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In case you missed my comment in the WoT last night, I am bringing some sad news this morning. Our good buddy, KoB has lost his fight with an aggressive form of cancer. He passed away Friday morning, according to a message I got from his wife yesterday. Hence today’s post image being an homage to two things we know he loved; big guns and pretty ladies.<\/p>\n
Behind the scenes, KoB was a frequent contributor to this column, which is why I’d like to dedicate it to him. The place won’t be quite the same without you, buddy. I’m gonna miss his boundless enthusiasm and good nature. He’s definitely not one we’ll ever be able to replace. Thanks for being our friend, Gun Bunny. I’ll be keeping you and your family in my prayers.<\/p>\n
Now let’s see some stooopid, and share a laugh at the madness of the world.<\/p>\n
A Decatur man is facing felony charges after allegedly diverting thousands of pills from the Adams Memorial Hospital pharmacy.<\/p>\n
Anthony Currie, a former pharmacist at the hospital and Adams Central wrestling coach, has been charged with one count of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and three counts of theft. Last month, an attorney for the hospital contacted police regarding the alleged theft.<\/p>\n
Pharmacy staff said they noticed changes in Currie\u2019s behavior and health, prompting an evaluation for his fitness for duty, court records show. One of the requirements of the evaluation was a drug test.<\/p>\n
The test allegedly showed traces of benzodiazepines, opioids and amphetamines, court documents show. Currie told the person administering the test what he would test positive for beforehand.<\/p>\n
After receiving the test results, hospital staff went to speak with Currie, who was allegedly falsifying a prescription, court records show. When confronted, the suspect allegedly admitted to printing a forged prescription, as well as diverting pills from the pharmacy for about two years.<\/p>\n
Since the beginning of the year until the start of the investigation in April, Currie allegedly stole 400 tablets of Oxycodone and 900 tablets of Percocet.<\/p>\n
Currie was able to steal the pills by ordering a set number of pills to stock the pharmacy but entered a lesser number into the hospital\u2019s inventory records, court documents show. With the help of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent, the hospital began an audit of the hospital pharmacy dating back to 2023.<\/p>\n
The audit found a total of 9,635 missing pills in 2023, 16,670 pills in 2024 and 6,522 in 2025 \u2013 the grand total being 32,827 pills worth nearly $23,000.<\/p>\n
Currie was arrested and booked into the Adams County Jail Wednesday afternoon. He has not yet been released.<\/p>\n
His initial hearing is set for Monday.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Source; 21 Alive News<\/a><\/p>\n
Army reservist says he was dropped from full-time role over posts on ICE agents, Israel<\/h3>\n
A Reserve soldier has been kicked out of a full-time position with a Civil Affairs reserve unit in Florida after posting personal criticisms online of U.S. support for Israel and sharing information on an app that compiles the locations of ICE agents from public sources.<\/p>\n
Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Estridge was notified of his \u201cinvoluntary release\u201d from a full-time IT staff role at the 350th Civil Affairs Command, a reserve unit in Pensacola, Florida, according to a counseling memo shared with Task & Purpose. The memo indicates that Estridge was removed from the Reserve\u2019s active duty operational support program \u201cdue to misconduct\u201d after an Aug. 9 review of his social media found online posts and public statements that ran \u201cafoul\u201d of service rules and regulations.<\/p>\n
Those posts criticized U.S. support for Israel and the Israeli Defense Force\u2019s conduct in Gaza, as well as arrests and raids by agents of U.S. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement. He also shared publicly sourced databases on ICE agents and an app designed to inform locals about ICE presence in an area.<\/p>\n
Estridge has drawn attention to his case in a TikTok video posted Aug. 22. Appearing in uniform, Estridge said he is being investigated by his Army Reserve unit for his views on Israel\u2019s military campaign in Gaza. As of Tuesday morning, the TikTok video had garnered over 230,000 views, 45,000 likes and thousands of comments and shares.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I joined the military, I took an allegiance to support the United States of America. I did not ever take an allegiance to support Israel, but yet I am deemed a threat to national security because I do not support Israel and their genocide against the Palestinian people,\u201d he said in the video. \u201cSince when does not supporting a foreign nation get a U.S. soldier investigated for being a threat to national security?\u201d<\/p>\n
Estridge told Task & Purpose that he was counseled by his chain of command for his social media posts, escorted from the building where he works and told he was under investigation \u201cas a threat to national security.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maj. William Allred, an Army Reserve spokesperson, originally said they were aware of Estridge\u2019s TikTok post but was not undertaking an investigation, adding that his \u201ccomments and views in the video do not reflect the policies and\/or viewpoints of the Army Reserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
After publication, a spokesperson for the Army Reserve told Task & Purpose that his command would be \u201ctaking appropriate administrative actions\u201d for the social media posts.<\/p>\n
A counseling memo he received states that \u201ccontinued conduct of this nature\u201d could lead Estridge to be separated or face Uniform Code of Military Justice violations for allegedly making \u201cdisloyal statements and statements dissuading the public to support military service,\u201d \u201cinsubordinate statements\u201d about senior officials and military leaders, communicating threats or obstructing justice.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of your public statements concerning the United States Government and its senior leaders, dissuading public support of the military, and the identity and whereabouts of ICE agents violates several punitive articles in the Uniform Code of Military Justice,\u201d according an Army memo from the 350th Civil Affairs Command.<\/p>\n
Estridge told Task & Purpose that when he was counseled on the social media statements, he was presented with printed copies of 13 social media posts that were flagged by his command.<\/p>\n
Counseling soldiers is a step taken by commanders before a case escalates to administrative actions or punishment. Estridge said his command could have given him a warning and requested he remove the posts before \u201cthey actually escalated it to \u2018we think you\u2019re a threat to national security.’\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
More at the source; Task & Purpose<\/a><\/p>\n
National Park Employee Fired After Transgender Flag Stunt at Yosemite<\/h3>\n
My family has gone to Yosemite National Park many times to enjoy its natural wonders.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, we were not there this May when some of the park\u2019s employees decided to despoil the beauty of the region with a gender justice display.<\/p>\n
A group of LGBTQ climbers and advocates hung a large transgender pride flag in the middle of Yosemite\u2019s famous El Capitan rock formation on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Trans Is Natural, which describes itself as a coalition of transgender, queer and ally climbers, said in a statement that its members unfurled the flag \u201cin an act of solidarity and resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n
They said the trans pride flag, which is 55 feet by 35 feet, is the largest flag ever displayed on El Capitan. The climbers hung the flag 1,500 feet up El Capitan, on the granite monolith\u2019s \u201cHeart Ledges,\u201d between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. PT and displayed it until around noon, when park officials directed that it be removed, though the climbers said they were not told that they had broken any park rules, according Jess Fiaschetti, the group\u2019s media contact.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Yosemite National Park said in an emailed statement Wednesday that park officials are \u201caware of the unauthorized display\u201d and \u201cthe flag was removed a soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
National Park Employee Fired After Transgender Flag Stunt at Yosemite
\nThe biologist Shannon \u201cSJ\u201d Joslin uses \u201cthey\/them\u201d pronouns, in defiance of logic, reason, and science.<\/p>\nPosted by Leslie Eastman Wednesday, August 20, 2025 at 07:00am 45 Comments
\nPrintFacebookTwitterTelegramLinkedInWhatsAppEmail<\/p>\nMy family has gone to Yosemite National Park many times to enjoy its natural wonders.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, we were not there this May when some of the park\u2019s employees decided to despoil the beauty of the region with a gender justice display.<\/p>\n
A group of LGBTQ climbers and advocates hung a large transgender pride flag in the middle of Yosemite\u2019s famous El Capitan rock formation on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Trans Is Natural, which describes itself as a coalition of transgender, queer and ally climbers, said in a statement that its members unfurled the flag \u201cin an act of solidarity and resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n
They said the trans pride flag, which is 55 feet by 35 feet, is the largest flag ever displayed on El Capitan. The climbers hung the flag 1,500 feet up El Capitan, on the granite monolith\u2019s \u201cHeart Ledges,\u201d between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. PT and displayed it until around noon, when park officials directed that it be removed, though the climbers said they were not told that they had broken any park rules, according Jess Fiaschetti, the group\u2019s media contact.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Yosemite National Park said in an emailed statement Wednesday that park officials are \u201caware of the unauthorized display\u201d and \u201cthe flag was removed a soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
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One of the employees involved in the stunt has now been fired. I will simply note that NBC News decided to coddle the employee\u2019s delusions by using the \u201cthey\/them\u201d pronouns.<\/p>\n
Shannon \u201cSJ\u201d Joslin, who has been a ranger and a wildlife biologist in the park since 2021, said they were fired Aug. 12 from what they described as their dream job. They said park leadership told them they \u201cfailed to demonstrate acceptable conduct\u201d in their role by participating in the trans flag display.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m devastated,\u201d said Joslin, who is trans and uses they\/them pronouns. \u201cWe don\u2019t take our positions in the park service to make money or to have any kind of huge career gains. We take it because we love the places that we work. I have a Ph.D. in bioinformatics, and I could be making a lot more money in Silicon Valley, which is only a few hours away, but I made career choices to position myself in Yosemite National Park, because this is the place that I love the most.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked for comment on Joslin\u2019s termination, a spokesperson for Yosemite National Park said the National Park Service, which oversees Yosemite, \u201cis pursuing administrative action against multiple National Park Service employees for failing to follow National Park Service regulations.\u201d The spokesperson declined to say which regulations the employees allegedly violated.<\/p>\n
Rachel Pawlitz, a spokesperson for the NPS, said the agency and the Justice Department \u201care pursuing administrative action against several Yosemite National Park employees and possible criminal charges against several park visitors who are alleged to have violated federal laws and regulations related to demonstrations.\u201d<\/p>\n
If a biologist can\u2019t accept the reality of his or her genetics, then exactly how is the public supposed to trust the research from that scientist?<\/p>\n
All the park employees involved will likely be enjoying the \u201cFO\u201d phase of the FAFO cycle\u2026especially as the Trump Justice Department is involved.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Source; Legal Insurrection<\/a><\/p>\n
Over 46,000 public bodies spurned offer of free King Charles portrait<\/h3>\n
It was a celebratory multimillion pound scheme to mark the beginning of King Charles III\u2019s reign. Free portraits of the king were offered to all public bodies \u2013 every town hall, university, hospital and even jobcentre \u2013 so the new monarch\u2019s visage could gaze down on his subjects.<\/p>\n
The initiative would provide \u201ca reminder of the example set by our ultimate public servant\u201d, said the then Tory deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden.<\/p>\n
But the current government is proving coy about where exactly any of the images of King Charles ended up after it admitted more than 46,000 public institutions had showed no interest. In what has been described as an \u201cabsurd\u201d decision about a scheme to distribute large portraits of the king to be hung in public view, it is refusing to say which schools, hospitals and job centres did request them, saying it could \u201cgive rise to controversy\u201d and create \u201cnegative public perception\u201d.<\/p>\n
More than \u00a32.7m was spent meeting requests for the pictures and while take-up was patchy, more than 20,000 images of Charles in a medal-laden Royal Navy uniform were sent out \u2013 a 31% hit rate.<\/p>\n
But the reluctance to reveal where they ended up has emerged from a Guardian freedom of information request which the Cabinet Office has been resisting for many months. Last October it rejected the request for the information by arguing disclosure would be an \u201cactionable breach of confidence\u201d. In effect it implied a public authority which requested a portrait of the king to display in public might sue the government for revealing that it had done so.<\/p>\n
When the Guardian appealed on the grounds that \u201crequesting a portrait of the king funded by the taxpayer for the express purpose of being publicly displayed cannot reasonably be considered a confidential matter\u201d, it dropped that justification and changed tack to claim release would \u201cprejudice the effective conduct of public affairs\u201d, a different exemption under the Freedom of Information Act.<\/p>\n
It said disclosure \u201cwould be likely to trigger questions about why certain organisations requested the portrait and (by extension) why others did not\u201d and that organisations would be distracted from operational activity by having to answer them.<\/p>\n
One royal historian said it was the latest example of the government acting to protect the reputation of the monarchy and a sign of anxiety in Whitehall about any further undermining of the institution\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n
The refusal comes amid a steady decline in the proportion of the adult population who believe the monarchy is good for Britain, falling from 60% in July 2019 to 51% in March 2024, according to You Gov. The combined proportion of people who thought it was either bad or neither good nor bad rose in the same period from 34% to 44%.<\/p>\n
Graham Smith, the chief executive of the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, said declining public support meant \u201cthe chances of there being controversy around spending money on portraits is far more likely than in the past\u201d.<\/p>\n
The government has already said that less than a third of eligible public institutions asked for a portrait, including only 3% of hospitals, 7% of universities and only one in four Church of England churches. National and local government bodies were far more enthusiastic with 73% making requests, while every one of the 23 coastguard bodies received a portrait. But overall more than 46,500 public institutions that could have ordered a portrait did not.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe public may have an interest in knowing which institutions applied for the King\u2019s portrait,\u201d the government said in its freedom of information response. \u201cHowever, the likely motivation behind such interest may focus more on identifying which organisations did not apply rather than understanding government decision making or policy effectiveness. This type of scrutiny does not necessarily serve a broader public interest and could unfairly single out institutions for criticism over a discretionary decision that does not impact their ability to provide public services. This type of negative attention could discourage organisations from engaging in similar schemes in the future due to negative media coverage or reputational harm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Transparency could cause enough people to ask why a given school or hospital did or did not request a portrait, that it could distract the public body from its work and that releasing the facts of the matter could cause \u201cnegative media coverage or reputational harm\u201d, the Cabinet Office said.<\/p>\n
Smith said it was unacceptable to maintain secrecy around public spending by cash-strapped public institutions in order to avoid controversy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole point of freedom of information is to allow the public to judge the conduct and decisions of public authorities,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is up to the public to determine whether they criticise those who do order or don\u2019t order the portrait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Ed Owens, a royal historian, called the refusal \u201ca form of obfuscation\u201d. He said that releasing the information \u201cwould shed light on the fact that there isn\u2019t a great deal of interest in him\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that hospitals haven\u2019t unanimously requested portraits suggests there\u2019s a disconnect between the monarchy\u2019s public image when it seeks to nurture relationships with public institutions like NHS hospitals and their actual relationship with the monarchy,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we were to go back 100 years you\u2019d almost certainly see a picture of the king in most public and many private institutions and many private homes as well. In terms of the significance of this particular figure to ordinary people\u2019s lives, I think it is very telling.\u201d<\/p>\n
He described the decision to withhold the information as \u201cmore than absurd\u201d and said: \u201cThe Cabinet Office seems to be playing an active role in seeking to protect the reputation of the monarchy \u2026 they are clearly anxious about this kind of information being used to discredit and to further undermine the monarchy\u2019s public image.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Source; The Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n
Police officer who stole underwear jailed<\/h3>\n
A police officer who took stole underwear from a home he was searching has been jailed.<\/p>\n
Marcin Zielinski, 47, was working for Hertfordshire Police when he carried out the Section 32 search in September 2024.<\/p>\n
Zielinski, from St Albans, admitted to one charge of theft and a charge of corrupt or improper exercise of police powers and privileges.<\/p>\n
He resigned from the force while under investigation in November 2024 and was jailed for four months at Cambridge Crown Court on Monday.<\/p>\n
Hertfordshire Constabulary Assistant Chief Constable Genna Telfer said: “Zielinski has let down the public of Hertfordshire, the police service as a whole and his former colleagues, who act with professionalism and integrity.<\/p>\n
“His criminal behaviour damages the reputation of policing and represents a fundamental betrayal of the public and the values for which the police service stands.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Source; BBC<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"