"The United States is short 4 million housing units, with a particular dearth of starter homes, moderately priced apartments in low-rises, and family-friendly dwellings."

On this day in 1980 John Lennon was murdered in New York City. I was working that evening in a menswear store in Seattle. There was a TV in the store tuned to Monday Night Football, I heard Howard Cosell make the announcement. #JohnLennon #RockNRoll #VintageVinyl

"And America itself is not yet lost. Many, and I believe most, Americans still believe in our foundational values of freedom and democracy." open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

The Blasters released their eponymously titled second album in December 1981. #TheBlasters #VintageVinyl

On this day in 1941 the Empire of Japan attacked the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 2,403 United States citizens were killed in the attack and 1,178 others were injured. #PearlHarbor

"Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney and Wings released in the US on 12/5/1973. #PaulMcCartney #BandOnTheRun #VintageVinyl

Happy Birthday to my favorite raconteur, roustabout, provocateur and shape shifter, Tom Waits. Born this day in 1949. A genuine artist. #TomWaits

"The Trump administration’s NSS announces a dramatic reworking of the foreign policy the U.S. has embraced since World War II."

The Beatles' "Rubber Soul" released in the US on this day in 1965. #TheBeatles #RubberSoul #VintageVinyl

On this day in 1969 the '60's ended. The Altamont Speedway Free Concert. #AltamontSpeedwayFreeConcert #Altamont 1/3

CARTOON OF THE DAY

Twang! It's Friday! Bobby Bare "Collector's Series" 1985. #BobbyBare #CollectorsSeries #VintageVinyl #TwangItsFriday

"No, Democrats didn’t lose because they use big words, or advocate for open borders, or talk too much about trans rights. None of those things actually happened to any significant degree, regardless of what Trump or the self-defeating wing of the Democratic Party says."

The eponymously titled debut album by Buffalo Springfield released on this day in 1966. #BuffaloSpringfield

12/5/1955-The American Federation of Labor, which had historically focused on organizing craft unions, merged w/ the Congress of Industrial Organizations, an organization of unions largely representing industrial workers, to form the AFL-CIO with a combined membership of nearly 15 million. #AFLCIO

#MikeLuckovich 12/5/2025

“An old political poison is growing on the new right, led by podcasters and internet opportunists who are preoccupied with the Jews,” the conservative editorial board of The Wall Street Journal wrote.

December 5, 1955 - Five days after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man, the African-American community of Montgomery, Alabama, launched a boycott of the city's bus system. #MontgomeryBusBoycott 1/3

December 4, 1970 - Cesar Chavez was sentenced to 20 days in jail for refusing to call off the United Farm Workers’ consumer boycott of Bud Antle, Inc., the country’s second largest lettuce grower. #CesarChavez #DoloresHuerta #UnitedFarmWorkers #UFW 1/2

December 4, 1969 - Black Panther party leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were assassinated by Chicago Police officers with cooperation from the FBI. #FredHampton 1/6

Me and Rebecca got to spend Thanksgiving with these two. Oh, and their mom and dad. #JudeAutry #BenAutry

"Ry Cooder" released in December 1970. #RyCooder #VintageVinyl

Frank Zappa died on this day in 1993. The graphic is a page from a 1967 Spiderman comic. "Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.” ~ Frank Zappa #FrankZappa #FZ

48 years ago this evening. Fortunate enough to have been there. #TomWaits #GoldenBear

#MikeLuckovich 11-4-2025

"Did you know that leaves are natures fertilizers and provide essential nutrients for the trees from which they fall! They also provide shelter for many insects during the winter months and are an essential part of an intact ecosystem supporting wildlife."

"My Generation" by The Who released this day in 1965. #TheWho #MyGeneration

Steve Cropper 1941 - 2025

December 3, 1965 - An all-white jury in Alabama convicted three Ku Klux Klansmen for the murder of white civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo. #ViolaLiuzzo 1/2

12/3/1984-In the early morning hours, one of the worst industrial disasters in history began when American-owned #UnionCarbide’s pesticide plant located near the densely populated city of Bhopal in central India leaked a highly toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate into the air. #BhopalDisaster 1/3

December 2, 1914 - Karl Liebknecht was the only member of German Parliament to vote against war with France and Britain. He was arrested shortly thereafter and conscripted into the German Army. Refusing to fight, Liebknecht served on the Eastern Front burying the dead. #KarlLiebknecht

12/2/1954-The U.S. Senate voted 65 to 22 to censure Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (R-Wisconsin) for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor & disrepute." 1/3

"Five Live Yardbirds" by The Yardbirds was released in December 1964. #TheYardbirds #FiveLiveYardbirds

December 2, 1977 - A demonstration erupted outside a South African court after a magistrate ruled that security police were to be exonerated in the death of black consciousness leader Steve Biko, who died while in their custody. #Bik4o #StevenBiko 1/

12/2/1964-Thousands who were part of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement gathered on the steps of Sproul Hall, the admin building at that U of CA campus, to protest 4 students being disciplined for distributing political literature; Joan Baez performed in support. #BerkeleyFreeSpeechMovement 1/3

#ThisModernWorld #TomTomorrow

December 1, 1966 - Comedian Dick Gregory was convicted in Olympia, Washington for his participation in a Nisqually Native American fishing rights protest. #DickGregory

#MikeLuckovich 11/30/2025

James Baldwin died on this day in 1987. "But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain.” #JamesBaldwin

December 1, 1948 - Following a brief but bloody civil war in 1948, Costa Rican President Jose Figueres helped draft a constitution that abolished the military and guaranteed free election with universal suffrage (all adult citizens can vote). #JoseFigueres #CostaRica 1/3

December 1, 1955 - Rosa Parks, a black seamstress active in the local NAACP, was arrested by police in Montgomery, Alabama, after refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. #RosaParks #MontgomeryBusBoycott 1/4

December 1, 1969 - A lottery was held to determine which young men would be drafted into the armed services for the ongoing War in Vietnam. A large glass container held 366 blue plastic balls each marked with a birth date. #DraftLottery 1/2

Ah... Those were the days. But no more.

Born this day in 1912 photographer, musician, writer and film director, Gordon Parks. #GordonParks

11/30/1993 - The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act became law. It provided for a waiting period before the purchase of a handgun, and for the establishment of a national instant criminal background check system to be used by firearms dealers before the transfer of any handgun. #BradyBill 1/2

Gordon Parks born this day in 1912. Photographer, musician, writer and film director, became prominent in U.S. documentary photojournalism in the 1940s through 1970s—particularly in issues of civil rights, poverty and African Americans—and in glamour photography. #GordonParks 1/3

"Crisis? What Crisis?" by Supertramp released this day in the UK in 1975. #Supertramp #CrisisWhatCrisis #VintageVinyl

Keep in mind that white American males shot and killed countless Americans including many children, and no one ever did a thing but protect their right to do it again.

Today in 1925 George D. Hay begins a one-hour radio show “WSM’s Barn Dance” in Nashville Tennessee with 77-year-old fiddler Uncle Jimmy Thompson. The first "Grand Ole Opry" broadcast. It is the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history. #GrandOleOpry