“On Monday, Bachmann officially announced her candidacy for U.S. president. She left the stage as Petty’s ‘American Girl’ blared over the loudspeaker. Uh-oh. Petty is unhappy with Bachmann’s choice of exit music, according to political consultant Matt Ortega, and is in the process of sending a cease-and-desist letter.” [Hollywood Reporter, via Political Wire]

In which we present a colloquy between Wee George Stephanopoulos and Michele Bachmann, who is Not a Flake.

Stephanopoulos: Earlier this year you said that the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence worked tirelessly to end slavery. Now with respect Congresswoman, that’s just not true. Many of them including Jefferson and Washington were actually slave holders and slavery didn’t end until the Civil War…

Bachmann: Well if you look at one of our Founding Fathers, John Quincy Adams, that’s absolutely true. He was a very young boy when he was with his father serving essentially as his father’s secretary. He tirelessly worked throughout his life to make sure that we did in fact one day eradicate slavery…

Stephanopoulos: He wasn’t one of the Founding Fathers — he was a president, he was a Secretary of State, he was a member of Congress, you’re right he did work to end slavery decades later. But so you are standing by this comment that the Founding Fathers worked tirelessly to end slavery?

Bachmann: Well, John Quincy Adams most certainly was a part of the Revolutionary War era. He was a young boy but he was actively involved.

When the Declaration of Independence was signed, John Quincy Adams was 9.

John Quincy Adams a Founding Father? Michele Bachmann Says Yes [ABC]

It might come as a surprise that Arizona has — well, had — one of the more interesting campaign-finance laws in the country. If you signed on, the state would hand you a pile of cash, as is customary. But the state would also hand you more cash if your non-subsidized opponent money-bombed yer ass. And the state would hand you even more cash if a third-party group money-bombed your opponent — or decided to go all Willie Horton on you.

In other words, Arizona served as an aggressive retailer, meeting or beating any opponent’s offer. The more they raised, the more you got.

Until Monday, when the Supreme Court deemed that unfair competition.

Read more »

The Transportation Safety Agency announced on Sunday that it is standing by the June 18 decision of agents at the Northwest Florida Regional Airport to conduct an intrusive patdown inspection of a 95-year-old woman with leukemia who is in a wheelchair, which culminated in the elderly woman removing her Depends undergarment so that the agents could inspect the diaper for contraband or weapons.

The 95-year-old woman was en route to Michigan to visit relatives before moving in to a nursing home. Her daughter, Jean Weber, was traveling with her, and told reporters that she burst into tears watching her mother be subjected to the indignities.  Because Ms. Weber started crying, the agents then moved on from the 95-year-old woman and subjected her daughter to an intrusive patdown, which resulted in such lengthy delays that Ms. Weber missed the flight to Michigan, and her mother traveled without her and without any underpants all the way north.

[CNN, LAT]

Ladies and Gentlemen, please be seated. Next, please clear all liquids from your throat. Finally, we ask you to grip the edges of your table to provide proper support. Because, folks, we’re going on a ride:

Rep. Michele Bachmann kicked off her presidential campaign on Monday in Waterloo, Iowa, and in one interview surrounding the official event she promised to mimic the spirit of Waterloo’s own John Wayne.

The only problem, as one eagle-eyed reader notes: Waterloo’s John Wayne was not the beloved movie star, but rather John Wayne Gacy, the serial killer.

Thank you all. Please exit to the right. Souvenir photographs will be available in the lobby.

The wrong John Wayne [Washington Times]

“A Chicago jury has found former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty of 17 of the 20 charges in his corruption trial. Blagojevich was found not guilty on one of the counts, and the jury deadlocked on two.” [TPM]

“The Supreme Court on Monday struck down on First Amendment grounds a California law that barred the sale of violent video games to children. The 7-to-2 decision was the latest in a series of rulings protecting free speech, joining ones on funeral protests, videos showing cruelty to animals and political speech by corporations.” L33t Hax0r Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion. [NYT]