Via Mark Steyn, Berkeley has long passed the point of laughable in its insanity. Now it’s just pathetic.

Berkeley’s public library will face a showdown with the city’s Peace and Justice Commission tonight over whether a service contract for the book check-out system violates the city’s nuclear-free ordinance.

Confused? You’re not alone.

3M, a company with operations in 60 countries, refused to sign Berkeley’s nuclear-free disclosure form as required by the Nuclear Free Berkeley Act passed by voters in 1986.

As a result, the library’s self-checkout machines have not been serviced in about six months. Library officials say 3M is the only company authorized by the manufacturer to fix the machines, which were purchased in 2004.

The library asked the Peace and Justice Commission for a waiver, but at its Jan. 5 meeting the commission voted 7-1, with two abstentions, to reject the request… “The act is meant to be a blow against nuclear war. We’re serious about upholding that.”

And preventing the check-out system at your public library from getting serviced accomplishes that…how?

I hate to break it to these self-aggrandizing hippies, but neither 3M signing a “nuclear-free disclosure” nor the “Nuclear Free Berkeley Act” itself is going to prevent a nuclear war. All either does is stop your public library from functioning properly.