Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Termites Unite Spokane

Guy @guyjt.bsky.social · Aug 1

I think zack zappone makes a really good point about the jail not being a solution to unhoused people having nowhere to go. I'm curious why @zackzappone.bsky.social voted to make it a misdemeanor to not have a place to go in Spokane. Also, what the fuck is a flex bed between mental health and jail?

RANGE Media @rangemedia.co · Aug 1

Last week, we put out bite-sized info on the candidates for the District 3 Spokane City Council seat. This week, it's time for in-depth candidate profiles. Read 'em now, and be the hottest, most educated voter in your neighborhood!

Meet the District 3 Spokane City Council candidates – RANGE Media

It’s election season, and primary ballots are due by August 5. Learn more about the three candidates for district 3 here.

rangemedia.co

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 12

When our community is disappeared locally — disappeared from life into prisons — people on both sides of the bars are punished.

Holing human beings away does nothing to help society, heal community — and it disrupts their families, their loved ones, their children.

Here's a chance to mitigate harm

We are raising funds to help with the travel costs for incarcerated journalist Kwaneta Harris' children to visit her for the first time in a a decade. Kwaneta is a former nurse, business owner, and expat, now an incarcerated journalist and Haymarket Writing Freedom Fellow, from Detroit. In her writing, she illuminates how the experience of being incarcerated in the largest state prison in Texas is vastly different for women in ways that directly map onto a culture rooted in misogyny. Her stories expose how the intersection of gender, race, and place contribute to state-sanctioned, gender-based violence.

Kwaneta has spent years of her life in solitary confinement, unable to contact her children even via phone calls for long stretches of time. Because her family lives in Detroit and Kwaneta is incarcerated in Texas, it is extremely costly and difficult to arrange in-person visits. This fundraiser seeks to help offset some of the costs of travel so that Kwaneta can see her children for the first time since 2015. The photo on this fundraiser was taken during the family's last in person visit in 2015.

To read Kwaneta and her daughter Summer's incredible co-written piece on solitary confinement, click here.

Summer

I was only four months old when my mama got arrested. That’s what my grandma told me.

For most of my life, she’s been just a voice on the phone or a character in stories others tell me.

I’ve only seen her twice in person that I can recall. The first time I was 4, but that memory is so hazy I can’t tell if I’m really remembering it or just reciting what others have told me about that day.

The second and last time, in October 2015 at 7 years old, is when I truly remember seeing her face-to-face. Mama somehow managed to hold all three of us: me, my sister and my brother by our hands at the same time. But her eyes stayed on me the longest. My siblings look just like her, but I’m my dad’s twin, so I guess she was trying to memorize my face. We were getting to know each other, and I remember telling her she “talked like a white girl” because her voice sounded different in person than over the phone.

Then everything changed in January 2016. Mama was put in solitary confinement, and she stayed there until just recently, when I turned 16. We had been talking on the phone daily—me in Michigan, her in Texas—and then it all just stopped. No explanation, just silence.

Grandma was crying all the time. My sister started acting out, getting involved with boys and being bullied at school. Nobody really explained what was happening, they just said, “Mama’s in the hole.”

I was only 8 years old then, and I thought she was literally living in a hole in the ground. I would lay awake at night worrying about how she ate, where she slept, how she went to the bathroom. That’s when my stomach problems started. Everything I did in my daily life, I’d wonder how Mama was doing the same thing in that hole. Was she cold? Could she see the sky?

We were supposed to visit Mama every year. Her friends and other people would pitch in for the trip. But suddenly we couldn’t go because “she’s in the hole.” I started thinking maybe she didn’t want us to come because they might put us in holes too. I couldn’t talk to anyone about it because we weren’t supposed to tell people where our Mama was.

I still don’t understand why me, my grandma, my brother and my sister all had to be punished too. They definitely succeeded at breaking our family apart. I had relatives on my dad’s side who were in Michigan prisons, and they came home on the weekends. Some of them even called home when they were in “the hole.” I didn’t understand that Texas had different rules. I was angry and convinced myself that Mama didn’t want to talk to me.

We didn’t have phone calls anymore. Once, after years of silence, Mama called very late at night, grandma woke me up … but when I got on the phone, Mama thought I was my sister. That really hurt me, made me feel invisible.

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Reposted by Termites Unite Spokane

Empowerment Avenue @empowermentave.bsky.social · Aug 11

@kwanetaharris.bsky.social has a fundraiser that's live with the goal of raising funds for her kids to come see her in person for the first time in a decade.

You can support her and her family here:

www.gofundme.com/f/bring-kwan...

Donate to Bring Kwaneta's Family Together Again, organized by Chelsea Halstead

We are raising funds to help with the travel costs for incarcerated journalist … Chelsea Halstead needs your support for Bring Kwaneta's Family Together Again

www.gofundme.com

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Reposted by Termites Unite Spokane

Nina Turner @ninaturner.bsky.social · Aug 11

Americans want universal healthcare, not national guard troops in our neighborhoods.

You cannot be “America First” while treating Americans like our communities as though we need military intervention.

We must not give into the urge to hate each other, our neighbors, family and friends.

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 11

Yes we need to remove all politicians who only serve billionaire class and big business.

Spokane needs to remove @mayorspokane.bsky.social Lisa Brown, Jonathan Bingle, Michael Catchart, Betsy Wilkerson, Zack Zappone for serving Big Business.

No matter what party they claim, all screw the 99%.

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 11

It's horrific. That saying 1 death is a tragedy, 1 million a statistic.

These are all human beings who are in government "care" and deserve basic human needs met.

Not dying is the lowest bar possible and we are failing our #LocalDisappeared even that.

We are failing them their lives. #FreeThemAll

Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 10

Yes! @fivefourpod.bsky.social discusses why the Supreme Court sucks and their latest episode discusses LA's ICE protests (we had them in Spokane too #FreeTheSpokane9).

They've been bribed by billionaires to legislate from the bench in taking away our rights. Why accept it?

bsky.app/profile/meze...

Mezentine @mezentine.bsky.social · Aug 8

It’s rarely put so plainly, but Peter is exactly correct on this episode: law enforcement, as a whole, constitutes a right wing political group that has been funded and elevated with enthusiastic bipartisan consensus.

Any Democrat who fails to understand this will fail to fix anything.

5-4 Podcast @fivefourpod.bsky.social · Aug 5

This week’s premium episode is about Trump’s efforts at domestic militarization, including a dissection of what exactly went down in Los Angeles this June.

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 10

Spokane's lucky to have journalists for the 99% striving to accurately document the increasing violations and horrors the government is inflicting on everyone, especially our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ friends.

This means they're funded by us too: rangemedia.co/support-us/

rangemedia.co/everything-w...

Everything we know about the Spokane ICE protests – RANGE Media

Over 24 hours of boots-on-the-ground independent reporting.

rangemedia.co

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 10

This is why Spokane Police (with Spokane County Sheriffs, ICE, and Idaho Police) SEPARATED, ROUNDED UP, AND DELIBERATELY GASSED JOURNALISTS including @rangemedia.co 6/11.

They used this time to violently beat and arrest nonviolent Spokanites protesting the illegal abduction of our community.

Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · Aug 10

The press freedom crisis in America isn't only billionaires bowing down at big outlets like CBS, the Post. In L.A., elsewhere, indie journalists at protests are getting beat up or arrested by cops, a chilling sign of an authoritarian U.S. police state

My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/los-...

In L.A., police nightsticks are clubbing press freedom to death | Will Bunch

On Friday, LAPD cops allegedly battered and detained journalists at a protest — the ugliest of the many threats to U.S. press freedom.

www.inquirer.com

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Reposted by Termites Unite Spokane

Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Jun 16

For comparison, when they violently squelched the ICE protest 6/11, SPD said they had 185 officers, Sheriff's Dept had 50, Idaho brought at least 10 cars worth, ICE had agents, and there was at least 1 helicopter.

All to ensure the detention and transfer of 2 legal immigrants who committed no crime

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · Jun 16

The man suspected of shooting two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses in their homes in what officials describe as politically motivated attacks was arrested and charged Sunday evening after a sprawling manhunt involving more than 100 officers. wapo.st/3FFrkBL

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 9

Agreed. The Billionaire's Supreme Court continuously rules against the 99%'s rights & is not a balanced check. @fivefourpod.bsky.social has great episodes about how how the SC is legislating from the bench and codifying a police state without human rights.

Why are we listening to 9 bribed people?

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 9

We need "a widespread adoption of air-conditioning...to cool prison facilities."

"Just one day of above average summer temperatures is associated with a nearly 4% increase in prison deaths."

This is inhumane. America's current prisons and criminal legal system is inhumane.

#FreeThemAll

Several courts have ruled that extreme temperatures in prison violate the Eighth Amendment’s provision against “cruel and unusual” punishment. But these rulings have not led to a widespread adoption of air-conditioning or other methods to cool prison facilities or prevent heat-related deaths. Public health researchers at Brown University estimate that just one day of above average summer temperatures is associated with a nearly 4% increase in prison deaths. Suicides spike 23% in the three days following a heat wave. And for every 10 degrees above the average summer temperature, prison deaths increase 5%.

An illustration by Avalon Nuovo for the Marshall Project colored in orange and yellow scale. The warm colors evoke feeling hot.

A man is folded almost in half, crammed inside a box. His head is oriented to our left and his feet are planted to our right. He is massaging or perhaps just holding his head with only the fingers of his right hand. His knees are squeezed to his chest. His left arm is folded across his body, hugging his knees, leaving his hand to brace against what is, in our view, the bottom of his cage.

The man looks uncomfortable, hot, and pretzel-ed around himself. The art evokes feelings of claustrophobia and over-heating.

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Reposted by Termites Unite Spokane

Prison Journalism Project @prisonjournalism.bsky.social · Aug 9

"I know it’s too hot in my prison when prisoners start checking into suicide-watch cells in our medical area. People employ various excuses, but most know they do it because the infirmaries have air conditioning."

Summer Heat in Prison: Just How Hot Are Our Nation’s Prisons?

Prison writers from across the U.S. describe how hot their prisons get in the summer. One prison reached 117 degrees.

prisonjournalismproject.org

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 9

bsky.app/profile/pjal...

pjals.bsky.social @pjals.bsky.social · Aug 2

✍️ Sign on to the letter.

📣 Tell us: who else should be standing with us?

Together, we defend each other.

Sign-on now! buff.ly/ZwoOp9P

#DropTheCharges #SpokaneSolidarity #ImmigrantJustice

Reposted by Termites Unite Spokane

Jim Leighty @jdleighty.bsky.social · Aug 6

The Constitution and Bill of Rights are meant to protect our freedoms. But what good are those rights if the government can violate them now, and you’re forced to wait months or years for your day in court?

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 9

Which is how we know we can course correct this ship. This isn't over.

Spokane has community experts such as Jewels Helping Hands and Justice Forral testifying constantly at council meetings who we need to listen to.

We are all affected. We can and should all band together. Don't give up. /4

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 9

Spokane has @rangemedia.co who has extensively documented the (increasing!) criminalization of people who can't afford homes by City Council and @mayorspokane.bsky.social.

Property owners including 4th gen heirs Cowles family have requested this & police state.

rangemedia.co?s=homeless /3

You searched for homeless – RANGE Media

rangemedia.co

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 9

not only criminalizes poverty crimes (can't afford to sleep indoors, can't afford an apt w/plumbing and sinks and toilets), but creates a jailed workforce of even legally cheaper forced & dehumanized people.

Billionaires stole so much $ through un-livable wages, they've stolen homes and futures. /2

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 9

The French don't allow their government employees take advantage of the 99%. Billionaires pay government works to enact laws criminalizing more and more of the 99% while enriching themselves.

Demand this stops at your city's officials. Act local, think global.

Spokane criminalizing homelessness /1

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 9

I don't understand. Are you saying we should give up because corporations run our country and criminal legal system?

All Americans have lost so many rights, yes it's upsetting. But that ship can be changed. Rights must be demanded. Act locally for our City elected officials.

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Reposted by Termites Unite Spokane

Jim Leighty @jdleighty.bsky.social · Aug 6

The American government was never meant to be more powerful than its citizens. The Constitution was written to establish limited government, with checks and balances to prevent any one branch or person from becoming too powerful.

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 8

Preston McCollam is Haskell's hand picked successor.

He has been working for just as long as Haskell and was promoted under Haskell to Chief Deputy Criminal Prosecutor.

Haskell didn't step down until AFTER deadline for Spokanites to vote for replacement, so McCollam could be acting Prosecutor.

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 8

rangemedia.co/haskell-spok...

Lesley, Nope. – RANGE Media

Late Thursday, Daniel Walters published a lengthy piece in the Inlander outlining damning comments made by Lesley Haskell

rangemedia.co

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Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 8

bsky.app/profile/jdle...

Jim Leighty @jdleighty.bsky.social · Aug 8

Just to show how mainstream hate has become, don’t forget that Leslie Haskell, the wife of Spokane Prosecutor Larry Haskell, proudly proclaimed herself a “White Christian Nationalist” a few years back. Larry said she has a right to her views. He would go on to be re-elected as prosecutor.

Bruno J. Navarro @brunojnavarro.bsky.social · Aug 8

With Donald Trump’s return to power, a neo-Nazi group buoyed by his rhetoric is expanding its reach and changing the face of white extremism in America. Its leaders: a Texas couple, both born to Ku Klux Klan leaders.

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Reposted by Termites Unite Spokane

Guy @guyjt.bsky.social · Aug 8

Whole thread here but what the fuck. As far as I can tell there was absolutely no reason for SPD to think there was some kind of threat in this woman's apartment. Even for SPD why would they go straight to kicking down the door. These cops need to be fired (and prosecuted)

Termites Unite Spokane @termitesunite.bsky.social · Aug 8

The woman described so callously had bullets tear through her walls. She was terrified. She didn't know yet her neighbor was dead, but she knew she almost died herself.

Then someone started breaking her door down.

Terrifying.

It wasn't until the 4th kick she knew police were attacking her door.

Ofc Valenia beings running across the parking lot towards building "A" with several officers following. He arrives at the stairwell which leads up to apartment #A[neighbor] and starts up the stairs. He pauses on the landing just below the apartment door and asks if other officers have a visual on "him" (Musselman).

Ofc Valencia continues up the last set of stairs and stops in front of apartment #[neighbor]. He says, "okay, breaching," and proceeds to deliver four kicks to the door without effect. On the fourth kick. an officer yells out "Police!" while another yells "Spokane Police!" Four more kicks are delivered, also without effect. A muffled female voice can be heard, though the many of the words are unintelligible. Ofc Valencia stops his attempts at breaching the door as an officer yells "Spokane Police."

A female opens the door with her hands raised asking "What happened, what happened?" Ofc Valencia enters the apartment and has the female step out the door as another officer asks if there are any children present. The female responds "No, my son's not here." Another female is seen exiting a door, approaching Ofc Valencia and a male is

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