This being a federal holiday, we’re in Lite Blogging mode today, but here’s a full serving of midday news/views snacks, plated a bit early:
* At TAP Paul Waldman scorns the latest high-profile “Obamacare hurt me!” op-ed.
* Brad Plumer has good primer on unemployment and disability problems of recent U.S. veterans.
* On the brighter side, America’s oldest vet, a 107-year-old Texan, has whiskey for breakfast and smokes cigars all day.
* Sarah Palin draws less-than-overwhelming Iowa crowd for fiery speech attacking evil RINOs and the War on Xmas.
* TNR’s Nate Cohn touts the use of cartograms, maps where counties swell or shrink based on population.
And in non-political news:
* Atlanta Braves announce move to new suburban stadium in 2017, even though Turner Field less than 20 years old.
There are a lot of songs about the struggles of veterans, but one of the most memorable from the Vietnam War era was written by Mel Tillis but made famous by Kenny Rogers. Here’s Tillis performing “Ruby.”
