Oregon's politicians evoke all sorts of metaphors these days, but they mostly have the same theme. You know, the ones about arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, fiddling while Rome burns, etc.

Today one Portland city commissioner chooses this point in our history to propose that the city devote some of its scarce energies and resources to building a city-operated wireless internet system for the downtown hotels.

I'll give you three guesses which commissioner it is.

Here are some hints:

Think nonfunctional billing computers for the Water Bureau. Think hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to study taking over PGE (with all negotiations in secret). Think selling the Bull Run reservoir to the suburbs. Think charging people who do business with the city for the privilege of saying they do so. Think having the city publicly fund political campaigns. Think more hundreds of thousands to fight a losing battle with the cable companies that no other city was crazy enough to try.

Yeah, the idea guy.