I can’t remember exactly how many times I saw Loretta Lynn live back in the day, though I do remember the first time: a Teamsters-sponsored WPLO Shower of Stars at Stewart-Lakewood Amphitheater (this will take older Atlantans back a ways) at some point in the mid-to-late 60s. In any event, the word “authentic” might have been coined especially for her, and certainly anyone with an Appalachian background recognized her as a not-too-distant cousin.

Here are some less regional midday news/views treats:

* It’s the sesquicentennial of Lincoln’s assassination. More about that directly.

* Tim Mak finds some Florida Tea People who are still mad at Marco Rubio for being a different guy than he was in 2010.

* Big legal test underway as Dutch citizens sue government for failing to achieve carbon emissions goals.

* Chris Christie has a weird way of trying to shore up popularity: proposing means testing of Social Security benefits plus later retirement age.

* John Kasich says he’s not in a hurry to start running for president. I should think that would be obvious by now.

And in non-political news:

* Ever wondered what an “epic” shot in curling would look like? Here you go.

As we break for lunch, here’s Loretta Lynn with a song that was banned by some country music stations: “The Pill.”

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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.