I Voted...

And you should too...

I'm tired of hearing "my vote doesn't matter" or "One vote doesn't make a difference."

That is a lazy-ass excuse for not wanting to vote. If you don't want to vote, don't cop any excuse other than you don't want to.

As for one vote not mattering, here are some examples when one vote did. If you want a specific example of one vote mattering from a common citizen in the US, pay attention to 1962, 1992 and 1999.

1645, ONE VOTE gave control of England to Oliver Cromwell

1649, ONE VOTE approved the beheading of Kings Charles I

1714, ONE VOTE placed King George I on the throne of England and restored the monarchy

1800, ONE VOTE prevented Aaron Burr from becoming the U.S. President

1824, ONE VOTE in the House of Representatives defeated front runner Andrew Jackson and elected John Quincy Adams as the nation's 6th president

1845, ONE VOTE brought Texas into the United States

1846, ONE VOTE in the U.S. Senate approved President Polk's request for a Declaration of War against Mexico

1850, ONE VOTE admitted California to the union

1859, ONE VOTE admitted Oregon to the union

1868, ONE VOTE saved President Andrew Johnson from Impeachment

1875, ONE VOTE ended the monarchy in France for a voting democracy

1876, ONE VOTE made Rutherford B. Hayes a United States President

1876, ONE VOTE elected the Indiana Electoral College member who voted for Hayes

1889, ONE VOTE admitted Washington to the union

1890, ONE VOTE admitted Idaho to the union

1923, ONE VOTE placed Adolph Hitler as the leader of the Nazi Party

1941, ONE VOTE kept the military draft operational just weeks before Pearl Harbor

1962, ONE VOTE per precint elected the governors of Maine, Rhode Island, and North Dakota

1992, ONE VOTE selected a member of the Town Council of Trinity, AL

1992, ONE VOTE decided the final member of the Selma, AL City Council

1999, ONE VOTE elected a city council candidate in a city election in Hillsborough County, Florida

Consider further how decisions that change history are determined by just a few:

1788, THREE VOTES, ratified the U.S. Constitution in New York

1790, TWO VOTES, gave Rhode Island’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution, making it approved in all 13 states

1960, ONE VOTE changed in each precinct would have defeated John Kennedy

1976, ONE VOTE changed in each Ohio precinct would have elected Gerald Ford and not Jimmy Carter

Gym Story - Proxy Blog

I have a friend, Jerry K, who does not have his own blog but sometimes wishes he did. Not sure why he doesn't create one, he knows how, but at any rate here is "his" first entry.

He and his wife are members of a local gym (Leader Heights Fitness). It's an OK gym, but he agreed that my gym is probably better (LA Fitness). The big issue was money. He thought (and may have been correct at one point) that his gym was cheaper (once you include the child care portion), and that the two gyms were close enough in features that it wasn't a big deal. I can understand that.

I found out the price of child care at my gym... turns out that the two gyms were the same price. Hmmm... now that the price is the same, maybe he'll think about transferring. Upon investigation at his gym, his month dues will increase unless he signs a new contract (my gym keeps the same monthly price for life as long as you stay a member, but you can cancel at any time, and not pay any cancellation fee).

Turns out Jerry gets into a slight fight with the evening manager at his gym over this price increase, and pushes him toward visiting my gym. Upon visiting (and probably before) he decides that he wants to join my gym. But before he joins, he wants to make sure his current gym membership is over -- doesn't want to pay for 2 gyms. He knows that his current membership is almost up, in fact he's under the impression it had already expired.

So yesterday he called... His current gym has a copy of a new contract effective just a couple of weeks ago. He didn't sign any new contract... it's not like a gym contract is an extremely important document, but then again, it's not like you forget signing a contract.

I believe he has requested to see a copy of this contract... I'll keep you informed as things develop.

Halloween

I know it's not Halloween any longer, but wanted to write up a couple of words about this...

1) A halloween costume is a little more than a ski mask and black sweatshirt
2) No Traci, you can't egg the house across the street that refuses to participate in Trick or Treat.
3) If you don't say "Trick or Treat", you only get 1 piece of candy; if you do say it, you may have 2 or 3 pieces
4) Seriously Traci, you can't egg the house.
5) It's only common courtesy to say thank-you.
6) I'm serious Traci... No egging.