Good morning everyone. So, I had this weird dream that there was a presidential debate last night, but that one of the candidates for the most important job in the world just sniffled a lot and answered every question with bizarre rants and lies instead of, you know, plans. Weird. What? That actually happened? God help us. Let’s get going.

1) Round One: Hillary

Well, I mean, what can you say about what unfolded at Hofstra last night? The first presidential debate was epic—and by epic, we, of course, mean it was a shit show, as Donald Trump, a.k.a. “Sniffles” delivered an unforgettable performance. Sniffle. Sniffle. By unforgettable, we mean unforgettably bad.

Perhaps the best Donald moments of the evening are when he told Hillary Clinton she had been fighting ISIS her entire adult life or when he seemed to allege his ten-year-old son could solve the cyber-terrorism crisis.

The INDY live-Tweeted the debate. In case you missed it, here were a few of your favorites …



But let’s get serious for a moment. Surely, not ALL of the fact-checkers’ heads exploded.

Thanks NPR.

Still no word on whether somebody fact-checked how AWESOME Trump’s ten-year-old is “at computers.”

2) Charlotte holds a City Council meeting. It doesn’t go well.

Queen City Mayor Jennifer Roberts tried, before Monday’s meeting, to apologize for what has been seen by protestors as a lack of transparency in the aftermath of the Keith Lamont Scott shooting. Looks like her apology came a bit too late.

From the N&O:

A furious crowd of citizens criticized and often shouted down Charlotte City Council on Monday night, calling for resignations across the city and chanting, “Hands Down! Shoot Back!” and “No Justice, No Peace!”
Mayor Jennifer Roberts, who allowed people to speak for two hours, repeatedly had to stop the meeting, pleading for quiet. Sometimes the crowd quieted to allow people to speak. At other times, her requests were met with heckles and chants for justice.
Even after the meeting, protesters gathered in the lobby of the Government Center. More than 20 protesters sat down after one young man urged them to “occupy this space.” Dozens more stood, chanted and demanded a federal investigation into the shooting.
“Release. Release. The whole damn tape,” they chanted.

3) Cedar Ridge High School teacher resigns after Trump/Hitler comparison.

As if young people didn’t have enough of a reason to not want to teach in North Carolina—shitty pay, crowded classrooms, etc.—the hits just keep on coming. Cedar Ridge High School teacher Amanda Harder resigned for, you know, trying to get her students to THINK.

From the N&O:

Harder has been an English Honors and AP World History teacher at Cedar Ridge since July 2014, according to her online LinkedIn profile. She has worked as a teacher since 1997, including 15 years with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
Conservative blogger A.P. Dillon first wrote on Sept. 21 about Harder’s comments, publishing what she says is a student recording from Harder’s classroom.
Students alleged Harder asked them to compare speeches by Adolf Hitler with those made by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Dillon says in the blog post, and taught multiple other lessons of a similar nature.
The teacher in the recording refers to Trump as a “master of pathos,” who manipulates his audience through their fears. The comments are part of a lesson on three ways to persuade an audience, she says, noting that an argument using pathos appeals to the emotions.

4) Hillary is coming to Raleigh.

The day after she wiped the floor with Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton will be in Raleigh to campaign at Wake Tech.

From WNCN:


So if you see a motorcade and hear a woman laughing uncontrollably about last night’s debate, it’s probably her.

OK. That’s it. Have a good one.