Emails link Scott Walker to secret email system  —  By Patrick Marley, Daniel Bice, Bill Glauber and Kevin Crowe of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison — Thousands of documents unsealed Wednesday revealed the closest links yet between Gov. Scott Walker and a secret email system used in his office when he was Milwaukee County executive.

CPAC Welcomes Gay-Rights Groups After Years of Exclusion  —  Meet the kinder, gentler Conservative Political Action Conference.  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, snubbed last year after palling around with President Obama, is coming.  So is GOProud, the gay-rights group that was banned …

The Powerlessness of Positive Thinking  —  Since publishing “The Secret,” in 2006, the Australian author Rhonda Byrne has been writing self-help manifestos based on the idea that people who think positive thoughts are rewarded with happiness, wealth, influence, wisdom, and success.

Texas, it starts with you!  —  2014 is here.  The choices are becoming clearer, and the battle lines are being drawn.  The GOP Beltway crowd has convinced itself that the way to maintain or retake the majority is through compromise and capitulation on important issues like amnesty, Obamacare, and the ever-increasing federal debt.

New Confederate license plate brings skirmishes  —  Georgia's new license plate commemorating the Sons of the Confederacy features the Confederate battle flag more prominently than in the prior design.  The emblem, incorrectly referred to in popular culture as the “Confederate flag,” …

Dems press Holder on secret FBI letters  —  Two House Democrats are calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to make changes to secret letters that the FBI uses to get information.  —  In a letter on Wednesday, the lawmakers demanded answers about the FBI's National Security Letters …

Senate battle in Michigan: Whiskey and sled rides  —  Part of an occasional series on the hottest races of the 2014 midterm election.  —  MARQUETTE, Mich. — Braving sub-zero temperatures at the annual dog sled race here, Democratic Senate candidate Gary Peters happily indulged …

Wal-Mart Says ‘Looking’ at Support of Federal Minimum Wage Rise  —  Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), the largest private employer in the U.S., said it's looking at supporting an increase in the federal minimum wage, breaking with business and industry groups that oppose such a measure.

Four Reasons The GOP Has A Huge Advantage In The 2014 Elections  —  For all their internal divisions and long-term worries as a party, political scientists and historical trends give Republicans a clear edge in the upcoming 2014 congressional elections.  —  Forget Obamacare …

A blue Georgia  —  Demographic changes are inevitably driving Texas and Arizona into purple — and eventually blue — territory.  The growth of the Latino population is poised to overwhelm predominantly conservative white voters in both states, absent a genuine and successful rebranding by the Republican Party.

What's Happening in Kiev Right Now Is Vladimir Putin's Worst Nightmare  —  I will not explain to you what is happening in Kiev tonight other than to say that it is Vladimir Putin's worst nightmare.  —  The last time that this many people came out to the Independence Square (the Maidan) …

Deniers grasp that markets can't fix the climate  —  The refusal to accept global warming is driven by corporate interests and the fear of what it will cost to try to stop it  —  It's an unmistakable taste of things to come.  The floods that have deluged Britain may be small beer on a global scale.

Exclusive: Mega-donors plan GOP war council  —  Sources say the genesis for the American Opportunity Alliance can be traced to a late September meeting in New York City.  That gathering, which drew roughly 20 major donors whose views spanned the GOP political spectrum, was organized by Singer, Ricketts and energy executive Joe Craft.

Judge throws out Nebraska pipeline law, complicating Keystone XL plans  —  LINCOLN, Neb. — A Nebraska judge has declared unconstitutional a 2012 law that gave the governor and state environmental regulators the authority to approve oil pipeline routes, throwing yet another obstacle in the path of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry to return to Iowa next week  —  Texas Gov. Rick Perry is returning to Iowa.  —  Perry, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, will be in Des Moines and Davenport on Feb. 27th and 28th.  —  He will be sitting down with business leaders to discuss a wide range of issues …

The Left Wing Can't Contain Its Fantasies  —  Left-wing Democrats have the ability, especially at election time, to express the sort of giddiness that confounds not only Republicans but centrist members of their own Party as well.  Looking at today's political climate at face value …

State to buy tinfoil hats to combat Common Core  —  JEFFERSON CITY - The House Appropriations - Education Committee cut deeply today into Gov. Jay Nixon's proposals for public schools and higher education, slashing his planned increases by more than $200 million.

Ex-Con Ex-Governor Running for Congress  —  You're wrong if you think politics couldn't get saucier in Louisiana, where the ex-Democratic mayor of New Orleans was just convicted for bribery and the religious-right-supporting senator who got caught with hookers is a favorite to win the governorship …

The Official Forecast of the U.S. Government Never Saw This Winter Coming  —  Surprised by how tough this winter has been?  You're in good company: Last fall the Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that temperatures would be above normal …

After Sisolak says no, Harry Reid says Nevada Democrats have another candidate for governor waiting in the wings  —  The news that Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak said he unequivocally won't run for governor as a Democrat did not seem to bother Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Tuesday in Carson City

The Endless Third-Party Fantasy  —  Since third-party fantasies reemerge every time there is evidence Americans hold their elected officials in minimum high regard, Brendan Nyhan provides a public service with a compendium of “here comes a third party!” predictions dating back to 2005.

George W. Bush: ‘I miss Air Force One’  —  Former President George W. Bush said Wednesday that there isn't much he misses about being president, except for one big perk.  —  “A lot of people ask me, you know, do I miss much about being president,” Bush said.  “The answer's really no. I mean I miss the people I served with.