Top Items:

The wrong John Wayne — 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 …
Discussion:
Washington Wire, The Note, msnbc.com, CNN, Crooks and Liars, The Atlantic Online, Salon, News Desk, TPMDC, Little Green Footballs, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Guardian, Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, The Washington Independent, Outside the Beltway, Hit & Run, The Powers That Be, Gawker, Under The Golden Dome, Indecision Forever and The Daily Caller
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Bachmann cites wrong John Wayne, praises notorious serial killer — Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has a thing for John Wayne. In an interview yesterday with Newsmax, she said she wants to live in “John Wayne's America.” And in the Iowa town of Waterloo today, where she announced …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, The Atlantic Online, No More Mister Nice Blog and Towleroad News #gay


Bachmann won't take Fox host's apology — Via POLITICO's Jennifer Epstein, Michele Bachmann isn't accepting an apology from Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace for asking her yesterday, “Are you a flake?” — ABC News' Jon Karl, who's been getting face-time with Bachmann in Waterloo in advance …
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Caucus, Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Online, Salon, Guardian, Comments from Left Field, Pajamas Media, National Review, Taylor Marsh, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, ABCNEWS, Outside the Beltway, The TrogloPundit, The Moderate Voice, Althouse, Fox News, Pundit & Pundette, Hot Air, This Just In, Indecision Forever, The Daily Caller and Little Green Footballs

John Wayne's Waterloo connection — Michele Bachmann misstated Iowa (and Hollywood) history when she said John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa, but she may have been thinking of Wayne's parents, who had at least a brief connection to the town. From the biography, “John Wayne: American”:

Michele Bachmann picks wrong John Wayne — After a campaign rollout heavily focused on her Iowa native creds, Michele Bachmann stumbles into one heck of a case of mistaken identity: … Bachmann has run into this kind of trouble before, like when she confused Concord, N.H., with Concord …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog and Daily Kos


I was wrong about same-sex marriage — Editor's note: David Frum writes a weekly column for CNN.com. A special assistant to President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2002, he is the author of six books, including “Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again,” and is the editor of FrumForum.
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog, Box Turtle Bulletin, American Power, Outside the Beltway, Oliver Willis, Good As You, Liberal Values, FrumForum and NOM Blog
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Gay Marriage: Where's Mr. Obama? — On Thursday night, when same-sex marriage in New York State was teetering on a razor's edge, President Obama had a perfect opportunity to show the results of his supposed evolution on gay marriage. — Unfortunately, he did not take it, keeping his own views in the shadows.

Hillary Clinton backs New York gay marriage law
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay and New York Magazine

New York City ‘I Do’ Campaign Woos Same-Sex Weddings After State Approval
Discussion:
USA Today, Towleroad News #gay, Box Turtle Bulletin, LGBT | POV and Runnin' Scared

Democracy and Gay Marriage
Discussion:
The Monkey Cage, National Review, NewsBusters.org blogs and The Daily Dish


Sarah Palin team reaching out to Iowa activists for meetings — Sarah Palin's camp is reaching out to activists and operatives in Iowa about setting up meetings while she's in the state Tuesday for the screening of a documentary about her - including with Chuck Laudner, a former Iowa GOP executive director and prominent conservative.
Discussion:
The Note, CNN and National Review
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Is Michele Bachmann Just Another Mike Huckabee?
Discussion:
CNN, Roll Call, Pajamas Media, USA Today and The Politico


Blagojevich guilty on 17 counts — A federal jury today convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich on 17 of 20 counts, finding he brazenly abused the powers of his office in a series of attempted shakedowns captured on undercover government recordings. — Blagojevich showed no reaction as the jury announced their decisions.
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Jury Finds Blagojevich Guilty of Corruption
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway


White House: ‘Significant’ deal on debt possible — WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Monday that a “significant” deal with Republicans on cutting government spending and raising the nation's debt limit is still possible, even as the administration hardened its stance on the need …
Discussion:
TPMDC, AmSpecBlog, Gawker, Pajamas Media and National Review
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McConnell: Tax hikes ‘politically impossible’
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and The New Republic

Supreme Court strikes down Arizona matching funds campaign law — The Supreme Court on Monday axed an Arizona campaign finance law that provided additional taxpayer money to in-state candidates outspent by well-funded opponents and independent political groups.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS
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TSA stands by officers after pat-down of elderly woman in Florida — (CNN) — The Transportation Security Administration stood by its security officers Sunday after a Florida woman complained that her cancer-stricken, 95-year-old mother was patted down and forced to remove her adult diaper while going through security.
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Raw Story, Sister Toldjah, Techdirt, Hit & Run, TIME.com, USA Today, msnbc.com, Pajamas Media, This Just In and The Daily Caller
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TSA defends decision to make 95-year-old cancer patient remove adult diaper for security screening
Discussion:
CNN, International Liberty and Mediaite


In Response To Prosser Choking Allegations, Fox's Van Susteren Calls On Female Chief Justice To Resign — Over the weekend, the Wisconsin State Journal reported that Justice David Prosser “grabbed fellow Justice Ann Walsh Bradley around the neck in an argument in her chambers last week …
Discussion:
JSOnline, The Politico, The BRAD BLOG, Salon, Law Blog, Shakesville, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice


Pentagon Confirms New DADT Discharges — The Pentagon confirmed Monday that more service members have been discharged under “don't ask, don't tell” pending certification of the policy's repeal, with one individual's discharge approved as recently as Thursday.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, ThinkProgress, Poliglot, Towleroad News #gay and Shakesville


Texas votes to defund Planned Parenthood — The Texas Legislature approved a bill Monday that would both compel the state to push the Obama administration to convert Texas's Medicaid program into a block grant and defund abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.
Discussion:
Healthwatch and Weasel Zippers
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Women Withhold Sex Until Road Is Fixed — Erin Gloria Ryan —Have you ever used sex as a tool to get your boyfriend or partner to bend to your will? Have you ever performed a sex act as a reward for a desired behavior or series of behaviors? How about withheld it in response to bad behavior …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress


N Korean children begging, army starving — Footage shot inside North Korea and obtained by the ABC has revealed the extent of chronic food shortages and malnutrition inside the secretive state. — The video is some of the most revealing footage ever smuggled out of the impoverished North Korean state.
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative, The Right Scoop, Pajamas Media and Boing Boing


Murder our Citizens, Please — As boatloads of American humanitarianofascists, including Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, and the Obamishly hued novelist/poet Alice Walker, steam toward Gaza, one proud GOP operative, Josh Trevino, assures Israel: … That's what I call thinking out of the box.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, The Huffington Post, Eschaton and CNN

Justices Reject Ban on Violent Video Games for Children — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday refused to let California regulate the sale or rental of violent video games to children, saying governments do not have the power to “restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed” despite complaints about graphic violence.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, PopWatch and New York Magazine, more at Techmeme »

Robertson: God Will Destroy America For Marriage Equality — Following a story on New York passing marriage equality, Pat Robertson on The 700 Club warned that God will destroy America just like God destroyed Sodom, saying that “there's never been a civilization ever in history …
Discussion:
Mediaite, ThinkProgress, Gawker, Indecision Forever, Box Turtle Bulletin, Holy Bullies … and Shakesville


Report: Apple is building two (!) iPhones for September release — An analyst expects Apple to launch both an iPhone 5 and a mid-range iPhone 4S — Click to enlarge. Source: Deutsche Bank — For much of the spring, the reporters who cover Apple (AAPL) have been arguing among themselves …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, AllThingsD, VentureBeat and GigaOM, more at Techmeme »


Bristol Palin Cites ‘Foolish Decision’ on Virginity and ‘Not Accusing Levi of Date Rape’ — Bristol Palin's contention that former boyfriend Levi Johnston “stole” her virginity is no attempt to bash him for their first sexual encounter, she said on “Good Morning America” today.


LI man busted for ‘pretending’ to be soldier to get first-class upgrade — This GI Joe wannabe got a hero's welcome just by dressing the part. — A Long Island man was arrested for donning an Army uniform and brazenly posing as a soldier so he'd get bumped up to first class on a flight …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Outside The Wire