A nation votes, Ohio decides

Today, in the United States of America, citizens are voting to elect their next President, as well as their congressmen for various states. However, not all votes are created equal. The two campaigns are spending big money on only a few states: the so-called "swing states" that will decide the election. If you are a republican living in New York, your vote does not count. The same can be said for a democrat living in Texas. 

This is due to how the electoral college works, as explained in the video above. The US uses a winner-take-all electoral system, where all the electoral votes from a state are granted to a single candidate if he gets just over 50% of the votes. 

This can lead to situations where the race comes down to a single state. For example, in the 2000 elections, the state of Florida gave the presidency to Bush after months of controversial recounts because the result was too close to call. This created a situation where 500 votes decided the next president of the US, regardless of the fact that Al Gore had obtained 500,000 more votes than Bush, on a national scale.

On this election, all polls seem to suggest that Ohio will determine the president of the new term. No Republican candidate has ever won the presidency without carrying this state. Depending on how Ohio decides, this might create another scenario where the president-elect does not have the popular vote. Jon Stewart, a famous comedian in the US, captures the irony of it on the video below and on his converage of the election night, titled "A nation votes, Ohio decides".

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Swing State Hell
www.thedailyshow.com
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Rhode Island

Rhode Island was the 13^th state in the USA; it became a state on May 29, 1790

State Abbreviation - RI  /  State Capital - Providence  /  Largest City - Providence

 Rhode Island is the smallest state in the USA and also has the longest official name of any of the states: "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations".

Area - For a state that is only 37 miles wide and 48 miles long, it is notable that its shoreline on Narragansett Bay in the Atlantic Ocean runs for 400 miles. Indeed, one of Rhode Island's nicknames is "the Ocean State."


The Breakers, Newport
The legendary mansions of Newport overlook the ocean at Narragansett Bay. Many of these spectacular homes are open for tourists and offer an inside glimpse into the lives of America's high society.
The Breakers, the magnificent Vanderbilt mansion built in 1895, is one of the most elegant private homes that has ever graced the Newport shorefront.

Name for Residents - Rhode Islanders
Population - 1,048,319 (as of 2000) [Rhode Island is the 43rd most populous state in the USA]The state is one of the most densely populated and heavily industrialized for its size.  
Major Industries - textiles, jewelry, rubber products, machinery, tourism

Major Rivers - Sakonnet River  /  Major Lakes - Scituate Reservoir
Highest Point - Jerimoth Hill - 812 feet (247 m) above sea level
Bordering States - Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York
Bordering Bodies of Water - Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Sound, Atlantic Ocean

Origin of the Name Rhode Island - Rhode Island was either named for the Isle of Rhodes (in the Mediterranean Sea) or for its red clay (the Dutch explorer Adriaen Block may have named it "Rood Eylandt" meaning Red Island, in Dutch).
State Nicknames - The Ocean State, Little Rhody
State Motto - "Hope"
State Song - Rhode Island, It's for Me (www.youtube.com/watch)

State Flag

State Symbols

Tree: Red Maple (Acer rubrum) 

Flower: Violets (Viola sororia)

Bird: Rhode Island Red A type of chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)

Shell: The hard clam or quahog: Mercenaria mercenaria is a bivalve mollusc native to the eastern shores of North America

Fish: Striped bass (Morone saxatilis)

Drink:Coffee milk

Fruit: Rhode Island greening apple (Malus Mill.)

The Rhode Island quarter, released May 21, 2001, honors the "Ocean State" with a picture of a beautiful vintage sailboat moving through Narragansett Bay with the Pell Bridge in the background. Sailing is, of course, the most popular sport in the smallest state in the union. With over 400 miles of coastline and more than 100 fresh and salt water beaches, Rhode Island was home to the Americas Cup for more than 50 years and is widely known as the Sailing Capital of the World.

Sources: www.netstate.com

www.statesymbolsusa.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/rhodeisland/

STATE OF KANSAS

State Abbreviation: KS, US-KS

Capital City: Topeka

Largest City: Wichita

US Region:is a Midwestern state in the central region of the US

Borders: Nebraska on the north; Missouri on the east; Oklahoma on the south; and Colorado on the west.

Bird: Western Meadowlark

Flag: On a navy blue field is a sunflower,the state flower. Also, the state seal and the words "Kansas". In the picture of the state seal are thirty-four stars representing the order of statehood. Above the stars is the motto "To the Stars Through Difficulties". On the seal a sunrise overshadows a farmer plowing a field near his log cabin, a steamboat sailing the Kansas River, a wagon train heading west and Native Americans hunting bison. Flag adopted 1927.

Flower: Sunflower

Motto: "Ad astra per aspera"

Important cities: Wichita, Overland Park, Kansas City, Topeka.

Elevation:

+ Highest Point: Mount Sunflower 4,039 ft (1,232 m)

+ Lowest Point: Verdigris River 679 ft (207 m)

+ Population: 2,853,116

+ Density: 34.9/sq mi (12.7/km²)
+ % water: 0.56

http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas

Alaska, the Last Frontier

• Alaska may be the largest state in the USA - it covers about 1.7 square kilometres - it's also the least densely populated state (only 1.03/km²).



• Alaska was bought from Russia by the USA on the 18th October in 1867. That day is celebrated each year as Alaska Day.



• 800 kilometres of land in Canada separate Alaska from Washington.



• Alaska is borderd by Canada in the East, the Pacific Ocean in the South, the Bernig Sea in the West and the Arctic Ocean in the North.



• name origin: Alaska is a russian word for 'great lands' or 'peninsula'.



• state song: the Alaska's Flag



• "North to the Future" is Alaska's state motto, representing Alaska as a land of promise.
  



• state sport: dog mushing
  


• state flower: alpine Forget-Me-Not
  


• nicknames: the Last Frontier, Land of the Midnight Sun, Seward's icebox
  


• highest point: Mount Mckinley, 6194 metres
  


• main river: Yukon
  


• largest city: Anchorage
  


• capital: Juneau

sources: http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Alaska/statesymbols.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska

Maine is on the move

MAINE:

• State abbreviation: ME

• Capital city : Augusta

• US Region: North East

• Maine is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the East and South, New Hampshire to the West, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the North West and New Brunswick to the North East. Maine is both the northernmost and the easternmost portion of New England.

• Bird: The chickadee

• Flag: 'The State coat of arms' is placed on a blue field. In the center of the shield a moose rests under a tall pine tree. A farmer and seaman represents the work that people did in early times. The North star represents the state motto: 'Dirigo' ('I direct'). This flag was adopted in 1909.

• Flower: Whitepine cone and tassel.
  

• Motto : 'Dirigo' ('I direct', 'I rule')
• Important cities: Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, South Portland, Auburn, Brunswick, Biddeford, Sanford, Augusta and Scarborough, among others.

Bibliography:

http://www.50states.com/maine.htm

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0108221.html

http://www.dembsky.net/regions/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine

MARYLAND

MARYLAND - MD /US-MD

Nicknames: the Old Line State, the Free State and the Chesapeake Bay State.

Borders: Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east.

US region: Mid Atlantic region of the United States.

Capital city: Annapolis.

Largest city: Baltimore.

Other important cities: Columbia, Germantown, Silver Spring, Waldorf…

Maryland's flag bears the arms of the Calvert and Crossland families. Calvert was the family name of the Lords Baltimore who founded Maryland, and their colors of gold and black appear in the first and fourth quarters of the flag. Crossland was the family of the mother of George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore. The red and white Crossland colors, with a cross bottony, appear in the second and third quarters. This flag first was flown October 11, 1880, in Baltimore at a parade marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of Baltimore. It also was flown October 25, 1888, at Gettysburg Battlefield for ceremonies dedicating monuments to Maryland regiments of the Army of the Potomac. Officially, it was adopted as the State flag in 1904.

The Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) is the official Maryland bird.

The Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) has been the official Maryland flower since 1918 when it was designated the "Floral Emblem" of Maryland by the General Assembly.

"Manly deeds, womanly words"
The official motto is the Italian motto of the Calvert family - "Fatti maschil, Parole femine" (loosely translated as Manly deeds, Womanly words). The motto and arms of the Calvert family appear on the reverse of the state seal.

RESOURCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland

http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Maryland/Maryland-state-motto.html

http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/00list.html

IOWA

State abbreviation: IA

Capital city: Des Moines

US Region: Midwest

Borders: Minnesota to the North; Wisconsin and Illinois to the East; Missouri to the South; and South Dakota and Nebraska to the West.S

State bird: Eastern Goldfinch

State flower : Wild Rose

Motto:"Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain."

Important cities: Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Sioux City, Waterloo, Iowa City.

You can find more information about this state here.

http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Iowa/flower_prairierose.html

http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/flags/ia_flag.htm

http://statebirds.blogspot.com/search/label/Iowa%20-%20Eastern%20Goldfinch

COLORADO

STATES OF THE USA: COLORADO

Region: Northwest

State abbreviation: CO

Capital city: Denver

Borders: Colorado is bordered by Wyoming and Nebraska on the north. To the south is New Mexico and Oklahoma. In the east, Colorado is bordered by Nebraska and Kansas and to the west by Utah. The southwest corner of Colorado meets Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. This spot is known as Four Corners.

Bird: Lark Bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys)

Animals: Colorado hosts an amazing array of species, especially given its temperate climate: about 750 vertebrates, more than tens of thousands invertebrates and over 3,000 native plant species.

Between the animals, the magnificent Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep was designated official state animal of Colorado in 1961. Named for their massive, curling horns (which can grow to 50 inches in length) and known for their agility and perfect balance, Rocky Mountain bighorns (Ovis canadensis) are found only in the Rockies (usually above the timberline) in extremely rugged terrain.

Other important animals are the Bald Eagle, deers, elks and marmots.

Flag: The flag of Colorado consists of three equal sized horizontal stripes. The top and bottom stripe are blue and the middle is white. To the left side of the flag there is a yellow circle that is outlined with a red letter C.

Flower: Rocky Mountain Columbine, the white and lavender Columbine, Aquilegia caerules, was adopted as the official state flower on April 4, 1899.

Motto: Nil sine Numine is a Latin Phrase that is commonly translated as "Nothing without Providence," but it was specifically known that the original designers of the state seal (which includes the phrase Nil sine Numine) intended the translation to be "Nothing without the Deity."

Important cities: Aurora, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins (in that order in the photographs)

Interesting information about Colorado: 1, 2, 3
Interesting information about USA: 1