Here in Portland, the left has gone off its rocker. Anti-war protesters are blocking streets and bridges, and some of them even jumped onto the interstate freeways this evening to stop cars. Local TV coverage of this is "wall-to-wall," as they say, but to me it's not really worth all the attention. Yes, there are people in Portland who feel very strongly about the war, and who generally hate the local police, the President, and the entire capitalist system for that matter. They'll do anything to get attention, including risking their own lives and those of others. And many of them have nothing else to do on a weeknight. Fresh-ground pepper spray with that?

Actually, some very interesting things are happening on the local scene apart from the "little Beirut" routine, which has grown tiresome, even to those of us who are on the fence about Operation [Insert Catchy Euphemism for "Bulls**t"]. Yesterday the U.S. Senate blocked oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by a vote of 52 to 48. Among the Republicans who jumped ship and killed the drilling was our own Gordon Smith. This was a courageous and principled act on his part, and one for whom he should be given maximum kudos. You go, Gordo! But it will probably get lost in the shuffle.

Also incoming (if you'll pardon the expression) is the news that Portland Trail Blazer player Damon Stoudamire is being allowed to walk away from drug charges after he and teammate Rasheed Wallace were caught red-handed toking up in Damon's speeding Humvee in central Washington State after a game last fall. Damon must get some alcohol and drug counseling, but if he does, the criminal side of this thing looks like it's going to go away. Wallace's hearing is a week from Monday, and even though he's a wild man, he knows well enough to hold those millionaire wrists out for a gentle slapping, too. The first rumblings from the prosecutors up in that area of the world was that all pot offenders must do some time, particularly if a moving vehicle was involved. Not if you're a super-rich celebrity, though, eh, fellas?