THESE PEOPLE ARE NUTS, AND NEED PROFESSIONAL CARE – AT 10:55 A.M. ET:   As readers know by now, there was a close terror call in Portland, Oregon.  Fortunately, the FBI prevented a Somali jihadist from blowing up a crowd of people at a Christmas celebration. 

But get this:  Portland is one of those chic, "progressive" cities that has officially refused to cooperate with the Joint Terrorism Task Force.  This is just unbelievable:

Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Police Chief Mike Reese have discussed for months whether Portland should rejoin the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a multi-agency group that investigated Friday's failed plot to set off a bomb downtown.

Five years ago, Portland became the first city in the nation to withdraw from the FBI-led task force....

...In April 2005, the City Council, led by then-Mayor Tom Potter, voted 4-1 to withdraw its two police officers from the federal task force. Potter cited the potential for trespasses against civil liberties and an inability to oversee Portland officers who would be deputized as federal agents. Commissioner Dan Saltzman cast the lone vote against withdrawal...

...Andrea Meyer, legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, said her agency would oppose any move to put Portland police back on the task force. The ACLU argues the bureau would lose the ability to ensure its city officers are adhering to state law, which is unique in that it prohibits police from collecting and maintaining information on someone's religious beliefs.

COMMENT:  What can one say?  What can one say?  These people are adolescents.  They cannot accept the real world.  Now, they say, they're reexamining their position.  But you can be sure the usual suspects will come out of the woodwork – that's the woodwork you see on the left – and argue for Portland to maintain its "values."  Leftists are very big on maintaining their "values," no matter how many people are put at risk.

Barry Goldwater once suggested that we saw off the East Coast and send it out to sea.  May I suggest an additional piece of real estate, in the West, that could qualify.

November 28, 2010