A PUBLICATION OF THE EVERGREEN FREEDOM FOUNDATION 1

NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDOLYMPIA, WAPERMIT #462

the centrist cult 3 legislators need a time out 10

LIVING LIBERTYFEBRUARY 2009 | WWW.EFFWA.ORG A PUBLICATION OF THE EVERGREEN FREEDOM FOUNDATION

eff launches property rights center 7

he Evergreen Freedom Foundation will introduce one idea per day of the 2009 legislative session to

help elected leaders balance the budget, cut government waste and stimulate the economy. Entitled 105 Days, 105 Ways, the recommendations are based on original research, audit reports, committee reports, state govern-ment reports and studies by national think tanks. Each idea includes links to the full study or recommendations

for people looking for more information.Some ideas will be more universally liked than others,

and some will leave you scratching your head asking why the state hasn’t already done that—or stopped doing that. If you like an idea, tell your friends! To change the mindset in Olympia we need help getting the word out. It’s not okay to make lofty promises underwritten with taxpayer money, which can’t be delivered most of the time anyway. Despite what you hear or read, there are ways to fix the budget without tapping your wallet or letting kids starve on the street

Here are some of the ideas we’ve introduced:

Save $2 Billion later By Cutting a Half-Billion nowLawmakers have demonstrated that the old saying, “You have to spend money to make money,” doesn’t apply to state government. The legislature increased spending by 34 percent over the last four years—contributing mightily to our current budget debacle. Actually, the so-called budget deficit is the difference between how much lawmakers would like to spend versus the smaller amount taxpayers have to give them. In fact, the gov-ernor’s proposed budget actually increases spending by 3.2 percent.

For the state to live within its means, spending should be immediately cut by the decrease in money they expect to have this year—that would be $500 million. It’s simple economics. Say you budgeted for platinum cable, only to discover that you can’t afford it, so you downsize to basic cable. You don’t get all the channels you want, but you save money on a month-to-month basis. The sooner you downsize the more you save over time. Applied to

the state budget, a $500 million cut now turns into $2.5 billion in the next two and a half years. Imagine that: the state saving money on a regular basis!

Make funding for PriSonS More iMPortant tHan funding for aniMal MaSSeurSIf your house were on fire and you had but a few seconds to choose between saving your child or the family scrap-book from the encroaching flames, you would grab your child and get out of the house. Why? Priorities.

The state budget isn’t on fire, but it is more than $6 billion in the hole, thanks to four years of lawmakers spending more than they took in. The state desperately

needs a program to prioritize items in the budget so it doesn’t give the same weight to funding the certification of animal masseurs (at one point a legislative priority to the tune of $142,000) as it does to the prison system.

But wait… the state already has that, and, conveniently, it’s called the Priorities of Government program. POG ranks budget items according to high-priority, low-priority, “Buy Next” and “Do Not Buy.” In fact, Gov. Gregoire admitted to using POG to help formulate her recently-proposed almost-balanced, no-new-taxes 2009-11 budget. Gov. Gary Locke used POG, as did then-Sen. Dino Rossi, to deal with the 2003-05 biennium’s $2.6 billion budget gap.

Unfortunately, legislators don’t regularly use POG when they build the budget. Maybe it’s time they start.

State SHould SoBer uP froM itS Booze addiCtionWashington is one of only 18 states that directly control the regulation, distribution and sale of hard liquor. In fact, creation of the state’s Liquor Control Board goes back to 1934, just after Prohibition ended. Washington’s liquor monopoly is a 75-year-old hangover that we are still dealing with today.

by Brett Davis

Given the doom and gloom in

the media, it’s easy to believe the

state’s budget situation is hopeless

and that huge tax increases and

free-roaming felons are going to

be a fact of life in our little corner

of the Pacific Northwest. Fear not,

good citizens; Armageddon isn’t

upon us. Lawmakers can do plenty

to pull Washington back from the

financial precipice, lest we fall

over the edge into a sea of red ink.

to See eff’S 105 dayS, 105 wayS weBPage, go to: www.105.effwa.org

T

Continued on page 2

2 LIVING LIBERTY

3456

7891011

12

“Quote”

Evergreen Freedom Foundation PO Box 552

Olympia, WA 98507(360) 956-3482

Fax (360) 352-1874 info@effwa.org • www.effwa.org

VOLUME 19, Issue 2

EFF’s mission is to advance

individual liberty, free enterprise and

limited, accountable government.

This Issue

Publisher:Lynn Harsh

Editors:Scott St. ClairRich Frias

Layout:Joel Sorrell

February 2009

“A government big enough

to give you everything you

want is strong enough take

everything you have.”

– Thomas Jefferson

LETTER FROM LYNN THE CENTRIST CULT

GRASSROOTS CAN ACTIVISTS MAKE THINGS HAPPEN

EFF VOLUNTEERS: LIFEBLOOD OF THE ORGANIZATION ASSESSING WASHINGTON’S VOTE-BY-MAIL EXPERIMENT LEGAL UPDATES TEACHERS’ LAWSUIT AGAINST WEA MOVES FORWARD SUPREME COURT VICTORY FOR OPEN GOVERNMENT

EFF LAUNCHES PROPERTY RIGHTS CENTER

THE NEW ERA OF LINCOLN

THE DEVELOPMENT CORNER LAWMAKERS NEED A TIMEOUT STATE WORKER UNIONS TARGET GREGOIRE OVER PAY

DIARY OF A FREEDOM LOVING MOM CONNECTICUT AVENUE WITH A HOTEL? PAY UP, BRO WHY HISTORY

THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME

As Governor Gregoire noted in her second inaugural address, “Too much of what served the people well in 1940 or 1960 or 1990 does not serve the people well in the 21st century.” We couldn’t agree more. Let’s dry up the state’s sacred liquor cow.

There’s no compelling reason for the state to be in the liquor business. Selling booze isn’t a core function of government. Under the guise of moderating excess consumption, the state has entrenched an unnecessary and costly bureaucracy. It’s also problematic since the behavior it tries to limit also provides a sacred-cow rev-enue source. By letting private retailers sell liquor, the state could save about $120 million a year while still col-lecting liquor taxes.

Besides, the state Liquor Control Board has been care-less with our money. A 2002 audit found the board was unable to properly account for $421 million in sales,

almost what it cost to build Safeco Field. It’s past time Washington state privatized liquor sales, something everyone—taxpayers, businesses and consumers—can raise a glass to.

otHer reCoMMendationS in our 105 dayS, 105 wayS PuBliCation:

• Consolidate and eliminate some of the state’s 470 boards and commis-sions;

• Bargain hunt for ferry-construction contracts;

• Adopt a timeout rule for budget, tax and spending legislation;

• Provide incentives for timely degree completion;

• Get competitive in contracting.

105 Days Continued from page 1 . . .

you Can liSten in Saturdays at 8:30 AM or Sundays 1:30 PM on these stations:

delivering tHe trutH weekly…

radio free waSHington

kgon-fM 101.3Walla Walla/Tri-Cities

ktBi-aM 810Wenatchee/Moses Lake

ktrw-aM 630Spokane

kSPo-fM 106.5Spokane

You can also tune in on Saturdays at 12:30 PM to:ktrw-aM 630Spokane/Northern Idaho

KYAK-AM 930Yakima

ktaC-fM 93.9Moses Lake

download tHe SHow from our website at: www.radiofreewa.com

A PUBLICATION OF THE EVERGREEN FREEDOM FOUNDATION 3

quoted a crusty friend a few decades ago. We were talk-ing about policymakers in the D.C. Beltway and our statehouse who proudly call themselves centrists.

That quote haunts my mind many mornings while listening to news about politicians and their evolving choices. First our governor moved like greased lightning from the left-of-center positions she held while campaigning to more “centrist” fiscal policies after the predictably soft state revenue projections came in.

Then President-elect Obama began choosing his economic teams. Not exactly free marketers in the true sense of the word, but not raving Keynesians either. Then there was his foreign policy team, with “moderate” Hillary Clinton at his side.

Immediately the Beltway press became giddy at the prospect that our new President may be more centrist than his previous voting record had indicated. (But it was a very short record, wasn’t it?)

The press needs conflict to stay in business. But think about what it means when political conflict is defined this way: The leftist position, “Government ought to increase taxes and regulations immediately to help average Americans” ; the centrist position, “Government ought to increase taxes and regulations to help average Americans, but we have to move more slowly.”

That’s the problem with this middle-of-the-road stuff. Key policy decisions are shaped by ever-changing circumstances rather than delicately balanced against historically and economically sound knowledge.

So what does a centrist or moderate position really mean? Does it mean you are a nice person whose ideas will offend very few of your constituents or people in your circle of friends? If so, does that mean a popular idea is also a good idea? In some places, slavery fits this definition.

Or does a centrist position mean that you can make the argument that your ideas will help the most number of people. If so, does that make it a good thing? The architects of massive public welfare made that argument.

the centrist cult

“ Yellow lInes and dead skunks: The onlY True ThIngs You’ll fInd In The mIddle of The road,”

If you believe union bosses shouldn’t run our schools, does this mean you are not moderate? If you think government should prioritize programs and spend taxpayer dollars frugally, are you a member of the right wing? If your idea of good tax policy is that it ought to be low and predictable, does that make you a conservative? Why?

The self-appointed elites in our society, the new American “moderates”, believe that redistributing everyone else’s money as they see fit is a grand idea. Are they moderates because they only want to take some of what we have? Why aren’t we labeling this for what it is: anti-American snobbery?

On the occasions I have been called a moderate, it’s usually because I haven’t made up my mind about an issue that seems like a no-brainer to the person talking to me. Refusing to take a position because you have not yet assessed all the particulars has nothing to do with being a centrist.

At other times it’s a convenient descriptor when a particular position doesn’t fit neatly into conservative or liberal viewpoints.

Twice the centrist label has been spit at me by individuals who mistook my respectful response to opposition as a sign of compromise with the enemy. Since when is political civility the same as political centrism?

A good friend became a supposed moderate “spy” to some after she changed her mind on one previously-held position. New facts and more research led her to a different conclusion. Genuine searching should be rewarded, not reviled.

Being a centrist these days is kind of like joining a cult. Someone else will tell you what you believe. Just give them a soft, empty mind and the leaders will fill it with soft, empty thoughts. But true believers on either side of issues will avoid you. We’re just not going to drink your kool-aid.

So far, about 500 of you returned the survey I sent you last December. Most of the data has been compiled, and I am beginning to read the comments and information you sent.

First, let me say thank you to those who took the time to fill it out and send it back. I confess to hating those things myself, and I only fill out surveys if I think the person or organization really cares about my opinion versus trying to make me feel good so they can get another check. In our case, we only asked the questions we were prepared to do something about.

Second, now that the data is all entered, our Development Director, Juliana McMahan, will analyze the results while I read the comments each of you has made. We will begin responding to direct requests, and by month’s end, our senior leadership

team will discuss alterations, deletions or addi-tions we believe are necessary from your sur-vey submissions.

Third, many of your observations are already extremely helpful. For example, several of you pointed out certain website links that don’t work properly. You need us to better title and categorize our podcasts. Most of you would like to hear more stories about what’s working. Next month, we will give you the summary.

Fourth, if you are a busy, no-nonsense person, it is unlikely that you have filled out the survey, since you were immediately unsure it would be worth your time. I’m chuckling as I write this, because that describes me. You are precisely the person we need to hear from more often. You can still send it in online at www.effwa.org/membersurvey, or perhaps the printed version is still around your house or office somewhere. We will continue adding results through February.

Fifth, I am impressed by the quality of your answers and your thoughtful observations. It’s also nice to hear good comments and get a pat on the back, and many of you did that. Thank you! And it’s gratifying to hear your concerns and read your suggestions for improvements. I use the word gratifying because you care enough about EFF’s mission to offer constructive comments about making our work better. Again, thank you!

Letter from LynnLETTER FROM LY NNby Lynn Harsh

In a

wo

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our

me

mb

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—W

ow

!

4 LIVING LIBERTY

e all have people that we look up to and admire. For some, it can be a famous sports player; for

others, a powerful world leader; and for others, a car-ing relative. There are also, however, anonymous heroes in our own community—people giving their best effort to defend and educate others about freedom so that it remains for the next generation to enjoy.

Some of these heroes are among the ranks of the Citi-zen Action Network, the grassroots arm of the Ever-green Freedom Foundation. They are ordinary, every-day citizens who do their part for the cause of freedom. Each month, EFF will select one of them to highlight and recognize for their efforts.

In a time when the liberal movement has garnered a tremendous following and seen huge success with orga-nizations such as Moveon.org, those who believe in free markets may feel left out in the cold. There is a desire to be a part of something larger—to connect with others with similar beliefs. But, in a state where conservative thinkers are scattered about, that can be tough.

Enter Ardean Anvik, January’s CAN Member of the Month, who has a passion for all things conservative and a desire to pass his knowledge and experience on to others.

Autobiography

With politically

active parents and

grandparents, my

informal political

education began

with discussing the

political issues of

the day at the dinner

table. My first intellectual

involvement in politics began

in 1962 when I read Atlas Shrugged by

Ayn Rand. Her conservative ideas and

values convinced me and caused my first,

and best, presidential vote to be for Barry

Goldwater in 1964.

I retired in 1998 and became active in

Republican politics. I attended the Mason

County Convention every biennium

from 1998 through 2008 and the State

Convention in 2002, 2004, and 2008.

In 2004, I was honored to attend the

Republican National Convention in New

York City.

I was the Mason County State

Committeeman from 2002 through 2004

and Secretary of the Mason County

Central Committee from 2006 through

2008. While the State Committeeman,

I helped to develop RURAL initiatives

—the Contract with Rural Washington,

based upon Newt Gingrich’s Contract with

America. I have been on both the Platform

and Credentials Committee at State

Conventions.

I recently became the first male

associate member of the Mason County

Republican Women. Connie Wilson,

Wendy Ervin, and I co-founded the Mason

County Conservative Book Club and

Discussion Group and are organizing a

training session on Renewing American

Civilization, a video class developed by

Newt Gingrich.

Ardean AnvikArdean is a veteran activist, having held several

Republican Party positions over the years. Since retiring from direct involvement with the local organization, he has stepped up his grassroots efforts. This past fall, along with two other Mason County conservatives, he formed the Mason County Conservative Book Club, which meets twice a month to dis-cuss books and issues about which they are passionate.

Since its inception, the club has gained membership, attendance, and expanded its efforts. They support local businesses by choosing Sage’s Book Store for luncheon book discussions and Godfather’s Pizza for dinner and video lessons. Occasionally, they also meet at the Shelton Library.

Club members are not content to just meet together to talk—they are people of action. One way they reach out is through an online blog, www.Masoncountyconserva-tivebookclub.org, where members post thoughts, ideas, news clips, or book analyses. They also plan community awareness events to spread free market and conserva-tive ideals throughout Mason County.

For his efforts, Ardean will be receiving a certificate honoring his accomplishment, will be featured in sev-eral EFF and CAN publications, and be entered into the running for CAN Member of the Year.

If you want to follow in Ardean’s footsteps and start a book club or blog of your own, the Citizen Action Net-work can help with literature, advice, technical assis-tance, and ideas. Contact CAN Director, Lasse Lund, at 360-956-3482 or send an email to CAN@effwa.org.

by Lasse Lundgrassroots Can activists make things happen

W

“ They are ordinary, everyday citizens who do their part for the cause of freedom.”

WWW.EFFCAN.ORGJOIN CAN TODAY.

Get Connected. Get Equipped. Make a Difference.

A PUBLICATION OF THE EVERGREEN FREEDOM FOUNDATION 5

e believe,” answered immigrant and Ever-green Freedom Foundation volunteer, Chitra

Michael, 50, when asked why she gave her time to help with mailings and other chores. A practicing Buddhist who had come into the office after a temple ceremony marking the second anniversary of her mother’s death, Chitra and her husband, retired auctioneer Ken, 70, talk-ed about what volunteering for EFF means to them.

“It is our duty to become aware and take personal responsibility,” Chitra said.

Chitra, who is studying to become a citizen after immigrating to the United States from Thailand five years ago, and Ken are part of a team of 22 volunteers who, under the dedicated leadership of staff member Jennifer Kelly, keep the EFF wheels from falling off. Preparing mailings, repairing a light fixture, tending flower beds are all tasks that, but for volunteer effort,

wouldn’t get accomplished. Since EFF owns its headquarters building, there is no landlord to call when the faucet leaks or a window needs to be replaced.

Ken, a long-time participant in the free-enterprise system who first met EFF co-founder Bob Williams in 1980, believes that it is important to become politically and socially aware, and that organizations like EFF provide that opportunity. He cited the nine-to-zero United States Supreme Court ruling in support of EFF’s

position on the use of teachers’ dues money for political purposes as a particularly satisfying moment.

“It made stuffing all those envelopes worth it,” he said.

EFF volunteers aren’t all adults. Moriah Kramer, 12, of Tumwater enjoys helping out and learning how EFF, in her words, “helps people get freedom from other people who are trying to take their money.”

An insight like this means they must be teaching something good at Michael T. Simmons Elementary School where soft-spoken Moriah is a sixth grader. This aspiring photographer, whose mom is EFF’s personnel and finance manager and whose dad is a network architect for the Washington Department of Corrections, thinks about freedom a lot.

“It’s not having somebody on your back about things all the time. But to have freedom, you need to be

by Scott St. Claireff Volunteers: lifeblood of the organization

“W

responsible, because if you do something bad you lose your freedom. It’s hard to get, but easy to lose.”

That EFF tries to bring fiscal responsibility to state government was enough to attract volunteer and member Jim Livingston, 56.

“We’re not getting bang for our buck,” he said adjusting his nail apron in preparation to attack one project on a seemingly endless list. As EFF’s general handyman, he’s the go-to guy when what’s busted needs to be fixed.

And Jim is well qualified. He manages family-owned rental property, occasionally works as an electrician, and once served on the executive board of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local #76. A lifelong Olympia resident, he had to go all the way to an event in Bellevue to meet Bob Williams.

For Jim, bull-dog demeanor and all, EFF is his voice. “I’m not a public guy. EFF does for me things I couldn’t

do on my own. If you don’t act on your beliefs, you won’t help the world become a better place.”

Because of the work done by EFF, Jim is optimistic about the future. “In my lifetime, so much has happened for the good.”

But what will it take to keep it that way? That’s something on the mind of young Moriah.

“Please don’t lose freedom for us,” she pleaded at the conclusion of her interview. Speaking for the young

people of her generation, she called upon EFF to remain vigilant on the front line of the fight for freedom. Volunteer support inspires that vigilance.

Their important work was summed up by Ken Michael. When asked what he thought he needed to do to support EFF efforts in today’s political and economic climate, the lanky man crossed his arms, set his jaw, and responded with steely determination.

“Stuff envelopes.”

7461 32 69Without volunteers, Evergreen Freedom Foundation wouldn’t get far in com-municating its message or finishing its projects as evidenced by revealing sta-tistics compiled by volunteer coordinator, Jennifer Kelly.

Since April of 2008 through the end of 2008, volunteers accomplished:

eff Volunteers by the numbers

Bulk mailing department

• 19 volunteers worked 253 individual shifts totaling over 914 hours;

• They completed 89 separate mailing/stuffing jobs sending out over 86,500 individual pieces;

• Average shift length is 3 ¼ hours at an average pace of 105.17 pieces per hour;

• Volunteers served a range of hours from 2 to 128 ¼ (volunteer Pam Boucher);

• Total pieces mailed: 86,555:

• Thank-you notes 3,278

• Re-ups 1,669

• Drops 815

• Newsletters 36,575

• Member Event Invitations 8,012

• Leaving a Legacy 13,448

• CAN Class Invitations 10,992

• Center Publications 2,725

• Seasonal (Christmas Letter, DVD) 9,041

Physical Plant maintenance

Four volunteers put in over 40 hours completing nearly 30 jobs ranging from watering the plants to electrical work.

administration One administrative volunteer put in 8 hours completing a job.

6 LIVING LIBERTY

n 2005, a change in Washington law allowed coun-ties to run elections entirely by mail. Lawmakers

knew that most counties, hoping to spend less money on elections (and more on other things), would make the switch. They did. By November 2008, only King and Pierce Counties offered voters the choice to cast ballots in person at neighborhood polling places.

Oregon has voted entirely by mail since 1999. Legisla-tion introduced by Rep. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia) last year would have forced Washington to become the nation’s second all-vote-by-mail state. For a time, vote-by-mail seemed an almost inevitable national trend. Today, that movement has stalled as citizens and policymakers reas-sess the benefits and costs of voting by mail.

In some states, the idea of conducting large elections through the mailbox continues to sound absurd. When questions arose about the validity of the 2008 Demo-cratic Presidential Primary results in Florida, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and others suggested a “do-over” election by mail. Rick Hasen, a law professor at Loyola Law School and author of the Election Law Blog, criti-cized the idea, writing that “… vote by mail simply is not as secure as polling place voting,” and that it “… raises the specter of voter fraud and coercion.”

Another blogging law professor, Dan Tokaji of Moritz College of Law and the Equal Vote blog, found five flaws in the Florida vote-by-mail proposal. These included increased risks of fraud and voter mistakes and turning out a less-representative electorate. In the end, Demo-cratic officials rejected the idea of a Florida re-vote.

Vote-by-mail advocates argue that the process reduces election costs and increases voter participation. In essence, the argument is that vote by mail is more con-venient for election officials and voters alike. Even if true, these arguments fail to address the tradeoffs inher-ent in shutting down neighborhood polling places and trusting our election process to the mail.

The precinct polling place was once the front line in election security. Each voter stood face-to-face with an election worker who found his record in the poll book and watched him sign in. Polling sites provided the strongest layer of formal and informal security in a way that all voters could see and trust. Eliminating in-person

voting has stripped away this layer of security and dramatically increased the importance of voter registration.

The voter registration process and the maintenance of voter records is so poor that when officials set out to clean up the rolls after the 2004 Washington governor’s race recounts, they easily found nearly half a million invalid registrations. The vote-by-mail process continues to offer scant protections against registrations by non-citizens and certain ineligible felons. Handling underage voter registrations has perplexed some county officials and resulted in an apparent 16,000 improper registrations since 2000. Washington State does not require that persons registering to vote use their full legal name.

Voting by mail also puts elections quite literally in the hands of the Postal Service. Countless mail handlers, drivers, and mail carriers have contact with or access to ballots. Private companies are relied on to print the ballot, envelopes, and other information; assemble it all; print addresses on the envelopes; seal and sort the pack-ages; and then deliver them to a post office. The cost of all this offsets some of the supposed savings. The cost of systematically compromising election integrity is apparent yet difficult to quantify.

Voters also lose the protection once afforded by poll-ing places. In his analysis of the Florida vote-by-mail proposal, Professor Hasen wrote that, “Absentee ballot-ing raises the specter of voter fraud and coercion, for the simple reason that polling officials are absent when voting choices are made.” He noted that voters can abuse the process. “In the absence of a secret ballot, it becomes much easier to enter into an illegal vote-buying contract, because the buyer can verify how the seller has voted.” Professor Tokaji agreed, finding that voting by mail compromises anonymity, “allowing people to buy and sell their votes in a way that’s not possible with in-precinct voting.”

Both the professors cited a 1997 mayoral race in Miami. There a judge found enough absentee ballot fraud to overturn and re-run the election. A similar case in Alabama exposed the systematic use of absentee bal-lots to steal multiple elections during the 1990s, culmi-nating in 11 convictions.

The benefit of voting by mail is easy for citizens to see: convenience. Yet some policies with obvious near-term benefits have larger, long-term, and less obvious costs. Vote by mail enjoys broad but thin public support. After several years of near-universal voting by mail in Wash-ington, how we vote is an issue that deserves a serious public conversation. If policymakers and citizens are willing to get that serious about elections, they will likely find that traditional, in-person voting remains the best way to conduct our election process.

Assessing WAshington’s

experimentVote-by-mAil

by Trent Englund

I

Supreme Court Victory for Open Government

by Trent Englund

hat happens to a government agency that maliciously interferes with a citizen’s

access to public records? On January 15th, the State Supreme Court decided Yousoufian v. Office of King County Executive Ron Sims, holding that, when an agency does that, a slap on the wrist is not enough.

“A flea bite does little to deter an elephant,” Justice Richard Sanders wrote in his majority opinion.

The 5-to-4 decision rejected the puny penalties originally levied against King County and sent the case back to the trial judge for a more appropriate determination. Armen Yousoufian had made two earlier trips to the High Court in the case that began in 1997 when his request for documents related to building a new Seahawks stadium was wrongly denied.

EFF believes that citizen sovereignty is a mere façade if citizens lack access to government information. Without the sunshine of transparency, waste and fraud occur in darkened corners. We have followed and commented on the Yousoufian case over the course of its ping-pong progression through the courts. Look for more coverage of this important decision in next month’s Living Liberty.

Teachers’ lawsuit against WEA moves forward

by Michael Reitz

n the heels of the attorney general’s settlement with the Washington Ed-

ucation Association over the mishandling of teachers’ collective bargaining fees, the Washington Court of Appeals has ruled that a related lawsuit (Davenport v. WEA) can

move forward. Davenport is a private class-action lawsuit filed against the WEA on behalf of non-union teachers (represented by EFF and Steven O’Ban of Ellis Li & McKinstry) who alleged that the WEA used their bargaining fees for political activity without getting the teachers’ permission.

The two cases were linked when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the matter last year. When the cases came back to state court, the attorney general settled the state’s case, and the WEA agreed to pay nearly $1 million.

Meanwhile, the Davenport lawsuit went to the Court of Appeals for further proceedings. (The state’s settlement did not affect Davenport as the teachers are seeking a recovery of dues for school years not included in the AG/WEA settlement.)

Before the Court of Appeals, the WEA argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling. On December 12, 2008, the Court of Appeals rejected the union’s argument, ruling instead that the teachers’ case against the WEA can move forward.

The WEA is appealing this decision to the Supreme Court of Washington.

le

ga

l

uP

da

te

S

W

O

“ … vote by mail simply is not as secure as polling place voting …”

A PUBLICATION OF THE EVERGREEN FREEDOM FOUNDATION 7

we will feature Special Speakers

Susette Kelo & Jeff Benedict

Property Rights Luncheon

For a

Join us on Feb. 12th

Susette Kelo, whose New London waterfront home was taken by eminent domain, will tell her inspirational story about taking on corporate America to save her home.

Jeff Benedict, nationally renowned investigative journalist, will talk about his book, Little Pink House, which presents a behind the scenes look at this landmark case.

Thursday, February 12, 2009Lunch at NoonDoubletree Hotel & Guest Suites, Southcenter16500 Southcenter Parkway, Seattle, WA$30 per person

A book signing will be held after the luncheon and copies of “Little Pink House” will be available at the discounted rate of $20.

Please RSVP by February 9 by going online to www.effwa.org/rsvp2, calling 800.769.6617, or emailing LMcNally@effwa.org.Space is limited!

In cooperation with the Institute for Justice

vergreen Freedom Foundation is pleased to announce the establishment of a new policy cen-

ter devoted to the issue of property rights. Goals for the new center are to (1) restore the right of individuals to own private property without fear of unwarranted gov-ernment encroachment, and (2) to teach citizens and policymakers about the paramount importance of pri-vate property to the freedom and prosperity we’ve so long enjoyed in this great nation.

We are taking this step because we see a battle being fought that, if lost, will undermine everything that we are working to achieve. The fight is over this most basic of American principles: ordinary people have a right to own, enjoy, use and bequeath property. These rights are being eroded.

A little over three years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the City of New London, Connecticut acted constitutionally when it seized Susette Kelo’s little pink house and handed it to a private developer to improve the city’s tax base. Local policymakers said that couldn’t happen here.

Nonsense! Two years ago, a Washington State Appeals Court ruled that, under the principle of eminent domain, the City of Burien could seize a restaurant owned for two generations by the Strobel family merely because

it didn’t fit the upscale “vision” of city planners. And eminent domain is not the only problem. A recent study by University of Washington economics professor Theo Eicher found that government regulations add an aver-age of $200,000 to the price of a new home in Seattle. There’s something wrong with this picture.

Many regulations were spawned by well-intentioned land use acts, like the Growth Management Act, that have spun out of control. Unaccountable, unelected quasi-judicial bureaucrats oversee the implementation of the Act, and they are making poor decisions. Those decisions are compounded by a legislature that passes laws like the one last year that added “impact on global warming” to the list of items a local government must consider when developing land use regulations. Climate impacts might be worth reviewing, but should they be assigned the same priority as economic impact on prop-erty owners? No!

We have joined with colleague organizations in our own state and across the country to fight back. On Feb-ruary 12, we will launch our Property Rights Center. EFF staff will conduct in-depth research on land use policies to provide tools and solutions. We will tell the stories of property owners who fall victim to well-funded special interests whose end goals required sei-

“ When turmoil strikes, the natural reaction is for government to grow and individual rights to recede.”

zure of their private property. We will serve as a clearinghouse for strategy and help build momentum to win this battle. We will hold government lead-ers accountable. And where neces-sary, we will provide the intellectual ammunition for litigation.

Why now during an economic downturn? We built the strategy and began collecting money for the Center before 2008. Generous individuals have already pledged their finan-cial support. But here’s the fundamental reason: When turmoil strikes, the natural reaction is for government to grow and individual rights to recede. This reac-tion, which we see playing out before our eyes, must be resisted.

On February 12 we will kick off the Property Rights Center at a lunch featuring Susette Kelo, of the infamous Kelo case, and award-winning journalist Jeff Benedict, who has completed a new book telling Susette’s story. We hope you can join us (for details, see the above ad). And keep an eye out for additional information about the new center and its work in upcoming months.

EFF LAuNChES ProPerty rigHtS Centerby Jonathan Bechtle

E

8 LIVING LIBERTY

by Jw

E

Why History?

By Diana Cieslak, Policy Analyst, Citizenship & Gov-ernance Center

“Why do we have to study this?” students ask. They’re right to ask; each of us ought to know why history matters. Among many compelling reasons, two in par-ticular stand out.

Understanding history is the foundation for determining our place in the present. History is a story—a long, exciting, sometimes tragic, sometimes triumphant story. We don’t know the outcome of the story, and we can’t. What we can and must know, however, is what happened in the chapters that led up to our own. This is our foothold in the present. Nineteenth century historian George Washington Greene wrote, “The wondrous chain of causes and effects stretches out before us into the deepest recesses of the past, uniting … the proud aspiration of today with the hope that was breathed … three thousand years ago.”

History also provides a compass for the future. Author and historian David McCullough, quoting Daniel Boorstin, points out that, “trying to plan for the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant cut flowers.” Understanding this is vital, especially for our young people. In an age where chivalry has been replaced with functionality, education with efficiency, and virtue with pragmatism, we are faced with the challenge of finding heroes for our youth. Who better to look to for chivalry than Sir Roland; for education, Galileo; for virtue, Joan of Arc? Some argue that these figures are no longer relevant or understandable, but they miss the current of truth that unswervingly runs through every generation. In so doing they rob us of the inspiring calls to action made by yesterday’s heroes. David McCullough asks, “Is it possible to imagine not learning from the wisest, most thoughtful people who shaped the world, or to fail to take heart from manifest courage?”

As Americans, our heritage offers an excellent example of this principle in practice. Our Founding Fathers framed the Constitution after careful study of the best and worst governments in history. They knew that their own limited experiences were insufficient, but that they had

at their disposal the lessons of the ages. Our founders’ hindsight can guide our foresight.

So what has made the study of history so boring to some and seemingly meaningless to others? The boredom comes from the knack textbook writers have for bleeding the excitement from the story. The disinterest is even more troubling. Two successive approaches to history are primarily responsible. First came the romantics who presented an image of our heritage that looks more like a Thomas Kinkade painting than a photograph. It was history as they would have liked it to be, lovely to look at yet unfaithful to the truth. To be honest about history is to be honest about human nature—which means the nitty-gritty is a necessary part of the narrative.

The second approach is even more destructive, and intentionally so. In the early twentieth century, progressives claimed that the past was glorified too much and that we must turn away from history in order to face the future. Accuracy, however, was not their objective. To promote their political agenda, they degraded history so much that we seem better off winging it than looking to our seemingly barbaric ancestors.

We can learn from these flawed approaches and craft a more honest, though imperfect, lens for looking back. In the end we arrive at the beginning. History is a story, and the stories that resonate most within us are those that retell the eternal truths instinctive to all mankind. Among them:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Historian Henry Augustus Muhlenburg lived at a time when some founders were still alive; yet he feared their memory was already fading: “Many important facts and incidents of that great struggle…have been lost forever,

and those still preserved by tradition will soon share the same fate, unless the attempt at preservation be now made.” To Muhlenburg, history was a treasure to be honored and passed on.

At the Evergreen Freedom Foundation we take seriously our privilege and responsibility to preserve

ormer President Abraham Lincoln would have been 200 years old on February 12. His popu-

larity has been renewed with the election and inau-guration of our 44th President, Barack Obama. Lin-coln is unalterably linked to the Civil War, which is unalterably linked to emancipation, regardless of where a person stands on the states’ rights issue.

I have no doubt he would be pleased to see that America has become a place where an African-American can hold the highest office in the land, though I doubt they would see eye-to-eye on policy.

Lincoln was inspired by the common man and woman. He understood their failures, frustrations and shortcomings. He stood in their shoes. It was through the hard lessons of his own life that he learned the valuable character qualities for which we remember him.

I have always been impressed by Lincoln’s persis-tence. Almost from birth, he appeared an unlikely hero. He was poor and had little formal education. You may already know the long list of what didn’t work in his life, but it’s worth repeating.

Lincoln failed in business at age 22; was defeated for the state legislature at 23; failed again in busi-ness at 25; had a nervous breakdown at 32; failed to

The New Era by Bob WilliamsLincoLn

receive his party’s nomination for Congress at 34, ran for Senate and lost at 46; defeated for the vice-presidential nomination at 47; defeated again for the Senate at 49—a hopeless loser some people said.

At 51, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States.

What made Abe Lincoln so great? One historian summed it up this way: [Lincoln] “…had spoken to their hearts in a way no one else had ever done, when he explained the ultimate meaning of the war in this address at Gettysburg and groped for the unattain-

able truth in his second inaugural. He had expressed the best that was in them, speaking not so much to them as for them, and he had gone with them through four years of trial by doubt and fire. As the war ended they came to understand his greatness….”

“The millions who stood in silence to watch the funeral car, with its black bunting, drift past on its

way to Illinois were the people who had supported Lincoln through thick and thin. They had provided the armies that he had called into being. They had sustained him at the polls when the issue was in doubt.”

We all should strive to learn from Lincoln’s exam-ple—to make ourselves, our state and our nation better. Let us have leaders who strive to be right, yet who are humble enough to admit neither they nor their party are perfect.

Let us have leaders who will be humble enough not

to blame every problem on the last administration or legislature, yet claim every victory for themselves. Let us have leaders who have the strength of convic-tion to vote right and the strength of character to live right.

Let us learn from Lincoln’s example.

of

“ Let us have leaders who have the strength of conviction to vote right and the strength of character to live right.”

F

A PUBLICATION OF THE EVERGREEN FREEDOM FOUNDATION 9

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by Juliana McMahan

uring these difficult economic times you may

be looking for ways to save a little money and

spread out your expenses over the year. But at the same

time, there are causes (like EFF) you want to continue

to support.One way to make your life easier is through automatic,

electronic giving (or e-giving). By signing up to make

monthly donations, you can spread your annual giving

over 12 months, making it easier on your budget. For

example, a $10 per month donation would make a very

small dent in most people’s wallet. That’s the price of

a couple of lattes. But at the end of the year you would

have $120 in tax-deductible contributions!

Reliable, consistent monthly income is the lifeblood of

any organization. Because EFF does not take any public

funding, we depend on our friends like you for support.

It is humbling to know that many of you make sacrifices

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not take your gifts lightly. Every gift, whether large or

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Monthly giving is a wonderful tool for everyone. It’s

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you for your support, however you choose to send it.

Please think about becoming a monthly giver if you are

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The Benefits of Monthly Giving

D

10 LIVING LIBERTY

“if a Bill iS iMPortant enougH

to require tax inCreaSeS or tax dollarS, iSn’t it

iMPortant enougH to require a Cooling

off Period?”

by Amber Gunnlawmakers need a timeout

Would you ever agree to buy a used car without knowing all

of its features, mileage or total cost? Of course you wouldn’t. The pos-sibility of getting a lemon always exists, so most people try to mini-mize it.

Similarly, when legislators consider whether to “buy” the state budget, they need some time to think it over. In Olympia, it’s not uncommon for a public hearing to be held on the budget only a few hours after the bill has been introduced. So you would prob-ably ask, why hold a hearing on a bill that no one has had time to read?

The state budget is the most critical of all bills passed by the Legislature, and should not be treated as a rush job. It appropriates billions of dollars and is hundreds of pages long. It shouldn’t be the subject of a high-pres-sure sales pitch.

For the most part, only the budget writers know everything that is in the actual bill. By the time the bud-get is proposed, legislators have been worked over for months by lobbyists, so it’s sensible to have a ‘cooling off’ period. It’s never wise to make a decision when the salesman is right in front of you.

The public also needs time to offer meaningful com-ments before a public hearing. While the average citi-zen has no desire to spend hours meticulously combing through the budget, the masochists who do should get that opportunity.

hree state worker unions have the governor in their legal crosshairs over whether labor agreements

negotiated last year or settled by arbitration will be funded this year.

WFSE vs. GregoireIn late December, days after Gov. Chris Gregoire unveiled her budget proposal that did not fund state worker pay increases, arbitration awards, or cost of liv-ing adjustments for teachers, the Washington Federation of State Employees sued the governor to move their col-lective bargaining agreements forward.

Why? According to state law, “the legislature shall not consider a request for funds to implement a collective bargaining agreement unless the request is transmitted to the legislature as part of the governor’s budget docu-ment ….” In short, funding of union contracts must be part of the governor’s budget if the legislature is to act on them.

In order for the governor to submit them to the legis-lature, the agreements must (1) have been agreed to on or before October 1, and (2) have been “certified” by the governor’s budget director as “being feasible financially for the state.”

WFSE, which represents 40,000 state employees, contends that the governor’s office certified the agree-ments as financially feasible when they agreed to them. State law, however, does not say that agreement to the contract and financial feasibility are the same thing – it keeps the two apart. Also, the governor’s office points to economic declines in the last quarter of 2008 as reason enough for not declaring them financially feasible.

The WFSE lawsuit, filed in Thurston County Supe-rior Court, alleges the governor’s failure to fund state

A 72-hour timeout is a sensible waiting period between the bud-get’s public introduction and a public hearing. This would allow legislators and the public time to ask questions about items that get slipped in at the last minute. It gives legislative staff and trusted advisors time to raise flags about things that don’t line up. As an added bonus, it’s just enough time for legislators and citizens to rouse themselves after their read-ing of the budget puts them into a deep sleep bordering on uncon-sciousness.

A budget timeout is a common accountability mechanism in other states. Twenty-three states have constitutional or statutory provisions that lay out the mini-mum time the legislature must review the budget before a vote, according to the National Confer-ence of State Legislatures. The time frame ranges any-where from 24 hours in states such as Texas and West Virginia to 10 days in Rhode Island.

Evergreen Freedom Foundation authored 72-hour timeout legislation last year that would apply to all tax and spending bills. If a bill is important enough to require

tax increases or tax dollars, isn’t it important enough to require a cooling off period? The American Legislative Exchange Council, a national network of state legislators, thinks so. They adopted EFF’s model legislation at their annual meeting in 2007.

A budget timeout is fun-damentally and practically a good idea. More time for pub-lic input can only improve the quality of legislation by pro-moting informed and rigorous debate. It is also a way to bring sunshine into the legislative process. Legislators need time to learn what they are voting for or against, and the public, media and watch-dog groups also deserve time to review the budget and raise red flags on questionable priorities

before hearings or votes are held. This is especially true at a time when solving our state’s fiscal problems means tough decisions will have to be made this session.

Now more than ever, a budget timeout is needed. After all, the state budget is hardly an impulse buy.

by Scott Dilleystate worker unions target gregoire over pay

T worker contracts constituted a refusal to bargain and a breach of contract. The governor, though, did not refuse to bargain—she exercised the flexibility allowed in state law when it comes to funding contracts. Agreements are not finalized contracts until after the legislature approves them and the governor signs them into law.

On January 15, the Service Employees International Union, Local 1199NW filed suit against the governor on similar grounds as WFSE.

The WFSE lawsuit generated negative editorials from across the state. During prosperous times, the union negotiated contracts that increased annual state worker wages as much as 25 percent. Now that the state is feel-ing the pinch from a slow economy, unions still want pay increases and no layoffs for state workers. The (Van-couver) Columbian provided the best description when it referred to the union’s “ill-timed greed.” The rest of the state is cutting back. Why can’t unions?

SEIU Locals 775 and 925 vs. GregoireTwo other locals of the Service Employees International Union also filed suit against the governor on grounds similar to those of WFSE. The primary difference between the two lawsuits is that the SEIU case involves arbitration awards, not negotiated collective bargaining agreements. The SEIU says the law governing their con-tracts requires the governor to submit arbitration awards regardless of financial feasibility.

The SEIU asked the state Supreme Court for accel-erated review of the case because the 2009 legislative session has already arrived. The court accepted the case, and attorneys will submit legal documents by mid-February.

The governor’s office indicated they will ask the legislature to change state law to allow for more flexibility in submitting arbitration awards for funding.

ConclusionsThe lawsuits demonstrate the limits of the 2002 col-lective bargaining “reforms.” While the new proce-dures worked well for unions during times of plenty, the reforms were not designed for tough economic condi-tions.

The unions supported the 2002 reforms. Now that the operation of certain provisions are not to their liking, they have buyer’s remorse. The legislature should con-sider revisions to the law to clearly allow the governor and legislature flexibility in terms of funding collective bargaining agreements and changing their provisions. Doing so would return power to the proper constitu-tional agents of that authority, not keep it in the hands of the unions.

Collective bargaining negotiations in both the execu-tive and legislative branches should also be carried out in full view of the public, ending the practice of closed-door sessions. The public should have the right to know and be able to comment on how much money the contracts would cost, and those agreements could be adjusted up or down based on current economic data, not the data from the previous year. The state’s economy can change drastically between October 1 and the end of the subsequent legislative session. Locking in agree-ments and arbitration awards so far in advance is not in the taxpayers’ best interests.

A PUBLICATION OF THE EVERGREEN FREEDOM FOUNDATION 11

We can learn from these flawed approaches and craft a more hon-est, though imperfect, lens for look-ing back. In the end we arrive at the beginning. History is a story, and the stories that resonate most within us are those that retell the eternal truths instinctive to all mankind. Among them:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are

Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Historian Henry Augustus Muhlenburg lived at a time

when some founders were still alive; yet he feared their memory was already fading: “Many important facts and incidents of that great struggle…have been lost forever, and those still preserved by tradition will soon share the same fate, unless the attempt at preservation be now made.” To Muhlenburg, history was a treasure to be honored and passed on.

At the Evergreen Freedom Foundation we take seri-ously our privilege and responsibility to preserve the past and make it accessible, understandable, and enjoy-able for others. You can join us each Saturday for a brief glimpse of American History on EFF’s own Radio Free Washington (also available online at www.effwa.org). Every week the Citizenship & Governance Center’s Ori-gins of Freedom segment takes a journey back to where it all began. We invite you to come along.

diary

Connecticut avenue with a hotel? pay up, bro

of a Freedom Loving Mom…b Y J u d Y P A r k I N S

have a confession to make that can wait no longer: Despite my best efforts to teach my children the

values and principles needed to maintain a free repub-lic, I confess my voting-age children voted for Barack Obama. This mother’s heart is breaking. What did I do wrong? Should I have taken them with me to more precinct committee meetings or phone banks? Should I have signed them up to serve as pages at the Legisla-ture earlier? Should I have taken their lemonade stand money away from them so they could better understand taxes? Was I not clear when we had the “personal re-sponsibility” talk about why they needed jobs before they owned cars?

But all may not be lost….I saw a glimmer of hope recently, and I’m hanging on

to it. Six of us sat around our dining room table playing Monopoly. I don’t know how this game became a tradition in our family. It wasn’t me. I hate it. The game just never ends. In addition to the time it takes, my boys are fierce competitors. It’s never enough that the losers leave in shame and the winner takes all the money— they gloat for days! Anyway, for the first time in our collective family memory, my compassionate “voting for change” daughter was piling up the bright gold $500 Monopoly bucks. She owned an entire side of the board, and all her properties had hotels. Donald Trump could not have done better.

She was callous toward the pain of her unfortunate brothers who had not thought the light blue or purple properties worthy of purchase. They laughed at her early in the game when landing on her properties meant paying her $8 dollars rent. They would throw a $10 bill at her and tell her to keep the change. They were not laughing at the end of the game when they owed her $700 rent…and they did not have it.

This is when the best teacher of all stepped in—life! My sons Nick and Colson formed an alliance against Lauren. They granted each other immunity. They loaned each other money and strategically traded property to survive—but they were going down.

“This is so unfair,” Lauren cried, “you guys are ganging up on me.”

“You have money and we don’t,” explained Nick in a logical, matter of fact tone. “If we want to stay in the game, we have to somehow get your money.”

“Get your own money!” she said horrified, “Just because I have money and you don’t, doesn’t mean you can take mine!”

Then, as if I was watching re-runs of recent legislative hearings, Nick threatened, “If you don’t give us money,

hy do we have to study this?” students ask. They’re right to ask; each of us ought to know

why history matters. Among many compelling reasons, two in particular stand out.

Understanding history is the foundation for determin-ing our place in the present. History is a story—a long, exciting, sometimes tragic, sometimes triumphant story. We don’t know the outcome of the story, and we can’t. What we can and must know, however, is what hap-pened in the chapters that led up to our own. This is our foothold in the present. Nineteenth century historian George Washington Greene wrote, “The wondrous chain of causes and effects stretches out before us into the deepest recesses of the past, uniting … the proud aspiration of today with the hope that was breathed … three thousand years ago.”

History also provides a compass for the future. Author and historian David McCullough, quoting Daniel Boorstin, points out that, “trying to plan for the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant cut flow-ers.” Understanding this is vital, especially for our young people. In an age where chivalry has been replaced with functionality, education with efficiency, and virtue with pragmatism, we are faced with the challenge of finding heroes for our youth. Who better to look to for chiv-alry than Sir Roland; for education, Galileo; for virtue, Joan of Arc? Some argue that these figures are no longer relevant or understandable, but they miss the current of truth that unswervingly runs through every generation. In so doing they rob us of the inspiring calls to action made by yesterday’s heroes. David McCullough asks,

the game will be over. Do you want to keep playing or not?”

It took Lauren a nano-second to return to her roots—the values, the principles that I know I taught her.

“Give it up, Nick. This game is over because you didn’t play it right, not because I won’t give you my money. Better luck next time.”

Life is a teacher I can trust.

“Is it possible to imagine not learning from the wisest, most thoughtful people who shaped the world, or to fail to take heart from manifest courage?”

As Americans, our heritage offers an excellent exam-ple of this principle in practice. Our Founding Fathers framed the Constitution after careful study of the best and worst governments in history. They knew that their own limited experiences were insufficient, but that they had at their disposal the lessons of the ages. Our found-ers’ hindsight can guide our foresight.

So what has made the study of history so boring to some and seemingly meaningless to others? The bore-

dom comes from the knack textbook writers have for bleeding the excitement from the story. The disinterest is even more troubling. Two successive approaches to his-tory are primarily responsible. First came the romantics who presented an image of our heritage that looks more like a Thomas Kinkade painting than a photograph. It was history as they would have liked it to be, lovely to look at yet unfaithful to the truth. To be honest about his-tory is to be honest about human nature—which means the nitty-gritty is a necessary part of the narrative.

The second approach is even more destructive, and intentionally so. In the early twentieth century, progres-sives claimed that the past was glorified too much and that we must turn away from history in order to face the future. Accuracy, however, was not their objective. To promote their political agenda, they degraded history so much that we seem better off winging it than looking to our seemingly barbaric ancestors.

I

by Diana Cieslakwhy history

“W

“ Is it possible to imagine not learning from the wisest, most thoughtful people who shaped the world, or to fail to take heart from manifest courage?”

12 LIVING LIBERTY

The Chance of a lifetime!by Irene Endicott

ince 2004, the Evergreen Freedom Foundation has

sponsored free workshops in various areas of the state where you can learn why and how to create a personal estate plan that will protect hard-earned assets accumulated during your life-time. Hundreds of EFF friends have attended these workshops and found the peace of mind that comes with having an estate plan that reflects who you are, your love of family and the values you hold dear.

Ken and Maria Seal, who attended the free workshop in Bellevue last year, offer this com-ment on the workshops: “We rely on EFF for well-researched, in-depth information on issues. The workshop gave us trustworthy information to make some long-term decisions and direct our assets where our hearts lie—to our family, our favorite causes and not to the government. Besides, we like any association with EFF.”

If you are among the majority of Americans who do not have a will or estate plan, if you think your plan needs updating, or you would just like reassur-ance that you have a good plan in place, we invite you to attend one of the free 2009 workshops. You will get all of your questions answered.

Choose the workshop that is convenient to you and join us for this free chance of a lifetime. No obligation. No products will be sold. The presenters are top professionals in their fields and have proven their value as advisors to EFF friends over the years. For further information and to reserve your place, contact Laurie at 1-800-769-6617.

Planning for Life A complimentAry workshop for eff members And friends

purpose Protect assets from taxes (especially the death tax)

Learn about Charitable Remainder Trusts

Learn about Living Trusts, wills and annuities

Use your life values in estate planning

Choose the right tools for your particular situation

Learn where to get help

Topics

Alan W. Pratt, CEP, CAPFounder, Pratt Legacy Advisors, specializing in family wealth preservation through his Legacy Planning from the Heart seminars.

William C. Larson, MBA, AIFATwenty years of wealth management, helping clients transform complexity into opportunity and build a lasting legacy consistent with their values.

PRESENTERS

Responding to requests from EFF mem-bers, this workshop is presented for those who want to know how to make plans to protect hard-earned assets now as well as when the end of life comes. Perhaps you have never gotten around to doing this. Maybe you have a plan that needs a tune-up. If you are unsure that your estate plan is complete and up to date, this workshop will give you new ideas and tools that work. The presenters have been carefully selected. Each is expert in his field. And they both love liberty!

Please feel free to bring your attorney or other professional family advisor. No services are sold at this workshop. No one will ask you to sign up for anything.The workshop is free, including lunch. Come for the valuable information and good conversation. EFF President Bob Williams will be in attendance. We look forward to having you with us.

Thursday, March 5, 20099:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Lake Washington Conference RoomCity Center Building

500 – 108th Ave NE, 2nd Floor Bellevue, WA 98004

Complimentary deli-sandwich bar

Free parking

BellevueS

March 5 Bellevue (see ad)

May 14 Olympia

June 25 Vancouver

September 17 Spokane

October 8 N. Seattle/Everett

November 5 Silverdale

To be determined Bellingham

Here is the tentative workshop schedule for this year: 2009