Home Depot’s rival, LL Flooring, previously known as Lumber Liquidators, is closing all 442 stores, and 2,000 people will be out of work. After three decades, one of America’s biggest flooring suppliers is going out of business. They are shutting all of their stores, all of them. Earlier in the summer, they closed 100 stores […] The post One of America’s Largest Flooring Suppliers Is Out of Business appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Libs of TikTok published a memo a Texas-based oil and gas company sent employees. It warns that critical infrastructure is now under threat from migrant cartel members coming from Cuba and Venezuela. This is Harris’s America. They are stealing in the Permian Basin, America’s highest-producing oil field. The memo: Industry peers and law enforcement in […] The post Cartels Threaten Critical Infrastructure appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

When I was a kid, there were no toys that reigned supreme like Transformers. I knew a few kids that liked He-Man and the Centurions, but almost every kid in my neighborhood collected Transformers. In the military housing where I lived in San Diego, I had several friends that enjoyed showing off their figures as if I had the smallest collection in the area. I had plenty of Transformers at the time, right after the movie came out and subgroups like the Headmasters and Targetmasters had come out. I had Weirdwolf, Sureshot, Hardhead, Skyhammer, and plenty of others. But there were always more I wanted, and my friends seemed to have every one of them.Image courtesy of Botch's Transformers Box Art ArchivesThere was Marlin that lived down the street who professed to having almost the entire collection, though the only one I remember seeing was the Decepticon tank Quake sitting on his garbage can. I almost took it, but chickened out after transforming him once. My two best friends, Chris and Neil, both said they had all the toys, with Chris even saying he had stuff like the big spaceship the Autobots used as their base (later called the Ark and would get its own toy 30 years later), a transforming Teletraan I, Teletraan II, and even Teletraan Jr, whatever that was supposed to be. Every time I’d ask to see any of them, he refused to let me into his house. Now that I think of it, he told me about those toys from his second-story bedroom, like some Cybertronian Romeo and Juliet.But I was determined to get more figures, and if I couldn’t get my parents to pay for them, I was going to have to do some trading. No matter how many Transformers my friends had, they were willing to trade to get some of mine. Somehow though, I always got screwed in these trades – whether I had to give the toys back, lost them, or something else, I never came out on top. Images courtesy of TFWikiOne trade I remember being so excited about because it was right after Transformers the movie came out. I traded Skullcruncher for mother-freaking Hot Rod. I got the Hope of the Autobots…. For all of a few days. My friend Jamal came back and told me trading away Hot Rod got him in trouble with his mom, so I had to give him back. Was I a smart boy and got my Skullcruncher back? Nope! He gave me Scoop, a dumpy-looking bulldozer. Scoop was a Targetmaster, but the second generation that came with two guns, but both of them were tiny and terrible. I traded away a big Headmaster alligator and got an ugly Targetmaster Constructicon wannabe.The second trade would have been epic if the figure wasn’t a piece of crap. I traded away three racquetballs and got myself none other than Metroplex, the Autobot base! Except this Metroplex was missing every single one of his accessories, including Six-Gun, the robot made up of, well, six guns, and Scamper, a miniature transforming car. The figure was also broken, but I don’t remember exactly what was wrong with it. This is one of the few times I reneged on a trade because I would have preferred playing Butts Up with a racquetball than keeping that janky city-bot.Images courtesy of TFWikiThe last one included a pair of Blaster’s cassette Transformers. I had Raindance and Grandslam, two cassettes that transformed into a plane and a tank respectively and could combine into a robot name Slam Dance, but I wanted Ramhorn and Steeljaw. A friend of mine had both and was willing to trade, but we only saw each other in school, so it had to be done in class. Even though we had handed off our figures before class started, my teacher saw me – and only me! – with the toys and confiscated them. And you’d better believe I never saw those suckers again, and my friend wouldn’t give me mine back, either.I moved away from San Diego a year or so after that and my circle of Transformers-loving friends was no more. I continued buying the figures in my new home in Fallon, but no one there seemed to even care about them, so what I bought was all I was going to own. As I grew up and Transformers shifted to Beast Wars in the late 90s, I kept collecting. But the tragedy didn’t stop there, because after getting out of the Air Force in 1999, my entire collection save one figure was stolen during a move. All those figures, including that first bad trade for Scoop, disappeared on that cross-country journey. ‘Til All Are One? More like ‘Til All Are Gone. 

Commander Cameron Yaste, a seasoned officer of the U.S. Navy, has been relieved of his duties following a viral photo showing him holding a rifle with a backward-mounted scope. Yaste, who was serving as the commanding officer of the destroyer USS John S. McCain, faced public ridicule after the photo was posted on social media in April. The mistake sparked an online firestorm, with many questioning his competence, ultimately leading to his dismissal four months later. The incident occurred during a training exercise when Yaste was photographed in a firing stance, unaware that the rifle scope was backward. The image quickly circulated across social media platforms, drawing harsh criticism not just from the general public but also from within military circles. The Marines, in particular, took a jab at the Navy, sharing a picture of one of their own using a properly mounted rifle, captioning it with the phrase "Clear Sight Picture". Remember this guy? He just got fired. Cmdr. Cameron Yaste was relieved of his duties as commanding officer of the USS John S. McCain, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer now operating in the Gulf of Oman. Yaste was photographed earlier this year firing an M-4 rifle, which some… pic.twitter.com/lX0O1R40iP — Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) August 30, 2024 The U.S. Navy issued a statement explaining that Yaste’s removal was due to a "loss of confidence in his ability to command." The USS John S. McCain, a guided-missile destroyer currently deployed in the Middle East, plays a key role in the protection of the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group in the Gulf of Oman, an area of strategic importance for U.S. military operations in the region. Yaste's blunder raised serious questions about his proficiency, a critical factor for any military leader, especially one commanding a warship. While many considered the gaffe to be an embarrassing mishap, others pointed out that such errors reflect poorly on the standards of military leadership. “An officer sets the standard,” noted one former Army veteran. Military officers are expected to exhibit high technical and tactical expertise, particularly with essential equipment like firearms​. Commander Cameron Yaste of the USS John McCain, a guided-missile destroyer tasked with protecting the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, has been relieved of duty because of a viral pick showing him with his optic backwards on his rifle and replaced by LGBTQ… pic.twitter.com/TzSu7MtMU3 — Jonathan Barber (@JonathanBarber_) September 4, 2024 Yaste’s career likely came to an abrupt halt with this incident. His temporary replacement, Captain Allison Christy, has already taken over his command. Christy, who had been serving as the deputy commodore of Destroyer Squadron 21, has stepped in to ensure the mission of protecting U.S. interests in the region continues without disruption​. The Navy quickly removed the infamous photo after it went viral and apologized for the oversight in a follow-up post, which was met with mixed reactions. Some defended Yaste, arguing that a single error shouldn’t define his long career, while others viewed the incident as a sign of deeper issues within the military's training protocols. Military operations in the Gulf of Oman are critical as tensions in the region persist, with Iran and other hostile actors posing ongoing threats to U.S. naval vessels. The U.S. Navy maintains a strong presence in these waters to safeguard commercial shipping routes and ensure stability. Despite the personal embarrassment and professional consequences faced by Yaste, the operational readiness of the U.S. military in the region remains intact. While the fallout from the photo continues to resonate within military and online communities, it serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of even the smallest details in high-stakes environments. The U.S. Navy has emphasized the necessity of precision and competence, both in equipment use and leadership, particularly as international challenges mount​. The post Navy Commander Fired Over Embarrassing Gun Mishap appeared first on The Conservative Brief.

'If you don’t get chills when you watch it…watch it again'

‘If I prayed with a man backstage? I don’t think so'

Women should absolutely watch this movie