Welcome back in for Al’s Afternoon Tea — our chance to stop and sample some of the latest news from around the country.

First, a prayer from 1 Timothy: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

Does anyone feel that, in wake of the latest assassination attempt on Donald Trump and the horrific reactions we’ve seen from Democratic leaders and the media, we are looking at “peaceful and quiet lives” the rest of the fall? Seems like these are days for petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving way more than they are days for celebrating the joys of pumpkin spice.

Hillary Clinton, Party Matriarch, Stokes the Flames of Further Political Violence

We have often made jokes about Hillary Clinton doing away with her political and personal foes, but today we can’t be laughing. Less than a day and a half after another assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Clinton was on MSNBC saying, “Keep the heat up! Keep the heavily armed zealots inspired! Third time’s the charm!” Those were not her exact words, but how else can one interpret this?

Hillary Clinton tonight on MSNBC:

"The press needs to create a consistent narrative about how dangerous he is"

"He is a danger to our country & world" pic.twitter.com/7rBt7zcVGY

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 17, 2024

Remember, this is the lady who after instigating a coup against Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi, then watching video of him get sodomized, dragged through the streets of Tripoli, and shot to death, cackled, “We came, we saw, he died.”

Again, this is not some wingnut talking head who’s hoping for clicks. This is the matriarch of the Democratic Party — a former First Lady, former Secretary of State, and former Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

You’ve also got Harris campaign co-chair Sen. Chris Coons, a very close friend of Joe Biden’s, selling the talking point that the attempts on Trump’s life are Trump’s fault.

Harris Campaign Co-Chair Chris Coons blames the assassination attempt on President Trump's "rhetoric."

When they show you who they are… pic.twitter.com/EYtvrsKVLI

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 16, 2024

Another Harris surrogate, at-large Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett (who represents the Virgin Islands) said the quiet part out loud.

Rep. Plaskett on MSNBC: “Trump needs to be SH0T…stopped!”
pic.twitter.com/Q7uVpfurqO

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 17, 2024

When party leaders and pretty much every single regime media outlet is pushing this line, it is not lunacy. It is strategy. And given the number of guns involved, that strategy apparently is to see Trump terminated.

Folks like Tucker Carlson were called conspiracy theorists and fear-mongers when they said the next step after the efforts to remove Trump from ballot and the lawfare failed would be assassination. “Obviously,” Carlson added. Clearly, after two attempts, that is the reality we are living in.

To emphasize the point, the Trump campaign yesterday released a partial list of the incendiary Democratic leaders used in the months and weeks leading to the two assassination attempts.

Secret Service Still Not Taking This Seriously

If only the Secret Service could be bothered to recognize this. They’re also playing the “It’s Trump’s Fault” game, leaking to the Washington Post that they had warned Trump years ago that his golf course was a soft target. Sorry, but if somebody with an AK-47 is allowed to hang out for a dozen hours waiting for a chance to shoot the former president, as Ryan Routh was, it’s not the target that’s soft.

In fact, yesterday, in addition to trying to drum up more money for his agency, Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe defended the protection plan at the golf course, boasting that Routh did not have a line of sight on Trump.

Whoop-de-do. Neither did Lee Harvey Oswald when he set up his sniper’s nest in the Texas Book Depository.

Here’s a crazy thing about golf courses. You move down the fairways toward the holes. (Well, unless you golf like me — then you might spend a lot of time hacking around in the rough.) If Trump makes a birdie putt at the sixth hole, then goes to the seventh tee and smacks one down the fairway, Routh has a shot as easy as Thomas Crooks did in July.

A performer with Cirque du Soleil couldn’t contort themselves into enough pretzels to pat themselves on the back the way these Secret Service hot shots have been. Yesterday, Rowe was saying the equivalent of, “Applaud us for how fast we got JFK to Parkland Memorial Hospital.”

DeSantis Issues Executive Order for Investigation of Trump Shooting

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis doubled down on his belief that the feds can’t be trusted to investigate the second attempt on Donald Trump’s life. He announced Monday he’s signed an executive order assigning a state prosecutor to investigate the assassination attempt, and that the investigation will be overseen by Florida’s attorney general.

He points out that Florida has jurisdiction over the most serious offense — attempted murder — and the feds have a conflicting interest.

“In my judgment, it’s not in the best interest of our state or our nation,” he said. “They have the same federal agencies that are seeking to prosecute Donald Trump leading this investigation, especially when the most serious straightforward offense constitutes a violation of state law, but not federal law.”

"The public deserves to know the truth about how this assassination came to be. And I have directed all state agencies to work expeditiously to be able to uncover the truth, in addition to holding this suspect accountable."

— Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis@GovRonDeSantis pic.twitter.com/sQVBUs0e3p

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) September 17, 2024

True Sources of Bomb Threats in Springfield Exposed

For days, the media and Harris surrogates have been crowing that Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are responsible for a series of bomb threats in Springfield, Ohio because they’re sharing stories from residents about what the massive influx of Haitian migrants has done to their community — and their pets. According to them, they’ve riled up the MAGA folks to the point they’re threatening to bomb the town.

That claim is asinine on its face, but here comes the kicker: According to Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine, the 33 bomb threats have all been “hoaxes.”

“Thirty-three threats; 33-three hoaxes,” DeWine said at a press conference in Springfield. “I want to make that very, very clear. None of these had any validity at all.”

DeWine added the threats came from overseas, particularly “one country” which he didn’t name. So it sounds like someone wanted to give Springfield the Jussie Smollett treatment in order to implicate Trump. And the media went along with it.

SURPRISE SURPRISE: Ohio Governor DeWine says the so-called “bomb threats” in Springfield that the media blamed on Trump/Vance were all a hoax pic.twitter.com/4XUb3qrunc

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) September 16, 2024

According to Hillary Clinton, this means the media should be put in jail.

Happy Constitution Day! Clinton Wants People Imprisoned for “Misinformation.”

In the same interview where she ratcheted up the dangerous rhetoric, Hillary Clinton also declared she wants to see people imprisoned for spreading “misinformation.”

BREAKING: Hillary Clinton suggests jailing Americans for posting "misinformation"

"There needs to be deterrence" pic.twitter.com/soxI3wl7To

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 17, 2024

Thank you, Catturd, for the purrfect response:  “Like when she said Benghazi was caused by a video.”

Or what about saying those times back in the day she said the allegation that her husband had an affair with Monica Lewinsky was a “vast right-wing conspiracy”? How about her claims that Trump colluded with Russia? That the 2016 presidential election was “stolen” because she lost it? Or when she says, “I ain’t no ways tired” when it’s clear her ideas are exhausted?

But still, you have to hand it to her for basically saying, “Forget the First Amendment!” on the eve of Constitution Day.

U.S. Navy Unveils “Gender-Neutral” Submarine

No, it’s not called the USS Dylan Mulvaney. However, the Navy was proud to announce the commissioning of USS New Jersey as the first gender-neutral submarine. The sub was built from the hull up with more doors and washrooms to accommodate separate sleeping and bathing spaces for female soldiers, steps for bunk beds and stacked laundry machines, and overhead valves were lowered for easier reach.

I’m told the USS New Jersey will be featured in a new movie, The Hunt for Black Friday.

Seriously, if designing the new subs differently to accommodate both sexes were the end of the matter here, you’d get little more than a raised eyebrow. However, when you think of all the ways the Biden-Harris administration is putting DEI efforts ahead of combat readiness, I can’t help but remember the words of Admiral Josh Painter in Hunt for Red October: “This business will get out of control. It will get out of control, and we’ll be lucky to live through it.”

On the Stream Menu

Stream contributor Chenyuan Snider is back with “Don’t Swallow Her Poison Pill in November.”

Also, Jules Gomes shares some thoughts on Pope Francis’s controversial comments on paths to God in “Move Over, Jesus.”

Al Perrotta is The Stream’s Washington bureau chief, coauthor with John Zmirak of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration, and coauthor of the counterterrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.