There's still time for some Cyber Monday savings. Come to Monterey in May and hear a stellar lineup of historians discuss the American Civil War. Then take some time to explore the beautiful Monterey Peninsula.

OTD in 1955 Rosa Parks' Fingerprint File The fingerprint card of #RosaParks was created upon her arrest for refusing to obey orders of a bus driver on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, AL. [Image by U.S. District Court for the Northern Division of the Middle District of Alabama, National Archives]

Exhibit at the American Civil War Museum, Richmond, VA 1. CARTRIDGE BOX worn by Sgt. Charles English, 108th US Colored Infantry 2. KNIFE carried by a soldier with the initials "W.L." in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry ( #USCT ) 3. TINTYPE of an unidentified African-American soldier

— Lotta Crabtree — She started out in the rough and tumble mining camps of California's Gold Country, gained fame in San Francisco, and took New York City by storm. There was a time when she was the wealthiest, and most famous actress in America. She retired at age 45 and lived to be 76 [c1868, LoC]

ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES was published on this date in 1859. First editions can still be found, but they're a little pricey. A free internet version can be read on this website, and others. #Booksky 💙📚https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1228/1228-h/1228-h.htm

"A" is for . . . Abandoned Adobe Abode (San Miguel, New Mexico)

162nd anniversary of the Battles for Chattanooga RANGER-LED AND HISTORIAN-LED TOURS www.nps.gov/chch/novembe...

John F. Kennedy was the youngest person to be elected president of the United States (age 43 when elected in 1960). He was murdered OTD in 1963, at age 46. Portrait: Elaine de Kooning / Oil on canvas, 1963 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution / © 1963 Elaine de Kooning Trust

Socialism is what they called public power. Socialism is what they called social security. Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations. Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people. —Harry Truman, 1952

Little Round Top rehabilitated

OTD 56 years ago The official crew insignia for Apollo 12, the United States’ second lunar landing mission. The clipper ship signifies that the crew is all Navy and symbolically relates the era of the clipper ship to the era of space flight [NASA] tinyurl.com/2zxr8kxj

OTD in 1863, 162 years ago, Honest Abe delivered the #GettysburgAddress. The American experiment survived a great civil war, and it seemed there could be no greater test, until now. [photo: detail from the copy Lincoln gave to his secretary, John Hay, one of two copies in the Library of Congress]

O, it sets my hart a-clickin’ like the tickin’ of a clock, When the [squirrel] is [in] the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock!

—how history unfolds: "People weave a web of meaning, believe in it with all their heart, but sooner or later the web unravels, and when we look back we cannot understand how anybody could have taken it seriously" —Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow [Kepler's, 2017] #BookSky💙📚

“Whatever you're meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible.” ― Doris Lessing (1919-2013) Doris Lessing by Leonard William McComb oil on canvas, 1999 © National Portrait Gallery, London www.npg.org.uk/collections/...

Among the reasons Americans risked it all to get rid of a tyrannical king: “He has obstructed the Admin of Justice…made Judges dependent on his Will…sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people…kept among us Standing Armies w/o legislatures’ Consent” www.americaamerica.news/p/what-we-sh...

— November 14 was Mamie's birthday — [Pictured: future First Lady Mamie Doud #Eisenhower, age 17. National Archives]

OTD in 1864, William Tecumseh Sherman left Atlanta in flames, and began his March to the Sea. He promised Grant: "I can make this march and make Georgia howl!" The march, and his subsequent Carolinas Campaign, helped hasten the end of the Great Slaveholders' Rebellion. [image: by F.O.C. Darley, LoC]

@dumbbeezie.bsky.social made me think of you A good soul under all that anger

Patti at Moe's #BookSky 💙📚

Book of the Day: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong Click here to learn more about today’s book!

nothing to see here

The dawning of the MAGA era arms race . . . Things are about to get messy.

Sunrise on #Alcatraz

Remember Remember, the Fifth of November

SLAVERY caused a fatal rift from the start of the nation. Madison wrote: "[It's] well understood that the real difference of interests lies not between the large and small but between the northern and southern states. The institution of slavery and its consequences form the line of discrimination."

Happy Halloween!

3rd Central Coast Conference SELDOM HEARD HISTORY of the CIVIL WAR ERA Stanton Center, Monterey, CA May 1-3, 2026 A weekend of presentations exploring fresh perspectives on the American Civil War. EARLY REGISTRATION DISCOUNT until November 15 — tinyurl.com/3k5t6tfx

"I always understood that we went to War on account of the thing we quarreled with the North about. I never heard of any other cause of quarrel than slavery." — John S. Mosby, "The Gray Ghost" encyclopediavirginia.org/166hpr-ab48b...

Revenge, Wild West style — Made a quick stop at the Tucson railroad depot, at the approximate location where Wyatt Earp, accompanied by Doc Holliday, shot and killed Frank Stillwell on March 20, 1882. It was thought that Stillwell was involved in the murder of Morgan Earp two days earlier.

Plains Indian Shield Andy #Warhol, 1986 screenprint, based on an item he photographed at New York City’s National Museum of the American Indian.

OTD 144 years ago . . .

The grotesque metaphor of Trump tearing apart the figurative seat of American democracy ... marvelous piece open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

Working on some campaign posters for the next election. Trump's desecration of the White House is unforgivable. The EPSTEIN BALLROOM should come down the day after the next inauguration. Like everything else related to this administration, it will be a stain on the soul of America.

I will vote for the Dem in 2028 who vows to put the WH back the way it was. Literally.

#Saguaros can be anywhere from 50 to 100 years old before they grow their first “arms.” That’s all I have to say about that.

In Cochise’s Stronghold —Dragoon Mountains

Gila National Forest

Thursday at the Very Large Array

Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Tribal Cemetery, Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery, Fort McDowell, Maricopa County, Arizona

Congrats to University of California professors & alumni for being awarded 5 Nobel Prizes! California’s scientists are leading the world in crucial breakthroughs. www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...

Johnnie Diacon (Mvskoke) There Goes the Neighborhood #1, 1993 Oil on stretched canvas @johnniediaconart.bsky.social

“People say there are no atheists in foxholes. A lot of people think this is a good argument against atheism. Personally, I think it's a much better argument against foxholes.” ― Kurt Vonnegut Photo: Kurt #Vonnegut, Jr., 11 Nov 1922 - 11 Apr 2007, by Yousuf Karsh, 1990. National Portrait Gallery.

preparing for another road trip through Apacheria

— Pueblo Revolt (1680-1692 C.E.) — The Pueblos banded together on Aug 10, 1680 to expel the Spanish from the Southwest. The revolt, led by Po’pay from Ohkay Owengeh (San Juan Pueblo), temporarily drove European invaders from the country (NPS). Photo: Pecos National Historical Park

Honestly, I didn't expect this announcement, but it's well-deserved. I'm sure the president will agree. #NobelPeacePrize #JimmyKimmel

Great Smoky Mountains "The mountain, known as Clingmans Dome since 1859, has been a sacred place for the Cherokee people, serving as a place of prayer, reflection, and gathering of mulberries for medicine. In fact, the name Kuwohi translates to 'the mulberry place' in Tsalagi, the Cherokee language"

Dog Sees the Spirits, 1960 by artist and printmaker of Inuit heritage Kenojuak Ashevak #WomensArt

Jane Goodall offers sage advice for the rest of us. #3E