Happy Juneteenth to those who celebrate. In honor of the federal and state (in 28 states) government workers who don’t have to work today (see Juneteenth: a day off for white members of the laptop class and government workers).
On this sacred day of White Idleness let’s look some more at what folks in the whitest part of the whitest state have been up to…
Yesterday, we covered some of the official Pride celebrations in Bar Harbor, Maine for 2025, including Queers for Palestine. Today, let’s have a look at what some of the merchants did unofficially.
Before you get into Bar Harbor proper, a roadside restaurant says “everyone is family” and, also, Canine-Americans are not welcome:
The locals worship the (non-trans-enhanced) Rainbow Flag at the “United Church of Christ”:
The Rainbow Flag can still be worshipped even when in tatters:
Black Lives Matter for people who’ve chosen to move to the whitest part of the whitest state:
(There are a lot of foreigners working in Bar Harbor, but they’re generally on temporary work visas and return to (Eastern) Europe when the season is over. Americans who aren’t in the workforce prefer to chillax on means-tested everything (not “welfare”) rather than make a ton of money in three months. See The Eastern European workforce of Mount Desert Island.)
Typical Bar Harbor Rainbow-first retail:
Miscellaneous stores (what does it mean when two Biden-style trans-enhanced Rainbow Flags are nestled against each other?):
Here’s a store that combines the following: (1) mask advocacy, (2) mask retail, (3) support for Ukraine, (4) a Rainbow “coexist”, (5) transgender flag, (6) trans-enhanced Rainbow Flag, (7) Science education (“gender is not binary”):
Sherman’s Books has been operating since 1886. Consistent with Why does every “independent” bookstore have the same political point of view? they devote a significant fraction of their front window space to matters 2SLGBTQQIA+.
Remember that it is a right-wing conspiracy theory that children are targeted by the 2SLGBTQQIA+ and also that they should keep a copy of The Young Readers’ LGBTQIA+ Dictionary of Lingo and Colloquial Phrases handy.
Some #Science:
If you’re old enough to pay with cash (or know what cash is) you’re old enough to donate the change to Bar Harbor Pride:
Thank you for helping me realize why my trash wasn’t collected today (it is trash day in my neighborhood) and why I have not received any mail yet (it is usually delivered by 11 a.m.).
You’re welcome, George. If you decide to become Deplorable, rest assured that your garbage will be picked up here in Palm Beach County on Juneteenth: https://www.swa.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=362
Miami as well: https://x.com/CityofMiami/status/1935429332861612382
So, in Palm Beach County, only Thanksgiving and Christmas Day impact trash collection? What does that say about New York City and its ongoing trash problems [1]? Do they observe a holiday for every day of the week?
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/02/upshot/nyc-trash-rules.html
Off topic question: Is William Langewiesche’s journalism well-thought-of in the aviation world?
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/business/media/william-langewiesche-dead.html
Anon: I didn’t realize that he’d died. Sad.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stick_and_Rudder is a 1944 classic by his dad that is still considered awesome. I think the son was considered a competent writer/thinker. Just from the obit we can see that he properly credited the French software and aeronautical engineers for the Airbus-in-the-Hudson landing:
“Writing about Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger III’s famous landing of a commercial airliner in the Hudson River in 2009, Mr. Langewiesche made the case that that injury-free belly flop was a testament more to modern airplane technology than to the heroism of the pilot.”
Sully was holding the stick all the way back, just as a panicked student pilot might, but the French software wouldn’t let the Airbus stall.
(Note that the NYT informs us that the Hudson River landing was a single-pilot operation by Sully. At least one of the two pilots required by the Airbus type certificate is not worth mentioning.)
Greenspun never shows the harder core parts of the gay celebrations that happen in SF. Maybe new england is softer.