Emails link top Christie aide to GWB lane-closing controversy  —  Private messages between Governor's Christie's deputy chief of staff and two of his top executives at the Port Authority reveal a vindictive effort to create “traffic problems in Fort Lee” by shutting lanes to the George Washington Bridge …

The secret life of Robert Gates  —  Robert Gates's tenure running the Pentagon might go down as the greatest performance in acting history.  —  On the outside, he was an even-keeled, plain speaking former college president, one who declared to Congress he hadn't returned to Washington to be a “bump on a log.”

Why is the GOP launching a new anti-poverty campaign?  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL BARACK OBAMA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2016 ELECTIONS ENTITLEMENTS CAMPAIGNS POVERTY  —  This week many prominent Republicans are taking part in a new campaign to emphasize GOP solutions for poverty.

Novelist's Ex In Bizarre Handgun Threat Arrest  —  Cormac McCarthy's former wife pulled weapon from her vagina  —  A domestic dispute over space aliens escalated Saturday morning when a lingerie-clad New Mexico woman allegedly pointed a silver handgun at her boyfriend …

Virginia Special Election Surprise: Republican Trails Democrat by 10 Votes in District Obama Won Big  —  A special election held Tuesday for a Norfolk-based state senate seat should have been an easy win for Democrats.  President Obama won the district by 15 points (57 percent to 42 percent) …

Eco-warriors stranded in the Antarctic!  It's too good to be true  —  Yes, yes, just to get the obligatory ‘of courses’ out of the way up front: of course ‘weather’ is not the same as ‘climate’; and of course the thickest iciest ice on record could well be evidence of ‘global warming’ …

Prospects worsen for Senate passage of unemployment benefits  —  (CNN) - The prospects for passing an extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed got significantly worse Wednesday after two Republican senators who voted with Democrats earlier this week said they will pull …

Heritage Scholar Slams Marco Rubio's Anti-Poverty Speech  —  Will Rubio's push into welfare reform make him a pariah on the right all over again?  —  Toby Melville / Reuters  —  WASHINGTON — A senior scholar at the conservative Heritage Foundation was quick to criticize Sen. Marco Rubio's …

BREAKING: Utah Governor Says State Will Not Recognize 1300+ Same-Sex Marriages  —  Utah's governor says the Constitution does not apply to these two men  —  Utah Gov. Gary Herbert's (R) office announced Wednesday that his state will not recognize the over 1,300 same sex marriages performed between …

House Republicans Preparing Plan for Immigration Overhaul  —  WASHINGTON — House Speaker John A. Boehner and his Republican leadership team are preparing to release their principles for an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws later this month, the speaker told his members at a closed-door conference on Wednesday.

What It Means to Be a Public Intellectual  —  Last night my wife and I went out for dinner.  Our server was French, a fact that allowed us to spend a few moments practicing the language.  When the server left, my wife said, “It's everywhere.”  Indeed.  Some years ago I decided to learn French.

Issa threatens perjury probe of Sebelius  —  House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Wednesday accused Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of providing “false and misleading” testimony to Congress and threatened to open an investigation.

Record-High 42% of Americans Identify as Independents  —  Republican identification lowest in at least 25 years  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Forty-two percent of Americans, on average, identified as political independents in 2013, the highest Gallup has measured since it began conducting interviews by telephone 25 years ago.

Strict Obstructionist  —  MITCH MCCONNELL IS A MASTER MANIPULATOR AND STRATEGIST—THE UNHERALDED ARCHITECT OF THE REPUBLICAN RESURGENCE.  NOW THAT HIS RELENTLESS TACTICS HAVE MADE HIS PARTY VICTORIOUS, HE IS POISED TO TAKE DOWN THE PRESIDENT AND WIN THE SENATE MAJORITY HE COVETS …