Author Archives: FFFOAdmin

Chipping away at our economic and political freedom

Motivated by semiconductor chip shortages, brought about by COVID lockdowns and too-lean inventories, politicians of both parties want to help foster more chip manufacturing here at home. During President Reagan’s first inaugural address he taught us “government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.”  This, at a time when our country

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Dr. Schweitzer in the Spokesman-Review: “Follow in the footsteps of Foley”

Dr. Schweitzer wrote an opinion piece honoring Tom Foley, the late Speaker of the House from Washington State who served as Speaker from 1989 until 1995. Read it in The Spokesman-Review here: Edmund O. Schweitzer III: Follow in the footsteps of Foley | The Spokesman-Review On April 21, nearly 200 civic and community leaders gathered in

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The Season of Peace on Earth, Good Will towards Man

I love our holidays.  My favorites are Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and these winter holidays. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s have a lot in common: feelings of gratitude, grace, good will, forgiveness, kindness, generosity, and LOVE. All shared with family, friends, neighbors, communities. I love how we experience them.  Traveling, cooking (and dining!), singing, worshipping,

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Opening Day Woe and Initiative Weal: Washington State LTC Opt-Out a Bust, But Initiative Gathers Steam

For months, Washington employees have been waiting to file for exemption from the WA Cares Fund. For months, it was said that the online exemption tool would launch October 1, 2021. And so far, Washington employees will continue to wait. The online tool is not working, and at present there is no estimation for when

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Defending Free Choice

A letter from Dr. Ed Schweitzer, President and Founder of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories August 18, 2021 I established www.fairfreeflatopen.com this morning to fulfill a particular need to defend our freedom to choose insurance options regarding long-term care. In 2019, Washington state voters voted 63 to 37 percent to repeal the Long-Term Care Act. This was

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Gas, Gas Bans, and Gas Ban Bans: Do We Really Want Politicians Designing Our Energy Systems?

Cities across the country, Spokane included, want to forbid us from using natural gas in our homes, schools, and businesses. Washington State legislators and regulators are pushing statewide bans, in parallel tracks. Mark Twain said the past does not repeat itself, but it rhymes. Inventors and investors sought and created ways of providing illumination. Beef

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Scarier Than COVID: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

Yesterday, September 9, President Biden said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was drafting a rule mandating that all businesses with 100 or more workers require their employees to either get vaccinated against the coronavirus or face mandatory weekly testing. That move would affect some 80 million workers.  I am a long-time supporter of

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