So I had a tooth extracted this morning (which accounts for the very early pre-appointment posts), and I knew I was in Georgia because the dental assistant sternly admonished me not to eat anything that might interfere with healing, “like nuts or grits.” Glad I got two servings of cheese grits in yesterday.

Here are some dentist-approved midday snacks:

* Medicare trustees now estimate Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will remain solvent until 2030–four years longer than previously estimated–thanks to effects of ACA.

* Getting out the Dick Morris playbook, NRCC chair Greg Walden predicts a Republican “wave” in November.

* Can’t really blame a number of progressive sites (though not this one!) for biting on fake story that Michele Bachmann was calling for “Americanization camps” for undocumented immigrant children.

* TNR’s Danny Vinik notices House action to eliminate “marriage penalty” for child tax credit actually amounts to a regressive tax cut.

* At the Atlantic, James Fallows looks at the much-maligned California High-Speed Rail project from the perspective of the economically distressed Central Valley.

And in non-political news:

* Colorado Rockies hand out 15,000 jerseys commemorating shortstop Troy Tulowitzki–and mispelling his name.

As we break for lunch, here’s Mike Bloomfield performing “Stop!” with Al Kooper.

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Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.