Say it Saturdays - January 31, 2026 - Spokane

 

Haiku Friday - January 30, 2026

Little hands syndrome:

Big bullies with minute parts

Grasping greedily. 

Max Q

His teargas troopers

Marauding through the city,

Looking for a fight

Max Q

Sub-zero wind chills

In the hearts of masked gunmen:

Insurrectionists. 

Max Q

Minneapolis

Putin’s murderous playbook

American style

Jim 

What do you eat, when

Lies are on the menu, are

You still hungry now?

Dana

Driving school today

Latecomers will be beaten

A snow day, oh well

Natalie

Watching our neighbour

Tearing themselves into pieces

It is heart wrenching

Bill

Sultry afternoon 

Loud boom like buildings crashing 

Waiting for the rain 

Rikosan

The world might rejoice

And our planet may be saved

By our quarantine

Maeve

 

Yesterday's Out and About - Matt Danielson - Pride and anti-fascist events in our area...

 

Yesterday, I had a conversation with Matt Danielson. Matt is the Executive Director of Spokane Pride. Our conversation centered around preparations for this year’s Pride Festival and Spokane citizens' responses to the fascist violence we are seeing in many places around the United States. Matt also moderates a FB group that serves as a clearinghouse for all the protests and events that are happening in Spokane. You can find that at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1682413989302936. As a special bonus, we had the radio debut of the Scablanders. This is a musical group that Matt is in. You can find that song in the archived broadcast of this show (link below) or from many streaming services. 

We went over this list of what is happening in Spokane this week and some of these events are done every week. They were - 

Every Monday:

Mikey Mondays - 3pm at the V median in front of Wendy's on Division.

Wednesday (today):

5:30pm March for Justice, March for Alex. Riverfront Park on Howard, peaceful march to courthouse

Every Thursday:

3pm to 4pm Visibility Brigade. 5 overpasses https://www.facebook.com/share/1Awtpihxv3

Friday:

3:30 Freedom from ICE (not sure the details on this one).

Every Saturday:

2pm to 4pm. Say it Saturday, BA Clark Park Division and Empire/Garland, Food Drive as well

If you missed yesterday’s show and want to have a listen, here is a link -   https://archive.kyrs.org/mp3/kyrs_260127_160000b.mp3

Tune into Out and About every Tuesday at 4 pm on KYRS at 88.1 and 92.3 fm. Also streaming at KYRS.org. Thanks for listening! Maeve 

Today On Out and About - Matt Danielson - Executive Director of Spokane Pride

Today on Out and About I will be talking with Matt Danielson - Executive Director of Spokane Pride. As more and more Americans are beginning to stand up against the fascist, murderous, traitorous Trump government, so many diverse groups are being brought together in this struggle - The LGBT Community, People of Color, Immigrants, Labor Unions, Educators, Healthcare workers, Public Safety Workers and the list goes on and on. It seems as if the lines have been drawn between those who value peace, freedom and the rule-of law against those who value violence, obedience and thuggery. Or to put it more simply, the struggle seems, to me, to be between honorable people and dishonorable people. 

I suspect our conversation will turn around these issues, as well as what is going on specifically for Spokane Pride. Although the Spokane Pride Festival and Parade which, last year, drew tens of thousands to Downtown Spokane is months away, I am sure that the planning and work is well underway.  

Tune into Out and About every Tuesday at 4 pm on KYRS at 88.1 and 92.3 fm. Also streaming at KYRS.org. Thanks for listening! Maeve 

Today is the 41st anniversary of my commissioning in the USAF...

My dad had a betamax video camera which he wielded repeatedly. I’ve been looking at the few tapes of his that are now in my possession. Betamax players are hard to come by and, thankfully, my brother Joe had one that he let me borrow. 

I just finished reviewing one tape. It starts out with baptisms of two of my nephews and concludes with my commissioning in the air force. The juxtaposition of these two events - events with vows and oaths - provokes a lot of thought. 

The vow to “reject Satan and his work and all his empty promises” and the oath to “to support and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic...”are particularly meaningful today.  A cult devoted to a dishonorable person who continually makes empty promises, a person who has asserted himself as the number-one domestic enemy of our Constitution, now holds unchecked and deadly power over the United States of America. 

It is a terrible time for our nation, but it’s been a long time coming. We have seen this erosion of truth and of our Constitution go unchecked from the 1980s with Rush Limbaugh, AM talk radio and FoxNews leading the way. I think there has always been a hope that people would come to their senses and reject the easily-refuted propaganda, but it never happened. So here we are.

There is, however, a gift to our nation that this surrender of honor and rationality has wrought, and that is the gift of clarity. Many gray areas have transformed dramatically into black and white. The time is fast-approaching (one could argue that it has already arrived) where you are either in, or supporting with your silence, the demonic, Constitution-destroying cult or actively engaged against it. For those who still honor their baptismal vows, their oath of office, or both, the path forward is stark and a little sad. 

I have been, for many years, a practitioner of non-violent action for change. Seeing the recent sacrifices made by peaceful people in our nation to honor their vows and their oaths is sobering, yet inspiring. 

Here is a short video of my commissioning in the USAF - exactly 41 years ago today. When I watch it, I can feel the intense joy of diverse people united in the purpose of perpetuating democracy and freedom. I hope that you can feel that too. It is a good thing to do good things with others, even when it entails great risk. And I am looking forward to doing good things this year with others. 

Much peace! Much love! Maeve  

Haiku Friday - January 23, 2026

 

Bill's beautiful photo! 

Face-deep in cellphone, 

Dark eyes reflecting blue light:

Look at me, my love. 

Max Q

A cold winter moon

Caught in the frosty branches

Time slows to a stop

Bill

Horns of the new moon

Hang perfectly suspended 

Within the darkness 

Rikosan

See the universe

It should bend toward justice 

Which way do you push?

Maeve