I was honored to be a guest of Vice President Mike Pence at historic Fort McHenry Wednesday night as he formally accepted the Republican Party’s nomination to be vice president of the United States for four more years.

Fort McHenry was selected as the site for the vice president’s address for obvious reasons. It was there during the War of 1812 that Francis Scott Key penned the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner” after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry and its defiant defense.

Sadly, progressives today have lost all reverence for our flag and national anthem, as they have lost respect for our country, which many leftists believe is an evil nation founded on slavery and genocide.

Well, there was none of that gloom and doom from Vice President Pence!

He delivered a rousing pro-America, pro-Trump speech that praised the courage of our heroes in uniform, our law enforcement officers and first responders, as well as the courage of everyday Americans — farmers, doctors, nurses, parents, teachers, and truck drivers.

Listening to Vice President Pence, I heard echoes of my former boss, President Ronald Reagan. For example, referring to the challenges before us, including the coronavirus, Pence said this:

In these challenging times, our country needs a president who believes in America. Who believes in the boundless capacity of the American people to meet any challenge, defeat any foe, and defend the freedoms we all hold dear…

Last week, Joe Biden said “no miracle is coming.” What Joe doesn’t seem to understand is that America is a nation of miracles and we’re on track to have the world’s first safe, effective coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year.

Referring to recent rioting, Pence said:

My fellow Americans, we are passing through a time of testing. For in the midst of this global pandemic, just as our nation has begun to recover, we’ve seen violence and chaos in the streets of our major cities…

Let me be clear: the violence must STOP — whether in Minneapolis, Portland, or Kenosha. Too many heroes have died defending our freedoms to see Americans strike each other down. We will have law and order on the streets of America.

As for the election, Pence said:

It’s not so much whether America will be more conservative or more liberal, more Republican or more Democrat. The choice in this election is whether America remains America.

It’s whether we will leave to our children and our grandchildren a country grounded in our highest ideals of freedom, free markets, and the unalienable right to life and liberty — or whether we will leave to our children and grandchildren a country that is fundamentally transformed into something else.

Nine months ago, nobody would have predicted that a virus coming out of communist China would be a major campaign issue. Nor would anyone have predicted that riots and mobs attacking memorials to America’s heroes would be an issue. But they are. And the differences between the two parties and their candidates could not be more stark.

Right now, America needs heroes. And, as the vice president noted, we have plenty of them!

At the end of Pence’s speech, “Hail to the Chief” began to play. To the surprise of us all, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump had flown from Washington, DC, to Fort McHenry. The audience roared as they walked out onto the stage.

To top it all off, country superstar Trace Adkins closed the event with a stirring rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Sports Strike

Professional sports games are on hold again. And it’s not the coronavirus this time. Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks refused to play against the Orlando Magic in protest of the shooting to Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

In short order, all NBA and WNBA games were canceled. Major League Baseball and soccer games were also canceled. Lebron James is among those leading the charge. He took to social media to remind everyone that the games were being boycotted, not postponed.

And it wasn’t just the players. Network announcers walked off too.

This is an escalation on the part of the social justice warrior athletes. What exactly has happened that would lead them to go on strike? The situation in Kenosha is more complicated than it initially appeared. Blake was in fact armed.

The only other thing going on is lawless rioting by people have who have zero concern for what happened in Kenosha. There is no connection between a man being shot by police and burning down a furniture store or car dealership, ruining the lives of others.

Whatever happened in Minneapolis regarding George Floyd’s death three months ago bears no conceivable connection to 90 days of rioting in Portland, radicals chanting “Death to America,” and burning Bibles and American flags in the streets.

Wednesday, a murder suspect committed suicide in Minneapolis. Within minutes looters were running through the mall. When did stealing shoes become the obvious response to reports of a shooting?

The left’s weakness is sending a message to the Marxists: “Virtually no Democrat politician in America will stop us.” They are also learning that no matter what they do, a powerful complex of media commentators, athlete apologists, Hollywood hypocrites, and cowardly CEOs will defend them in the public square.

Feckless politicians + apologists for anarchists = horror coming to your community soon. There is only one thing standing in the way of that possibility — the reelection of Donald Trump and Mike Pence.

I am pleased to report that Wisconsin Governor Tony Evans has come to his senses. Wednesday afternoon, he finally accepted President Trump’s offer of federal assistance to stop the rioting in Kenosha. Two hundred federal law enforcement agents are now on their way.

A Game Changer

Abbott Labs announced yesterday that it has received an emergency authorization from the FDA to produce a rapid COVID-19 antigen test that may cost as little as five dollars. While not as accurate as other tests, it is much faster, much cheaper, and far less invasive. It will allow far more individual testing, which is essential to containing the virus.

President Trump will reportedly announce a $750 million deal for Abbott Labs to produce 150 million of its new rapid tests.

Yesterday’s announcement is just another part of the Trump administration’s unprecedented mobilization and deregulation of our medical research complex and private industry. Within months of a completely novel virus hitting our shores, we are making historic strides toward testing, treatments, and vaccines.

Meanwhile, the Democrats’ solution is to shut everything down again.

Needless to say, those of us in the real world are cheering yesterday’s news. Stocks closely tied to the reopening of the economy — airlines, cruise lines, concert promoters, etc. — are all rallying.

Prayers for the Gulf Coast

Hurricane Laura slammed into the Louisiana/Texas coast early Thursday morning as a huge Category 4 storm. It triggered massive flooding, tornadoes, and a major chemical fire. Nearly 750,000 people are without power.

Please join Carol and me in praying for everyone in the path of this devastating storm. Our friends at Samaritan’s Purse are already on the way.