Inmates Running the Asylum in Olympia

It looks like the good citizens of Olympia, Washington, are taking it on themselves to protect their fair town from the unspeakable danger that is... (dum - dum - DUMMM)... Nuclear Power! In a brave action that is sure to provide an unstoppable shield to any terrorist dirty bomb or wayward Russian, Chinese, or North Korean missile, the Olympia City Council is considering declaring their hamlet a "nuclear-free zone". Do this mean they won't allow any atomic nuclei inside their city? (I bet if you asked the councilpersons, they'd probably say "yes". They would probably also sign a petition against Dihydrogen Monoxide.)
Lest you think that this is a purely symbolic action, they're also putting their significant economic muscle behind the initiative:

"The resolution said Olympia should stop buying goods and services from companies directly linked to manufacture of nuclear weapons. City official Mary Lou Berg said that includes Chrysler, which builds police cars, and Motorola, which makes Nextel phones used by up to 400 city employees."

Woah, that's harsh, dudes! Sounds like an economic boycott. But I admire you for standing up for your principles, even if you might have to go without some products. I'm sure the next paragraph will be just as hard hitting!

"The city would seek new suppliers. If none were found, the city could continue doing business, but would send the firm a letter encouraging a policy change."

I can just imagine the capitalist money-grubbers shaking in their boots... "We got a LETTER from the Olympia City Council. We're doooomed!"

OK, so it's fun to make fun of such amusing caricatures of hippy do-gooders who somehow got elected to office, but why should this submariner really care? Here's why--

Last year, the USS Olympia (SSN-717) was planning a port visit to their namesake city. You can read what happened in the bottom two articles on this moonbatty website, but the short story is, the Olympia City Council voted to oppose the planned visit; the visit was cancelled. Let's see what they thought about the concept of economic boycotts back then:

"As you know, on Tuesday the city council voted 4:3 to hold a public hearing next Tuesday on a resolution opposing the USS Olympia in ourport. Here's what we learned tonight.
The Navy has withdrawn its plan: the USS Olympia will NOT be coming to Olympia.
"However, we now have a major community crisis. Apparently someone spread the news of the last council meeting and the planned public hearing. The city council has since been innundated with email from around the country and across the world, and the situation has been broadcast via Seattle TV networks and radio. City councilmembers have been contacted by all the major news organizations for interviews. One councilmember has received more than 400 emails to his home email address. Of those, local email has been 50:50 for and against, but non-local email has beenextremely hostile, many ostensibly from pro-war retired military. In other words, the pro-war faction has been moblized.
"Those councilmembers who voted to hold a public hearing have been intimidated, harassed and threatened, to the point that some are concerned for the safety of their families. The city has been threatened with an economic boycott, which many councilmembers are apparently taking very seriously.
So, THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR NEXT TUESDAY IS STLL ON. The purpose of the hearing is to accept public comment on a resolution opposing submarines carrying nuclear reactors and weapons of mass destruction in the Port of Olympia. It is critical that as many people as possible show up for this hearing.
"We can expect pro-war elements to be out in force, as well as major media. If we don't turn out in large numbers, the city councilmembers who supported this resolution will be left hanging out to dry, ie, to experience very serious political and personal backlash as a result of representing a large segment of the community--us--and it's hard to imagine they'd take that risk again in the future. We can't let that happen. Declaring Olympia a nuclear free zone and getting the Army out of our port are next (more on this later)."

Tacitus blogged about this last May, and it looks like not much has changed there. I'm interested to see if the idealists on the city council will take the logical final step and outlaw nuclear medicine and smoke detectors from this charming city in an effort to eliminate all the dangers of nuclear power to their citizenry...

Ninme, what the heck is going on up there?

Update 1109 29 June: Not really worth its (its'? it's? I should have paid attention in school) own entry, but this is hilarious. (We're not really big Patriot fans in the Bubblehead household... spent too much time living in Groton.)

Update 1232 29 June: Ninme provides some context. The phrase "mentally retarded chihuahua" is used.