Does John Dennis Have a Chance?

John Dennis may live in Pacific Heights, but his similarities to fellow posh neighborhood resident Nancy Pelosi end there. The Republican challenger to most-powerful San Franciscan Pelosi supports Proposition 19, wants a repeal of the Defense of Marriage act, and is even OK with gays serving in the military. That puts him more in step with most San Franciscans (who admittedly haven't seen much of Nancy Pelosi lately). But does that mean he stands a chance in hell of unseating the Speaker of the House of Representatives from her Eighth District perch? According to a poll, mathematically... no.Link

Costly virtual border fence in tatters.

Reporting from Washington — The Department of Homeland Security, positioning itself to cut its losses on a so-called invisible fence along the U.S.- Mexico border, has decided not to exercise a one-year option for Boeing to continue work on the troubled multibillion-dollar project involving high-tech cameras, radar and vibration sensors.Link

WikiLeaks releases trove of Iraq documents.

As promised by a Twitter posting on Friday afternoon, the whistleblower site WikiLeaks is about to release a large number of documents related to hostilities in Iraq, and analysis of the documents by selected news sources has already begun to appear. "See TBIJ, IBC, Guardian, Spiegel, NYT, Le Monde, Al Jazeera, Chan4, SVT, CNN, BBC and more in the next few hours," the brief notice boasts. "We maximise impact." At 4:47 EST, however, the site noted that Al Jazeera had broken the embargo on the documents by 30 minutes and that all other news sources were being released from the embargo as a result. So far, BBC, the Guardian, the New York Times, and Der Spiegel have English-language reports on various aspects of the release. There is also more detailed analysis at iraqwarlogs.com.Link

Repeal not best tactic on healthcare law.

A top Senate Republican suggested Monday night that the party's prevailing strategies to curtail the new healthcare law might not be good ideas. Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.), the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, said that repealing the new healthcare reform law — or looking to defund it — were not good options. "I don't think starving or repealing is probably the best approach here," Gregg said on the Fox Business Network. "You basically go in and restructure it." That's a change of pace even for Gregg, who's been among almost all fellow Republicans in the House and Senate who've called for the repeal of the measure, which Democrats passed through Congress earlier this year and President Obama signed into law.Link

Calif pot law could spark court action.

US drug czar says feds may ask court to intervene if California voters legalize marijuana. Federal officials haven't ruled out taking legal action if California voters approve a ballot initiative that would legalize recreational medical use in the state, President Barack Obama's drug czar said Wednesday. In a phone interview with The Associated Press, Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske said Justice Department officials are "looking at all their options" for responding to the measure, which would conflict with federal laws classifying marijuana as an illegal drug.Link

Philosopher Vs. Politician