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Would the Allies have dropped an atomic bomb on Germany?

There doesn't seem to have ever been much discussion amongst the US and British about using an atomic bomb in the European theater. The war ended before practical deployment could be achieved, but there does not seem to have been any planning to ever use one. Why? The attached article gives some reasons, fear of an unexploded bomb falling into the hands of German scientists, and the bombs being best suited to the B-29. The second one seems to be a weak argument. The British Lancaster could do the job, and I don't believe transferring a wing of B-29s to England would have been that difficult as it is suggested to be. The vulnerability of the B-29 to a still potent Luftwaffe seems to be a bigger concern.
Of all the articles I could find no concerns were stated about collateral damage or fallout. Even those relatively weak atom bombs produced radioactive fallout. If the war in Europe had stalled in the Fall of 1944, and the Russians had been held back, would we have dropped an atom bomb that might have produced fallout that would have affected Soviet troops?
Interesting notes in the article about the early target planning done in 1943. I was somewhat surprised to see the Japanese fleet at Truk so prominently mentioned. However, a bomb dropped into that harbor, ringed by mountains, would have been devastating.
Discuss.
https://ieer.org/resource/commentary/always-the-target/

Pathetic new Casey DeSantis Ad in Iowa

Truly pathetic. Give it up Ron, you're toast. Nobody likes you, stop torturing Iowans:

A new super PAC that popped up in support of Gov. Ron DeSantis this week is preparing to air an ad that features Casey DeSantis, his wife, talking about her experience with cancer. The ad is nearly identical to one that was broadcast during his re-election campaign for governor last year, a video of the new spot shows.
The group, Good Fight, was formed on Wednesday and soon began shipping copies of the ad to television stations. The Times obtained the ad from a person who received a copy of it, but who requested anonymity in order to share it.
The narration of the ad is virtually the same as in the 2022 ad, but the new version features some new images and clips — of his children playing at the Field of Dreams in Iowa, for example — briefly spliced into the middle.
Such a move could be considered “republication” of an ad, which the Federal Election Commission has regulations against. For instance, the super PAC supporting the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, later paid a fine related to republishing an ad from Mr. Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign.
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It is unclear whether those regulations would apply here, since the original spot is from a state campaign and not a federal one.
The DeSantis ad features Ms. DeSantis trying to humanize her husband — who is often described as stiff on the campaign trail — as a father and a supportive husband when she faced breast cancer. The version that aired in 2022 had a logo that read “Ron DeSantis Florida Governor” in the upper-right corner; that logo is blurred out in the new spot sent to stations, which ends with a disclaimer that it was paid for by Good Fight.
Craig Mareno, an accountant with Crosby Ottenhoff, a firm based in Birmingham, Ala., is listed on documents creating the group that were filed with the F.E.C. Reached by phone, Mr. Mareno declined to answer questions about the group or the ad, and asked for an email that he could forward to another official he said could answer questions.

The DeSantis campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Adav Noti of Campaign Legal Center said it was unclear how the F.E.C. would view the use of the old DeSantis ad, since Mr. DeSantis was not a federal candidate at the time.
“The entire DeSantis operation, including the campaign and all of the super PACs, have been pushing the legal envelope since the beginning, and this use of prior campaign material to put out presidential campaign ads is another example,” said Mr. Noti, whose group has already filed an F.E.C. complaint accusing Mr. DeSantis’s presidential campaign of coordinating illegally with the original DeSantis super PAC, Never Back Down.




Good Fight emerged as Never Back Down, a deep-pocketed but embattled organization, began canceling $2.5 million in planned television advertisements in the early nominating states of Iowa and New Hampshire, according to AdImpact, a media tracking company.
Campaigns are not allowed to coordinate directly with super PACs, but the move appears to align with the strategy suggested by the DeSantis campaign in a memo in late November.
James Uthmeier, Mr. DeSantis’s campaign manager, wrote in the memo that a new super PAC formed to aid the governor, Fight Right, would air television ads, and Never Back Down would focus on its “field operation and ground game.”
Never Back Down has poured millions into an ambitious door-knocking operation in early states, especially in Iowa. But that ground game has sputtered, with Mr. DeSantis’s poll numbers stagnating as former President Donald J. Trump remains far ahead both in Iowa and nationally. And the super PAC itself has been embroiled in turmoil, with a series of top executives and strategists departing over the past month.
Fight Right, formed by people with ties to Mr. DeSantis, originated amid internal disagreements over strategy at Never Back Down, which struggled to meld veteran political strategists from a consulting firm with DeSantis loyalists. Mr. DeSantis had also been troubled by the group’s advertising strategy, as The Times previously reported. Fight Right began airing ads in late November attacking former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina.
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In a statement, Scott Wagner, the chairman of Never Back Down, said the group was “laser focused on its core mission — running the most advanced grass-roots and political caucus operation in this race and helping deliver the G.O.P. nomination for Governor DeSantis.”
“We are thrilled to have Fight Right and others covering the air for Governor DeSantis while we work the ground game in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and beyond,” Mr. Wagner added.
Taryn Fenske, a spokeswoman for Fight Right, said the group was placing an advertising buy of more than $2.5 million starting Sunday, with $1.3 million behind an anti-Haley ad that is slated to start running in Iowa that day.
Never Back Down previously transferred $1 million to Fight Right, which helped precipitate a major leadership shake-up at the original super PAC, where some officials questioned the move. Officials with Never Back Down and Fight Right would not directly answer questions about whether the canceled $2.5 million was being used to fund the new Fight Right ads. Both Fight Right and Good Fight are using the same firm, Digital Media Placement Services, to purchase airtime, according to AdImpact’s records.

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Goetz on OC Hiring Process

She appeared to be confident and optimistic.

"I feel really good about where the process is," she said. "I know there are a lot of people anxious certainly to hear what the final decision is and who is going to be joining that team. I think all those puzzle pieces are going to come together here in short order."

STORY:

Propaganda at its finest

Extreme wave in Marshall Islands highlights dangers of climate change, experts say
The series of waves wreaked havoc on the island of Roi-Namur.

ByJulia Jacobo,Daniel Manzo andDaniel Peck
January 23, 2024, 4:58 PM ET
• 6 min read

Extreme wave slams into US Army base in South PacificThe Army says at least one third of the military island base at the Marshall Islands was flooded after a series of unpredicted giant waves.U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll
A series of extreme waves that wreaked havoc on a U.S. military base in the Marshall Islands could be indicative of more dangerous coastal behavior in the future, according to experts.

Flooding from the waves inundated one-third of the island of Roi-Namor, located in the Kwajalein Atoll in the northern Marshall Islands, according to the U.S. Army. The U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll base serves as a space and missile defense test range for the U.S. Department of Defense and contains some of the Army's most sophisticated tracking equipment.


MORE: System continues to bring rough surf to California
The waves did serious damage to several locations on the island, according to the U.S. Army. Ocean water had washed over the northwest side of the island. Standing water was found in several buildings on the base, such as the dining facility, the chapel and a theater, the Army said, citing an initial aerial damage assessment.

Joe Sienkiewicz, chief of the ocean applications branch for for NOAA’s Ocean Prediction Center, said this extreme wave was "much larger" than the average size of the waves hitting the island's shores.

"If there are multiple wave sets, then it's possible that the energy can just double in an area from two different sets of waves," Sienkiewicz told ABC News.


Erik Hanson
This still from a video shows the moment a wave ripped through a restaurant on Marshall Island, Jan. 21, 2024.
Erik Hanson

With extreme waves, the height of a particular wave could be twice as high as other waves in the background, Sienkiewicz said.

It appears that multiple waves caused the damage to the island.

MORE: Strong waves pound California coast, injuring at least 8

Cellphone video taken from the inside of a restaurant shows the force of a large wave forcing down the door of a restaurant on the Army base. Another wave is then seen rushing in, crashing through windows as patrons inside the restaurant attempt to take refuge on dining tables.

Sea level may have played a contributing factor into the severity of the waves and could cause them to occur more often in the future, Sienkiewicz said.

U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll
Kwajalein, Marshall Islands is seen from a plane, Jan. 21, 2024.
U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll

The Marshall Islands are considered at the very front lines of climate change, with research showing that rising sea levels contribute to powerful, destructive waves and more flooding in coastal areas as a result.

Several other factors, such as coastal topography, weather conditions and tide cycles, could have also played a role in the strength of the waves. Other causes could include a rapid change in the bathymetry, or the depth of the water, Sienkiewicz said.

MORE: Passengers on Antarctic cruise ship hit by deadly 'rogue wave' speak out
Eighty people were evacuated from Roi-Namor. Sixty people remain to assess the damage and restore basic services, according to the Army. The top priorities are clearing the runway, U.S. Army Col. Drew Morgan said in a statement.

"Once the runway is open, we can move people and equipment back and forth to start the recovery process," Morgan said.

Erik Hanson
This still from a video shows the moment a wave ripped through a restaurant on Marshall Island, Jan. 21, 2024.
Erik Hanson

The recovery event for the flooding is going to be a "marathon," Morgan told ABC News.

Sienkiewicz warned people who go to the beach to be vigilant if they start to witness a wide variety in the size of waves.

"Just be cautious -- cautious in a sense that don't venture into the surf line or even close to the surf line," he said.

ABC News' Stephanie Ebbs, Anne Flaherty, Kelly Livi
ngston and Christopher Looft contributed to this report.

New Survey: 28% Of Gen Z Adults Identify As LGBTQ

Thats an awfully high number... However, as you look at the trend of Gen XYZ, it is clearly going in that direction so it is very possibly, accurate.

"About 28% of Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ, compared with 16% of millennials, 7% of Generation X (born 1965-1980), 4% of baby boomers (1946-1964) and 4% of the Silent Generation (1928-1945)".

Will Ferrell on navigating his friend's transition in the new documentary film Will and Harper

In 2001 Will Ferrell joined the cast of SNL. At first the writers struggled to make use of Ferrell's unique style and talents. Ferrell began to click when Harper Steele began to collaborate with him. A friendship and a working partnership blossomed. They lost touch during the pandemic, and Ferrell was stunned when Steele reached out to announce she was transitioning. Ferrell asked her to take a road trip across America, and they filmed their journey which was turned into a highly acclaimed documentary. They moved closer to each other as friends, they found out a lot about themselves during the trip, and demonstrated the range of acceptance for trans citizens across the US. Steele notes that having such a recognizable star as Ferrell along for the ride opened a few doors for them.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ferrell-navigating-best-friends-transition-040706367.html

Iowa Women’s Wrestling team at Indiana Tech Duals Jan 26







It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!
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Sheriff, Deputies and County Commissioners lose sovereign immunity after arresting county commissioner for criticizing Sheriff

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DeSantis says Trump’s victory in Iowa is ‘a huge warning’ for Republicans

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that Donald Trump’s commanding victory in Iowa should be “a huge warning sign” for Republicans, comments critical of the former president’s influence on the party that come just days after DeSantis dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump.

Cut through the 2024 election noise. Get The Campaign Moment newsletter.

Speaking on the “Steve Deace Show,” DeSantis warned that the low turnout for the Iowa caucuses was reflective of conservatives who are expressing their discontent with Trump by staying away from the polls. He said his team found Iowa Republicans who caucused in 2016 but who were refusing to do so again in 2024.

Ron DeSantis ends presidential campaign, endorses Trump
“They were conservative but they did not want to see Trump nominated again, but they had basically been told that it was inevitable, that it was over, so why even bother?” DeSantis said. “And they just totally dropped out of the process.”



As evidence, DeSantis cited the turnout at the caucuses. “To have 110,000 people show up, when in 2016 you had 186,000 show up — when Iowa has more Republicans this year than they did in 2016 — that shows you there’s a lot of our voters who have checked out,” he said, without addressing the record-low temperatures on that day.
Edison Research estimated turnout in Iowa at 115,000 on Monday night — down from 186,657 in 2016, and lower than 121,503 in 2012 and 119,207 in 2008, The Washington Post reported.
That turnout problem could get worse, DeSantis said. “In each contest, those voters that had checked out, I think that percentage will grow and those are the voters you need to be competitive.”

“And I think they’re just like, you know what? ‘We’re doing this again?’ and they’re checked out. So it’s a huge warning sign for Republicans, nationally, based on what we saw in Iowa.”


As for New Hampshire, DeSantis said, “Trump’s going to win that going away. But what’s the overall turnout?”

In a result tallied after DeSantis’s comments, Trump won the New Hampshire primary Tuesday with a decisive victory over former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, with voter turnout projected to be at a record high.

Trump wins New Hampshire; Haley vows to fight on
1:43

Former president Donald Trump won the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary on Jan. 23, beating his rival former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley. (Video: The Washington Post)
Who coined the term ‘caucus’? There are lots of candidates, but no winner.
On the campaign trail, Trump has relentlessly attacked and mocked DeSantis, using demeaning nicknames and charging him with being disloyal, while the Florida governor has spent the past 12 months effectively calling Trump self-absorbed and ineffective.

In his endorsement of Trump after dropping out of the presidential race on Sunday, DeSantis said it had become clear to him “that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Trump another chance.”
A day later, he appeared ready to veto a proposal that could help pay Trump’s mounting legal fees. The bill proposing financial support for Florida residents who run for president was put forth by Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s chief financial officer and a member of DeSantis’s gubernatorial Cabinet.
DeSantis sounded a note of caution in his comments Tuesday: “When I have people come up to me who voted for Reagan and … have been conservative their whole life, [who] say that they don’t want to vote for Trump again, that’s a problem. So he’s got to figure out a way to solve that. I think there’s an enthusiasm problem overall.”

Are there any demographics that will show up in greater numbers for Biden this time around?

Biden topped out with 81,000,000 votes in last election due to peak hatred of Trump. He's lost that steam because Trump hasn't been in office to fvck anything up. So, which of those demographics that came out for him last time are going to increase in numbers or at least stay the same?

I think he's going to get helped out quite a bit due to the abortion issue.

However:
Blacks are way less interested this time around.
Young people are mad about Israel/ Palestine and world affairs.
Middle class is feeling the sting of inflation still.
Latinos are moving more and more towards GOP.
Swing voters have just named "The border/ immigration" as their top concern, moving "inflation" to #2. Both of those things hurt him.

Where are his numbers going to improve this time around? It's not like he can go out there and give speeches and inspire confidence. He's not going to give any unscripted press conferences. I imagine debates will either be a complete mess for him or off the table altogether.

Other than the laughing emojis from the usual cowardly suspects, can anyone explain where he's going to gain votes?

Nebraska women's basketball to sell out PBA for first time in showdown with Iowa

The Nebraska women's basketball team's game against No. 5 Iowa on Feb. 11 will make history as the program's first sellout crowd at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
The Super Bowl Sunday game against the Hawkeyes was already a sellout weeks before the game. All the tickets are sold, and it’s not expected that more will become available the week of the game.
With ticket sales — as well as arena staff, media and team personnel — the attendance should be about 15,000.

It should be the largest crowd in the 50 seasons of Nebraska women’s basketball. The previous record was 14,289, which also came during a game against Iowa last season. It will be a top-30 crowd in the sport this season.

It will be the first sellout for a women’s game in the 11 seasons at Pinnacle Bank Arena, and just the second sellout in program history. The only previous women’s basketball sellout came against Missouri in 2010 when the Huskers played at the smaller Devaney Sports Center.

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One of the biggest draws of course is Caitlin Clark, who is one of the biggest attractions at any level of sports right now during what could be her final college season.


She leads the nation in scoring (31.7 points per game) and three-pointers (104) and is second nationally in assists (7.8).
Most games Clark plays in include hundreds of girls attending wearing her jersey or T-shirt. And they bring homemade posters and hope Clark will sign them.

With tickets to Iowa's home games difficult to get, the game in Lincoln is a chance for some fans from the border state to be able to watch Clark in person.
Iowa’s games on the road this season have been getting large crowds, including 18,660 when the Hawkeyes played at Ohio State on Sunday. The game also averaged 1.9 million TV viewers and peaked at 3.9 million during overtime.

The Feb. 11 game will be at least the third time this season Nebraska has topped 8,700 spectators for a home game, including 9,059 against Indiana in January.
Last year’s game against Iowa got 14,289. That topped the previous Nebraska program record of 13,595 in 2010 when Nebraska played at the Devaney Sports Center. It was 4,000 more than any previous women’s game at PBA.


Nebraska will play the first of its two regular-season games against Iowa on Saturday in Iowa City. The 1 p.m. game is on the Big Ten Network.

F.D.A. Issues Warning of Cancer Risk Linked to CAR-T Therapies

The Food and Drug Administration is requiring companies that make specialized cancer therapies known as CAR-T to add a boxed warning that the treatments themselves may cause cancers.
The agency noted that the benefits still outweighed the risks of the therapy, which involves removing a type of white blood cells — T cells — and then genetically engineering them to create proteins called chimeric antigen receptors (CAR). Infused back into a patient’s blood, the engineered cells allow the T cells to attach to cancer cells and kill them.
But the therapies, which mostly treat blood cancers, including multiple myeloma, had already carried a warning for dangerous immune responses and for neurological risks. And the new warning follows reports of about 25 cases of secondary cancers that federal health officials and others have suspected were caused by CAR-T treatments, although more investigation may be needed to establish a definite link. The therapy has been used by at least 27,000 patients since it was first approved by the F.D.A. in 2017, the agency has said.
Cancer patients who receive CAR-T treatments tend to have few options left, and would be unlikely to alter course even with the new warning, said Dr. John DiPersio, an oncologist with Washington University in St. Louis.
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“The risk of not doing this therapy for most patients who get it is rapid progression of their disease or certain death,” he said.

The F.D.A. raised concerns about the adverse effects of the treatments late last year.
In letters dated Jan. 19, the agency outlined the warnings to be included by some of the companies making CAR-T therapies, which had also been ordered to monitor patients for secondary cancers and report any to the F.D.A. The secondary cancers can lead to hospitalizations or death, the agency noted, requiring the drug companies to provide warnings on drug labels that secondary cancers “may present as soon as weeks following infusion, and may include fatal outcomes.”
The F.D.A. issued letters to these companies: Bristol-Myers Squibb, maker of Abecma; Juno Therapeutics, a Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, maker of Breyanzi; Janssen Biotech of Johnson & Johnson, maker of Carvykti; Novartis, of Kymriah; and Kite Pharma, of Yescarta.
Given the dire prognoses of the patients considering CAR-T therapies, Dr. DiPersio said, the new warning amounted to “much ado about nothing.” He said he hoped the news would not chill further investment or study of the treatments for other serious medical conditions. Some drugmakers are studying the use of CAR-T therapy to treat lupus, an autoimmune disease.
“We can’t create such a fearful environment that this approach is steered away from by companies and investigators because it’s thought to be too dangerous — because it’s not,” he said.

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