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

With all the hoopla over the Democratic National Convention and Robert Kennedy, Jr.’s endorsement of Donald Trump, some crucial stories in the cultural battles slid past.

Jack Daniels Drops DEI Plans

First, John Deere, then Tractor Supply Co., then Harley-Davidson, and now Jack Daniels. The parent company of the famous whiskey brand has announced it’s tossing way plans for assorted DEI initiatives.

Robby Starbuck, who led the effort that pressured Harley-Davidson to awaken from wokeness, believes Jack Daniels got wind they’d be the next company targeted and acted preemptively. Said Starbuck:

Among the initiatives are: “Ending participation in the (Human Rights Campaign’s) Corporate Equality Index social credit system; Executive + employee bonuses/goals are tied to business performance not DEI; An end to ‘quantitative workforce and supplier diversity ambitions’; Cutting woke trainings.”

DHS Doubles Down on DEI

At least ten million illegal immigrants have crossed the border on the Biden-Harris watch, with countless terrorists among them. Last week, we learned the U.s. Department of Homeland Security has lost 85,000 unaccompanied minors who crossed our border and isn’t bothering to track 291,000 more.

So what do you think the number one priority is in DHS’s new Information Technology Strategic Plan? If you said Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, rather than creating better systems for ensuring Americans’ safety, you’d be correct.

The Department of Homeland Security put out its Information Technology Strategic Plan for 2024-2028. Guess what @DHSgov’s #1 goal is…

It’s not to protect America and it’s not to advance our capabilities to beat our enemies. Nope.

Their #1 stated goal is advancing DEI. Insane. pic.twitter.com/twTGHDKAPr

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 24, 2024

Judge Blocks Letitia James’s Totalitarian Move to Go After Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers

New York Attorney General Letitia James loves using her office to attack political foes, like former President Donald Trump and the NRA. The latest in her crosshairs are pro-life pregnancy centers. James had sued 11 pregnancy centers from discussing and promoting the abortion pill reversal procedure, accusing them of fraud and deceptive business practices. (Oh, how she loves inventing fraud cases.)

Unfortunately for James, a federal judge slapped a preliminary injunction on her efforts, saying they violated the pregnancy centers’ free-speech rights.

Colorado Lawmaker Goes After Teacher Who Told Student Da Vinci Was “Gender Fluid”

Colorado State Representative Brandi Bradley wanted answers after her 15-year-old son’s history teacher told him Leonardo Da Vinci was “gender fluid” and that the Mona Lisa is a “self-portrait.”

My 15 year old HISTORY teacher told her students that Leonardo DaVinci was gender fluid and that the Mona Lisa was a depiction of his feminine side. WTAH????? And tonight is back to school night and she has no idea what kind of mama bear is coming for her…..

— Rep Brandi Bradley (@bradleyforco) August 21, 2024

Bradley tracked the teacher down at a back-to-school meeting. The teacher explained that a student asked her what it meant when someone in a video called Da Vinci “gay or whatever.” That’s when she began talking about the speculation over Da Vinci’s sexuality and the importance of “self-expression” — what Bradley later called “grooming.”

Someone else jumped into the conversation, pointing out that the Mona Lisa was likely a real person: Lisa Giocondo, whom historians believe was the subject of the famous painting.

Bradley wanted to know which videos had been approved for her class, saying, “I don’t know that I want my 15-year-old being taught about gender fluidity.”

Texas School District: Teachers Must Use Pronouns Consistent With Students’ Biological Sex

Teachers in the Keller Independent School District in the Dallas metroplex must now refer to students by pronouns consistent with their biological sex — that is, unless their parents send a written notification to the school. What’s more, parents must be notified if a student wants to use different pronouns. The Keller school board unanimously approved the new policy Thursday night.

Thursday’s vote is a direct result of churches getting involved in local elections. Although a conservative town, Keller’s school board had been controlled by liberals who were shoving woke policies down students’ throats. Horrified, a nearby megachurch began a program in 2022 highlighting conservative and Christian members of the congregation who were running for school board and other local offices. In the next election, that board and those in nearby districts flipped faster than a pancake at IHOP.

Legendary Female Surfer Told to Shut Up About Men Competing in Women’s Events

As a teen, legendary surfer Bethany Hamilton had an arm bitten off by a shark, and now she’s had her legs cut out from under her by wokeness. As we reported in January, Hamilton lost many sponsorships, including Ford and Rip Curl, because she loudly opposes men being allowed in female surfing events. Now Hamilton tells Tucker Carlson the World Surf League has ordered female surfers to can the complaints or face fines and disqualification.

Hamilton says she was the only female surfer to step up to defend their sport from male interlopers. “Literally, I don’t think one female. Maybe, like, a couple lesser-known, kinda like, not very vocal girls” said anything about it, she said. “Like, I think there was a lot of women not for it, but the unfortunate thing was, the World Surf League had all the athletes say, ‘Hey, you’re not allowed to say anything deemed derogatory or negative toward the World Surf League or we will fine you and disqualify you for completing.'”

“So, shut up and obey,” Carlson said.

WATCH: @bethanyhamilton tells @TuckerCarlson how she lost sponsorships and was attacked on social media for speaking out about men invading women’s sports. pic.twitter.com/bukBwdcoHP

— Tucker Carlson Network (@TCNetwork) August 22, 2024

Oops! Facebook Apologizes for Censoring Hillsdale College for Course Critiquing Marxism and Communism 

Funny how it only goes one way.

Facebook took down Hillsdale College’s page shortly after it launched a new course critiquing Marxism, socialism, and communism.   

“Facebook is denying people access to our course on repressive ideologies,” administrators posted on X. (Kinda proving the point of the class, one might say.)

The @hillsdaleonline Facebook page has been down since Monday night, just as we launched a new course on Marxism, socialism, and communism. Facebook is denying people access to our course on repressive ideologies. Such issues are usually resolved within 24 hours, @Meta told us.

— Hillsdale Public Relations (@HillsdalePR) August 22, 2024

Facebook’s parent company, Meta, then restored the page, admitting in a statement, “This page was taken down in error and was restored before we received this inquiry.”

As Newsmax reported, “A Hillsdale College spokeswoman said Facebook’s censorship was timed during the presidential campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris.”

Chick Fil-A Getting Into Entertainment with Streaming Service

The fast-food chicken chain Chick-fil-A is getting into the entertainment business. Deadline reports the yummy company is planning a streaming service featuring family-friendly programming, and has been working with major production houses to develop original, mostly unscripted content (AKA reality shows and game shows). Chick-fil-A is also in talks to acquire and license content.

Deadline says details on the project are scarce, but Chick-fil-A hopes to have the streaming service up and running later this year.

But will they stream on Sundays? That is the question.

On the Stream Menu

We had a double serving of the prolific Jason Jones earlier today:

“India’s Hundu Supremacist Regime Weaponizes Anti-Conversion Laws to Terrorize Christians”

“The Democrats Are the Party of Hit-and-Run Drivers”

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.