EDITOR's NOTE: All Tweets below have been redacted (where necessary) within their original sequence.
The first reporter to interview me this 2016 election cycle, Salena Zito of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, was just on C-SPAN... cool!
Every time *I* do Conventions, I have ever more respect for James Madison's "scarcely missing" a word of the 1787 Constitutional Convention
Mr. Berg-Andersson adds: Madison was a lot younger then than I am now-- men of a "certain age" will understand ;-)
Session of Thursday 21 July 2016
The final session (4th day) of the 2016 Republican National Convention is called to order by RNC Chair Reince Priebus at 7:20 PM EDT [2320 GMT]
Heavenly Joy, a *very* young 'America's Got Talent' contestant, sings before the Convention
Much applause from the assembled for Heavenly Joy. Priebus: "Wow! Five years old: amazing!"
Presentation of the Colors by VFW Post 6846 from Ohio
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, leads the Convention in the Pledge of Allegiance
Ayla Brown (daughter of former US Senator Scott Brown) sings the National Anthem
The Invocation at the #GOPConvention #RNCinCLE is given by Rev. Dr. Steve Bailey of the United Methodist Church
The Colors are now retired
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council (also a delegate from Louisiana) returns to the podium to speak to the Convention
Perkins: "Our freedom to appeal to, and unite, under God has been under steady assault"
Perkins: "Donald Trump has committed to upholding the first Freedom"
Now a video presentation at the GOP Convention promoting, among other things, the diversity within the Trump Organization
This video, interestingly, seems to be made up entirely of women who work in various parts of Donald Trump's many enterprises
A musical interlude: final nights of Conventions tend to work the timing so that the presidential nominee appears at just the right moment
Mr.Berg-Andersson adds: gaps between a sequence of speakers are filled with music so as to tweak the schedule as necessary
Jerry Falwell, Jr.- president of Liberty University- now addresses the Convention
Falwell: "Most of our Nation's Founders had a strong faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"
Falwell: "The most effective politicians were never career politicians... Donald Trump follows in this rich tradition"
Falwell: "Mr. Trump is America's 'blue collar billionaire'... a true patriot and a champion of the common man"
Falwell: "We are at a crossroads at which our first priority must be saving Our Nation"
Dr. Falwell puts forth the theme of the evening at the GOP Convention: 'Make America One Again'
Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks before the Convention
Arpaio: "We need a leader who will protect our borders and uphold our laws"
Arpaio: "Donald Trump will build the wall" (this followed by cheering and chants of 'Build the/that Wall!')
Arpaio: "Let's elect a leader who will stand up for America... and, in doing so, unite our country: let's elect Donald Trump!"
Pastor Mark Burns addresses the Convention
EDITOR's NOTE: Pastor Burns had given the Benediction at the end of the first (afternoon) session of the Convention back on Monday 18 July
Burns: "Under Donald Trump and a Donald Trump Administration, *all* lives matter"
(at this) the assembled chant "All Lives Matter! All Lives Matter!"
Burns: "As Republicans, we are determined more than ever to listen to the disenfranchised... we will solve the problem together"
Burns: [Donald Trump] "will pander to no one race: his heart is [for] the human race"
Burns: "We will rise from the ashes, we will never die... because we are the United States of America" ('USA!USA!' chants in response)
Former National Football League quarterback Francis Asbury (good Methodist name there!) Tarkenton addresses the Convention
Tarkenton: "Right now, I look at America and [like Vince Lombardi] say 'what the hell is going on here?' "
Tarkenton: "Small businesses have been surviving, not because of Government regulations, but in spite of them"
Tarkenton: [Donald Trump] "understands that teams win, individuals don't"
Tarkenton: "Let's go and win this game-- together!"
Brock Mealer, a motivational speaker from Ohio who survived a severe spinal cord injury, addresses the Convention
Mealer [on his recovery]: "[God's] Will, not mine"
A video presentation from former college basketball coach Bobby Knight is shown to the Convention
Country musician Dave Fenley joins the Convention band for a musical interlude
Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn [Tennessee] now addresses the Convention
Blackburn: "In short, the American People have had it and they are ready for change"
Blackburn: "Leadership is a hard-fought word and not a Subject line in an e-mail"
Blackburn: [Donald Trump] "believes in the American Dream because he has lived the American Dream"
Blackburn: "Leadership is not as it appears, but as it performs"
Governor Mary Fallin of Oklahoma speaks before the Convention
Fallin: "Across this land, our country is divided, our people are afraid and our spirits are nearly broken"
Fallin: "Our country has united time after time around our core values... and Donald Trump unapologetically stands up for those values"
Dr. Lisa Shin of the National Diversity Coalition for Trump (and Korean-Americans for Trump) addresses the Convention
Dr. Shin: "Hillary Clinton is a direct threat to the American Dream"
Dr. Shin: [Hillary Clinton] "has overwhelmingly lost the trust of the American People"
A video presentation about the Republican Leadership Initiative is presented to the Convention
After a musical interlude, a video from the Republican National Committee is next shown
Reince Priebus, Chair of the Republican National Committee, speaks before the Convention
Priebus: "To the people of Cleveland, we say 'Thank you' for your hospitality"
Priebus: [the GOP is] "carrying the torch for Liberty-- we are the open door... we don't apologize for America, we celebrate America"
Priebus: [the Democrats are] "the same old Party doing the same old thing"
Priebus: "What separates Republicans from Democrats is our belief in 'Better' "
Priebus: "Let's get to work and expand our Republican majority"
After another musical interlude, businessman Peter Thiel addresses the Convention
Thiel: "Instead of going to Mars, we have invaded the Middle East... it is time to end the era of stupid wars and rebuild our country"
Thiel: "I am proud to be gay, I am proud to be a Republican-- but, most of all, I am proud to be an American"
Mr. Berg-Andersson adds: an historic moment there-- I can still well remember the first Convention I wrote up for The Green Papers [the 2000 Republican Convention] during which there was a silent protest by most of the Texas delegation [George W. Bush's own] while a gay Congressman addressed that Convention about Free Trade-- not so long ago now
Thiel: "Culture wars only distract us"
A video about Donald Trump and his career is now presented to the Convention
Donald Trump's father, Fred, is mentioned (Disclaimer: I once lived, as a child, in a garden apartment on Staten Island [NY] owned by Fred Trump)
Tom Barrack, founder of the Rebuild America Now SuperPAC and CEO of Colony Capital, addresses the Convention
Barrack: [on Donald Trump]: "You watch this man, you get it"
Barrack: [Donald Trump] "believes punctuality is the courtesy of kings... [has] the discipline of an animal in the jungle"
Barrack: [Donald Trump] "is better than the billing you see"
Barrack: "We're at a turning point-- the world is a mess"
Barrack: "Make 'Once upon a Time' *this* Time"
Yet another musical interlude: Dave Fenley leads the band in song 'Make America Great Again' at the Convention
More music as we all await the "star of the show"
Another video presentation about the 2016 GOP presidential nominee narrated by Jon Voight is shown to the Convention
Ivanka Trump- daughter of the GOP presidential nominee- steps on stage to introduce her father to the Convention
Ivanka Trump: "Real change... is only going to come from outside the system"
Ivanka Trump: [her father has] "the kindness and compassion that will enable him to be the leader this country needs"
Ivanka Trump: [her father is] "color-blind and gender-neutral: he hires the best person for the job, period"
Ivanka Trump: [her father] "will fight for Equal Pay for Equal Work"
Ivanka Trump: [her father] "knows the difference between wanting something done and making it happen"
Ivanka Trump: [her father is] "an optimist and a relentless believer in America and all its potential"
Ivanka Trump: "Come January '17, all things will be possible again"
Donald Trump, the 2016 Republican presidential nominee, now steps up to the podium at the Convention
Trump: "I humbly and gratefully accept your nomination for the Presidency of the United States" (he then joins in the 'USA!USA!' chant)
Trump: "We will lead our country back to safety, prosperity and peace"
Trump: "We will be... a country of Law and Order"
Trump: "The crime and violence that afflicts our Nation will... very soon come to an end"
Trump: "Beginning on January 20th of 2017, safety will be restored"
Trump: "We cannot afford to be so politically correct anymore"
Trump: "Here, at our Convention, there will be no lies: we will honor the American People with the truth"
Trump: "President Obama has almost doubled our National Debt... and yet what do we have to show for it?"
Trump: "Not only have our citizens suffered domestic disaster, they have lived through international humiliation"
Trump (to 'Lock her up!' chants from the assembled): "Let's defeat [Hillary Clinton] in November, OK?"
Trump: "This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness"
Trump: "Hillary's Clinton's legacy does not have to be America's legacy"
Trump: "A change in leadership is required to effect a change in outcome"
Trump: "Americanism- not Globalism- will be our credo... the American People will become first again!"
Trump: "There can be no prosperity without Law and Order"
Trump: [Hillary Clinton] "will keep our rigged system in place... she is their puppet and they pull the strings"
Trump: "My message is that things have to change-- and they have to change right now!"
Trump: "[to] people who work hard but no longer have a voice-- I am your voice!"
Trump: [while a protester is being escorted off the Convention floor] "How great are our police and how great is Cleveland?"
Trump: "Corruption has reached a level like never ever before in our country"
Trump: "I have joined the political arena so that people who are powerful can no longer beat up on people who cannot defend themselves"
Trump: "[Bernie Sanders] supporters will join us... because we are going to fix the system so it works fairly"
Trump: "An attack on Law Enforcement is an attack on all Americans"
Trump: "When I take the Oath of Office next year, I will restore Law and Order to our country-- believe me, believe me"
Trump: "I am the Law and Order candidate"
Trump: "This Administration has failed America's Inner Cities... it has failed them in every way and on every single level"
Trump: "We are going to defeat the barbarians of ISIS!"
Trump [on the attack on an Orlando, Fla. nightclub] "This time, the terrorist target? LGBTQ community-- no good-- and we're going to stop it"
Trump: "As President, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from violence and oppression" (to much applause)
Mr. Berg-Andersson adds: Trump ("as a Republican") then thanked the assembled for so applauding that line
Trump: "We must suspend immigration from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism... we don't want them in this country!"
Trump: "I only want to admit individuals into our country who will support our values and love our people"
Trump: "We are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration"
Trump: "By ending 'catch and release' on the border, we will end the cycle of human smuggling"
Trump: "On January 20th of 2017... Americans will finally wake up in a country in which the laws of the United States are enforced"
Trump: "Americans want relief from uncontrolled immigration"
Trump: [on the other hand] "Hillary Clinton is proposing mass amnesty, mass immigration and mass lawlessness"
Trump: "I'm going to make our country rich again... I'm going to turn our bad trade agreements into great trade agreements"
Trump: "I am not going to let companies move to other countries, firing their employees along the way, without consequences"
Trump: "We will never ever sign bad trade deals: America first again-- America First!"
Trump: "I will only sign deals with individual countries... we are going to enforce [fair trade laws] against any country that cheats"
Trump: "Taxes will be greatly simplified for everyone-- and I mean *every*one"
Trump: "We are going to lift the restrictions on the production of America's energy"
Trump: "Our steelworkers and our miners are going back to work again!"
Trump: "With these new economic policies, trillions and trillions of dollars will start flowing into our country"
Trump: "We will repeal, and replace, the disastrous ObamaCare"
Trump: "We will completely rebuild our depleted Military"
Trump: "The countries that we are defending... will pay their fair share"
Trump: "We are going to appoint Justices to the United States Supreme Court who will uphold our laws and our Constitution"
Trump "will protect the right of all Americans to keep their families safe" [this re: the 2nd Amendment Right to Keep and Bear Arms]
Trump: "All we need to do is start believing in ourselves and our country again-- start believing"
Trump: "It is time to show the world America is back: bigger and better and stronger than ever before"
Trump: "We don't win any more, but we are going to start winning again"
Trump: "America is a nation of believers, dreamers and strivers that is being led by a group of censors, critics and cynics"
Trump: "I am your voice... I am with you, I will fight for you-- and I will *win* for you"
Donald Trump's acceptance speech having ended, Melania Trump comes onto the Convention stage
Next on the Convention stage are Donald Trump's children
Then GOP VP candidate Mike Pence and his wife (come onto the stage)
Cue the balloons!
Oh, yes--- and also the confetti falling all over the GOP Convention
Trump and Pence (after prompting from Reince Priebus) step forward together to the front of the stage
Now, Donald and Melania trump front and center at the GOP Conventon but only rather briefly
The Trump/Pence ticket and their families depart the stage while those on the floor of the Convention continue partying
After a time, Convention Permanent Chair Paul Ryan comes to the dais
The final Benediction at the 2016 GOP Convention is now given by Rev Roger Gries of the Diocese of Cleveland
The 2016 Republican National Convention adjourns 'sine die' at 11:54 PM EDT [0354 GMT] (upon 'viva voce' vote on a motion to do same)
Well... that's it from *me* re: the 2016 GOP Convention... next week, the Democrats...
I dare say *different* people will be 'like'-ing my Tweets *next* week LOL
But, to here quote from our own website's Mission Statement, "That's Freedom and That's America"
So... 'Bye' (for now)... this Twitter feed has now "adjourned" (but only for 3 days or so)
Modified .