Despite the patriotic tone of some of the top speakers at the Democratic National Convention, no U.S. flags were flying on the massive stage the first evening. Coincidentally six flags disappeared from poles atop the Philadelphia City Hall and a city official told the Daily Caller they had been moved to the Democrats' whingding.

Hillary Clinton unleashed a charm offensive on her climactic evening closing the Democratic National Convention. The woman Donald Trump branded as "crooked Hillary" was a symbol of purity in an all-white designer pants suit. With a model's hair and makeup job, she looked like a million dollars (four speaking fees). Introduced by her loving daughter Chelsea, the mother of her grandchildren, Hillary delivered an hour-long laundry list of promised goodies and a soak-the-rich plan to pay for them. Now let the games begin.

After finally giving up his valiant battle to win the Democratic nomination for president, socialist Bernie Sanders has gone back to flying his true colors. Less than 24 hours after caving in to the Clinton machine he told reporters he will return to the Senate as an Independent.

　

When Bill Clinton spoke to Democratic National Convention delegates and called his newly-nominated wife Hillary "the real thing", was he comparing her to Coca-Cola?

The former president referred to Hillary Clinton as a "change maker." If she happens to be looking for work after November 8, Donald Trump probably could use her in one of his casinos.

Democrats claim the Russians hacked their national committee computers and exposed some embarrassing emails to help the Trump campaign. If the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics wanted to help a candidate in the American presidential election, shouldn't it have been socialist Bernie Sanders?

Hillary Clinton's email scandal followed her to the Democratic National Convention  On the eve of the opening of the four-day meeting in Philadelphia, Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced she would resign as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee at the conclusion of the convention. The development followed the leak of DNC emails which exposed bias against socialist Bernie Sanders and his campaign.


"I didn't say that they were, you know, chopped liver." - President Obama, referring to former presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and George H. W. Bush, defending his assertion that "there has never been a candidate better prepared for the presidency than Hillary Clinton."

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Hillary Clinton's choice of a running mate, had a comeback for critics who branded him as boring. "I am boring," he said, then added: "But boring is the fastest-growing demographic in this country."

When the primaries began to heat up last spring, Donald Trump started calling Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, "Lyin' Ted." After Cruz refused to endorse Trump as the Republican nominee for president, delegates to the national convention gave him a new nickname: "Spoilsport."

Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination for president, telling voters, "I am your voice." That's more than former New York mayor Rudy Giulani could say. He almost lost his voice after delivering a forceful speech in support of Trump and talking to numerous state delegations.

Roger Ailes resigned as Chairman and CEO of Fox News, in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment of women employees. But he won't be out in the cold. In addition to a severance package of around $40 million, he also will remain with the parent company, 21st Century Fox, until 2018 as a consultant.

What could be more frustrating than a large gathering of politicians who can't shake hands? Delegates to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland have been instructed to take precautions because of an outbreak of norovirus, the highly contagious virus that frequently threatens cruise ships. That's why TV viewers will see a lot of fist bumps and "high fives" in the convention arena.

Convention speakers continue to be bugged by embarrassing errors. House Speaker Paul Ryan, handed a paper while presiding, mistakenly read the name of the newly-nominated Donald J. Trump as "Donald Day Trump." At least he didn't say "Doris Day."

Both Ryan and Senate Majority Leader were slow to publicly show support for Trump, but both performed like loyal troupers on the second night of the GOP convention. Ryan said he looked forward to a State of the Union speech with Trump instead of Barack Obama. McConnell told delegates: "With Donald Trump in the White House, Senate Republicans will build on the work we've done ..."

News media digging into the background of Gavin Long, the man identified as the killer of three white Baton Rouge police officers, have turned up evidence that he was angry about police shootings of black suspects, that he was a fan of the sniper who ambushed police in Dallas and that he had been a member of the Nation of Islam. Yet President Obama said, "We don't know his motive."


"Our national conventions are nothing but glorified Mickey Mouse cartoons, and are solely for amusement purposes." - Will Rogers.

It won't be all politics and no play for delegates attending the Republican national convention in Cleveland. The Hill reports a lobbying group is "throwing a series of concerts at the House of Blues on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday." And Monday evening the Distilled Spirits Council and others are sponsoring a bash at the Old County Courthouse.

For an unrelenting advocate of gun control, President Obama does a sorry job of keeping control of weapons purchased by the government (with taxpayers' money, of course). Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, revealed at a hearing of his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that since 2006 the feds have doled out more than $1 billion on firearms and ammunition and has lost 985 of the weapons. Those missing include Uzis, assault rifles and grenade launchers.

Sarah Palin won't be at the Republican convention in Cleveland, but it's not because she wasn't invited -- so says Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee for president. Well, she does live in Alaska, and as Trump points out, "it's a long ways away."

The Pokemon Go craze has found its way into the presidential campaign. Hillary Clinton supporters are using the game to register voters in Ohio. A campaign event description says, "go to the Pokestop in Madison Park and put up a lure module, get free Pokemon, & battle each other while you register voters."

Who says you can't have your cake and eat it, too? Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, but he didn't suspend his campaign. "We have begun a political revolution to transform America and that revolution continues," Sanders told his supporters.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hints that she might move to New Zealand if Donald Trump is elected president. The Republican candidate has a better idea. Stung by Ginsburg's attacks on him, Trump tweeted: "Her mind is shot -- resign!"

The memorial service in Dallas was supposed to be about the five victims of a black sniper bent on killing white policemen, but President Obama made it more about him. Obama referred to himself 45 times over the course of his speech.

President Obama cut short his time in Spain as part of his overseas trip to make an appearance in Dallas, but First Lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Sasha and Malia continued to enjoy their own European vacation -- under the guise of a "Let Girls Learn" educational initiative.


Hillary Clinton's initial response to the bloody assassination of five police officers in Dallas by a vengeful black sniper was to take sides with "our African-American fellow citizens", but later switched and said "We cannot, we must not vilify police officers."

"When people say 'black lives matter,' it doesn't mean 'blue lives' don't matter, it just means all lives matter." - President Obama, addressing the Black Lives Matter movement. When Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders made that statement in Seattle last August, black activists grabbed his microphone and he knuckled under.

A claim is being made that the face of the Statue of Liberty was modeled on the features of sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi's brother.  Lady Liberty a transgender?!!!!

Newt Gingrich is the latest prospect to try out for Donald Trump's running mate, traveling with the Republican presidential candidate and speaking in his behalf. Gingrich got an extraordinary boost from a surprising source when the current veep, Joe Biden, publicly praised the former House speaker. "He's bright as hell," Biden said. "He knows the government, he knows the issues. I would feel better knowing that there was somebody there with the depth and gravitas on the issues that Newt possesses."

Last spring FBI Director James Comey told reporters last spring that he would personally interview Hillary Clinton in the investigation of her use of a personal email server for official duties as Secretary of State. In his appearance before a House committee this week Comey said he did not ask any questions during her Saturday morning 3 1/2-hour sitdown with FBI agents. It's infuriating to see both Comey and Clinton playing loose with the truth.

Your Government At Work
Because it was overcast and cloudy in Washington, D.C. for the annual "A Capitol Fourth" TV production, PBS used stock footage of fireworks from previous years when skies were clear. Forced to admit it was deceiving viewers, PBS replied to complaints on Twitter by saying, "It was the patriotic thing to do."

(In my home state of Oklahoma, sports often takes precedence over politics.) Fireworks of a different sort exploded in Oklahoma City when basketball superstar Kevin Durant announced he was leaving the Thunder team to sign a $54 million contract with the Golden State Warriors. The California team knocked the Thunder out of the NBA finals, only to lose the title to Cleveland. Sportswriter Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman urged disappointed fans to "stay classy, OKC."

A year ago Cher made the seemingly ridiculous promise that if Donald Trump is elected she would move to Jupiter. That might not be so far-fetched, after NASA's successful 4th of July feat of putting a space probe in the planet's orbit. Or was the TV coverage of that just a fake production done on a movie set?

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

How Your Taxes Are Spent
The Interior Department doesn't keep track of smartphones and tablets and as a result it has more than 1,500 unused cell phones. An inspector general's report says unless the agency changes its ways it will spend more than $1.7 million in the next three years on devices that may never be used.

Misty Snow's name sounds like she might be a night club singer, but she's actually a candidate for high office. She's also America's first transgender candidate, opposing Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. She says she doesn't think her gender identity will be an issue. We'll see.

Donald Trump hasn't made it to the White House yet and already he's involved in a battle over taxes. It's a personal matter related to his new hotel on Pennsylvania Ave. Trump[ is suing the D.C. government to try to reduce the taxes levied on his property.