By all accounts, the reunion of surviving members of Buffalo Springfield (Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Richie Furay) has been a big success, beginning last Fall at Young's annual Bridge School Benefit and continuing last month with six shows in California and a performance at the Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee.

The band had been talking about a full 30-show tour this fall, but those plans, writes Furay on his Facebook page (per rollingstone.com) have been put on hold. "Word has just come to me that it has been moved to the first of next year. I'm not going to spend a lot time here with details as you speculate among yourselves - there's nothing to speculate about, the tour has simply been moved."

In an interview with Rolling Stone at Bonnaroo, Stills hinted that the fall tour idea may have been just a bit too ambitious. "They better have a break in there. If we had this much trouble with six, I can't imagine 30."

Already, the band has been back in business for almost half the amount of time it originally existed (1966-68.) There doesn't seem to be a problem with the "creative differences" that split the band first time around. It seems to be related more to the fact that the youngest of the three (Young) is 65, and a 30-show tour is no walk in the park, even for artists who are half their age!

^{Richie Furay photo by Frazier Harrison / Getty Images; Stephen Stills photo by Charley Gallay / Getty Images}

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Seriously? It looks like some political operatives haven't been paying attention during the last several election cycles when candidates have been caught using music illegally in their campaign ads and appearances. Either that or they just don't care.

Michele Bachmann (member of Congress from Minnesota and Republican presidential candidate) is the latest recipient of a "cease and desist" letter, this one from the publishing company that manages the rights to Tom Petty's "American Girl" (which the Bachmann campaign stole for an unauthorized public performance at a campaign event this week.)

This particular brand of piracy dates back nearly 30 years, when Ronald Reagan's campaign stole from both Bruce Spingsteen ("Born in the U.S.A.") and John Mellencamp ("Pink Houses") in 1984. It has continued right through the last two elections, with rip-offs of Don Henley, Rush and David Byrne in 2010, and Heart, Jackson Browne, and Van Halen in 2008. They're getting an early start on the 2012 cycle.

I've never figured out whether these people are simply ignorant of intellectual property law that applies to music, or if they just think they're above the law. Whatever it is, any public performance of any music by anybody -- politician or otherwise -- is illegal if it is done without the permission of the people who own the rights to that music.

Invariably, when we've asked the question in the past, most of you agree that political candidates are subject to the same laws the rest of us live by. But we'll give you another chance to offer your thoughts:

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The fact that flags were flown at half staff throughout New Jersey this week tells you something about the effect that Clarence "Big Man" Clemons, who died last weekend (6/18) after a stroke, had on people's lives.

From the time E Street Band was formed in 1972, Clemons was a major presence on stage and in the studio, one which in several key respects, is irreplaceable. Frankly, it's hard to imagine E Street Band without the Big Man.

^{Photo by Stephen Dunn / Getty Images}

Clarence Clemons has died of complications from a stroke.

"It is with overwhelming sadness that we inform our friends and fans," says Bruce Springsteen on his website, "that at 7:00 tonight, Saturday, June 18, our beloved friend and bandmate, Clarence Clemons passed away."

A member of E Street Band since its formation in 1972, Clemons also acted in several films and TV shows over the years.

"His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years," Springsteen says. "He was my great friend, my partner, and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band."

^{Photo by Mark Serota / Getty Images}