The Las Vegas Brawl
 
Last night's Democrat debate was a bare-knuckles brawl right from the beginning.  Barely three minutes into the debate, Elizabeth Warren came out swinging and landed multiple punches on Michael Bloomberg.  Warren emerged from the debate a clear winner according to multiple commentators and pundits.
 
Here are some brief observations:
 

• I couldn't help but think last night how odd it had to be for Mike Bloomberg to raise his hand to get the moderators to call on him.  As one of the world's richest men, the owner of a global media conglomerate, he's used to doing all the talking and having everyone else listening to him.  At one point, he asked in sheer frustration, "What am I, chicken liver?"  Well, that's the most expensive chicken liver in history. 

• Bloomberg has already spent more than $300 million and is prepared to spend $1 billion or more.  Some of his campaign staff are making more than $30,000 a month, and there are reports that he has guaranteed them that salary through November, whether he's the nominee or not.  My advice to the New York billionaire:  Fire whomever prepped you for the debate.  They clearly did not earn their $30,000 this month.

• Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg went at each other regularly and intensely.  This is understandable as they are fighting each other to emerge as a "pragmatic" alternative to the "status quo vs. revolutionary" wings of the party, as Buttigieg describes it. 

• Joe Biden did better last night than he has in previous debates, which is fortunate for him as he needs to demonstrate that he remains a viable candidate after weak showings in Iowa and New Hampshire. 

• Bernie Sanders had to be thankful last night that Bloomberg was there.  It kept everyone else from going after him.  Sanders is after all the frontrunner in the national polls, leading Biden by double digits.  He took some criticism for backpedaling on a pledge to release his complete health records, but otherwise emerged from last night's debate relatively unscathed.

 
 
 
Honoring Our Heroes
 
While the Democrat presidential candidates were debating in Las Vegas, President Trump was holding a rally in Phoenix, Arizona.  There was an incredibly moving moment during the rally when two men carried, Ervin Julian, a 100 year-old World War II veteran, to a seat near the stage.  This man fought real fascists, not imaginary fascists the Antifa mob beats up. 
 
I'm sure many Americans were very emotional watching that scene.  They probably remembered a father or grandfather who served in World War II.  I know it reminded me of my deceased father, Spike Bauer, who fought in the South Pacific, and my uncle, Ed Webber, who fought in Europe. 
 
Sadly, there are many Americans who have no clue about that history.  While the left obsesses over America's flaws, it is imperative that we remind our children and grandchildren about our country's tremendous accomplishments, including the importance of winning World War II. 
 
Just imagine if we had lost.  The world would have sunk into complete darkness.  Having saved the world from Hitler's fascism and Soviet communism, it should be easy to make the case that America is a great nation, full of good and decent people.
 
 
 
1776 Unites
 
I am pleased to report that a group of scholars has come together to defend our nation.  They are specifically rebutting the absurd claims of the 1619 Project, launched by the New York Times, to recast America as a racist nation founded on the evil of slavery.  (The first African slaves arrived in America in 1619.)  Public schools across the country are embracing this fiction and teaching it as fact in their classrooms.
 
Many historians have spoken out against the 1619 Project.  And now several of the nation's preeminent black scholars, pastors and activists are pushing back too, and speaking up for America through what they are calling "1776." 
 
These black scholars are offering "alternative perspectives that celebrate the progress America has made."  They are also working to "highlight the resilience of its people." 
 
As Professor Glenn Loury noted, it is wrong to blame American for slavery because, "Slavery was a fact of human civilization since antiquity.  Abolition is the new idea. . . a Western idea not possible without the democratic institutions that were built in 1776."
 
Robert Woodson, one of the principals behind 1776, blasted the negative message coming from the New York Times, saying that it "discourages blacks" and that "nothing is more lethal than a good excuse for failing."  He said the creators of the 1619 Project "don't believe in America," adding "I get the impression that they don't believe in black people."
 
Another participant in 1776 is former Vanderbilt Professor Carol Swain, who has done outstanding research on the impact of illegal immigration on the black community.  Swain slammed the 1619 Project for offering a "very crippling message to our children." 
 
Please, talk to your children about what they are being taught in their schools about America.  If they are being exposed to the 1619 Project, contact their teachers, school administrators and your local school board members and insist that they incorporate material from 1776 for a more balanced and accurate history of America.