The List 7430
To All
Good Thursday Morning January 29, 2026. .
.Looks like another beautiful Day. We had a visitor we had not seen in a long time last night .A very large Possum. Got it on the ring camera in the backyard by the chicken cage. It is amazing how it can get under the fence back there that is only a couple of inches from the ground.
I had a great session with my physical Therapist yesterday and I have a number of exercises to do and more sessions scheduled.
.Regards,
skip
.HAGD
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/. Go here to see the director's corner for all 94 H-Grams.
This day in Naval and Marine Corps History January 29
1862—The storeship Supply captures schooner Stephen Hart loaded with a cargo of arms and munitions, south of Sarasota, FL, with cargo of arms and munitions.
1942—USS Quail (AM 15) bombards Japanese troop concentrations at Longoskawayan Point, Luzon.
1943—The Battle of Rennell Island begins when Japanese shore-based aircraft attack Task Force 18 cruisers and destroyers covering the movement of transports toward Guadalcanal. USS Chicago (CA 29) is damaged and sinks the next day.
1944—The battleship Missouri (BB 63) is christened. Built at the New York Navy Yard, her keel was laid on Jan. 6, 1941. After her christening and launching Jan. 29, she is completed rapidly, commissioning on June 11 of the same year, the last battleship to enter active service in the U.S. Navy.
1945—While loading a cargo of depth charges in Lunga Roads, off Guadalcanal, USS Serpens (AK 97) is destroyed by a massive explosion. All but two of the 198 Coast Guard crewmen, plus 57 Army stevedores are killed.
2017—Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, 36, of Peoria, Illinois, died Jan. 29 in the Arabian Peninsula of Yemen, of wounds sustained in a raid against al-Qaida.
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This Day in World History
January 29
1788 Australia Day
1813 Jane Austin publishes Pride and Prejudice.
1861 Kansas is admitted into the Union as the 34th state.
1865 William Quantrill and his Confederate raiders attack Danville, Kentucky.
1918 The Supreme Allied Council meets at Versailles.
1926 Violette Neatley Anderson becomes the first African-American woman admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.
1929 The Seeing Eye, America's first school for training dogs to guide the blind, founded in Nashville, Tennessee.
1931 Winston Churchill resigns as Stanley Baldwin's aide.
1942 German and Italian troops take Benghazi in North Africa.
1944 The world's greatest warship, Missouri, is launched.
1950 Riots break out in Johannesburg, South Africa, over the policy of Apartheid.
1967 Thirty-seven civilians are killed by a U.S. helicopter attack in Vietnam.
1979 President Jimmy Carter commutes the sentence of Patty Hearst.
1984 President Ronald Reagan announces that he will run for a second term.
1984 The Soviets issue a formal complaint against alleged U.S. arms treaty violations.
1991 Iraqi forces attack into Saudi Arabian town of Kafji, but are turned back by Coalition forces.
1784: In a letter to his daughter dated Jan. 26, 1784, Benjamin Franklin expressed unhappiness with the choice of the eagle as the symbol of America. He said he preferred the turkey. This was a time when turkeys were smart birds that lived in the wild and not the stupid things bred for Thanksgiving dinner.
1962: Bishop Burke of the Buffalo Catholic dioceses declares Chubby Checker's "The Twist" is impure and bans it from all Catholic schools, parishes and youth events. It can't be danced, sung about or listened to in any Catholic school, parish or youth event. Later in the year, the Twist will be banned from community center dances in Tampa, Florida as well.
Editor's Note: we fellow Catholics must lighten up and enjoy life for a change.
1998: President Clinton denied having an affair with a former White House intern, saying "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."
And today is:
National Peanut Brittle Day
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Thanks to the Bear and Dan Heller. We will always have the url for you to search items in Rolling Thunder
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER …
. rollingthunderremembered.com .
To All
Thanks to the Bear
This is great to watch…skip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQcxP70jNMY
Thanks to Micro
From Vietnam Air Losses site for ..January 29 . .
January 29: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=3108
Thanks to the Bear and Dan Heller
rollingthunderremembered.com .
Hello All,
Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear
Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com. If you scroll down from the banner and featured content you will find "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered History" which highlights events in the Vietnam war that occurred on the date the page is visited. Below that are links to browse or search all content. You may search by keyword(s), date, or date range.
An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega (TFO) MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit directly via https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/. There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo—TFO has over 1,000 individual case files).
If you have any questions or comments about RTR/TFO, or have a question on my book, you may e-mail me directly at acrossthewing@protonmail.com. Thank you Dan
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This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip
Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
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This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Servicemembers Killed in the Vietnam War
The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
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Thanks to Nice News
Route 66 turns 100 this year, which means you should probably start planning your road trip on the iconic motorway right about … checks watch … now. If you're the type to build travel itineraries around food, learn about 10 different restaurants you'll want to stop at during a drive along Route 66.
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It's Lüften Time: Behind the German Practice That's Literally a Breath of Fresh Air
Classen—ullstein bild/Getty Images
It's that time of year when there's nothing more appealing than snuggling under a blanket, ideally with a fire going and a warm beverage in hand. But even on the coldest nights, many Germans practice a simple ritual that doubles as a wellness hack: lüften, which roughly translates to "airing out."
In Germany, it's common to crack open every window in your home for five to 10 minutes each day — or to put it in TikTok speak, "burp" your home. The practice, which has been making waves on social media, comes with some solid health perks, according to Time.
Letting fresh air in can reduce air pollutants, mold, odors, and humidity, and thus improve indoor air quality, which can be worse than the outdoors due to contaminants from cleaning products, gas stoves, dust, and more. Fresh air is also associated with sharper cognition, mindfulness, and better sleep.
So when should you practice lüften? Lynelle Schneeberg, a sleep psychologist at Yale University, advises letting in the air right before bed for a refreshing reset: "You know that feeling when you've washed your sheets and they're so clean and fresh?" she said. "[With lüften], it's almost like you're giving yourself that feeling on a daily basis. So I think it's really a great idea."
Two College Roommates Solving a $100 Billion Problem
Seeing 60% of flowers get wasted without ever being sold, roommates John Tabis (ex Disney exec) and Juan Pablo Montufar-Arroyo (third-generation farmer) founded The Bouqs Co. to reinvent the $100 billion floral industry. They're now the No. 4 highest-revenue company to ever appear on Shark Tank.
Why? Because they've successfully created a flower business model that gets 90% of flowers directly from farm to consumer. Skipping importers, wholesalers, and order-gatherers makes The Bouqs Co. 3X more efficient than traditional models. The result is 270 million stems sold and up to $1.2 million in annual revenue per store.
You have just a few hours left: Get 10% bonus shares when you invest in The Bouqs Co. by 11:59 p.m PT tonight.
Invest Now
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In These States, Supporting Wildlife Is a Check Box Away
HKPNC/iStock
There's a silver lining to tax season this year in North Carolina. For the first time, the Tar Heel State has launched a tax return option allowing residents to donate some or all of their refunds to the N.C. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund — just by checking a box.
The donations go a long way, as the program will match every $100 given with $186 in federal grant funding to protect "species of greatest conservation need," Sara Schweitzer, with the state's Wildlife Resources Commission, said in a press release. She added: "In western North Carolina especially, donations will help us address the immense impacts of Hurricane Helene on species such as the Eastern hellbender, bog turtle, gray bat, Carolina Northern flying squirrel, and several high-elevation migratory birds."
Other states with similar "tax checkoff" programs include California, Colorado, and Wisconsin, where residents can dedicate part of their state refunds directly to wildlife conservation funds that are matched by the federal government. And while we're talking taxes, check out this guide that lists out key filing dates — plus, what's different this year.
Health
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New Heart Attack Research Could Pave the Way for Less Invasive Treatments
Tingting Ji/iStock
It's not news that the heart is intimately connected to the brain and the rest of the body. However, when it comes to understanding heart attacks specifically, the research has long been focused on the heart alone.
A recent study bucks that trend, finding that the cardiac events trigger a "triple node" feedback loop involving the heart, brain, and immune system. In other circumstances, such communication helps the body respond to injury or infection. But during a heart attack — when no pathogens or bacteria are present — it can trigger an overactive immune response that may actually make the damage worse.
"The brain says, 'hey, get up and run, you're going to die,'" Dr. Kalyanam Shivkumar, whose previous research is cited in the study, explained to NPR, adding: "And then the heart swells up. You get arrhythmias and heart failure."
Understanding this feedback loop could help change the way heart attacks are treated: "Current treatments for heart attacks focus on repairing the heart, including bypass surgery, angioplasty, and blood thinners, which are all invasive," co-author Vineet Augustine said in a statement. "This research is showing that perhaps by manipulating the immune system we can drive a therapeutic response."
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Thanks to 1440
Good morning. It's Thursday, Jan. 29, and we're covering the latest out of Minnesota, Spotify's record-breaking payout, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.6 million insatiably curious readers. ..
🇺🇸 Civics Thursday—As America gears up for its semiquincentennial (its 250th birthday), we're releasing new pages on 1440 Topics exploring all the things you need to know to be a good citizen. Scroll down for the latest batch, including pages on the life of George Washington, the history of the White House, and more!
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Need To Know
Border Agents Suspended
Two federal agents who fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minnesota were placed on administrative leave Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security said yesterday. The timeline marked a departure from a previous statement by CBP official Greg Bovino, suggesting the agents were working in another city to protect their safety.
The news comes as videos unearthed yesterday showed a confrontation between Pretti and federal officers at a protest 11 days before his death. Pretti was recorded spitting at agents and breaking a taillight on an SUV before he was tackled to the ground. A lawyer for Pretti's family released a statement that nothing that happened a week before Pretti's death could "have justified Alex's killing." See video here.
Separately, officials arrested the man suspected of using a syringe to spray an unidentified substance at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D, MN-5) Tuesday. Omar was calling for Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem to step down when she was charged onstage.
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Rates Hold, Dollar Wobbles
The Federal Reserve yesterday held interest rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75% for the first time since July. US stock markets closed near the flatline (S&P 500 -0.0%, Dow +0.0%, Nasdaq +0.2%) on the news.
The dollar also rebounded slightly after hitting a nearly four-year low Tuesday amid concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence and potential US military action in Greenland, Latin America, and the Middle East. The greenback's 1.3% slide against other major currencies was its biggest one-day drop since President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs in April. Over the past year, the dollar's value has fallen roughly 10%, weakening Americans' purchasing power abroad. Trump has largely dismissed concerns, citing that a weaker dollar can also boost domestic manufacturing by making US goods more attractive to foreign buyers.
Meanwhile, the Swiss franc climbed to an 11-year high against the dollar Tuesday, and gold surged to a record $5.3K per ounce yesterday. Investors have historically flocked to both assets amid geopolitical instability.
'Money, Money, Money'
Spotify paid the music industry more than $11B in royalties last year, the company said yesterday. The payout is reportedly the largest ever to musicians, and comes amid ongoing scrutiny over the company's handling of AI.
The streaming platform has long been accused of underpaying artists. Musicians receive an average of $0.004 per stream, with compensation varying based on their share of platformwide streams (see company's explanation). Last year's payout exceeded 2024's by $1B; Spotify says half of the sum went to independent artists and labels. The company also claimed there are more artists making over $100K annually on the platform today than artists who were stocked on record shelves during the CD era. Spotify says its royalties account for about 30% of the recording industry's total revenue.
Spotify has recently sought to ward off criticism over its inclusion of AI-generated music. The company said yesterday it will roll out features this year to verify artists' identities.
In partnership with EnergyX
Exxon Has an Unlikely New Competitor
Energy giants like Exxon and Chevron have been buying up land in America's lithium hotspot. Now they've got a new neighbor.
EnergyX just acquired the rights to 35k gross acres of lithium-rich land in the United States, right next to Exxon and Chevron's lithium projects, bringing their total to nearly 50k acres. What's really turning heads about this move is that EnergyX is doing more than competing for lithium-rich land. They've pioneered patented technology that can recover up to 3X more lithium than traditional methods. That combination positions EnergyX to be one of the biggest vertically integrated lithium producers in America. Plus, General Motors has invested along with other global leaders like Eni and POSCO.
It's great timing, too, because the demand for lithium is projected to 5X current production by 2040. No wonder 40,000+ people have already invested. Join them as an early-stage investor before EnergyX's share price increases at the end of February.*
In The Know
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Stephen Colbert says final episode of "The Late Show" will air May 21; Paramount cited financial reasons when it canceled the show last year, days after Colbert criticized its settlement with the Trump administration .
> Bruce Springsteen releases song criticizing ICE operations in Minneapolis (More) | Late singer Jeff Buckley earns first US Hot 100 hit with a 32-year-old song after it goes viral on TikTok .
> Patrick Reed leaves Saudi-funded LIV Golf, with intentions to return to the American-backed PGA Tour as early as September (More) | Cleveland Browns hire ex-Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken as head coach (More)
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Science & Technology
> Department of Energy seeks states to host nuclear waste and reprocessing sites, supporting advanced nuclear reactors and colocated data centers (More) | Dive into the best resources we've found on nuclear power (1440 Topics)
> Researchers discover exposure to diverse microbes and proteins early in life creates an immune memory that blocks allergies later in life (More) | Everything we've learned about allergies.
> Three-decade study finds men's heart attack risk spikes in their mid-30s—years earlier than women's—pointing to a case for earlier screenings
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Business & Markets
> Amazon to lay off roughly 16,000 corporate employees; announcement comes a day after the tech giant said it was shutting down Amazon Fresh and Go grocery stores and after it laid off around 14,000 corporate employees in October (More)
> Meta posts record Q4 sales and forecasts increased spending on AI in 2026 (More) | Tesla reports Q4 revenue drop for third consecutive time and annual sales drop for first time on record (More) | Microsoft tops earnings and revenue estimates, fueled by cloud business and OpenAI deal .
> Police reportedly search Deutsche Bank offices in Frankfurt and Berlin as part of money-laundering probe tied to past dealings with Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich ..
In partnership with Fisher Investments
Retirement Planning Made Easy
Building a retirement plan can be tricky and often it's hard to know where to start. That's why we've put together "The 15-Minute Retirement Plan" to help you create a path forward and navigate important financial decisions in retirement.
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Politics & World Affairs
> FBI agents search election office in Fulton County, Georgia, after Justice Department sues the county clerk to obtain access to 2020 election records (More)
> President Donald Trump threatens Iran after USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group arrives in the Middle East, warns of potential military action if Iran does not agree to a nuclear deal .
> Sicily landslide, triggered by days of heavy rain, forces more than 1,500 people to evacuate; government creates nearly 500-foot-wide "no-go zone" .
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In-Depth
> Defeat the Troll
Inhabit | Julie Shain. A reflection on marriage that argues real commitment isn't about enduring peak moments but cultivating the small, steady habits that keep two people from slipping into their worst selves when life inevitably gets hard. (Read)
> Baby-Making on Mars
Pioneer Works | Darshana Narayanan. From Cold War experiments on pregnant rats to modern plans for Mars colonization, a neuroscientist looks at whether humans can reproduce in space. (Read)
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In partnership with EnergyX
The Next Gold Rush
Lithium demand's fueling a modern-day gold rush. Essential for EVs, robots, and AI, Elon Musk said it best: "Do you like minting money? Well, the lithium business is for you."
Enter EnergyX. Their tech can recover up to 3X more lithium than traditional methods. They've got a strategic investment from General Motors, raised $150M, and earned a $5M DoE grant. Now, they're preparing to commercially unlock up to 9.8M tons of Chilean lithium. Invest before EnergyX's share price increases on 2/26.*
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"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."
- Robert Frost
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. Thanks to Brett
Excellent Article
How Your News Source Completely Changes What You Believe About Immigration
Brent Buchanan | January 26, 2026
Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images
Brent Buchanan
Brent Buchanan is the Founder & CEO of Cygnal, recognized as America's most accurate private pollster for four consecutive election cycles, and author of "America's Emotional Divide."
Texas has accounted for 25% of all ICE arrests since enforcement ramped up. The state has processed thousands upon thousands of deportations. No riots. No mob violence against federal officers. No churches stormed during worship services.
Minnesota represents less than 1% of ICE arrests. And Minneapolis is on fire.
How do you explain that gap?
The answer has nothing to do with immigration policy and everything to do with where Americans get their information.
What the Polling Actually Shows
At Cygnal, we recently surveyed voters on whether the Trump administration's deportation efforts have gone too far, are about right, or haven't gone far enough.
The results: 50% said too far, 48% said about right or not far enough. That's a statistical tie. A country split down the middle.
But if you only consumed legacy media coverage, you'd assume 80% of Americans are horrified by what's happening. You'd think the deportation efforts represent some unprecedented crisis of conscience for the nation.
They don't.
Nearly half the country supports the policy or wants it to go further. You just wouldn't know that from watching the evening news.
The real divide isn't about what Americans believe. It's about where they get the information that shapes those beliefs.
Inside the Information Bubbles
The data gets interesting when you cross-reference policy views with media consumption patterns.
Among voters who believe deportation efforts have gone "too far," 51% get their news primarily from national broadcast television: NBC, ABC, CBS. Compare that to 36% of all voters and just 14% of those who think enforcement hasn't gone far enough.
The "too far" crowd also over-indexes on newspaper consumption compared to the general voter population. These are the legacy media institutions, the ones that dominated American information for decades.
On the flip side, voters who believe deportation efforts haven't gone far enough slightly over-index on cable news (45% vs. 40% overall) and dramatically over-index on X, formerly Twitter (16% vs. 9% overall).
The "about right" middle? They're slightly more likely to get news from cable and Facebook than the average voter. No real drastic differences outside the fact they they also don't get as much of their news from legacy media.
What emerges is a clear pattern: liberals cluster heavily around broadcast television and print newspapers, while conservatives spread across cable, social media, and newer digital platforms.
These groups are consuming different facts, different story selections, different framings of what matters … and what doesn't.
The Amplification Machine
As said at the beginning, Minnesota represents less than 1% of ICE enforcement activity, but it's receiving wall-to-wall national coverage. Every confrontation, every protest, every dramatic standoff gets the full treatment—helicopter shots, breathless correspondents, the works.
Texas is processing 25 times the enforcement activity with minimal national attention. Why? Because compliance doesn't generate clicks. Orderly deportations don't drive ratings. A state that implements federal policy without mass unrest isn't a story anyone wants to tell.
More importantly, it doesn't make Trump look bad in their minds like Minneapolis does.
The editorial choice to focus on Minnesota is about feeding an existing narrative to an audience that wants that narrative confirmed, not informing the public.
And the consequences are tangible. When broadcast networks run continuous coverage of "resistance" to immigration enforcement, they're sending a signal to activists in other cities: this is how you get attention. This is how you become part of the story. This is how you "fight Trump."
The coverage doesn't just reflect the violence. It incentivizes it.
The Death of Shared Reality
For most of American history, we argued about policy while agreeing on basic facts. Democrats and Republicans watched the same evening news, read the same wire service reports, saw the same footage. They disagreed about what to do, not about what was happening.
That's over.
And I wrote about in "America's Emotional Divide," we've entered an era where Americans increasingly inhabit separate factual universes. The "too far" voter and the "not far enough" voter are watching different incidents, hearing different statistics, encountering different human-interest stories designed to trigger different emotional responses.
When I conduct focus groups, I see this constantly. Voters will cite "facts" that are genuinely news to voters on the other side—not because anyone is lying, but because their individual media ecosystems simply never surfaced that information.
This is what called tribal epistemology. Your tribe determines not just your values but your evidence. What counts as a credible source, a significant event, a representative example—all of it filters through group identity before it reaches individual judgment.
What's Actually at Stake
The Minneapolis situation illustrates the real danger. You have a city tearing itself apart over enforcement activity that represents a statistical rounding error nationally. You have activists storming churches, attacking federal officers, setting fires. And the coverage of that chaos generates more chaos elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the state handling a quarter of all enforcement activity does so with minimal drama. But nobody's running prime-time specials on "How Texas Implemented Immigration Policy without Burning Down."
The question for us is straightforward: Are you going to let your media diet determine your reality? Or are you going to actively seek out primary data, diverse sources, and information that challenges your existing beliefs?
Democracy requires a shared factual foundation. When half the country thinks we're in a humanitarian crisis and half thinks we're finally enforcing laws that went ignored for decades—and both sides can cite "evidence" for their position—we have a collective epistemological breakdown.
The information bubble doesn't just distorting immigration. Everything is distorted. And the only people who can pop it are the ones willing to step outside their comfortable media habits and ask what they might be missing.
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Thanks to Brett
.Politics has always been a deadly game
https://youtube.com/watch?v=OFxEEEFaCTo&si=j7_dbO2tPcrzB9YY
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. Thanks to Interesting Facts
7 Fascinating Facts About the Prohibition Era
As early as the colonial era, the consumption of alcoholic beverages was a contentious issue in America. Drunkenness was generally frowned upon, and certain sectors of society believed that alcohol was nothing short of the devil's juice. Tensions came to a head in the early 20th century, when the temperance movement (which advocated for moderation in all things), supported by groups such as the Anti-Saloon League, the National Prohibition Party, and women suffragists, convinced lawmakers to curtail what they saw as the calamitous and ungodly effects of alcohol.
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The result was the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on January 16, 1919. One year after the ratification, the prohibition of alcohol in the United States began, and breweries, wineries, and distilleries across the country were shuttered. Initially, the signs were positive. There was a significant reduction in alcohol consumption, booze-related hospitalizations declined, and there were notably fewer crimes related to drunkenness. But one thing never changed: Many people still enjoyed an occasional drink and weren't willing to live completely dry lives. Enter bootleggers, speakeasies, and organized crime. The Prohibition era lasted until 1933, and marked a period of colorful characters, clandestine operations, and government corruption. Here are seven facts from this fascinating time in U.S. history.
It Wasn't Actually Illegal to Drink Alcohol
The 18th Amendment prohibited "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" within the United States, but it didn't ban the consumption of alcohol at home. So, during the one-year grace period before Prohibition began, people — those who could afford it, at least — began stockpiling wine and liquor while it was still legal to buy. Once the cellars had been stocked and Prohibition began, there was a notable rise in home entertaining and dinner parties — a shift that transformed America's drinking culture in a way that's still felt to this day.
Prohibition Had Lots of Loopholes
Despite the constitutional law, certain legal loopholes existed that facilitated the acquisition of alcohol. Doctors could prescribe whiskey for medicinal purposes, making a friendly neighborhood pharmacist a handy source of booze — not to mention an ideal front for bootlegging operations. Religious congregations were allowed to purchase communion wine, which led to an increase in church enrollment. Winemakers, meanwhile, began selling "wine bricks," rectangular packages of entirely legal concentrated grape juice that could be used to make wine at home. The packaging even came with a handy "warning": "After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn into wine."
Tainted Alcohol Killed Thousands of People
The main source of liquor during Prohibition was industrial alcohol, the kind of stuff used to make ink, perfume, and camp stove fuel. Bootleggers could make about 3 gallons of barely drinkable — and dangerous — "gin" or "whiskey" from 1 gallon of industrial alcohol. But industrial alcohol was denatured, meaning it had additives to make it foul-smelling, awful-tasting, and poisonous. And while bootleggers found a way to recondition the denatured alcohol into cheap booze — colloquially known as "rotgut" — that was drinkable, it was still capable of causing blindness or death. On average, about 1,000 Americans died every year during the Prohibition era from drinking tainted liquor. Many estimates put the number even higher, with up to 50,000 total deaths from unsafe alcohol during Prohibition
Congress Had Its Own Bootlegger
Like thousands of other Americans, congresspeople and senators, including many of those who had voted in favor of Prohibition, often sought out illegal alcohol. One of their main suppliers was a bootlegger named George Cassiday, who started off supplying hooch to two House of Representatives members. Demand for his services soon increased, and before long he was making 25 deliveries a day to House and Senate offices. A dapper gentleman, Cassiday was easily recognized by his emerald fedora, and soon became known as the "man in the green hat." He was arrested in 1930 and sentenced to 18 months in prison, but was allowed to sign out every night and return the next morning during his time in jail. The same year he was arrested, Cassiday wrote a series of articles for The Washington Post in which he estimated that 80% of Congress drank illegally.
Al Capone's Oldest Brother Was a Prohibition Enforcement Agent
Al Capone was the most famous of all the gangsters who came to prominence during the Prohibition era. Capone's brothers Frank and Ralph were also mobsters. Then there was James Vincenzo Capone, the oldest of the Capone brothers, who later changed his name to Richard James Hart. He took a decidedly different path than his siblings: He became a Prohibition agent. He was, by most accounts, a daring and effective law enforcer, whose tendency to carry two ivory-handled pistols earned him the nickname "Two-Gun" Hart.
The End of Prohibition Made U.S. Constitutional History
Prohibition was, ultimately, a failure. At least half of the adult population wanted to carry on drinking, the policing of Prohibition was marred by contradictions and corruption, and with no actual ban on consumption, the whole thing became untenable. So, on December 5, 1933, the 18th Amendment was repealed by the 21st Amendment, bringing about the end of the Prohibition era. The 18th Amendment made constitutional history, becoming the first — and, to this day, only — constitutional amendment to be repealed in its entirety.
You Can Still Vote for the Prohibition Party
If for some reason you yearn for the days of Prohibition, you can always vote for the Prohibition Party. Yes, the anti-alcohol party, formed in 1869, still exists. Not only has it championed the cause of temperance for more than 150 years, but it's also the oldest existing third party in the United States. And while the Democrats have their donkey and the Republicans their elephant, the Prohibition Party's mascot is the camel — an animal that can survive without drinking for almost seven months.
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.Thanks to Brett
Daily Memo: Russia-India Ties, Putin's Invitation
The Russian president is apparently open to meeting Zelenskyy ... but only in Moscow.
By: Geopolitical Futures
Plane cooperation. Russia's United Aircraft Corp. and India's Hindustan Aeronautics signed an agreement pledging cooperation in the production of the Superjet 100. Under the deal, HAL will be granted a license to manufacture and sell the plane and its component parts in India. Meanwhile, Russian construction company Avtoban and Indian firm Newcon Engineers are in talks on jointly participating in tenders for road construction and infrastructure projects in India.
Invitation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is invited to Moscow if he is "truly ready" for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said. According to Ushakov, the Kremlin has never refused such a summit and would guarantee Zelenskyy's safety if he travels to Russia. Zelenskyy invited Putin to talks in Istanbul last May, but the offer was rejected, and a low-level delegation was sent instead.
Russia and Oman. Russian presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev arrived in Oman for talks on cooperation in the maritime space. Patrushev, who is also chair of the Russian Maritime Board, visited Russia's Marshal Shaposhnikov frigate in the port of Muscat. The ship is expected to arrive in the Bay of Bengal next for joint Russia-India exercises.
Russia and China. Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov and Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun held talks by video call. They emphasized progress in their bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and cooperation between their armed forces.
Standing with Tehran. Saudi Arabia will not allow its airspace or territory to be used to launch attacks against Iran, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said during a call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. They also exchanged views on Iran's nuclear program.
Trafficking. Thousands of items have been smuggled into Gaza in the past year, some of which have fallen into the hands of Hamas militants, despite Israel having security control over the enclave, the Israel Defense Forces admitted. Israeli citizens are suspected of having been involved in the smuggling, which employed drones from Israel and Sinai and trucks delivering goods to humanitarian organizations in Gaza. The trafficked items included tobacco (a potential revenue source for Hamas) and batteries (a highly sought-after good for the group).
U.S.-Syria talks. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed the security situation and other developments in his country during a call with U.S. President Donald Trump. Al-Sharaa emphasized diplomacy as the key to overcoming crises in the region, while Trump welcomed the ceasefire between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and expressed Washington's readiness to invest in the country.
Turkey's view. Trump also spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about regional and international developments, including in Syria and the work of the Gaza Peace Board. They discussed bilateral relations, including trade ties, particularly in the defense industry.
The Taiwan question. The Chinese Communist Party and Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang (or Nationalist) party will revive a long-stalled dialogue channel to navigate cross-strait tensions and discuss plans for industrial cooperation. The platform launched in 2006 but was suspended in 2016 due to deteriorating relations. The next session, which could pave a path to a meeting between the KMT chair and Chinese President Xi Jinping, will be held on Feb. 3 in Beijing.
Talking Iran. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held separate calls with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff about the rising tensions between Iran and the United States.
British outreach. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in China, his first visit to the country in eight years. He's expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Standing Committee Chair Zhao Leji. After landing in Beijing, Starmer will travel to Shanghai later this week.
East Asia. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi will host talks on Friday at the Yokosuka naval base with his South Korean counterpart, Ahn Gyu-back. The meeting is expected to focus on bilateral defense exchanges and North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
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Thanks to History Facts
George Washington had reddish hair.
Despite all the familiar portraits depicting George Washington with white hair, America's first President was closer to a natural redhead than many people realize. Though physical evidence is sparse, biographers have noted that the founding father boasted a reddish-brown mane. These darker locks can be seen in portraits of Washington as a young man, including paintings by artists Jean Leon Gerome Ferris and John C. McRae. There's also a locket at Washington's Mount Vernon estate containing a lock of reddish hair that was presented to Treasury Secretary Oliver Wolcott Jr. in 1797.
Another misconception about Washington's hair is that he wore a white wig, which was a common style choice at the time. But Washington was blessed with a full head of hair as he aged, which he powdered to look like the popular wigs of the time (his natural hair color eventually faded from reddish-brown to gray). The white color was favored by military men, and Washington often kept his hair at shoulder length and would tie it behind his head in a ponytail or with a ribbon. He would then fluff out the sides to give the appearance of a wig, and grease the hair with pomade to add firmness to his fluffy curls. Lastly, Washington sprinkled a fine white powder over his scalp for color, and often bunched his ponytail into a silk bag to prevent the powder from dusting onto his back and shoulders.
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Thanks to DR…at the risk of a dupe
: All Families Matter
Very cool Pics - Nature Photos - Click Below
https://rense.com/general96/shots.html
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This Day in U S Military History
January 29
1968 –In his annual budget message, President Lyndon B. Johnson asks for $26.3 billion to continue the war in Vietnam, and announces an increase in taxes. The war was becoming very expensive, both in terms of lives and national treasure. Johnson had been given a glowing report on progress in the war from Gen. William Westmoreland, senior U.S. commander in South Vietnam. Westmoreland stated in a speech before the National Press Club that, "We have reached an important point when the end begins to come into view. I am absolutely certain that, whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing. The enemy's hopes are bankrupt." The day after Johnson's budget speech, the communists launched a massive attack across the length and breadth of South Vietnam. This action, the Tet Offensive, proved to be a critical turning point for the United States in Vietnam. In the end, the offensive resulted in a crushing military defeat for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese, but the size and scope of the communist attacks caught the American and South Vietnamese allies by surprise. The heavy U.S. and South Vietnamese casualties incurred during the offensive, coupled with the disillusionment over the administration's earlier overly optimistic reports of progress in the war, accelerated the growing disenchantment with the president's conduct of the war. Johnson, frustrated with his inability to reach a solution in Vietnam, announced on March 31, 1968, that he would neither seek nor accept the nomination of his party for re-election.
1974 –The fighting continues in South Vietnam despite the cease-fire that was initiated on January 28, 1973, under the provisions of the Paris Peace Accords. This latest fighting was part of the ongoing battles that followed the brief lull of the cease-fire. The Peace Accords had left an estimated 145,000 North Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam when the cease-fire went into effect. Renewed fighting broke out after the cease-fire as both sides jockeyed for control of territory throughout South Vietnam. Each side held that military operations were justified by the other side's violations of the cease-fire, resulting in an almost endless chain of retaliations. During the period between the initiation of the cease-fire and the end of 1973, there were an average of 2,980 combat incidents per month in South Vietnam. Most of these were low-intensity harassing attacks designed to wear down the South Vietnamese forces, but the North Vietnamese intensified their efforts in the Central Highlands in September when they attacked government positions with tanks west of Pleiku. As a result of these post-cease-fire actions, approximately 25,000 South Vietnamese were killed in battle in 1973, while communist losses in South Vietnam were estimated at 45,000.
1979 – Deng Xiaoping, deputy premier of China, meets President Jimmy Carter, and together they sign historic new accords that reverse decades of U.S. opposition to the People's Republic of China. Deng Xiaoping lived out a full and complete transformation of China. The son of a landowner, he joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1920 and participated in Mao Zedong's Long March in 1934. In 1945, he was appointed to the Party Central Committee and, with the 1949 victory of the communists in the Chinese Civil War, became the regional party leader of southwestern China. Called to Beijing as deputy premier in 1952, he rose rapidly, became general secretary of the CCP in 1954, and a member of the ruling Political Bureau in 1955. A major policy maker, he advocated individualism and material incentives in China's attempt to modernize its economy, which often brought him into conflict with Mao and his orthodox communist beliefs. With the launch of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, Deng was attacked as a capitalist and removed from high party and government posts. He disappeared from public view and worked in a tractor factory, but in 1973 was reinstated by Premier Zhou Enlai, who again made him deputy premier. When Zhou fell ill in 1975, Deng became the effective leader of China. In January 1976, Zhou died, and in the subsequent power struggle Deng was purged by the "Gang of Four"–strict Maoists who had come to power in the Cultural Revolution. In September, however, Mao Zedong died, and Deng was rehabilitated after the Gang of Four fell from power. He resumed his post as deputy premier, often overshadowing Premier Hua Guofeng. Deng sought to open China to foreign investment and create closer ties with the West. In January 1979, he signed accords with President Jimmy Carter, and later that year the United States granted full diplomatic recognition to the People's Republic of China. In 1981, Deng strengthened his position by replacing Hua Guofeng with his protýgý, Hu Yaobang, and together the men instituted widespread economic reforms in China. The reforms were based on capitalist models, such as the decentralization of various industries, material incentives as the reward for economic success, and the creation of a skilled and well-educated financial elite. As chief adviser to a series of successors, he continued to be the main policy maker in China during the 1980s. Under Deng, China's economy rapidly grew, and citizens enjoyed expanded personal, economic, and cultural freedoms. Political freedoms were still greatly restricted, however, and China continued as an authoritative one-party state. In 1989, Deng hesitantly supported the government crackdown on the democratic demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. Later that year, he resigned his last party post but continued to be an influential adviser to the Chinese government until his death in 1997.
1991 – A few hours after darkness fell on Jan. 29, a column of several dozen Iraqi tanks approached the abandoned Saudi town of Khafji. With all turrets pointed to the rear in the international military sign of surrender, the small number of Saudi forces defending the town permitted the enemy force to draw close, in anticipation of their surrender. As the tanks approached, however, the Iraqis turned their turrets toward the defenders and opened fire. This surprise attack proved to be the spearhead of an invasion of Khafji and in a short time the Iraqis drove out the joint force defending the town, occupied it, and began the formation of a defensive posture in anticipation of a counterattack. This force was estimated at approximately 40 tanks and 500 ground troops. During this time, in addition to casualties inflicted on the retrating forces, two soldiers from a U.S. transportation battalion – one a female – were reported missing and believed captured and two six-man Marine recon teams were stranded behind enemy lines. These Marines took up covert positons on rooftops, and would continue to relay back vital information on Iraqi troop movements throughout the battle. At the time, however, the Marines were stranded, surrounded, and in imminent danger. Realizing the scope of the situation, the coalition next had to determine the intent of the Iraqi probes, contain the offensive forces, and regain control over Khafji. For the US led coalition ground forces, the Iraqi attack came at an awkward moment. The Army component was in the midst of its three-week redeployment from the coastal area to attack positions more than 200 miles west. Any disruption to the 24-hour-a-day caravan might upset the timetable for the upcoming attack. Containing the offensive and pushing the Iraqis out of Saudi territory was vital. As the battle began, theater commander Army Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf told reporters, "The mere fact that they launched these attacks indicates they still have a lot of fight left in them." JSTARS reports of Iraqi movement on the border and behind the lines flowed into the Tactical Air Control Center that night at about 10 p.m. local time. Brig. Gen. Buster Glosson received the first JSTARS reports and conferred with Horner. The JFACC ordered the single JSTARS aircraft flying that night to swing back to the KTO and concentrate its arc of coverage over the border area near Khafji. Later that night–at 2 a.m. on Jan. 30–the JSTARS sensors began to detect more movement as the 5th Mechanized entered Khafji and elements of the 3d Armored advancedthrough the adjacent Al Wafra forest. To the west, the Iraqi 1st Mechanized Division probed across the border. Unbeknownst to Saddam, Schwarzkopf had decided not to play into his hands by launching a ground counterattack. "Schwarzkopf told us he didn't want to put any other forces over there," recalled retired USAF Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Olsen, who at the time was serving as CENTAF deputy commander. Schwarzkopf instructed his commanders to use airpower as the key element, along with Marine, Saudi, and other coalition ground forces, to stop the attack. To increase the margin of safety, the Marines embarked on a phased redeployment in their sector to put a buffer of about 20 kilometers of territory between coalition forces and the Iraqis. As long as airpower could reach deep to stop the offensive, the coalition ground forces in the area would not have to be reinforced, and Schwarzkopf would not have to reposition the redeploying Army forces. At the Air Operations Center, the first task was to direct sorties already scheduled on the night's Air Tasking Order to strike moving Iraqi forces picked up by the JSTARS sweep. Air attacks were funneled into the KTO from different altitudes and directions using a grid of designated "kill boxes" as a control measure. Each box measured 30 kilometers by 30 kilometers and was subdivided into four quadrants. Planners pushed a four-ship flight through each kill box every seven to eight minutes in daytime and every 15 minutes at night. In the designated area of the box, a flight lead was free to attack any targets he could identify. Within the CINC's guidance to the air component, air interdiction operated independently. Hundreds of air attacks on Iraqi forces in Kuwait were already scheduled and under way. For example, more than 100 Air Force A-10 sorties were concentrated on the Republican Guards Tawakalna Division far to the northwest of Khafji. Many of the other sorties listed on the Air Tasking Order were already assigned to areas where the three divisions were gathered for the offensive. With airpower already flowing through the kill boxes, air controllers quickly diverted sorties to the Marine forward air controllers or sent them ahead to interdict the Iraqi forces attempting to reach coalition lines. Pilots found the Iraqi armored vehicles were easier to identify and target once they were on the move. Near Al Wafra, an A-10 pilot described the sight of a column of vehicles as "like something from A-10 school." A-6s joined in, using Rockeye air-to-ground weapons. A-10 pilot Capt. Rob Givens later recalled with some amazement: "I, myself–one captain in one airplane–was engaging up to a battalion size of armor on the ground" and "keeping these guys pinned for a little bit." AFSOC AC-130 gunships waiting on alert were scrambled after a hasty briefing. As lead elements of the 5th Mechanized with some support from the 3d Armored reached Khafji, one Air Force gunship caught the column and stopped many of them from entering the town. Anti-aircraft fire and occasional missile launches were reported by the aircrews. However, the rapid attacks to squelch the initiative of the maneuver force also hit the Iraqis before they could bring up and assemble most of their heavier air defense guns and shoulder-fired SAMs, an important edge for the coalition that contributed to increased aircraft survivability and effectiveness
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
FUNK, LEONARD A., JR.
Rank and organization: First Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 508th Parachute Infantry, 82d Airborne Division. Place and date: Holzheim, Belgium, 29 January 1945. Entered service at: Wilkinsburg, Pa. Birth: Braddock Township, Pa. G.O. No.: 75, 5 September 1945. Citation: He distinguished himself by gallant, intrepid actions against the enemy. After advancing 15 miles in a driving snowstorm, the American force prepared to attack through waist-deep drifts. The company executive officer became a casualty, and 1st Sgt. Funk immediately assumed his duties, forming headquarters soldiers into a combat unit for an assault in the face of direct artillery shelling and harassing fire from the right flank. Under his skillful and courageous leadership, this miscellaneous group and the 3d Platoon attacked 15 houses, cleared them, and took 30 prisoners without suffering a casualty. The fierce drive of Company C quickly overran Holzheim, netting some 80 prisoners, who were placed under a 4-man guard, all that could be spared, while the rest of the understrength unit went about mopping up isolated points of resistance. An enemy patrol, by means of a ruse, succeeded in capturing the guards and freeing the prisoners, and had begun preparations to attack Company C from the rear when 1st Sgt. Funk walked around the building and into their midst. He was ordered to surrender by a German officer who pushed a machine pistol into his stomach. Although overwhelmingly outnumbered and facing almost certain death, 1st Sgt. Funk, pretending to comply with the order, began slowly to unsling his submachine gun from his shoulder and then, with lightning motion, brought the muzzle into line and riddled the German officer. He turned upon the other Germans, firing and shouting to the other Americans to seize the enemy's weapons. In the ensuing fight 21 Germans were killed, many wounded, and the remainder captured. 1st Sgt. Funk's bold action and heroic disregard for his own safety were directly responsible for the recapture of a vastly superior enemy force, which, if allowed to remain free, could have taken the widespread units of Company C by surprise and endangered the entire attack plan.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for January 29, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
29 January
1915: First 20 aviation mechanics were designated after passing specified exams. (5) 1926: Lt John A. Macready set a US altitude record of 38,704 feet in an XC05A with Liberty 400 HP engines at Dayton, Ohio. (24)
1935: At Miami, Fla., Harry Richman flew a Sikorsky S-39 to an 18,641.676-foot world altitude record of for amphibians. (24)
1944: WORLD WAR II. During the largest US air operation to date, Eighth Air Force dispatched 809 heavy bombers to drop 1,886 tons of bombs on Frankfurt and Ludwigshaven, Germany. (24)
1947: Operation HIGHJUMP. From 660 miles off Antarctica, the USS Philippine Sea launched six R4D transport planes to Little America in Antarctica. (24)
1958: The Department of Defense established the National Pacific Missile Range for guided and intercontinental ballistic missile testing at the Naval Air Missile Test Center, Point Mugu, Calif. (6)
1959: The Tactical Air Command received the first ski-modified C-130A. (5)
1962: The USAF launched the 47th and last Titan I from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on a 5,000-mile flight. Of the 47 shots, there were 34 successful, 9 partially successful, and 4 failed launches. (6) (26)
1964: First successful launch of a fully fueled, two-stage Saturn from Cape Canaveral, Fla., put a record 10 tons in orbit. (5)
1965: The C-141A's certification ended an unusual program in which industry, the Federal Aviation Administration, and USAF jointly developed, produced, and tested the aircraft. (5)
1973: Operation COUNTDOWN: Through 29 March, following the signing of the Vietnam peace pacts, Air Force and commercial aircraft airlifted 21,000 American and allied forces and 7,000 tons of equipment from South Vietnam. (16) (18)
1978: Operation SNOW BLOW I. Through 31 January, 27 C-141 and 12 C-130 sorties airlifted 500 personnel and 542 tons of equipment from Pope AFB, N. C., and Fort Campbell, Ky., to snowbound Toledo, Ohio. (18)
1979: The E-3A Sentry aircraft assumed a continental air defense mission. (16) (26)
1991: BATTLE OF KHAFJI. Iraqi forces crossed the Kuwaiti border into Saudi Arabia. The USAF suffered its greatest loss of the war, when the Iraqis shot down an AC-130H Spectre gunship, killing all 14 crewmembers on board. Tactical air strikes by coalition air forces, however, routed the invaders in three days. (21)
On this day in Air Force History
January 29:
As part of AFHF's continuing partnership with the ASFA, we direct your attention to one of the Mitchell Institutes' excellent contributions to the understanding of Air and Space Power. This falls under the category of "Know the Past…Shape the Future," and is helpful as the Foundation looks to explore "technological Change in the USAF, 1920-2020" as this year's theme.
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