Just note that of the eight candidates running to be the GOP nominee - the looniest ones are the incumbents: Rick Perry, Ron Paul and Michele "Government Injection" Bachmann.

Minnesota, the state that holy-rolled Michele to DC, is trying to redeem itself. Local bioethicists are calling Bachmann's bluff:

A University of Minnesota bioethicist is offering $1,000 for medical proof that a woman’s daughter suffered mental retardation from the vaccine for human papillomavirus virus, a story that was told by Rep. Michele Bachmann after Monday’s debate.

Bachmann has come under fire from the medical community for suggesting the vaccination for the HPV virus, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer, is linked to mental illness.

Steven Miles, a U of M bioethics professor, said that he’ll give $1,000 if the medical records of the woman from Bachmann’s story are released and can be viewed by a medical professional.

His offer was upped by his former boss from the University of Minnesota, Art Caplan, who is now director of the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics. Caplan said he would match Miles' challenge and offered $10,000 for proof of the HPV vaccine victim.

Yep. That's $11,000 to produce this mother and verify her claim.

Bachmann has an imaginary friend. The Iowa Straw Poll winner has a made-up crying mother straw man. I think Bachmann actually meant to say "autism" and instead said mental retardation (not the same thing). There's been an autism-is-caused-by-vaccines myth for a decade. The "doctor" who did that debunked and bogus study has since lost his license. While last year 10 infants in California have since lost their lives in a whooping cough epidemic as a result of his "work."

Bachmann has never met a conspiracy theory or spooky sound bite she didn't repeat - so here we are...again. But as Sarah Palin so perfectly clarified when she went after Rahm Emanuel for calling liberals "retards," when Republicans (like Limbaugh) use the word - it's satire. So just like with Bachmann's claim that God wanted us to cut spending because there was an earthquake in Eric Cantor's district, the Congresswoman from the great state of Minnesota is yet again - joking!

The mental retardation claim is just Michele "Psych!" Bachmann's renown sense of humor. She's just creative, people. An artist. You know, just kidding.