For months on end, a never-ending series of protests-turned-riots have plagued the city of Portland, Oregon. Night after night the northwestern locale rages, as protesters march in the street, commit arson, clash with cops, and generally relish in their new role as liberal nuisances to the citizens of the city. Things have gotten so bad, in fact, that a large contingent of the city’s riot police coordinated a mass resignation from that portion of the force. That makes the timing of the city’s latest tourism push all the more asinine. Portland ran a pricy full-page Sunday ad in the New York Times promoting tourism after the Portland police riot squad quit Thursday. “Some of what you’ve heard about Portland is true. Some is not. What matters most is that we’re true to ourselves,” Travel Portland wrote in the ad that could have cost up to $250,000. “You’ve heard a lot about us lately. It’s been a while since you heard from us,” it continues. “After a year of encouraging visitors and locals to support small businesses here and from a distance, it’s time to issue an invitation to come back to Portland,” the ad states. “Two sides to the same coin that keeps landing right on its edge. Anything can happen. We like it this way.” The ad also says “new ideas are welcome” in the city, a place where “you can be yourself.” “This is the kind of place where new ideas are welcome — whether they’re creative, cutting-edge or curious at first glance. You can speak up here. You can be yourself here,” it continues. Of course, the taxpayer money used to procure this ad could have been spent on any number of the projects that would have helped secure the city from these anarchistic rabble-rousers.

In America and around the world, there is much optimism.  The year-plus reign of the COVID scourge is coming to an end as vaccination and natural antibody rates climb ever higher, and businesses from coast to coast begin to ramp up their capacities. But there are still those out there who are unwilling to admit this very palpable and tangible truth, and who are throttling economic recovery in their reticence. Our northern neighbors just so happen to fit that description. Canada said on Monday it would start cautiously lifting border restrictions for fully vaccinated citizens on July 5 but made clear it would be months before U.S. and other foreign travelers could enter the country. From 11:59 p.m. EDT on July 5 (0359 GMT on July 6), those who have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine will no longer have to spend time in quarantine. The move applies to Canadians and permanent residents. “This is the first phase of our precautionary approach … at this time we are not opening up our borders any further,” said Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc. Ottawa first announced the plan on June 9. LeBlanc told reporters that Ottawa was talking to its domestic and international partners “with the goal of allowing fully vaccinated travelers to enter Canada for non-essential reasons in the months to come.” Canada’s unwillingness to capitulate to the reality of the pandemic’s end has adversely affected the airline industry, and has drawn criticism from American lawmakers who believe that more could be done by our allies to the north in the realm of reopening.