I SAW YOU
I SEE YOU: Food service workers, in restaurants and Huckleberry's, I see you working happily behind the counter, bar, etc., and want to thank you for your great attitude, kindness, and dedication to your jobs. You make our lives better and do it with smiles, and no fanfare. You too, Trader Joe's checkers! We appreciate you.
RE: LOVE OF MY LIFE: Love of my life, are you writing to J.E.? Cause he feels the same..we should meet again and run away.
RE: TO THE LOVE OF MY LIFE: Let's try again. I can't get you out of my mind and certainly not out of my heart. I want to be in your arms. SC
CHEERS
RE: BEING WATCHED? I'm very impressed by your demonstration of Poe's Law. When satire gets extreme enough it's really tough to tell if it's real or not. Bravo!BIKE, WALK, BUS: Cycling to work can be scary! The cyclists I know always have a story about a close call with a careless or even hostile driver. Similarly, there are so many streets and intersections that are plain dangerous for pedestrians. But I am so grateful because everyone who walks or bikes despite unfriendly infrastructure makes it just a little bit safer for every other cyclist and pedestrian. There are also a lot of people who are trying take public transit instead of driving and advocate to increase access and usability. We have to cut down on traffic as our city grows. Cheers to the cyclist, pedestrian, and bus rider. It all adds up and makes a difference. Thank you!
RE: FULL POCKETS: Was that a typo that your pocket of compliments were still full when you get home? Mine are always empty when I get home! I love giving out smiles and compliments. Kindness goes a long way, and I think most people are good and kind. Plus lots of laughs to go around!
PATRIOTIC: If I voted for a political candidate whose followers embrace far-right ideology, I would be dishonoring the sacrifices made by my father and uncles, who fought in WW2 to rescue this country and the world from a similar figurehead.
VOTING: Cheers to everyone that gets off their butt and VOTES.
JEERS
RE: IDEOLOGUES: Your deep analysis of the relationship between seeking non-police style handling of nonviolent community issues as a root cause for traffic deaths is astounding and contrary to most research results by US traffic agencies. The primary causes of deaths are vehicle size and vehicle speeds. The US has a plague of oversized vehicles and building roads to encourage driving faster than ever. Yes, people, and especially children, are being injured and killed by cars at notably higher rates than a decade ago. Those deaths track right along with our ever fatter cars. A 4 inch taller front end on a car translates to about a 22% increase in likely death from an impact on a pedestrian. Children are 8x more likely to die from SUV impacts than from smaller and lighter cars. Defunding the police (which didn't happen in Spokane — check the budgets each year) isn't the main thing killing us on the roads, our own weird fetish for huge and wasteful vehicles is the primary reason.RE: PLANNED PARENTHOOD BILLBOARDS: To the anti-abortion writer of the message in the 10/3 issue: Legality and access aren't the same thing. Just because abortion is legal does not mean the people who need abortion care can get it. If there aren't providers close enough to them, if they don't have the means to travel to a provider, etc, then abortion is not accessible. And for the record, women have died because of abortion bans after the Dobbs decision. You don't find that "vile?"
SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL: The city of Spokane Valley is stupid!! 5 lanes down to 3 lanes then back to 5 lanes on Sprague, so they can walk their lazy butts across the street to the park! Why?
PARKING AT WALMART: You, the woman who verbally accosted me at Walmart for my parking. I have no idea what you were talking about. If your son is in the backseat behind you on the driver's side then that was not my car you are talking about. If it was on the passenger side then myself being a larger person was able to get in and out of my car freely. I don't know why you had to call me a _itch because you couldn't get him in the car seat, but I was certainly in my lines. I spoke to the officers inside Walmart to explain your anger and what happened. You need to curb your anger especially with your child in the backseat hearing your name calling.
JEERS TO THE HATERS FROM TOPEKA, KANSAS: Do you remember me? I'll give you a hint. I'm the one who counter protested you from across the street at the Starbucks and near Spokane Community College. I wore a plague doctor mask and carried a big, gay, painted umbrella. You are not welcome in Spokane, Washington. Your bigoted filth has no place on our streets. Our children deserve better than your disgusting rhetoric. Our community colleges, universities, and communities of faith work to uplift our city and meet its needs. Your "protests" spew vile hatred in a pathetic attempt to attract publicity and legal attention to your dying, desiccated congregation. There is no place for your hatred in the Lilac City. Leave this town and never come back.
RE: RE: IDEOLOGUES: I thought this was the Jeers section of the Inlander not a scientific journal. I was simply pointing out that this is what I have observed with my own eyes without any other viable explanation. It's ironic that you implied I lacked credibility for not citing specific sources, yet you failed to provide any sources to support your own claims. I will attempt to support mine.The decision to reduce traffic law enforcement on equity grounds has had negative effects on public safety and finances. Between 2020 and 2023, traffic fatalities in Washington state increased by over 40%, with 810 deaths reported in 2023, the highest number in over three decades. Serious injuries from traffic incidents also rose during this period, with distracted driving fatalities jumping by 36% (Washington Traffic Safety Commission, 2024; Padden, 2024). Additionally, traffic stops have decreased during this time, contributing to less monitoring of dangerous behaviors like speeding and impaired driving. Although the specific 66% reduction in stops between 2020 and 2023 needs further verification, multiple sources confirm a decline in enforcement. (Editor's note: to be continued next week, it was too long)
JUNK CITY: Spokane has begun to look like a real garbage city in recent years. Business owners and law enforcment aren't helping matters. Additionally, it's getting less safe. Try to go to a grocery store and there is often a beggar impeding traffic by standing in the roadway, thereby jeopardizing the lives of themselves as well as drivers trying to see past them or navigate by them without hitting them or striking someone else. Try driving down the street in various parts of town and if it's raining or dark, some fool will cross the street randomly outside of a crosswalk. Again, jeopardizing the life of themselves or others as cars try to navigate without hitting them. Try taking a nice walk down the Centennial Trail and you have to leave the trail to walk on the side of the road because some fool is living on the trail itself, blocking walkers, runners, and bikers. It's really too bad this probem is increasing rather than decreasing. It just makes Spokane seem junkier and junkier by the day.
RAGIN' ROUND: Hey city planners and civil engineers, roundabouts ARE cool and useful, but the new one in the Valley at Bowish and 16th brings all the aggression of Valley drivers to the yard due to its poor design. Even benign older ladies are flipping the bird to others in this cluster. Bikers risk their life or being hit by the aggressive emotions of petty drivers who routinely forgo their better nature in making the solid connection between their brake, humanity, and everyone's safety in the circle. It's annoying. Be better, Valley drivers, you kinda suck right now. Replace the bird with a wave and maybe crack a smile as you master forward over your steering wheel. ♦
