Government

Ron Paul Stuffed Pasta Shells

February 18, 2012 by rickety Leave a Comment

Ron Paul Quick'n Easy Stuffed Pasta Shells

Since receiving a copy of The Ron Paul Family Cookbook, Adelaide has made Oreo Cake, Original Chocolate Chip Cookies, Banana Nut Bread, Orange Rolls, and now Ron Paul Quick’n Easy Stuffed Pasta Shells. If you have the cookbook, the recipe is found on page 5.

Adelaide says:

I halved the recipe, and still had half of them left over. They were really rich and filling. I paired it with breadsticks and a salad, and it made for a fairly quick and delicious dinner.

I especially liked the part in the recipe that gave directions for making this as a freezer meal. I think I’ll freeze half of them the next time I make it.

Photo Credit: Adelaide

Ron Paul Oreo Cake

February 12, 2012 by rickety Leave a Comment

Ron Paul Oreo Cake

Since giving a copy of The Ron Paul Family Cookbook to Adelaide, she has made Original Chocolate Chip Cookies, Banana Nut Bread, Orange Rolls, and now Ron Paul Oreo Cake. If you have the cookbook, the recipe for Oreo Cake is found on page 1.

Adelaide says:

I made the Oreo Cake for the treat for Family Home Evening. I actually halved the recipe because I only had one container of Cool Whip, then I divided that in half to take over with dinner to a neighbor who just had a baby. So I ultimately made a quarter of the recipe for us. It was very tasty, reminding me of mud pie. It was a fun change from just plain pudding, and was the perfect size for our small family.

Photo Credit: Adelaide of Ada Shot Me
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Ron Paul Cookies

February 6, 2012 by rickety Leave a Comment

Ron Paul Original Chocolate Chip Cookies coming out of the oven

Since giving a copy of The Ron Paul Family Cookbook to Adelaide, she has made Banana Nut Bread, Orange Rolls, and now Ron Paul Original Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Ron Paul Original Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cream the following ingredients:
1 cup Crisco
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Dissolve 1 tsp. baking soda in 1 tbsp. hot water and mix with:
2¼ cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped nuts
1 large bag chocolate chips

Drop by teaspoon on cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

Adelaide says:

I made the cookies a few nights ago. I didn’t add nuts, and I only put one regular sized bag of chocolate chips (opposed to the large bag it calls for), but they seemed to turn out rather well. The recipe made 4 dozen large cookies, and we ate 2 dozen that night, another dozen yesterday, and I sent the last dozen with Steven to work today. Overall, I think they were a big hit.

Photo Credit: Adelaide of Ada Shot Me
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Ron Paul Orange Rolls

January 31, 2012 by rickety Leave a Comment

Ron Paul Orange Rolls

I gave a copy of The Ron Paul Family Cookbook to Adelaide. She soon made Banana Nut Bread from page 5 and now she has cooked up Ron Paul Orange Rolls from page 20.

Adelaide says:

I’ll send orange rolls home with Jill for you to try. I made them last night and refrigerated them overnight so we could have hot rolls for breakfast. I used a cookie sheet instead of a 9×13 pan, and some of them burnt on the bottom (the filling spilled out, which maybe doesn’t happen with the pan?) So I’ll have to try it again using two 9×13 pans to see if they turn out better, but they still tasted great!

You could easily half the recipe for only a dozen rolls. Also a package of active dry yeast is equivalent to 2 tsp (in case you use a jar of yeast, like I do.)

I ate three of the rolls and they were mighty delicious. Adelaide, you should have sent over a whole plateful.

I gave out the recipe for the Banana Nut Bread but this time get the Cookbook and support the Ron Paul Campaign.

Photo Credit: Adelaide of Ada Shot Me
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Ron Paul Banana Nut Bread

January 26, 2012 by rickety Leave a Comment

Ron Paul Banana Nut Bread

After a small donation last week to the Ron Paul Campaign I received three copies of The Ron Paul Family Cookbook. I gave one of the cookbooks to Adelaide and she made Banana Nut Bread, with a slight change of ingredients:

What I did different: I didn’t use nuts, as we didn’t have any pecans, which is what I like using in banana nut bread. Also, I used 2 mini loaf pans instead of a regular sized loaf pan, but still cooked it for 45 minutes.

Ron Paul Banana Nut Bread

½ cup sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe mashed bananas
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

Mix and bake the ingredients at 350° for 45 minutes.

So how did it taste? Adelaide said:

Oh, and it was really good. We ate one of the loaves yesterday (which is when I baked it) and have devoured most of the second one today.

Photo Credit: Adelaide of Ada Shot Me

Precision Smokestack Targeting

June 17, 2011 by rickety Leave a Comment

Once in awhile I read an amusing quote. There was one recently in an article by The Wall Street Journal reporting on the Pentagon’s first cyber strategy. Part of the plan warns nations of the consequences of attacking the U.S. by hacking computer systems. Hackers, supported by national governments, pose as significant a threat to U.S. nuclear reactors, subways or pipelines as a hostile country’s military.

An unidentified U.S. military official said:

“If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks.”

Previous attacks have originated from Russia and China but often both the perpetrator and impact are unclear.

2010 Defense Spending by Country

June 4, 2011 by rickety 24 Comments

The eighteen countries with the largest military budgets. See table below for actual dollar amounts.

Military Expenditures

The eighteen nations with the largest military budgets in 2010 are shown in the chart above (click to enlarge). The United States, with a budget of $698 billion, spends more on defense than the next seventeen nations combined. The United States military spending is almost six times that of the next biggest spender, China ($119 billion) and more than eleven times that of Russia ($59 billion).

The Department of Defense budget in fiscal year 2010 accounted for 19% of the United States federal budget and 28% of estimated tax revenues. The U.S. accounts for 40% of the world’s yearly defense outlays.

Defense Spending by GDP – Top Ten Countries

Patrol near Combat Outpost Castle, Helmand province, Afghanistan

U.S. Marine patrol, Combat Outpost Castle, Afghanistan

Eritrea 20.9%
Saudi Arabia 11.2%
Oman 9.7%
United Arab Emirates 7.3%
Timor Leste 6.8%
Israel 6.3%
Chad 6.2%
Jordan 6.1%
Georgia 5.6%
Iraq 5.4 %

When spending is considered by percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the United States is not even in the top ten. At 4.7% of GDP the U.S. falls to eleventh place.

Six of the ten countries listed are in the Middle East where there are sharp regional tensions. The fear of conventional military attack is very real which helps justify high defense spending.

Internal instability is a growing factor and is a threat to the existing power structure within states, as demonstrated by recent uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and other Middle East countries.

GDP percentages are for 2009, except for Eritrea (2003). The list contains seven countries that do not appear in the table below because their total military spending is lower than the top thirty nations.

Table Of Defense Spending – Top 30 Countries in 2010

Click ONCE on column headers to sort.

Country	$billion¹	$ Rank	%GDP²	%GDP Rank³	$ Per Capita
United States^{4 & 8}	698.3	1	4.7	11	2,260
China⁹	119.4	2	2.2	55	88
United Kingdom	59.6	3	2.7	45	963
France	59.3	4	2.5	47	915
Russia	58.7	5	4.3	14	419
Japan⁷	54.5	6	1.0	129	429
Saudi Arabia⁵	45.2	7	11.2	2	1,727
Germany	45.2	8	1.4	99	550
India	41.3	9	2.8	42	34
Italy¹¹	37.0	10	1.8	77	615
Brazil	33.5	11	1.6	88	172
South Korea¹⁰	27.6	12	2.9	39	569
Australia	24.0	13	1.9	70	1,115
Canada	22.8	14	1.5	91	672
Turkey	17.5	15	2.7	44	231
United Arab Emirates¹²	16.1	16	7.3	4	3,410
Spain	15.4	17	1.1	122	339
Israel⁶	14.0	18	6.3	6	1,929
Netherlands	11.2	19	1.5	93	671
Colombia	10.7	20	3.7	25	232
Greece	9.4	21	3.2	34	835
Taiwan	9.1	22	2.4	49	395
Poland	8.9	23	1.8	78	234
Singapore	8.4	24	4.3	13	1,736
Indonesia	7.2	25	0.9	136	31
Chile⁵	6.9	26	3.5	28	404
Norway	6.7	27	1.6	87	1,385
Algeria	5.7	28	3.8	21	160
Pakistan	5.6	29	2.8	43	31
Sweden	5.6	30	1.2	118	607

Notes

Figures are in US $billions at 2010 prices and exchange rates.
Percent GDP is for 2009.
Percent GDP ranking is included because high expenditure countries are not necessarily spending at high percent of GDP.
$159.3 billion of the U.S. budget is for “Overseas Contingency Operations,” to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Figures for Chile and Saudi Arabia are for the adopted budget, rather than actual expenditure.
Figures for Israel do not include spending on paramilitary forces.
Figures for Japan do not include military pensions.
Figures for the USA are for financial year (1 October to 30 September of stated year).
Figures for China are estimates, including estimates for items not in the official defense budget.
Figures for South Korea do not include spending on relocations and welfare of $974 million dollars.
Figures for Italy include spending on civil defence, which typically amounts to 4.5% of the total.
Figures for United Arab Emirates are uncertain and lacking in transparency. The only available source of data is from the IMF.

Sources

SIPRI Military Expenditure Database 2011, http://milexdata.sipri.org.
Dollars per capita were calculated using 2010 populations via Wolfram Alpha.
U.S. military budget percentages from Wikipedia, accessed 4 June 2011.
DoD photo by Chief Warrant Officer 2nd Class Clinton W. Runyon, U.S. Marine Corps.

100 Years Ago: Tax, Tax, Tax

April 17, 2011 by rickety 1 Comment

The following was adapted from the Improvement Era magazines of April 1911 and May 1911.

Inheritance Tax

The largest inheritance tax on record in the United States was lately received by the state of Utah. The check, dated March 1, 1911, was received by State Treasurer David Mattson, on the 9th of March, from Mrs. Mary W. Harriman, executrix, and was made out for the amount of $798,546.85, being the inheritance tax on the late Edward H. Harriman’s property in Utah.

The legislature on the 10th passed a bill appropriating $750,000 of the amount towards the building of the state capitol, in Salt Lake City, which had been arranged for earlier in the session, and for which a bond issue of one million dollars had been authorized.

[The story also appeared in The New York Times. The inheritance tax was 5% on $15,980,937 of Union Pacific stock. The Union Pacific Railroad was incorporated under the laws of Utah, hence payment to the state. In 2011 the Federal estate tax was 35% with Utah no longer having an inheritance tax nor an estate tax.]

Corporation Tax

The corporation tax provision in the Payne-Aldrich tariff act was held by unanimous opinion of the United States Supreme Court, rendered March 13, to be valid. The decision was announced by Justice William R. Day, appointed to the Supreme Court from Ohio, in 1903.

The opinon was an elaborate treatment of the subject, and the tax was declared to be an excise tax on the doing of corporate business, and not a direct tax on the ownership of property. It was held that the tax was not applicable to the real estate “trust” of Boston, and the Minneapolis syndicate, since they were not “doing business” within the meaning of the law.

An income of approximately twenty-five million dollars annually will be assured to the government by this decision.

[In 2011, Federal tax rates on corporate taxable income varied from 15% to 35%. In 2010, 6.6% ($138.2 billion) of Federal revenue came from corporations.]

Income Tax

The national income tax amendment to the national constitution, submitted by resolution of Congress in July, 1909, has been acted on favorably this year by nineteen legislatures, eleven states have thus far rejected it. Since the amendment must be approved by three-fourths of the states, nine more states are necessary for favorable action.

Since the constitution fixes no time limit to legislative action, the legislatures which rejected it this year may approve it next. Utah so far has not joined in favor of the proposed measure.

[On February 25, 1913, the amendment was ratified by the necessary three-fourths of the states, and became a part of the Constitution. On October 3, the Revenue Act of 1913 was enacted which re-imposed the Federal income tax. The Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Utah legislatures rejected the amendment. Florida, Pennsylvania, and Virginia never considered the amendment.]

Adapted from: “Passing Events”, Improvement Era, Vol. XIV. April, 1911. No. 6 and “Passing Events”, May, 1911. No. 7

Presidents on the United States

March 9, 2011 by rickety 3 Comments

The State of the Union

The annual address by the President to the Congress reports on the condition of the nation and outlines the President’s legislative agenda and his national priorities. Before Warren Harding most presidents delivered the State of the Union as a written report.

He shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient. Article II, Section 3

The quotes herein are from State of the Union messages, except for William Harrison (died of pneumonia) and James Garfield (assassinated). I use instead their Inaugural addresses.

George Washington
(1789–1797)

“Uniformity in the currency, weights, and measures of the United States is an object of great importance, and will, I am persuaded, be duly attended to.”

John Adams
(1797–1801)

“The commerce of the United States is essential, if not to their existence, at least to their comfort, their growth, prosperity, and happiness.”

Thomas Jefferson
(1801–1809)

“We continue to receive proofs of the growing attachment of our Indian neighbors and of their dispositions to place all their interests under the patronage of the United States.”

James Madison
(1809–1817)

“I should fail in my duty in not recommending to your serious attention the importance of giving to our militia, the great bulwark of our security and resource of our power, an organization best adapted to eventual situations for which the United States ought to be prepared.”

James Monroe
(1817–1825)

“In our intercourse with each [European power] due attention continues to be paid to the protection of our commerce, and to every other object in which the United States are interested.”

John Quincy Adams
(1825–1829)

“…[Washington] informed them that the returns gave the pleasing assurance that the population of the United States bordered on 4,000,000 persons. At the distance of 30 years from that time the last enumeration, five years since completed, presented a population bordering on 10,000,000.”

Andrew Jackson
(1829–1837)

“There will have been paid on account of the public debt during the present year the sum of $12,405,005.80, reducing the whole debt of the Government on January 1st, 1830 to $48,565,406.50, including $7 millions of the 5% stock subscribed to the Bank of the United States.”

Martin Van Buren
(1837–1841)

“Britain and the United States are of the most friendly character, and I am well satisfied of the sincere disposition of that Government to maintain them upon their present footing.”

William Henry Harrison
(1841)

“Not-withstanding the limited sovereignty possessed by the people of the United States and the restricted grant of power to the Government which they have adopted, enough has been given to accomplish all the objects for which it was created.”

John Tyler
(1841–1845)

“It is believed that the United States is the only nation which has by its laws subjected to the punishment of death as pirates those who may be engaged in the slave trade.”

James Polk
(1845–1849)

“The terms of annexation which were offered by the United States having been accepted by Texas, the public faith of both parties is solemnly pledged to the compact of their union.”

Zachary Taylor
(1849–1850)

“The predictions of evil prophets, who formerly pretended to foretell the downfall of our institutions, are now remembered only to be derided, and the United States of America at this moment present to the world the most stable and permanent Government on earth.”

Millard Fillmore
(1850–1853)

“The Government of the United States is a limited Government.”

Franklin Pierce
(1853–1857)

“France was the early and efficient ally of the United States in their struggle for independence. From that time to the present, with occasional slight interruptions, cordial relations of friendship have existed between the Governments and people of the two countries.”

James Buchanan
(1857–1861)

“On the 15th of September, 1857, Governor Young issued his proclamation, in the style of an independent sovereign, announcing his purpose to resist by force of arms the entry of the United States troops into our own Territory of Utah.”

Abraham Lincoln
(1861–1865)

“That portion of the earth’s surface which is owned and inhabited by the people of the United States is well adapted to be the home of one national family, and it is not well adapted for two or more.”

Andrew Johnson
(1865–1869)

“The Union of the United States of America was intended by its authors to last as long as the States themselves shall last.'”

Ulysses Grant
(1869–1877)

“I have always felt that the most intimate relations should be cultivated between the Republic of the United States and all independent nations on this continent.”

Rutherford Hayes
(1877–1881)

“The power of the United States to coin money and to regulate the value thereof ought never to be exercised for the purpose of enabling the Government to pay its obligations in a coin of less value than that contemplated by the parties when the bonds were issued.”

James Garfield
(1881)

“There can be no permanent disfranchised peasantry in the United States. Freedom can never yield its fullness of blessings so long as the law or its administration places the smallest obstacle in the pathway of any virtuous citizen.”

Chester Arthur
(1881–1885)

“As is natural with contiguous states having like institutions and like aims of advancement and development, the friendship of the United States and Mexico has been constantly maintained.”

Grover Cleveland
(1885–1889 & 1893–1897)

“The interest of the United States in a practicable transit for ships across the strip of land separating the Atlantic from the Pacific has been repeatedly manifested during the last half century.”

Benjamin Harrison
(1889–1893)

“The enforcement by the Treasury Department of the law prohibiting the coming of Chinese to the United States has been effective as to such as seek to land from vessels entering our ports.”

William McKinley
(1897–1901)

“Lynching must not be tolerated in a great and civilized country like the United States; courts, not mobs, must execute the penalties of the law.”

Theodore Roosevelt
(1901–1909)

“It should
mean something to become a citizen of the United States; and in the process no loophole whatever should be left open to fraud.”

William Howard Taft
(1909–1913)

“Collateral investigations of the opium question in this country lead me to recommend that the manufacture, sale and use of opium and its derivatives in the United States should be so far as possible more rigorously controlled by legislation.”

Woodrow Wilson
(1913–1921)

“The United States, this great people for whom we speak and act, should be ready, as never before, to serve itself and to serve mankind; ready with its resources, its energies, its forces of production, and its means of distribution.”

Warren Harding
(1921–1923)

“It is the voice of sympathy and fraternity and helpfulness, seeking to assist but not assume for the United States burdens which nations must bear for themselves.”

Calvin Coolidge
(1923–1929)

“The Government of the United States has been created by the people. It is solely responsible to them. It will be most successful if it is conducted solely for their benefit.”

Herbert Hoover
(1929–1933)

“The first requirement of confidence and of economic recovery is financial stability of the United States Government.”

Franklin Roosevelt
(1933–1945)

“The first President of the United States warned us against entangling foreign alliances. The present President of the United States subscribes to and follows that precept.”

Harry Truman
(1945–1953)

“It will be the continuing policy of the United States to use all its influence to foster, support, and develop the United Nations Organization in its purpose of preventing international war.”

Dwight Eisenhower
(1953–1961)

“We should recognize by law a fact that is plain to all thoughtful citizens — that we are dealing here with actions akin to treason — that when a citizen knowingly participates in the Communist conspiracy he no longer holds allegiance to the United States.”

John Kennedy
(1961–1963)

“Members of the Congress: The United States did not rise to greatness by waiting for others to lead. This Nation is the world’s foremost manufacturer, farmer, banker, consumer, and exporter.”

Lyndon Johnson
(1963–1969)

“Most important of all, in this period, the United States has reemerged into the fullness of its self-confidence and purpose. No longer are we called upon to get America moving. We are moving.”

Richard Nixon
(1969–1974)

“Let this be our national goal: At the end of this decade, in the year 1980, the United States will not be dependent on any other country for the energy we need to provide our jobs, to heat our homes, and to keep our transportation moving.”

Gerald Ford
(1974–1977)

“If we don’t act to slow down the rate of increase in Federal spending, the United States Treasury will be legally obligated to spend more than $360 billion in fiscal year 1976, even if no new programs are enacted.”

Jimmy Carter
(1977–1981)

“While this invasion [of Afghanistan] continues, we and the other nations of the world cannot conduct business as usual with the Soviet Union. That’s why the United States has imposed stiff economic penalties on the Soviet Union.”

Ronald Reagan
(1981–1989)

“If the United States can trade with other nations on a level playing field, we can outproduce, outcompete, and outsell anybody, anywhere in the world.”

George H. W. Bush
(1989–1993)

“Much good can come from the prudent use of power. And much good can come from this: A world once divided into two armed camps now recognizes one sole and pre-eminent power, the United States of America.”

Bill Clinton
(1993–2001)

“And I would like to say a special word to our religious leaders. You know, I’m proud of the fact that the United States has more house of worship per capita than any country in the world.”

George W. Bush
(2001–2009)

“From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.”

Barack Obama
(2009–)

“But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.
. . .
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America..”

Ron Paul Original Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ron Paul Banana Nut Bread

Military Expenditures

Defense Spending by GDP – Top Ten Countries

Table Of Defense Spending – Top 30 Countries in 2010

Notes

Sources

Inheritance Tax

Corporation Tax

Income Tax

The State of the Union

Sources

The Presidents Series