Welcome back in for Al’s Afternoon Tea, our chance to sample some of the latest news.

Good Riddance! Hurricane Milton Heads Out to Sea After Blowing through Sunshine State

An army of 50,000 line workers are getting busy with the task of restoring power to more than 3.4 million Floridians after Milton slammed ashore Wednesday evening, bringing destructive winds, flash floods, and a swarm of deadly tornados.

One tornado struck a senior living community in St. Lucie County, in the eastern part of the state, leaving at least four people dead. These were Milton’s first known fatalities.

St. Petersburg has had a rough go of it, getting an amazing 18 inches of rain in 24 hours, with wind gusts blowing apart the roof of the Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball team plays.

On the plus side, emergency crews and first responders were able to start rescuing people and assessing damage even before sunrise, and the storm is quickly heading out to sea — much sooner than expected, in fact. Praise God, the worst-case projections for Milton – which seemed like they would become realities on Wednesday – did not pan out.  A little shift here, a little acceleration there. A little nudge by the One who calms the seas?

Since it is election season we should point out that Kamala Harris also got knocked down by Milton. Yesterday, she awkwardly jumped on a Zoom call.

Kamala Harris gets caught talking to her handlers on a live zoom about hurricane #Milton #FEMA #Trump #FEMAFailure
pic.twitter.com/UQVY9nMa89

— Yvonne C (@yreid68) October 10, 2024

This morning on CNBC, Gov. Ron DeSantis blew Harris’s appearance away: “All the storms I’ve dealt with under this administration, [Kamala Harris] has never called in Florida or offered any support,” he said. “She’s trying to inject herself into this because of her political campaign.”

DESANTIS: “All the storms I've dealt with under this administration, [Kamala Harris] has never called in Florida or offered any support. She's trying to inject herself into this because of her political campaign.”pic.twitter.com/R6l3aZ2KIe

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) October 10, 2024

That’s a bit unfair. Harris knows something about the weather. She’s seen the polling and can tell which way the wind is blowing.

XX-XY Day

Today is XX-XY Day, a day to highlight the dangers and inappropriateness of males being allowed to compete — and share locker rooms — with girls. It’s sponsored by XX-XY Athletics, a sports apparel company launched in March that is dedicated to protecting women’s sports. A portion of all sales go to a fund supporting women and girls who “stand up and speak out against the unfairness and injustice of males competing in women’s sports.”   

On Wednesday, the company dropped a powerful ad challenging Nike to likewise defend women’s sports. “Will you stand up for me?” several young female athletes ask.

In honor of #XXDay tomorrow, please join us in asking @Nike to do the right thing & stand up for girls, by sharing our new ad, "Dear Nike". pic.twitter.com/af8XeYPhTv

— XX-XY Athletics (@xx_xyathletics) October 9, 2024

Will Nike stand up for 14-year-old Annaleigh Wilson? She is one of the girls seen in a viral video explaining her heartbreak over losing a track meet to a biological male and detailing the abuse she endured for trying to stand up for herself and the integrity of her sport.

This is 14-year-old Annaleigh. She lost a track meet in Washington state to a boy. Listen to her tell her story to a stunned room of 500+ adults. I challenge any lawmaker who supports such policies to meet with Annaleigh and tell her why – to her face. I can arrange. pic.twitter.com/luVJvVmf3I

— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) October 9, 2024

Maybe Nike will want to stand up and applaud Riley Gaines for taking on this fight. Yesterday, Gaines posted an update to a story she had highlighted last year, publicizing the disgusting habit transgender tennis coach Pennsylvania named Sasha Yates had of fully undressing in front of his young female players in the girls’ locker room. Gaines protested the fact that the Gettysburg School District rehired Yates for the fall girls’ tennis season despite having reprimanded him for this behavior three times. Yates threatened legal action against Gaines if she didn’t take her post down.

It seems Coach Yates needed a criminal lawyer instead. Gaines reports that he was forced to resign after filming a pornographic video of himself engaged in sexual acts while smoking meth.

Last year, I recorded a podcast with PA school-board whistleblower @MSmyers17325 about a male tennis coach who would strip down with the girls in their locker room. He threatened legal action if I didn't take it down.

This is the headline today. Sick doesnt begin to describe it. pic.twitter.com/Cly2q3bjq5

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) October 9, 2024

Professor Who Says Men Who Don’t Vote for Harris Should Be Shot Is Placed on Administrative Leave

A University of Kansas professor identified as Phil Lowcock has been placed on administrative leave after telling his class that men who don’t vote for Kamala Harris should be lined up and shot.

Seriously ⁦@UnivOfKansas⁩? You’re letting this be said in your classrooms? That men who won’t vote for Kamala Harris for President should be lined up and shot?? ⁦@RogerMarshallMD⁩ ⁦@JerryMoran⁩ pic.twitter.com/7hHihxScEg

— Ned Ryun (@nedryun) October 9, 2024

Despite the fact that Lowcock said, “Scratch that from the recording, I don’t want the deans hearing that I said that,” the deans did hear — and the university currently is investigating. Putting him on leave will give him plenty of time for guest spots on MSNBC.

“(If you think) guys are smarter than girls, you’ve got some serious problems,” Lowcock said. “That’s what frustrates me. There are going to be some males in our society that will refuse to vote for a potential female president because they don’t think females are smart enough to be president. We could line all those guys up and shoot them. They clearly don’t understand the way the world works.”

In a statement, the university says Lowcock has apologized. “His intent was to emphasize his support for women’s rights and equality, and recognizes he did a poor job in doing so.”

A statement from the university regarding a classroom video. pic.twitter.com/SWnmhsNuPa

— University of Kansas (@UnivOfKansas) October 9, 2024

Here’s my question: Does Lowcock feel the same way about people who would vote for Harris simply because she is a woman? Or because she’s black (when it suits her to be black)? Or because she’s a Democrat?

For that matter, are there really a great number of men who don’t think a woman is smart enough to be president? Or is the problem that this particular woman may not be smart enough to be president?

From the Campaign Trail …

“Policies for the People”

RFK Jr.’s partnership with Donald Trump now includes a new digital portal called “Policies for the People,” where we, the people, can go to suggest new policies, and debate and vote on the policies others have submitted.

My one immediate policy proposal would be this: “The United States, via its military strength and energy and self-sustainability through manufacturing and materials, shall always maintain the ability to tell any country on earth, at any time, to pound sand.”

Sounds like freedom.

Trump Turns Down Offer of Last-Minute Debate

Fox News on Wednesday invited Kamala Harris and Donald Trump to a debate at the end of the month, a kind of “closing argument” before Election Day. Trump, after pointing out that Harris had rejected a similar invitation from Fox News for a debate in September, said that he’d already won two debates, and that voting is already underway in many states. Then he lowered the boom:

“Kamala stated clearly, yesterday, that she would not do anything different than Joe Biden, so there is nothing to debate.”

Strange: Reddit Bans Forum Discussing  Thomas Crooks

Reddit has banned a popular forum dedicated to investigating and discussing Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old from Pennsylvania who tried to assassinate Donald Trump in July.

Why? Crooks was taken out by a Secret Service sniper after firing multiple rounds at Trump that grazed his hear, killed one bystander, and seriously wounded two others, so there’s no chance that such discussions might hurt his feelings.

Reddit said it was because such a forum would contain violent content. Would the same apply to a Reddit thread about Lee Harvey Oswald? John Wilkes Booth? Mark David Chapman?

This effort follows similar ones by Facebook and Google to suppress information about the assassination attempt. Big Tech just doesn’t want people talking about the threats Trump still faces or the real story on Crooks. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service are stonewalling congressional investigators.

And the media? It’s strange that legacy outlets spent more time talking about Mitt Romney’s “binder full of women” than they do Donald Trump’s plethora of would-be assassins. 

Woodward’s Allegations About Trump and Putin Seem to Be Falling on Deaf Ears

The week began with what were supposed to be bombshell revelations in Bob Woodward’s new book, War — specifically, that Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin up to seven times since leaving office and also that he sent the Russian leader a personal COVID test.

Let’s see: Trump sending Putin a COVID test. That’s a crime?

Meanwhile, the Obama-Biden-Harris administrations sent billions of taxpayer dollars to Iranian ayatollahs — money that was then used to fund terrorist attacks on Israel and missile attacks on our own military. Ah, but that’s diplomacy

Forget Something, Boys?

Tim Walz joined Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, yesterday in a visit to the Otro Café in Phoenix. They walked away without paying for their coffees. It was left to Walz’s daughter to assure the staff that “someone will come up and pay.”

"Doug" and Tampon Tim Walz walk away from the counter without paying, leaving Tim's daughter to inform the cashier that a staffer will soon be up with a credit card. pic.twitter.com/lue3VtTg4H

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 9, 2024

They both forgot to pay? Look on the bright side. At least Emhoff didn’t slap any of the women working there.

Weirdly, a Daily Mail story from last week about Emhoff slapping his ex-girlfriend at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival has vanished. If J.D. Vance bumped a woman in an elevator, Alvin Bragg would jail him for assault and MSNBC would go commercial-free to accommodate all the coverage it would give the incident. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail published another story this week detailing allegations from former colleagues at Emhoff’s law firm saying Emhoff was behaved abusively and misogynistically toward female staffers.

Stiffing the hard-working staff at a café seems to be least of Emhoff’s issues right now.

An Apology to Helen Keller

On this morning’s edition of “The Brew,” we referred to “tone-deaf and blind to what’s happening” Kamala Harris as being “the Helen Keller of presidential candidates.”

As one of our readers pointedly reminded us, “Helen Keller was an author, disability rights advocate, political activist, and lecturer. Miss Keller overcame loss of sight and hearing to become an accomplished lady studying and earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe College.

“If the United States needs a woman president, let that person be of the character and caliber of Helen Keller. Not the current choice being offered.”

Elegantly stated, sir, and entirely right.

On the Stream Menu

John Zmirak lands the second half of his two-part series, “What Explains This Evil Regime?”

Meanwhile, Joachim Osther details “The Persecution of Tina Peters,” the Colorado election clerk who is now headed to prison after discovering monkey business on her county’s election computers in 2020. 

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.