated Adlai Stevenson  by less than 1/2 a vote per precinct.

Someone in my county compiled this list.  I didn't (and I didn't verify), but I thought the list was interesting enough to post here.  If any are wrong, I can modify.

I don't get political...
I don't get into the ask and tell of who people are going to vote for...
But I do subscribe to the thought - if you don't vote, you don't complain!

One vote does matter...
In the USA, please vote.

Namaste.

November

There are a lot of people doing the blog every day thing for November...
I'm not willing to set myself up for failure, so I'll pass this year.

There are a lot of people being Thankful everyday...
I applaud them and enjoy reading them, but I think I'd fail there as well.

Of course, I am thankful for the normal stuff...
But this year, I just need to put out there that I am glad my family is alive.  That I have a place to live.  That my kitty survived three days out in the wilderness with no claws.  That I have good insurance.

Yes, a tornado does alter my perception slightly.

Namaste.

7 Months

It has been seven months since Mother Nature's fury.

The first month saw a lot of progress for clearing out debris (please don't look at the top of the trees when you get near our house now...). It feels like month six held the most progress for rebuilding.

New construction is popping up all over...

It isn't uncommon to hear "How much longer on yours..." at school events.

I thought I had a picture of the rubble that is now this new home, but I seem to have missed that one.
It is accurate to say that the new house is VERY different from the two story LARGE house that fought with the twister. 

Debris that made it through Month 1 is finally being hauled away.

In some cases, partial progress of obvious...

And no progress is definitely obvious (yes, I took this picture very recently)...

This house went into foreclosure before March... The bank hasn't made one step to do anything about this eye sore.  The tree on the far right is still sitting on the roof.

On a personal note, we are on the "punch out" list on the house, but are still trying to figure out what to do about the garage on the other property....Yeah, the one that we requested be added to our policy, but "Danny" told them not too and they didn't tell us.

For the most part, it feels like the community is coming back better than before.

I have been able to travel around all the areas and will try to before the winter appears.

Namaste.