Postage Stamps That Don’t Show Their Value

Some U.S. stamps don’t display a dollar amount, but they’re still valid for mailing—as long as the total postage meets or exceeds the current rate. I need this information for my postcarding groups.

🕊️ Forever and Postcard Stamps

• Forever stamps: Always valid for 1 oz First-Class Mail, including standard postcards, regardless of the current rate.

• Postcard stamps: Always valid for mailing a standard postcard, regardless of the current rate.

📆 First-Class Mail 1 oz Rates (1980–2025)

These include stamps marked “Christmas” with a year number. Years with no rate change are skipped.

• 1981 – $0.18 Note: 1981 Christmas stamp = $0.20

• 1982 – $0.20

• 1985 – $0.22

• 1988 – $0.25

• 1991 – $0.29

• 1995 – $0.32

• 1999 – $0.33

• 2000 – $0.33

• 2001 – $0.34

• 2002 – $0.37

• 2006 – $0.39

• 2007 – $0.41

• 2008 – $0.42

• 2009 – $0.44

• 2012 – $0.45

• 2013 – $0.46

• 2014 – $0.49

• 2016 – $0.47 (rate decrease)

• 2017 – $0.49

• 2018 – $0.50

• 2019 – $0.55

• 2021 – $0.58

• 2022 – $0.60

• 2023 – $0.63 (Jan), $0.66 (Jul)

• 2024 – $0.68

• 2025 – $0.78 (as of October)

🔤 Letter-Denominated Stamps

These stamps were issued during rate transitions and represent the following values:

• A stamp (1978) – $0.15

• B stamp (1981) – $0.18

• C stamp (1981) – $0.20

• D stamp (1985) – $0.22

• E stamp (1988) – $0.25

• F stamp (1991) – $0.29

• G stamp (1994) – $0.32

• H stamp (1998) – $0.33

🧩 Rate Makeup Stamps

Used to supplement older stamps when rates increased:

• D rate makeup stamp (1985) – $0.01

• E rate makeup stamp (1988) – $0.02

• F rate makeup stamp (1991) – $0.04

• G rate makeup stamp (1994) – $0.01

• H rate makeup stamp (1998) – $0.01

November 7: U.S.-- China Dispute Resolution: New Tactics for a New Environment

Title: 

U.S.-- China Dispute Resolution: New Tactics for a New Environment

Description:

U.S. and China as the #1 and #2 global economies shape global business and many U.S. business have ties related directly/indirectly to China. But the current economic and geo-political environment are making U.S. businesses think twice about how and what to do with their current business, new business, or even dissolving/diversifying your business relating to China. Such business decisions make it more possible for commercial disputes to arise. Further, the U.S. increasing restrictive sanctions and tariff regulations and China’s retaliatory measures require more prudent legal protection applications that also mitigate harmful dispute actions. Whether your company is involved in trade, investment or sale of goods in China, it is necessary to prepare your company/client for potential disputes or manage current disputes with “real-time” & on-the-ground” knowledge of updated China laws, strategic considerations & risk mitigations in the following key areas:

• Due Diligence (pre-contract measures)
• Contract structuring & terms
• Administrative Proceedings
• Alternative Dispute Resolution (Settlement, Mediation, Arbitration)
• Litigation (incl. JRE).

Webinar Date+Time:
November 7, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM PT
Free Continuing Legal Education Webinar - Register Now!
Speakers:

• Arthur Chiu - Cyan Law Firm, Beijing, China
• Wei Shi - Cyan Law Firm, Beijing, China.

By:
Washington State Bar Association; Sponsored by ALPS. Developed in partnership with the WSBA International Practice Section.

Credits:

• Washington State: 1.00 Law & Legal Procedure
• Other States: Certificate of attendance provided upon request.

Cost:
Developed in partnership with the WSBA International Practice Section Free.

More Information and Registration

October 23: Judges Under Siege – Lawyers Speak Up (webinar)

In our collective work to restore democracy and the rule of law, we have two obligations: the first is to educate ourselves, and the second is to participate in helping the public understand what is at stake.

 To educate ourselves, we must learn the facts and understand why those facts matter to the lives of everyone. We then must convey that information to our friends, colleagues, and networks through civil dialogue and civic engagement.

 

Toward these goals, LDAD is honored to have a role in a special webinar taking place this Thursday, October 23, presented by Speak Up for Justice, an organization devoted to voicing support for a judiciary under unprecedented attack. The webinar is entitled Judges Under Siege – Lawyers Speak Up, and you may register by clicking here.

 

Lawyers Defending American Democracy is laser focused on ways to galvanize the legal profession to address the crisis we are facing in this country, including through our recently launched initiative entitled, “Meeting the Moment – A Call for Lawyers to Lead.”

 

 Through Meeting the Moment, we are asking lawyers across the country to use their skills and expertise to engage other lawyers, friends, businesses, the media, nonprofit organizations, faith communities, civic and community groups, and others in the fight to preserve our democratic institutions.

 

The success of this effort depends on lawyers who are willing to volunteer time in their states to share clear and consistent information – for example, drafting articles, letters to the editor, social media postings, and presentations – that can help break through the disinformation flooding people’s social media feeds and sources of news each day. We can accomplish this by working together to share Toolkits, Talking Points, and Guidance that meet this moment in a dedicated and purposeful way.

 

Please consider serving as a volunteer. We also encourage you to consider becoming a State Lead. In that role, you would serve as the primary point of contact between your state team and LDAD leadership, sharing updates on local activities, identifying emerging needs or challenges, and helping us ensure each state team has the resources it needs to be successful. 

 

To express your interest in participating in this initiative, please fill out this form.

 

We hope you will join this national effort to restore our democracy and the rule of law. Your talents have never been needed more.

 

Thank you,

 

Lawyers Defending American Democracy 

October 24: The United Nations At 80

Eighty years ago, the United Nations was born from the ashes of global conflict with a bold mission: to maintain international peace and security, promote human rights, and uphold the rule of law. As the world faces escalating crises — from climate change to armed conflict, from mass displacement to democratic backsliding — the UN’s role is under renewed scrutiny.

On this milestone day, the Washington State Bar Association invites you to a special continuing legal education webinar exploring the UN’s legacy and future. This is more than a celebration—it’s a call to reflection and reform! This timely and thought-provoking CLE program brings together leading international law scholars and practitioners to examine the evolving role of the United Nations in today’s complex global landscape. 

Through expert insights and real-world case studies, we’ll explore:

🌐 The UN’s enduring contributions to international law and human rights

⚖️ The International Court of Justice and the prosecution of genocide

📊 Assessing the effectiveness of UN missions and programs

🔍 The practical value of UN bodies — such as the Aarhus Convention Secretariat — to legal practitioners, NGOs, and civil society

🧭 Whether the UN remains fit for purpose in the 21st century

Featured Faculty:

• Alejandra Gonza, Executive Director, Global Rights Advocacy; former senior attorney at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and staff attorney at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; A leading voice in international human rights litigation and UN engagement.
• Teresa Felizia Mayr, Legal Officer, Aarhus Convention Secretariat, Environment Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Expert in environmental democracy and international treaty implementation.
• Professor Anita Ramasastry, former Chair of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, currently serving on the UN’s Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group drafting a treaty on business and human rights; Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Global and Graduate Programs, Director, Sustainable International Development Graduate Program Barer Institute for Leadership in Law & Global Development Endowed Chair, at University of Washington School of Law.
• Professor William A. Schabas, Professor of International Law, Middlesex University, London. One of the world’s foremost authorities on genocide and international criminal law; former member of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Gaza Conflict and author of more than 20 books including "Genocide in International Law" and "The UN International Criminal Tribunals: The Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone".

🎓 This program is designed for attorneys, human rights advocates, international law practitioners, and anyone working with or within global institutions.

📩 Space is limited. Reserve your spot today and be part of this historic legal commemoration.

50 Years They Grieved

 I never met my older brother Robert Jr. He died in the early 1950s, before I was born. I asked my mother about him only one time. She looked sad and said, 'It was something they’d just give you a shot for now.' 

She and my father grieved my brother, their firstborn child, for fifty years—until the day they died.

I am ok. I got that shot. But today, when Trump cancels mRNA research, blocks cancer studies, and dismantles USAID, he is not abstractly stalling science or halting aid. He is in reality choosing death for children, grief for parents.

We must find a way. Or fifty years from now, how many young mothers and fathers will still grieve - because we failed to act when we could?

--- Randy Winn, West Seattle

The Unforgettable Penny Scramble Family Photo Shoot Adventure

Let me take you back to a bright and sunny Saturday many years ago—a day when my brother Steve and I embarked on the Unforgettable Penny Scramble Family Photo Shoot Adventure, at a community festival held on the grassy grounds around El Centro De La Raza in Seattle.

Do not think we had some grand plan, oh no ... this idea came together like a mystery meatloaf. I *think* I heard about the event through a community bulletin, mentioned it to Steve during a family gathering, and somehow, in the spirit of "why not," we decided it would be fun to lend a hand. The festival needed volunteers, and Steve had his trusty camera, a portable printer, and his love for capturing memories. "Perfect," he said, "I'll take family photos and print them on the spot to give away!"

As for me? I remembered with joy the classic penny scramble. When I was a kid, parents would throw down a tarp in a barn, cover it with hay, sprinkle in some pennies, and let us kids dive in to find treasure. It was a guaranteed good time, both for us treasure seekers and for parents who could hang out together watching their kids. Then Steve and I Had A Brilliant Idea: Why pay for hay when we can get unlimited office-grade shredded paper from Steve’s workplace? We'll just bag it later and leave it in the recycling bin, no muss, no fuss. Brilliant!!!!!

The festival was on the sunniest day all year in Seattle, which, contrary to legend, can have beautiful sunny days (just not too many of them). We inflated a rubber life raft, filled it with the shredded paper and mixed in a baggy of pennies, some nickels, and a few shiny dimes to keep things interesting. 

photo by Steve

Kids dove in and had a blast scrambling for their loot, splashing through the mess to find treasure. Parents watched, amused, and added their spare change. Every now and then, I'd toss in more shreds to make up for what the children tracked away.

Meanwhile, Steve set up his photo station and was constantly busy snapping and printing pictures for all comers. There were one or two dozen other booths giving out snacks, drinks, information about local resources and health care, balloons, whistles, doodads, gewgaws, and all the farfenagle of a community festival. It was a picture-perfect day.

Until.

The sun began to set - it's clean up time! Steve packed up his gear, and I started to bag the shredded paper. That’s when I began to appreciate the difference between hay and paper.

If a little hay splashes into a grass lawn, you can pick up the big clumps, and any residue just sort of fades among the leaves of grass. In contrast, intense bright white printer paper stands out as the untidy litter that it was. Any single shred shone against the grass like a careless bit of litter instead of a well-intentioned donation - and there were hundreds of shreds, a day's worth of the stuff scattered around the lawn. It felt like that fairy tale about catching every feather dumped from a pillow: we can't do it, we can only try until everyone else has gone home, and then quietly fade away ourselves.

In truth, I don't think anyone but our own feelings of guilt actually held the situation against us, we got mailed a nice "thank you" card, and the day remains a happy memory. Somewhere out there, I hope there are families who still have those photos, and kids—now adults—who smile when they think of that sunny Saturday. And I walked away with a few lessons:

1. Say yes to volunteering. You never know what memories you’ll create and fun you'll have. 
2. Kids like authorized chaos. So often we lead lives of constraints, rule, bossy people telling us what to do, financial or health limitations ... when the universe gives us an opportunity to just go crazy searching for treasure and flinging things in the air ... we do.  This does not apply only to the young ;-)
3. And most important: if you ever plan a penny scramble... for the love of all things holy, use hay NOT SHREDDED PAPER!

Law School Study Thoughts

Responding to a reddit inquiry about succeeding in Law School, I wrote: 

You must *Know Thyself*: What learning method works best for you?

For example, I’ve found that I keep my focus and retain information by taking meticulous, outlined notes during lectures…and then never looking at them again! Why my brain clings to things I jot down is beyond me, but discovering that made a *world* of difference. If that approach works for you—fantastic! If not—what does? You’ve already made it through undergrad, so reflect on what study habits helped you succeed there.

Now, here’s what worked for me in law school: After my first year (1L), I started using professionally crafted outlines. Instead of creating my own from scratch, I amended them to match the specific quirks and preferences of each professor. **Pro tip**: If your professor brags about personally influencing Congress to tweak Rule 1467(a)(1)(B), you can bet your final exam *will* include Rule 1467(a)(1)(B).

Also, instead of slogging through every single case, I found it *immensely* useful to read the briefs—both for and against. The advocates had already mastered the issues, distilled the arguments, and presented the key points. Back in my day, these briefs were on microfiche, but I’d imagine they’re more accessible now.

If your exam involves written essays, remember that for many professors, it’s about tallying points. Spot the issues they expect, and you earn a point. Write clearly about it? Another point!

My first-year exams were full of beautifully written essays about just two major points, leaving no room for the rest—mediocre marks followed. By my second year, I wised up. I’d literally—yes, *literally*—write 10 short issue headings every 5 lines to identify 10 key points and then flesh out my reasoning - using the physical limitations of space to keep me from wasting precious time. That approach pulled my ranking into the top 10%. Starting with that discipline might give you a leg up from day one.

Social Media Content Rules

I was asked to come up with a few rules for a social media space. Here's my first draft:

• Be Respectful: Treat all members with kindness and respect. Disagreement is fine, but personal attacks, harassment, or hate speech are not tolerated. Engage with ideas, not individuals.
• Constructive Advocacy: Share and discuss ideas and resources that align with the group's advocacy goals. Keep conversations productive and on topic.
• Fact-Based Discussion: Whenever possible, provide sources for information to foster informed and meaningful dialogue. Providing one credible source for your information adds more value than unsupported claims.
• Respect Privacy: Avoid personal identifying information (PII) belonging to other people.
• No Spam or Self-Promotion: Feel free to post an introduction of yourself when joining this group, but don't post irrelevant links or promote unrelated businesses and events.
• Nonviolence: No violence, threat of violence or advocacy of violence of any sort is tolerated, against either persons or property.
• Admin Authority: The admins reserve the right to remove posts or comments that violate these rules or disrupt the group's mission.Admins strive to apply these guidelines impartially.
• Let's Talk: We're here to save democracy! What are your thoughts?

Student Bar Association bylaws

As the 1980s turned into the 1990s, I felt dissatisfied with my career as an applications programmer. Surely, I felt, I with my brilliance could do greater things. In retrospect, I see that the issue was not so much raw intelligence but my reticent yet stubborn personality, but at the time I figured I was in the wrong profession.

It was at a party at the house of Mary Bernard that I heard her brother Joe tell someone that at law school, one learned a different way of thinking. This sounded good to me; with a new way of thinking, I had a new way of succeeding. The story I tell about law school is that I had watched too much “L.A. Law”, learned that lawyers make a lot of money solving problems for interesting people and wrapping things up in an hour … not all of which came to fruition for me … and I wanted that. Perhaps both motivations were true.

I had a mortgage on a condo in downtown Springfield, so I felt I could not move; the only available law school would be Western New England College (WNEC) School of Law. Perhaps this limitation saved me from the frustration of applying to greater schools across the country and being rejected; one thing I learned from law school was the mechanics of verbal persuasion and which I definitely did not have at the time.

At any rate, WNEC it was. I put some thought into how I might succeed. Perhaps participation in Student Government would build skills, make connections and pump up my resume, so I ran for the Student Bar Association (the student governing association with a more pretentious name) without much opposition. The big project for the SBA was re-writing its bylaws (or constitution) so that changes could be made more easily; as written, changes required a majority (or perhaps a supermajority) not of those voting, but of those eligible to vote. Apparently this had stymied every attempt to update the bylaws since it was uncommon to get a majority of those eligible to even vote.

Undaunted, the SBA representatives pressed on. A session to finalize the language started around dinnertime, allowing for a couple of hours to wrap things up. However, every word was a struggle and these lawyers-in-training eagerly disputed their meaning, purpose and intent. At 9 o’clock we were far from adjournment. 10 o’clock. 11 o’clock. I realized to my horror that the full-time students had nothing better to do, but I and the other night students had jobs the next day. I may have left around midnight, having briefly bonded with a blonde woman who worked for an insurance company. 

I am given to udnerstand that language was finalized before the sun rose. It went to a vote of the study body, and as usual, while a large majority of those voting favored the measure, it failed because not enough had voted.

This was a valuable lesson indeed about putting your fate into the hands of eager students with little life experience.