Depending on who you ask, political party conventions are massive infomercials or extremely important events. Though the cost and hoopla surrounding modern conventions may be over-the-top, without a doubt Republican and Democratic National Conventions have produced more than a few memorable moments throughout the decades. Since the first televised convention in 1940, Americans have become an audience to multiple days of sweeping addresses from each party's most powerful figures.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul's RNC speech had the good fortune of following Sen. Mitch McConnell because it didn't require much for him to outshine the Senate minority leader. Mealy-mouthed and garbled (Mitt Ryan?), was this McConnell's first speech? Yet Paul was also relegated to the ratings wasteland of the early evening and hours before headliner and VP nominee Paul Ryan would speak.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul's RNC speech had the good fortune of following Sen. Mitch McConnell because it didn't require much for him to outshine the senate minority leader. Mealy-mouthed and garbled (Mitt Ryan?), was this McConnell's first speech? Yet Paul was also relegated to the ratings wasteland of the early evening and hours before headliner and VP nominee Paul Ryan would speak.

For those of you with smart phones and the free downloadable app, Instagram, you can now follow the campaign trail of the GOP presidential candidate and the convention right from your phone. Instagram suggests checking out these social reporters and their Instagram accounts for political updates straight from Tampa.

Voter ID and voter fraud are often linked. But, a popular understanding of voter fraud, people posing as another individual on Election Day, was shown to be "infinitesimal" according to a study conducted by Arizona State University. Today Damon Eris posted an article on dev.us regarding the study and its results.

Today, President Barack Obama answered questions on Reddit in what's called an "AMA", or Ask Me Anything thread, making him the first president to participate in an online AMA on the user based website. Scheduled on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention, Obama's participation rocked the Internet community, with Twitter exploding with mentions, and Reddit pretty much breaking due to the high volume of hits.

A new study of voter fraud over the last twelve years finds that, though cases of such fraud can indeed be found throughout the United States, they are “infinitesimal” in number, and that cases of in-person voter fraud or impersonation on Election Day are virtually non-existent.

After a confusion, voluntary of not, over medical terminology, Arizona became the most restrictive state with a ban of abortion after 18 weeks of pregnancy.

Here are full videos of notable speakers delivering 2012 Republican National Convention speeches on the gathering's first official day of activities. Among those who spoke were Saratoga Springs, Utah Mayor Mia Love, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Rick Santorum, Senate Republican Candidate Ted Cruz of Texas, Artur Davis, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Ann Romney, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Who had the best speech? Watch below and let us know!

Saratoga Springs, Utah Mayor Mia Love

The 2010 U.S. Census showed that the population of Texas grew by over 4.2 million since the last census in 2000. That is a 20.6% increase over ten years. As a result, the state picked up four additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. With those added seats, there are now a total of 36 congressional districts in Texas.