How messy will it get? There are three possible outcomes. Start with the extremely unlikely one, which is a vote so close that Kamala Harris and Mr Trump tie in the electoral college. Were this to happen, the next president would be picked by the House of Representatives, with each state wielding one vote. Even if Ms Harris won the popular vote on November 5th, Mr Trump would almost certainly become president. That would be fair in the sense that it would follow the rules, but Democrats would be furious.

The second outcome is a Trump win. Democrats could bring legal challenges in close states where Ms Harris lost. Some of these might end up at the Supreme Court, where three justices appointed by Mr Trump would have to adjudicate their merits. Three of the conservative justices worked on George W. Bush’s legal team back in 2000 on Bush v Gore. That would make it hard to persuade Ms Harris’s supporters that decisions favouring the Trump campaign were impartial. After the court’s rulings on abortion and presidential immunity, Democrats have come to view the justices as Republican politicians in robes. Nevertheless, most elected Democrats would probably accept the rulings, if more grudgingly than in 2000.

However, if enough Democratic lawmakers were really convinced the courts had acted unfairly, they could try to block certification of the result in Congress, following the precedent set by Republicans in 2021. Then, 139 House members and eight senators (all Republicans) voted to reject the results. A reform of the Electoral Count Act, passed two years ago, raises the threshold, so that 20 senators and 87 members of the House would have to object. In the unlikely scenario that those preliminary votes passed, Democrats would probably lose the subsequent full votes of both chambers. All this is possible, but the most probable outcome, if Mr Trump were to win the election, is that Ms Harris would concede, taking the wind out of any Democratic challenge to the result.

If Ms Harris wins, Mr Trump will not be so gracious. In that third scenario, the complexity of America’s voting system collides with the MAGA conspiracy machine.

Read it all.

How ugly will it get?
America’s election is mired in conflict
Donald Trump’s conspiracy machine is already gearing up for election night https://t.co/wBPTd73SzQ

— Pablo Secada (@psecadae) September 12, 2024

I will take comments on this submitted by email only to KSHarmon[at]mindspring[dot]com.

Seal Team 6, the clandestine US Navy commando unit that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, has been training for missions to help Taiwan if it is invaded by China, according to people familiar with the preparations.

The elite Navy special forces team, which is tasked with some of the military’s most sensitive and difficult missions, has been planning and training for a Taiwan conflict for more than a year at Dam Neck, its headquarters at Virginia Beach about 250km south-east of Washington.

The secret training underlines the increased US focus on deterring China from attacking Taiwan, while stepping up preparations for such an event.

The preparations have only grown since Phil Davidson, the US Indo-Pacific commander at the time, warned in 2021 that China could attack Taiwan within six years.

Read it all.

This is an amazing scoop by @FT and @Dimi. It is sure to get under Beijing's skin.

US Navy Seal unit that killed bin Laden trains for Chinese invasion of Taiwan https://t.co/6ngSZFvKrA via @ft

— Dennis Wilder偉德寧 (@dennisw5) September 12, 2024

‘It was impossible,’ says archdeacon Strachan ‘to hear him without becoming sensible of the infinite importance of the gospel. He warned,counseled, entreated, and comforted with intense and powerful energy. His manner and voice struck you with a deep interest which pervaded his soul for their salvation, and into their heart.’

–John McVickar, The professional years of John Henry Hobart: being a sequel to his early years (New York, Protestant Episcopal Press, 1836) p.41

Q. "… do you mean that the bread and wine are changed into Christ's body and blood, as the Roman Catholics assert?"
A. "Certainly not. This would contradict our senses; and the body of Christ is in heaven, not on earth."

-From Bishop Hobart's Catechism pic.twitter.com/efOKdsRgeB

— SouthernAnglo (@AngloSouthern) April 5, 2024

Revive thy Church, Lord God of hosts, whensoever it doth fall into complacency and sloth, by raising up devoted leaders, like thy servant John Henry Hobart whom we remember this day; and grant that their faith and vigor of mind may awaken thy people to thy message and their mission; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates John Henry Hobart, Bishop of New York, 1830

Rector of Trinity Wall Street, 3rd Bishop of New York (1816-30) and founder of General Theological Seminary, he helped promote the extension of the Episcopal Church in Central & Western New York pic.twitter.com/HzLJ8hofhc

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) September 12, 2024

Almighty God, who knowest our necessities before we ask, and our ignorance in asking: Set free thy servants from all anxious thoughts for the morrow; give us contentment with thy good gifts; and confirm our faith that according as we seek thy kingdom, thou wilt not suffer us to lack any good thing; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Guten Morgen 👋

Die Erinnerung ist das einzige Paradies, aus welchem wir nicht getrieben werden können.

Jean Paul pic.twitter.com/SQDKyZ2i2k

— Claudi (@CLAUDI_143de) September 12, 2024

A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes, he does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, round about him a mighty tempest.

–Psalm 50:1-3

#sunshine and a slight #frost #loveukweather pic.twitter.com/NwM1RAzXGz

— ianW (@IanW1985) September 12, 2024

The Man Behind the Red Bandana from Drew Gallagher on Vimeo.

On Sept. 11, Mr. Colasanti kissed his wife, Kelly, and children, Cara, 4, and Lauren, 1, before catching an early train to arrive by 7:30 a.m. at Cantor Fitzgerald, where he worked as a bond trader on the 105th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.

His plan was to get in early so he could return early to his family in Hoboken. Every night, he gave his girls a bath, then tucked them in.

“He put us first always,” Kelly Colasanti said. “He was a great father. He had such a great relationship with both the girls.”

Read it all.

9/11

A day of reflection.
A day of community.
A day of remembrance.

Today marks 23 years since our immeasurable loss.

As an extension of Tribute in Light, for the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 attacks, we have partnered with the @Sept11Memorial and will be… pic.twitter.com/IvHEq0Pprr

— Luna Park in Coney Island (@LunaParkNYC) September 11, 2024

From there:

I got up and turned on the TV, and there was just this big black hole in the World Trade Center. And there was just smoke billowing out of it. I called my sister Cathy I said, “You might wanna wake up, turn in your TV and take a look at what they’re showing.” The commentator’s saying that it’s an American Airlines plane. And I casually asked Cathy, I said, “Do you know where Betty is?” And she says, “Betty’s supposed to be flying out of Boston.” And I said, “Do you think Betty is on that plane?” We just didn’t know. So I left a phone call on her cellphone, just asking her when she’s landed or anywhere you’re on the ground, to just give us a call and tell us you’re okay. And there was no call from Betty. I called American Airlines, and it was only then that it was confirmed that Betty was on the flight.

I just want to add, through your passing, Betty, our family’s gotten very very close. Dad, who’s quite stoic, doesn’t really say a whole lot, man of the family, one day told us that he cries himself to sleep. Even to this day, he just keeps staying up watching TV, hoping somehow that you’ll reappear. And we’re all still waiting for that phone call from you to tell us that you’re okay. We just miss you a whole lot.

You may find the transcript of Betty Ong’s conversation reporting the hijacking from the American airlines plane here.

Today, we honor the memory of those lost on 9/11, and remember all the heroes who responded that day.#NeverForget pic.twitter.com/YyMGdyaH6U

— City of New York (@nycgov) September 11, 2024

“The cloudless sky filled with coiling black smoke and a blizzard of paper—memos, photographs, stock transactions, insurance policies—which fluttered for miles on a gentle southeasterly breeze, across the East River into Brooklyn. Debris spewed onto the streets of lower Manhattan, which were already covered with bodies. Some of them had been exploded out of the building when the planes hit. A man walked out of the towers carrying someone else’s leg. Jumpers landed on several firemen, killing them instantly.

“The air pulsed with sirens as firehouses and police stations all over the city emptied, sending the rescuers, many of them to their deaths. [FBI agent] Steve Bongardt was running toward the towers, against a stream of people racing in the opposite direction. He heard the boom of the second collision. “There’s a second plane,” someone cried.”

–Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (New York: Random House [Vintage Books], 2006), pp.404-405

Never forget.

NYC
DC
Shanksville
USA#NeverForget911 pic.twitter.com/UiWtEffc1R

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) September 11, 2024

This site is intended as a place to remember and celebrate the lives of those lost on September 11, 2001. It includes Guest Books and profiles for each of those lost.

It is well worth your time to explore it thoroughly today.

The sun rises behind lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center seen from the Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial in Jersey City on the 23rd anniversary of the attacks on the WTC in New York City, Wednesday morning #newyorkcity #nyc #newyork #sunrise #sept11 #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/1q9RhuEWIt

— Gary Hershorn (@GaryHershorn) September 11, 2024

God, our strong deliverer: We bless thy Name for the grace given to Harry Thacker Burleigh, who didst lift up in song the struggles of thy people. Let that Spirit of love which spurred him draw us and thy whole Church to raise our distinct voices into one great harmony of praise; through the same Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Harry T. Burleigh (b. 1886) was a pioneering composer, singer & leader in New York’s “cultural & political environment well before the Harlem Renaissance.” He introduced Dvořák to African American music & “led the way for both Black & white composers…in the early 20th century.” pic.twitter.com/DtZ9tRYSAR

— ChristinaProenzaColes (@ProenzaColes) August 8, 2024

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who dost feed the birds and clothe the flowers, and who carest for us as a father for his children: We beseech thee of thy tender goodness to save us from distrust and vain self-concern; that with unwavering faith we may cast our every care on thee, and live in daily obedience to thy will; through thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Het mooie ochtendrood bracht water in de sloot. Fijne woensdag😀 #natuur #landschap #zomer #Rhenen #ElstUt #Elsterbuitenwaard #zonsopkomst #mooieluchten pic.twitter.com/woxtYqZzFA

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) September 11, 2024

But Jews came there from Antioch and Ico′nium; and having persuaded the people, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city; and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Ico′nium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they believed.

Then they passed through Pisid′ia, and came to Pamphyl′ia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attali′a; and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled. And when they arrived, they gathered the church together and declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they remained no little time with the disciples.

–Acts 14:19-28

Morning has broken. pic.twitter.com/LeYatcu9eO

— Veritatis Cupitor (@English1Maiden) September 11, 2024

The US has detected increased Russian military activity around key undersea cables, and believes Russia may now be more likely to carry out potential sabotage operations aimed at disabling a critical piece of the world’s communications infrastructure, two US officials told CNN.

Russia has put increasing emphasis on building up a dedicated military unit, which deploys a formidable fleet of surface ships, submarines and naval drones, according to one of the officials. The unit, the “General Staff Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research,” is known by its Russian acronym GUGI.

“We are concerned about heightened Russian naval activity worldwide and that Russia’s decision calculus for damaging US and allied undersea critical infrastructure may be changing,” a US official told CNN. “Russia is continuing to develop naval capabilities for undersea sabotage mainly thru GUGI, a closely guarded unit that operates surface vessels, submarines and naval drones.”

Read it all.

Exclusive: US sees increasing risk of Russian ‘sabotage’ of key undersea cables by secretive military unit | CNN Politics https://t.co/eVLdMHaZlc

— Jörn Weitzmann (@JoernWeitzmann) September 9, 2024

Telegram has become a global sewer of criminal activity, disinformation, child sexual abuse material, terrorism and racist incitement, according to a four-month investigation by The New York Times that analyzed more than 3.2 million Telegram messages from over 16,000 channels. The company, which offers features that enable criminals, terrorists and grifters to organize at scale and to sidestep scrutiny from the authorities, has looked the other way as illegal and extremist activities have flourished openly on the app.

The degree to which Telegram has been inundated by such content has not been previously reported. The Times investigation found 1,500 channels operated by white supremacists who coordinate activities among almost one million people around the world. At least two dozen channels sold weapons. In at least 22 channels with more than 70,000 followers, MDMA, cocaine, heroin and other drugs were advertised for delivery to more than 20 countries.

Hamas, ISIS and other terror groups have thrived on Telegram, often amassing large audiences across dozens of channels. The Times analyzed more than 40 channels associated with Hamas, which showed that average viewership surged up to 10 times after the Oct. 7 attacks, garnering more than 400 million views in October.

Telegram is “the most popular place for ill-intentioned, violent actors to congregate,” said Rebecca Weiner, the deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism at the New York Police Department. 

Read it all.

Must read investigation: How Telegram Became a Playground for Criminals, Extremists and Terrorists. Drug dealers, scammers and white nationalists openly conduct business and spread toxic speech on the platform.https://t.co/iw9tYGuirV

— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) September 7, 2024

Every weekday in New York City, close to one million bus riders — roughly one out of every two passengers — board without paying. The skipped fares are a crucial and growing loss of revenue for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is under severe financial pressure.

New York’s long-running fare evasion problem, among the worst of any major city in the world, has intensified recently; before the pandemic, only about one in five bus riders skipped the fare.

Yet public officials have done relatively little to collect the lost revenue from bus riders. Instead, they have focused almost exclusively on the subway system, where waves of police officers and private security guards have been deployed to enforce payment, even as fare evasion rates on trains are dwarfed by those on buses.

During the first three months of this year, 48 percent of bus riders did not pay, according to the latest available statistics from the transit authority, while 14 percent of subway riders evaded fares. Roughly twice the number of people ride the city’s subways as ride its buses.

Read it all.

Fare Evasion Surges on N.Y.C. Buses, Where 48% of Riders Fail to Pay – The New York Times https://t.co/VLrgiS8i7o

— Bernadette Hogan (@bern_hogan) August 27, 2024

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank thee for thy servant Alexander Crummell, whom thou didst call to preach the Gospel to those who were far off and to those who were near. Raise up, we beseech thee, in this and every land evangelists and heralds of thy kingdom, that thy Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

⭐Alexander Crummel ⭐A powerful black preacher, scholar and Episcopal priest. After serving as a missionary in Liberia for 20 years, he returned to the U.S. and started the first independent black Episcopal church in 1875. #blackhistorymonth pic.twitter.com/yaqMmefeoI

— The Hope Center (@Hope_Center) February 10, 2021

Lord Jesus Christ, who for our sake didst endure the cross, and hast bidden us to follow thee: Take away from us all fear, all coldness of heart, all unwillingness to suffer; that we, glorying in thy cross, may glory also that thou hast called us to bear it with thee; for thy name’s sake.

–Daily Prayer, Eric Milner-White and G. W. Briggs, eds. (London: Penguin Books 1959 edition of the 1941 original)

What a cutie! 💖🌸 Pink Robin

📷: @deepak_karra (Instagram) ©️ 🇦🇺#birds #wildlife #nature #australia pic.twitter.com/CVPYn0Bs2b

— Liberta Cherguia 🇪🇺 (@MbarkCherguia) September 9, 2024

The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone me?” The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and scripture cannot be broken), do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Again they tried to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John at first baptized, and there he remained. And many came to him; and they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.

–John 10:31-42

Le plus important, être bien là où l’on est, Sion 🍁🌺🏔️💙🇨🇭#valais #suisse #switzerland pic.twitter.com/DjgwwqdQoJ

— Délèze Dominique (@DelezeD) September 10, 2024

Ukraine’s Kursk offensive has dented Vladimir Putin’s war narrative and triggered “questions” among the Russian elite about the point of the war, two of the world’s leading spy chiefs have said.

CIA director Bill Burns said Kursk was “a significant tactical achievement” that had boosted Ukrainian morale and exposed Russia’s weaknesses. It has “raised questions . . . across the Russian elite about where is this all headed”, he said.

He was speaking at the Financial Times’ Weekend festival in London on Saturday alongside MI6 chief Richard Moore. Moore said the Kursk offensive was “a typically audacious and bold move by the Ukrainians . . . to try and change the game” — although he cautioned it was “too early” to say how long Kyiv’s forces would be able to control the Russian territory they had seized.

Read it all (subscription).

Ukraine’s Kursk offensive has triggered doubts among Russian elite, spy chiefs say https://t.co/gAzWq9L2qe

— FT Europe (@ftbrussels) September 7, 2024

You may listen directly here:

Or you may download it there

Christ Healing the Deaf-Mute
from Das Plenarium by Hans Schäufelein, 1517
happy Sunday pic.twitter.com/HFINDxGGZg

— Marysia (@marysia_cc) September 8, 2024

We give thee thanks and praise, O God of compassion, for the heroic witness of the Martyrs of Memphis, who, in a time of plague and pestilence, were steadfast in their care for the sick and dying, and loved not their own lives, even unto death; Inspire in us a like love and commitment to those in need, following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Today we commemorate St. Constance and her five companions — the Martyrs of Memphis.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) pic.twitter.com/GGIj9a7vdw

— Fr. Brandon ⚓️ (@barukalas) September 9, 2023

O Lord God, grant your people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

☁️🌧☕ Guten Morgen ☕🌧☁️
Einen angenehmen Montag wünsche ich euch allen. pic.twitter.com/zjpSXZH371

— Brigitta Neurauter (@BrigittaNeurau2) September 9, 2024

he next sabbath almost the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted what was spoken by Paul, and reviled him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

“I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of God; and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord spread throughout all the region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

–Acts 13:44-52

A tiny gap on the horizon. "No chance anything'll happen, but at least I can have a good walk. Oh well, I'll get set up anyway… Oh.". Not a bad day to choose for a day off work 😁#LakeDistrict #landscapephotography #FSPrintMonday pic.twitter.com/fdSm2SAz8C

— Em(ily) (@MehceePhotos) September 9, 2024

God, who in generous mercy sent the Holy Spirit
upon your Church in the burning fire of your love:
grant that your people may be fervent
in the fellowship of the gospel
that, always abiding in you,
they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Guten Morgen. Ich wünsche allen einen glücklichen, fröhlichen und lustigen Tag. pic.twitter.com/jAgTgr49x2

— Ursula Dahinden (@UrsulaDahinden) September 8, 2024

“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

“Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

–Matthew 5:13-20

“Highland Halo at Sunrise”#AlmostHeaven #WestVirginia #Highlands #StormHour #ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/ymyd3k8UPC

— Thomas R Fletcher (@ThomasRFletcher) September 8, 2024