As I write this, Portland, Oregon's city council has decided to delay voting on Mayor Ted Wheeler's proposal that the City of Portland stop purchasing goods and services from Texas and that it prohibit city employees from traveling on official business to Texas as long as the Texas Heartbeat Act remains in force.  The council decided it needed to think more about the consequences.  That's smart of them, because there are many.

Exactly how much did official travel of Portland City staff to Texas cost this past year?  This during a year where budget reductions were first taken from out-of-town travel.  And if there was any expenditure at all, how much of that was spent in Texas?  What a buffoon to think an inconsequential budget item in a city the size of El Paso would matter to the great state of Texas!

I wonder, how far is he willing to take this impotent virtue-signaling?

The city council's website does not include this as an agenda item yet, and I couldn't find a copy of the emergency resolution.  My first thought on hearing this was "No more Rio Red grapefruit for you!"  Inquiring minds would like answers:

Will he prohibit employees on per diem travel from purchasing fuel from ExxonMobil (#2 among Fortune 500 companies), Phillips 66 (#28), Valero Energy (#31), or Shell Oil?  They are all headquartered in Texas.

How about gas, diesel, natural gas, oil, and other lubricants used in official vehicles?  Any of this come from Texas?  How about jet fuel for Portland International Airport?  Perhaps container cargo ships using one of Portland's ports should look elsewhere for refueling.

Frito Lay, 7-11, Pizza Hut, Dr Pepper/Snapple, Blue Bell Ice Cream, and Whataburger are all headquartered in Texas.  A boycott somewhat limits sources of snacks and quick meals for employees on the go, doesn't it?  No stopping at an en route 7-11 for a quick bag of Funyuns, Rold Gold pretzels, Grandma's Cookies, or Flamin' Hot Cheetos, all washed down with a cold A&W root beer, Ted?

I haven't forgotten the upwardly mobile lefty public servants here: Whole Foods Market is also a Texas firm.  Sun Chips and Smart Food snacks are on the list.  So too is a whole raft of popular juice drinks, including Orangina.

Portland, with 2.2% of the population of Texas, has 25 times the number of homeless per capita.  What a bang for your "defund the police" buck, Mayor Wheeler.

Will employees no longer be able to travel officially on American or Southwest Airlines, both headquartered in Texas?  With tax revenue falling due to business closures, thus no travel budget, this might not matter.

Will the city jail be prohibited from purchasing supplies from SYSCO to feed its guests?  Will the I.T. staff get a memo to stop using products and services from AT&T (#9), Architel, Dell, Hitachi, and Texas Instruments?

Will they refuse any shipments that arrive via BNSF railway or transported on Peterbilt trucks?  Will anything received via FedEx be returned to sender?

Will there be no Kimberly-Clark products in city bathrooms?

No Beyoncé or Janis or Selena playing over the DMV waiting room P.A. system?

Lily-White Portland, with 9.7% of its 650,000 population Hispanic or Latino and 6% Black, is trying to do dirt on Texas, with 41% of its 29 million population Hispanic/Latino and 13% Black.  How about that!  Looks as if killing babies is more important to Ted and the Portland City Council than identity politics.  Looks kinda racist to me.

Texas had its share of George Floyd riots, although most were truly peaceful.  Portland has been under siege by Antifa for going on two years now.  Ted Wheeler has tried to placate them, pandered to them, refused federal support, called for federal support, and tried to run them out — and so far nothing's worked.  Poor Ted, inconsistent as the day is long.  What a moron.  He should take care of his log-sized problems at home before turning his eyes elsewhere, any elsewhere.

Anony Mee is a retired public servant.

Image: Ted Wheeler.  Public domain.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.