Welcome back in for Al’s Afternoon Tea, our chance to serve up the latest headlines.

Three Weeks Until Election Day

Only 21 days to go. We don’t just need to buckle up now; we need to put on crash helmets.

But first, we keep saying how Kamala Harris and her surrogates are making life easy for Trump’s ad people. Today’s ad comes courtesy of Tim Walz: “We can’t have four more years of this.”

WALZ: "We can't have four more years of this!"

We agree, Tampon — the past four years have been a nightmare. pic.twitter.com/sMNoRf24LC

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 14, 2024

Harris’s Plan to Reach Black Men: Marijuana

When we saw advance word of this, our first thought was, “No, that has to be the Babylon Bee. No way is Kamala Harris going to stop hemorrhaging black male voters by offering them weed.”

But there it is, as part of her “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men.” Harris wants to “legalize recreational marijuana and create opportunities for black Americans to succeed in this new industry.”

The woman famous for jailing black men for smoking marijuana now wants them selling marijuana. It takes some mad skills to be pandering, condescending, racist, and hypocritical in just one sentence.

There’s another problem here: What good is legalizing marijuana if — thanks to the Biden-Harris administration — you can’t afford munchies?

NY Times: So She Plagiarized a Little Bit

As we reported on this morning’s Brew, Kamala Harris has been caught dead to rights plagiarizing at least a dozen passages in her 2009 book Smart on Crime. The New York Times downplayed (and misrepresented) the findings, bringing in a plagiarism expert named Jonathan Bailey to say Harris’s plagiarism wasn’t “serious.”

The spin is already on from Kamala’s media lapdogs at the New York Times.

It was a fiery but mostly peaceful plagiarism! https://t.co/fhqHtwpcWv pic.twitter.com/DxtVFxLoYC

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 14, 2024

Except, as Bailey himself pointed out, the Times only gave him five of the passages to examine — deliberately withholding, according to Christopher Rufo, who broke the story, “more than a dozen” of the allegations.

For those coming here from the NY Times Article. I want to be clear that I have NOT performed a full analysis of the book. My quotes were based on information provided to me by the reporters and spoke only about those passages.

— Jonathan Bailey (@plagiarismtoday) October 14, 2024

Rufo put out another tweet laying out all the ways the Times article is lying about his report.

The New York Times is lying about my plagiarism story and I have the receipts to prove it:

1. The Times claims that I only argued that Kamala Harris plagiarized "five sections" involving "about 500 words." But this isn't true. In my story, I wrote that Stefan Weber argued there… pic.twitter.com/gAyPdbwZIn

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) October 14, 2024

It’s also funny how the Times titled its defense of Harris “Conservative Activist Seizes on Passages from Harris Book.” “Seizes” is the word the media uses when a Democrat is caught messing up. It’s a way to distract from the act by focusing on the Republican response, as if the offense is only a minor detail in a much larger and more benign story.

Meanwhile, we’re waiting for Harris to try to get out of this latest scandal by giving a speech about her dog Checkers. (That one’s for the political history buffs.)

The Latest False Claim: Trump Will Use the Military Against His Political Opponents

Since no one takes Kamala Harris seriously when she accuses Donald Trump of planning to use the Department of Justice against his political opponents, given Harris and Biden are currently using the DOJ against Trump, she, Walz and their media allies are upping the ante. They’re now claiming Trump is going to use the military against his political opponents. According to Harris, Trump wants to “send the military after American citizens.”

(That’s funny, considering Harris won’t send anybody after the murderers and rapists she’s allowed into the country. But I digress.)

As Kyle Becker points out, Trump was talking about quelling left-wing trouble on Election Day.

CNN Hoax: Donald Trump Wants to Sick the Military on His Political Enemies

CNN serial hoaxer Jake Tapper pushed this blatantly deceptive talking point with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin today.

Donald Trump was talking about a scenario if left-wing activists rioted in protest of… pic.twitter.com/D90oVfA5mB

— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) October 15, 2024

Trump said: “In terms of Election Day [security], I think the bigger problem is the people from within [rather than illegal aliens] … It should be very easily handled by, if necessary, the National Guard and if really necessary, by the military.”

Remember how in 2020, cities boarded up in anticipation of what Harris’s ANTIFA/BLM buddies and the other leftist crazies were going to do if Trump won? Remember the riot in DC on Inauguration Day 2017?

Oh, and remember how Harris said her campaign is about “joy”?  

Biden to Iran: Any Attempt on Trump’s Life Will Be Considered an “Act of War.”

Joe Biden has instructed his National Security Council to inform Iran that any state-sponsored attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump or other U.S. officials will be seen as an act of war, Fox News is reporting.

Iran has been plotting to kill Trump in revenge for the U.S. taking out Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Gen. Quassem Soleimani; a Pakistani man was arrested this summer for attempting to hire assassins on behalf of Iran. Trump has said Biden should warn Iran it would be “blown to smithereens” if any U.S. politician is harmed.

How’s the Race Looking Three Weeks Out?

The betting Polymarket now gives Trump a 57.9% chance of winning the White House vs. Harris’s 41.9%.

Pollster Nate Silver is also showing Harris’s support plummeting six points since late September. Still, he’s giving Harris a 51.8% chance of winning. Silver shows Trump has gained support in 19 states in the space of a week, and is calling the race a “pure toss-up.”

University of Nevada-Reno Volleyball Team Latest to Forfeit Game Rather Than Compete Against Dude

The University of Nevada-Reno’s women’s volleyball team announced Monday they are forfeiting their October 26 match against San Jose State University. San Jose’s star player is a biological male. Nevada becomes the fifth team this season to refuse to play against Blaire Fleming. 

“We, the University of Nevada-Reno women’s volleyball team, forfeit against San Jose State University and stand united in solidarity with the volleyball teams of Southern Utah University, Boise State University, the University of Wyoming, and Utah State University,” the statement said. “We demand that our right to safety and fair competition on the court be upheld. We refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes.” 

Safety and justice, indeed. Last week, Fleming spiked a ball right into the face of an opponent in a match against San Diego State. The young woman crumpled to the floor. Thankfully, she was okay, quickly popping up, though her face was left pink.

SJSU’s male player, Blaire Fleming blasts another strike to the face of a female opponent in tonight’s match up with @AztecVB pic.twitter.com/hbw9iC6SxH

— ICONS (@icons_women) October 11, 2024

Notice how far back on the court Fleming was and how far back on the court the other player was. Imagine the damage if Fleming had been at the net and the female athlete closer. We’re not talking about Marcia Brady being lightly conked with a football. The average spike for a college-level male player travels between 50 and 60 miles an hour, according to SportsRec. Former North Carolina high school volleyball player Payton McNabb still suffers from a brain injury and partial paralysis after a trans player spiked a ball into her face during a match during her junior year in 2022.

You’d hope the University of Nevada would have its players’ backs — but they don’t. The university has condemned the forfeiture, touting laws protecting “gender identity or expression” and its support for an “inclusive and supportive environment.” The school says the match will go on. “The University intends to move forward with the match as scheduled, and the players may choose not to participate in the match on the day of the contest.” 

Meanwhile, did you know the Guinness World Record for “fastest marathon roller skater (female)” is held by a biological male? Anne K. Skinner broke the record last October in Sarasota.

Meet Anne Kelly Skinner, a man pretending to be a woman, who was awarded a Guinness World Record for being the fastest FEMALE marathon roller skater.

Now men are taking women's world records away. When will it end? pic.twitter.com/sRPzgw81YB

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 14, 2024

On the Stream Menu

Stream contributor Albin Sadar asks, “Has the Democratic Party Become a New Church?”

Meanwhile, Frank Kauffman details the Left’s calls for censorship of free speech and social media in “The Control Conundrum.”

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.