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The huffing and puffing over Gen. Wesley Clark's criticism of John McCain has made patriotism today's hot-button campaign topic.

In a scheduled speech in Independence, Mo., Barack Obama offered his thoughts on love of country and said he would never criticize others' patriotism during the race and rejected Clark's remarks about McCain Sunday on Face the Nation.

Questions about Obama's patriotism were raised during the Democratic nomination fight, and Obama recently started wearing a flag pin on his lapel in one attempt to answer them. But a weeklong focus on American values in the run-up to Friday's July 4 holiday represents his most concerted effort so far to do so.

Obama said he chose the topic in part because of his experience during the race, even though he has always considered his love of country a given and his inspiration for running for office.

"I have found, for the first time, my patriotism challenged - at times as a result of my own carelessness, more often as a result of the desire by some to score political points and raise fears about who I am and what I stand for," he said before a crowd of a few hundred people at the Truman Memorial Building here. "I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign. And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine."

It wouldn't be the Fourth of July if somebody didn't sacrifice a couple of fingers to celebrate our nation's birthday.

Denver's fireworks law is strict, reports Julie Poppen: snap poppers are legal, everything else is verboten. If it sparkles, leaves the ground or makes a loud noise, it's forbidden in the city.

Here are some things Denver police and fire officials want you to know:

' Police wrote 158 citations last year to people who were using, selling or carrying illegal fireworks.

' In Denver, penalties can include a $999 fine or even a year in jail.

' Instead of driving your neighbors and their howling pets nuts, go to any one of the sanctioned fireworks shows in the Denver area. See county and city Web sites for information.

The votes of Christians have long been a large and reliable chunk of the Republican base but the influence of conservative church-goers may be dwindling, say some scholars and political experts.

The reasons, they say, are varied:

' Christian influence in politics historically has gone up and down since the early 1800s; this is another movement whose time may be up for now.

' The Bush administration hurt the evangelical cause - with the war in Iraq, its response to Hurricane Katrina and its alleged human rights violations at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center.

' Two of the movement's most important figures, D. James Kennedy and Jerry Falwell, are dead.

Former Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama appeared together and she urged her supporters to unite behind him behind a sign that proclaimed "united for change."

"Hello, Unity! Hello, New Hampshire!" Clinton said as she and Obama took the stage together. "Well, Unity is not only a beautiful place as we can see, it's a wonderful feeling isn't it? And I know when we start here in this field in Unity, we'll end on the steps of the Capitol when Barack Obama takes the oath of office as our next president."

We published a letter in our Talk Back to the Media letters package Saturday that rebuked the Rocky for its coverage of Pridefest. The writer claimed he had to "dig" to find anything about the event. We give broad lattitude to letter writers to make their point, even when we know that an assertion may be a stretch. After all, it is what the writer feels. But in this case, before making their own judgment, readers should at least know the facts.

Blogger Jill Zimon makes a good point in response to my column about "individuated newspapers." "It's my sense that one reason people don't subscribe to newspapers is in fact because of the use of paper, in the same way some vegetarians don't eat meat: it's a lifestyle choice."