Life On A Sandbar: Tell the Time of Day

When you wake up early in the morning, you can hear the traffic on Route 6—mostly truck traffic. Overnight, it is gas trucks, food trucks, and all the other things that the Cape needs. When the sound of the truck traffic dies out, you know the four-wheelers will be taking over.

There are two ways to tell if it is low tide: your nose and pickup truck traffic. If the pickup trucks are heading for the beach, it's low; conversely, if they are heading away, the tide is coming in. Huh? You see, at low tide, the oyster beds are exposed so the farmers can tend to their crop—oysters. From what I understand, as the oysters grow, they put them in larger cages.

Then there are "switch days"—Saturdays and Sundays. If you sit in P-town for brunch outside, you might hear a mysterious rumble and start looking at each other wondering what on earth that noise is. Finally, the waiter bursts out laughing and tells you what's coming: sure enough, it's a parade of people walking to the docks with suitcases on wheels. It is 11:00 AM, you have to be out of your rooms, and the ferry to Boston leaves at 11:30. The afternoon boats bring the wave in the opposite direction.

The year is divided into two seasons: the "no left turn" season, also known as summertime, and the rest of the year.

Right about now... POOF! The traffic is gone, along with the crowded streets and parking lots, the fighting for a table at a restaurant, and the rug rats. Everyone is heading back to school.

But then there are the weekends. It is like the Cape inhales and fills with cars, bikes, and surfboards. And then it exhales, and the traffic all reverses, cars with surfboards and kayaks on their roofs and bicycles on their tailgates heading back off-cape.

So this Saturday, it's cloudy, cold (mid-60s), and dreary. It is very quiet.

Saturday 9 Shoo Fly Pie!

Saturday 9: Shoo Fly Pie (and Apple Pan Dowdy) – 1946
On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

This month Saturday 9 will be tasty, featuring songs with food in the title.

1) Shoo fly pie got its name from Shoo Fly the Boxing Mule. After the Civil War, the mule who could box was such a popular circus attraction that a molasses manufacturer started featuring him on their packaging. Since molasses is the key ingredient of this pie recipe, homemakers just began referring to it as "shoo fly pie." If we looked, would we find molasses in your kitchen?
Yes, but… but… it is probably over ten years old!

2) Apple pan dowdy is another uniquely American recipe from the 19th century. It's like apple pie, except it only has a top crust, which is broken up. Apples are a good source of fiber, Vitamin C and antioxidants. Do you consider nutrition when choosing a dessert? Or are you just all about how it tastes?
Well for dessert… I consider chocolate milk shake as nutritional. You see my doctor said I needed more calcium, drink more milk, so… I figured a  chocolate milk shake is just what the doctor ordered!

3) The lyrics describe these two desserts as the ultimate comfort foods, able to make "the sun come out when the heavens are cloudy." Do you find that the foods you crave change with your mood?
I am on Ozempic for my diabetes and it kills your appetite and my food craving. I can’t even finish a whole lobster! 

4) Singer June Christy pleads with her mama to whip up this "wonderful stuff." Did your mother have a dish you often requested?
My grandmother did, I loved potato pancakes. And she used to make beer cruller but the recipe was never passed on.

5) June was born in Springfield, Illinois' capital. Have you been to your state's capital city?
Ha, ha...Have I! Well let me count the ways… worked there, went to school there, went to plays, movies, and conferences there. Oh and testified there before committees and served on juries both state and federal. 

6) June spent years singing with Stan Kenton's Orchestra. At one point, she gave 38 performances in 35 towns in 35 days. That's a busy schedule! Do you thrive on activity? Or do you find yourself rejuvenated by quiet time?
Well it is getting harder getting around… my exercise is going shopping!

7) In 1946, when this record was popular, bikinis were first seen in Paris fashion shows. How often have you worn your swimsuit this summer?
Zero. This has been a cool summer as in temperature wise.

8) Also in 1946, Elias Tupper invented Tupperware, a plastic container with an airtight top that's great for preserving leftovers. Are there any leftovers in your refrigerator right now?
Yes, and it is 4 in the morning on the Saturday and the leftover spaghetti is starting to look good right about now! 

9) Random question: Is there a day of the week that goes by faster than the others?
Yes, the day that I have a doctor’s appointment, it seems like I’m always rushing… that is something special for a senior, to have to be somewhere on time. I was going to go to the post office yesterday… but it was drizzling. Maybe today, but it also says thunderstorms… so maybe Monday and Mondays are when I order my groceries for me to pick up. Oh by the way, specking of groceries, I found a place that has good meats… a fish store!

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I had company for the week up here at the cottage, a couple a few years younger that me and they fell in love with the bike trails. They also when to Carnival which is a hoot! As my grandfather would say.

The First Amendment

[Essay]

I remember digging through my father’s WWII footlocker, where he had mementos from his time in the service. In it were copies of the VE and VJ Day editions of Stars and Stripes.

From what I know of history, Stars and Stripes was a well-respected newspaper. Congress even created protections for it as an independent newspaper, with its own staff. The paper writes:

News for America's military Stars and Stripes provides independent news and information to the U.S. military community, including active-duty servicemembers, DoD civilians, veterans, contractors, and their families. Unique among Department of Defense authorized news outlets, Stars and Stripes is governed by the principles of the First Amendment.*

And the “*”?

* Stars and Stripes is a service of the Defense Media Activity (DMA); the views and opinions expressed do not reflect the views of the Department of Defense, the military services or DMA. The Pentagon funding that makes up roughly half of Stars and Stripes’ annual budget is primarily used to print and distribute the newspaper to troops scattered across the globe, including in warzones. The remainder of the newspaper’s funding comes from advertising and subscriptions. Stars and Stripes is editorially independent of interference from outside its own editorial chain-of-command. It provides commercially available U.S. and world news and objective staff-produced stories relevant to the military community in a balanced, fair, and accurate manner. By keeping its audience informed, Stars and Stripes enhances military readiness and better enables U.S. military personnel and their families stationed overseas to exercise their responsibilities of citizenship.

Back in the 1980s, the Reagan administration was accused of interfering with coverage of the Iran-Contra affair, and Congress’ House Armed Services Committee created the ombudsman position in 1990–91. The ombudsman was deliberately structured to be outside the newspaper’s normal chain of command and to report directly to Congress about threats to editorial independence. A later congressional hearing record specifically described the post-1989 reforms as strengthening the paper’s independence and minimizing undue command influence.

And now, Stars and Stripes published the truth about the USS Abraham Lincoln, and that set Hegseth off on a tizzy. But it started before that, when Trump and Hegseth began pushing for control of everything.

Stars and Stripes reported:

House Armed Services Committee seeks answers on Pentagon plan for Stars and Stripes

By SVETLANA SHKOLNIKOVA

January 21, 2026

The House Armed Services Committee has sent two requests to the Defense Department asking how the department will ensure the congressionally mandated independence of Stars and Stripes amid a plan to “refocus” its content, according to two people familiar with the matter. A bipartisan request was sent after the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson on Thursday posted to the social media site X that it would overhaul the news organization to rid it of “woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members.” Democratic staff sent a follow-up information request Tuesday after noticing the Pentagon had removed the federal regulation governing the publication. “We have yet to receive any answers,” a committee staffer speaking on condition of anonymity said Wednesday. The Pentagon has also not responded to questions from Stars and Stripes requesting details on the planned changes. The committee staffer said the elimination of the regulation leaves a Department of Defense directive as the only remaining rule addressing the news organization’s editorial independence. The 1994 directive can be changed on a whim, according to Jacqueline Smith, the ombudsman for Stars and Stripes. The ombudsman role was created in 1991 by the House Armed Services Committee to report to Congress on threats to the Stars and Stripes mission of providing independent news to the military community.

[…]

The rule change points out that a proposed modernization of the regulation last year drew 88 public comments that broadly supported Stripes’ independence. Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the committee, said he is asking the Defense Department to explain how it intends to maintain the journalistic independence of Stars and Stripes, as long affirmed by Congress.

Then, in March, Stars and Stripes wrote:

The Pentagon has released a modernization plan for Stars and Stripes that affirms the publication’s independence while expanding Defense Department oversight, introducing new restrictions on content and transitioning away from a print publication. An eight-page memo, dated March 9 and effective immediately, limits the use of wire services, bars comics and other syndicated features and states that content must be consistent with “good order and discipline,” a phrase borrowed from the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The memo is the first formal explanation since Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said in a Jan. 15 social media post that the Defense Department intended to “refocus” the news organization “from woke distractions that syphon morale.” On Friday, Parnell in a statement provided the first direct comment to the organization since Jan. 15. He said the department is “returning S&S to its original mission: an independent news source for service members stationed overseas that is by the warfighter and for the warfighter.”

Then came the straw that broke Hegseth’s back: the story about the carrier that exposed Hegseth’s claim as lies.

Longtime publisher of Stars and Stripes to retire, citing differences with Pentagon leadership

AP News

By JOCELYN NOVECK

August 19, 2026

The longtime publisher of Stars and Stripes has announced his retirement, ending a decades-long career with the military newspaper as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon moves to exert editorial control and eliminate what it asserts are “woke distractions.”

Max D. Lederer Jr. announced his retirement, effective at the end of September, in a memo to staff on Tuesday, as well as in an interview with Stars and Stripes. In the memo, seen by The Associated Press, Lederer, the second full-time civilian in the position, wrote that it had “become clear that my philosophy of leadership, and my understanding of the value and mission of Stars and Stripes, differ in fundamental ways from the direction the leadership of the Department of Defense has for the organization.”

The announcement comes less than four months after the Pentagon fired Jacqueline Smith, ombudsman for the newspaper, whose job was to safeguard editorial independence. The news outlet is partly funded by the Defense Department, but has a legacy of independence from military and government leadership. “No one should be surprised that they’re kicking out the one person charged by Congress with protecting Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence,” Smith wrote in a column.

Stars and Stripes has recently been at the forefront of some of the reporting on conditions for sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln and concerns for their mental health during the aircraft carrier’s long deployment — concerns that President Donald Trump has downplayed.

What can you say about a Secretary of Defense who ignores the laws, who ignores the Constitution, the First Amendment, and the laws? And who lies about the conditions in the military?

If Hegseth was telling the truth and the newspaper had completely lied about the conditions, then where did all these reports come from? And if the conditions really were as good as he claimed, why did thousands of sailors spend more than 250 days at sea without a meaningful port visit?

American soldiers fought a war in which Eisenhower said free press and free speech were principles worth preserving. Eighty years later, the Stars and Strips print the truths and the Defense Secretary is attacking the newspaper rather than welcoming scrutiny.

[/Essay]

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Updated: 8/22 @ 8AM

Stars & Stripes

Erik Slavin, the editor-in-chief, said he was being fired for insubordination after stating in a CBS interview last month that censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line in the Pentagon’s efforts to exert control over the newspaper. “I stand by the principle that Stars and Stripes must remain editorially independent, as required by law and by the department’s own policies,” he said in a statement Friday. He said he received a notice of proposed separation and is reviewing it.

[...]

“These firings are a shame for the institution and service members, who swore to defend the Constitution and deserve the right to a free and independent press,” she said.

Yes it would and yes it is!

Is This Our Future?

All around the world, right-wing conservatives are attacking us—the LGBTQ+ community! We see it everywhere, from Hungary under Viktor Orbán to right-wing movements globally.

Russian LGBT Network shuts down after ‘extremism’ ruling makes its work ‘impossible’

Pink News

by Jack Wetherill

August 19, 2026

The Russian LGBT Network has announced it is shutting down after a St Petersburg court designated the group an “extremist” organisation, saying the ruling makes public operations too risky for staff, supporters and people seeking help. The group confirmed the decision in a statement on Telegram.

A St Petersburg court in April declared the Russian LGBT Network “extremist” following a lawsuit by Russia’s Justice Ministry. The Russian LGBT Network said the label makes its previous public format of work impossible because “any connection to the organisation may create additional risks for the people we seek to support and protect”.

In a statement posted to its Facebook page statement, the organisation said: “For many years, Russian LGBT Network brought together initiatives and activists and supported queer people across the country,” adding that its “extremist” status had made continuing in the same way “impossible”.

Being LGBTQ+ is just the hook for conservatives. The real worry the right wing has for us is hidden right there in the title: "Russian LGBT Network," but more specifically, the word "Network." We are organized. And that is what they fear. Right-wing authoritarian and nationalist regimes also target independent civil rights networks and labor unions because they represent independent collective power.

Funding by corporations has been cut back out of fear that political retaliation could follow corporate DEI support. In some states, funding for Pride centers has been slashed by city governments. Pride celebrations, once seen as markers of civic prestige that brought business to local retail establishments are now shunned out of fear that they might provoke political wrath.

Despots fear organizations that unite people. They want to keep people off-balance and prevent them from assembling. They fear movements not just because of what they might do, but because they are organized.

Trump and authoritarianism thrive in isolation. There is a reason for all this DEI stuff, it keeps groups battling one another and keeps them from the real problems like the growing national debt. When a community builds a network, whether it's on a factory floor, LGBTQ+ centers, in a grassroots advocacy group, or around a shared identity, that is a threat to their power.

Now Wasn’t That Nice

[Editorial]

Connecting the dots. How many times have you heard this?

Well a little history, the trial is in the discovery phase where both sides can dig into the other files. Something Trump didn’t want… but did happen anyway. You see BBC wanted the extensive financial records from Trump's business trust. His lawyers clearly did not want to provide that financial information.

Okay now we jump a head to now… there is a new judge to oversee the case. The case is now being transferred to Jeffrey Kuntz, a federal judge whom Trump himself nominated. Hmmm…

The judges nomination has been in the works for a while now, but all the paperwork just got completed, just in time to sit on Trump v. BBC. Wasn’t the timing nice?

Now consider this… Kuntz previously ruled in Trump's favor in the Pulitzer Prize Board litigation while he was a Florida appellate judge.

Connecting the dots…

Trump files a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC. → The case enters discovery. → The BBC seeks extensive financial information about Trump's business interests. → Trump's lawyers fight that disclosure. → Altman temporarily halts the financial disclosure while Trump's effort to narrow his claims is considered. → Then a new federal judge arrives. → That judge was nominated by Trump. → And that same judge had previously ruled in Trump's favor in another Trump defamation case.

Nothing was illegal, but sure as hell rasies a lot of red flags

Connecting the dots. How many times have you heard this?

Well, a little history. The case is in the discovery phase, where both sides can dig into the other side’s files and records. Something Trump didn’t want, but it happened anyway. You see, the BBC wanted extensive financial records from Trump’s business trust. His lawyers clearly did not want to provide that financial information.

Okay, now let’s jump ahead to today…

There is a new judge overseeing the case and it hss is now being transferred to Jeffrey Kuntz, a federal judge whom Trump himself nominated.

Hmmm…

The judge’s nomination had been in the works for a while, but all the paperwork was finally completed, just in time for Kuntz to sit on Trump v. BBC.

Wasn’t the timing nice?

Now consider this…

Kuntz previously ruled in Trump’s favor in the Pulitzer Prize Board litigation while he was a Florida appellate judge.

Connecting the dots…

Trump files a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC. → The case enters discovery. → The BBC seeks extensive financial information about Trump's business interests. → Trump's lawyers fight that disclosure. → Altman temporarily halts the financial disclosure while Trump's effort to narrow his claims is considered. → Then a new federal judge arrives. → That judge was nominated by Trump. → And that same judge had previously ruled in Trump's favor in another Trump defamation case.

Nothing about the transfer was necessarily illegal. But nothing about this sequence makes the questions go away, either.

However, it sure as hell raises a lot of red flags.

[/Editorial]

This Is a Trans Blog

“But you write about politics, not trans issues!”

The world we live in today is one where politics are trans issues. Our very lives depend on it. Unfortunately, the country is divided into red and blue, conservatives and liberals—those who think “me” versus those who think “us.”

A trans woman is getting 50 years in prison for a peaceful protest. But she’s not the only one caught up in the juggernaut. Meagan Morris also received a 50-year sentence. Meanwhile, the person who attempted to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh received 8 years and 1 month.

But how did we end up with such harsh sentencing? Over the years, Republicans have been stacking the courts—not with judges recommended by bar associations, but rather with judges selected because of their political alignment.

For trans people, politics isn't an abstract argument about Democrats and Republicans. Politics determines whether we can access healthcare, how we're treated by the law, where we're incarcerated, and ultimately how safely we can live.