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

I Love the Smell of Arson in the Morning

Why did Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz wait three days to bring in the National Guard to put a halt to the race rioters who were burning down his biggest city in 2020? Was it incompetence? Stubbornness?

How about because his wife reacted to the smell of the fires the way the rest of us react to the smell of Christmas pine?

When reflecting on the 2020 George Floyd riots, Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz said, “I could smell the burning tires … I kept the windows open as long as I could because I felt like that was such a touchstone of what was happening.”

Here is a bizarre clip from an interview with Gwen Walz stating that she left her windows open during the Minneapolis Riots so she could smell the burning tires.

Her daughter also coordinated with rioters to let them know that the National Guard would not be activated one night. pic.twitter.com/ityW100Z4y

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) August 6, 2024

Having lived through the LA riots in the early 1990s, with the sense memory still causing pangs of sadness, I simply cannot fathom the mindset a person would have to have not to react with horror at the smell of one’s own city being burned. Lives were being lost in Minneapolis — in some cases, by people being burned alive. Police officers were under vicious siege. Businesses that had been built by the lifelong sweat of the citizenry were turning to ash in the space of hours. Think of the cities that spent decades trying to recover from the race riots of 1968. Yet, Mrs. Walz’s lungs were breathing it all in when her heart should have been breaking.

We could try to dismiss this interview with Mrs. Walz as just a gaffe, or regard her personally as one of those troublesome political spouses. But her response is simply progressive thinking.

It’s why Rep. Maxine Waters (D-MO) defended the gang member who smashed an innocent truck driver over the head with a cinder block during the LA riots.

It’s why authorities in Baltimore had no problem with letting rioters wreck a swath of the city in 2015 to let out their frustration over the death of a black man who was in police custody at the time. Then-Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake actually said, “It’s a very delicate balancing act. Because while we try to make sure that they were protected from the cars and other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well.” (Emphasis mine.)

It’s why Walz’s husband Tim, now in contention for the second most powerful position on the planet, not only sat on his hands while the residents of Minneapolis suffered, but excused the carnage as a biproduct of inequity.

It’s why, according to a scathing Minnesota Senate report, Waltz gave his adult daughter access to confidential information about police movements, which she used to alert rioters to their whereabouts — thus both facilitating further destruction and putting first responders in danger.

This was Minnesota under Gov Tim Walz: pic.twitter.com/6CCbhyOPca

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 6, 2024

The Walz family subscribes to a progressive ideology that is happy to set America on fire while they cook S’mores.

Let’s go a bit lighter for a moment. It may be open season in the political realm — but it’s also kind of a silly season as well.

Trump Wonders If Biden Will Crash DNC to Reclaim His Nomination

Former President Donald Trump, should he lose the election this November, might want to consider embarking on a new career as a Hollywood showrunner. Yesterday, the GOP nominee laid out a possible new plot twist to an already head-spinning election season: Joe Biden storming the Democratic National Convention to reclaim his nomination.

How He Sits is a Problem?

Every presidential election season has its head-scratching moments. For example, Mitt Romney getting attacked for talking about a “folder of women.” But this one is just … dare I use the word? … weird.

Yesterday, Squad leader Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questioned how J.D. Vance was sitting in a chair. Really.

Why are you sitting like that https://t.co/VYaWc52nPU

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 6, 2024

Hey, AOC! Are you a member of Congress or headmistress at a finishing school?

Making AOC’s inquiry even more baffling is the fact that she’s also been photographed sitting that way herself.

This you? https://t.co/nUAgyEMySz pic.twitter.com/3QE30ENIeb

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 6, 2024

You can understand why AOC might be distracted by the littlest things. Last night, one of her fellow Squad members, Missouri Rep. Cori Bush, was crushed in her primary by St. Louis County lead prosecutor Wesley Bell. Bush is the second Squad member to go down this year; Rep. Jamaal Bowman of fire alarm-pulling fame went down in a primary in June.

How He Greets His Wife Is a Problem?

Not to be outdone, the Right and the Trump campaign are having fun with the way Walz greeted his wife at his rally yesterday with Kamala Harris, first going in for a handshake before she coaxed him into a hug.

Did Tim Walz just… shake his wife's hands? Freak! pic.twitter.com/YOtjHjd350

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 6, 2024

Look at the bright side. It’s a step up from confusing one’s wife with one’s sister at a rally, and having a habit of shaking hands with people who aren’t there … which we have seen happen.

Besides, one can excuse Walz for being in a bit of a daze. Remember, little more than two weeks ago, Joe Biden was insisting he was “in it to win it,” and Walz had as much chance of winning a CPAC straw poll as being the Democratic nominee for vice president. How quickly the times have changed!

A Question From David Hogg

Liberal gun control activist David Hogg posted an odd question yesterday.

Ask yourself- imagine you are stuck on the side of the road with a blown tire. Who do you want to show up. Tim Walz or JD Vance?

— David Hogg 🟧 (@davidhogg111) August 7, 2024

If Hogg were nonpartisan, perhaps that would be a fun question to ask. But Hogg seems to think the answer is obviously Walz. For some reason he thinks you’d be be better off with a fluffy 60-year-old who let his biggest city turn to ash coming to your rescue rather than a 39-year-old former Marine. The replies to Hogg’s post are entertaining.

Boxer With Male Chromosomes Easily Advances to Gold Medal Round

Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer with male chromosomes, pummeled another female for three rounds Tuesday to easily advance to the finals in women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics. The latest woman to have her Olympic dream shattered by a male s is Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng.

Imane Khelif is currently beating yet another woman in the ring.

It looks like he's going to win meaning he is GUARANTEED to win AT LEAST a silver medal.

Shameful. pic.twitter.com/gDekHaNVYk

— Brandubh (@brandubh4) August 6, 2024

The New York Times has a particularly skewed take on this, acting as if Khelif is Jackie Robinson, with an article titled “Boxer in Controversy Over Eligibility Lets Her Gloves Do the Talking.” 

What the gloves are saying is: “The fists inside me are powered by the biologically advantageous muscles of a male. This allows me to pummel women for international fame and glory, while the woke world cheers.” 

Red Cross: Blood Inventory Down 25% Since July 1

July’s severe heat apparently has done serious damage to national blood supplies. The American Red Cross reported its stores dropped 25% last month, largely because record temperatures led to blood drives being canceled or cut short. The organization is currently down 19,000 donations.

With August likely to bring storms and power outages that also might keep the inventory from being replenished, the Red Cross says it is in an emergency situation.

It isn’t just the weather. The humanitarian organization said earlier this year that blood donations were at a 20-year low. In fact, it’s so in need, administrators are offering a $20 Amazon gift card to donors between now and August 31.

“As you go about your summer plans, remember there are those who are in hospitals,” said Red Cross spokeswoman Dr. Baia Lasky. “We really need people to come out and donate.”

CLICK HERE to find out how.

On the Stream Menu

Stream contributor Alex Chediak brings us “Tim Walz: The Gift That Will Keep on Giving.”

Dr. Michael Brown’s new one also is up: “Our Most Powerful Weapons Are Spiritual.”

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.