Welcome back in for Al’s Afternoon Tea, our chance to stop and sample some of the latest news, and today gather for a moment to pray for Florida as Hurricane Helene aims for the Sunshine State.

Hurricane Helene Poised to Put a Hurting on Florida and Southeast

Hurricane Helene is big, fast, and gaining strength by the hour. Her size, speed, and power make her deadly, not only at landfall, but far inland as well. Likely to hit as a Category 3 – possibly even a Category 4 — hours from now on Florida’s Big Bend, Helene could deliver a record storm surge of 20 feet and winds exceeding 125 mph, and tornados as far north as Virginia and the Ohio Valley while plowing northward through the Tallahassee area toward Atlanta and beyond. She’s a nasty one.

We pray everyone heeds warnings to get out of Helene’s way. We pray for the safety of all in the impacted regions, including first responders and government leaders so they can efficiently prepositioning resources. We pray this storm would be neutralized before it makes landfall — but if Helene must hit Florida hard, let her make landfall in a low-population area.  

Lincoln’s Prayer for the Nation

While we’re in a prayerful state of mind, we’d like to remind you that today is the first of a 40-day fast for the election. We are in a season of great strife, division, and violence. When President Abraham Lincoln found the nation in a similar season at the start of the Civil War, he issued a proclamation on August 13, 1861 calling for fasting, prayer, and humiliation. His words are just as applicable today:

Whereas when our own beloved country, once, by the blessing of God, united, prosperous, and happy, is now afflicted with faction and civil war, it is peculiarly fit for us to recognize the hand of God in this terrible visitation, and in sorrowful remembrance of our own faults and crimes as a nation and as individuals to humble ourselves before Him and to pray for His mercy — to pray that we may be spared further punishment, though most justly deserved; that our arms may be blessed and made effectual for the reestablishment of law, order, and peace throughout the wide extent of our country; and that the inestimable boon of civil and religious liberty, earned under His guidance and blessing by the labors and sufferings of our fathers, may be restored in all its original excellence.

Meanwhile, some of our readers have already contacted us to let us know how they’re fasting and praying during these 40 days; we’ll be sharing some of those thoughts with all our readers in coming days. And it’s never too late to get involved! Let us know your plans and prayers at [email protected]. 

Election Shorties

Biden and Harris Give Trump Campaign Even More Fodder

We’ve had presidential candidates in the past who weren’t that good at campaigning, who were unlikable or lightweights. We’ve had candidates who made costly gaffes. (For example, President Gerald Ford said in a debate with Jimmy Carter that Poland wasn’t under the control of the Soviet Union.) We’ve had candidates who spewed empty platitudes instead of policy proposals. (“Hope and change,” anybody?)

But good luck finding another major party candidate other than Kamala Harris who embodied all these things. And worse news for her, Joe Biden is undercutting her along the way.

Two quotes from yesterday tell you all you need to know. In an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, which left even the pro-Harris mouthpiece admitting she “does not answer the questions,” America’s vice president for the past four years admitted the American Dream has been quashed.

“Home ownership for too many people in our country now is elusive,” she said. “Gone is the day of everyone thinking they could actually live the American dream.” (If only Harris had been in a position to do something about that.)

She delivered another self-own earlier in the day. 

Acceptance is the first step:

“We just need to move past the failed policies that we have proven don't work.” – Kamala Harris pic.twitter.com/iB2SLe55Uh

— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) September 25, 2024

Yet every time Harris tries to pretend she hasn’t been in power for four years, here comes Joe Biden to insist she was his partner in the dismantling of America. Here we see him on The View declaring, “As vice president, there wasn’t a single thing that I did that she couldn’t do, and so I was able to delegate her responsibility on everything from foreign policy to domestic policy.”

BIDEN: "As Vice President, there wasn't a single thing that I did that she couldn't do and so I was able to delegate her responsibility on everything from foreign policy to domestic policy." pic.twitter.com/Uat7jXWNrO

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 25, 2024

Incidentally, Harris said she’d approach the housing problem “holistically.” Over and over, she used that word: holistically. But didn’t provide any clue what that meant.

During a rally appearance Wednesday, Harris also goofed and referred to a certain book of the Bible as “Ecclesiastics.”

“Ecclesiastics” is such a wonderful book in the Bible

pic.twitter.com/4ZHigcWbPn

— Still Boneless (@still_boneless) September 25, 2024

I actually think that should be a word. “Ecclesiastics”: Zealous fans of the book of Ecclesiastes. Or maybe Ms. Harris should write a new book of Scripture full of great-sounding sayings that contain nothing but hot air, delivered theatrically. She could call it “Enthusiastes.”

A Surprise in Jersey?

I happened to be driving through the small towns of northern New Jersey this weekend, and noticed there were very few Harris signs compared to the number of Trump signs — and large pro-Trump displays. That may not mean too much, so I figured I’d see how the presidential polling looked in New Jersey.

This will blow your mind. The last 2024 presidential poll for New Jersey was done by co/efficient June 26-27. In other words, before Trump’s presidential debate with Joe Biden, which turned out to be a debacle for Biden. And Trump had a one-point lead.

Are the Garden State and its 14 electoral votes really in play?

You have to say yes. After all, Democratic Gov. Philip Murphy won reelection by only 3.2% in 2021, and that was before all the damage done by the Biden-Harris administration. It seems like no stretch for Trump to win over 4 out of a 100 Murphy voters who are tired of all the nonsense or who want no part of a Kamala Harris presidency.

Funny How That Works. Days After Campaigning for Harris in Pennsylvania, Zelenskyy Gets Another $8 Billion in Aid

The other day, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy toured ammunition plants in the swing state of Pennsylvania and trashed Donald Trump and J.D. Vance along the way. Today, the Biden-Harris administration announced it’s giving Zelenskyy another $8 billion in aid.

How do you say “quid pro quo” in Ukrainian?

And New York City Mayor Eric Adams is the corrupt one? Speaking of Adams, he was indicted on five federal charges Thursday after a three-year investigation. He’s being accused of committing bribery, fraud, and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations. The mayor is vowing to stay in office and fight the charges, but we still have to wonder: Is the lawfare that Adams helped facilitate against Trump earlier this year now being turned in his direction by former friends because he complained about the impact illegal immigration is having on his city?

DOJ Inspector General Says Upcoming Report Will Detail How Many FBI Informants Were Involved in January 6

In his appearance on The View, Joe Biden talked about J6 at the urging of Joy Behar. But he certainly didn’t talk about the testimony DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz delivered before the House Oversight Committee yesterday. Horowitz confirmed that there were indeed FBI informants involved in January 6, and he will reveal in a report how many — and which ones — went inside the Capitol. 

The bad news? Although Horowitz started his review of FBI actions three and a half years ago, the report is still in “draft” form. He “hopes” the report will be out “in the next couple of months,” but because of “classification” reviews, he doubts “it’ll be done by the election.”

DOJ IG admits his delayed report–now in draft form–will include info on number of FBI informants involved in Jan 6 and which ones went inside the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/Gn4xSk5bTK

— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) September 25, 2024

On the Stream Menu

John Z’s new one is up: “Why the Left Has Teflon, Part Two.” 

Pastor Shane Idleman prays “Oh, That You Would Rip America Open!” 

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.