Category Archives: From the desk of Dr. Schweitzer

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

Read More

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,

Read More

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

Read More

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

Read More

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

Read More

The Importance of Choosing to Get Vaccinated, If You Can

Dear all: We’re grateful for the scientific breakthroughs, the logistic miracles of production and distribution, and the dedication of our medical professionals. All teamed up to get many folks the immunity they need to better fight and survive the nearly continuous stream of – and likely continued evolution of – COVID variations. Around 70% of

Read More