A Libertarian and a Wookie Walk Into a Bar . . .

Upon briefly visting the Libertarian Party web site at http://www.lp.org., I saw a head line proclaiming that Bill O'Reilly (Fox News' smarmy mouth of wisdom) had said he didn't know the difference between a Wookie and a Libertarian. In his own disjointed way, O'Reilly was apparently trying to say he wasn't a Star Wars fan and has no interest in becoming one. In an effort to remedy our self-important pundit's ignorance however, Wookies are large, hairy, arboreal, beasts who find themselves stuck between primitive traditions and the impending technology of other worlds. Libertarians are average humans who find themselves floating outside the usual definitions of Democrat, Republican, conservative, and liberal.

The basic rule of the party is that you should be able to do whatever you please, so long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. That sounds like a great idea to me. The directions in which they carry this notion causes some conflicts with my essentially conservative make up, however. The following planks of the Libertarian Party platform are taken from lp.org and many hours spent listening to Libertarian talk show host Neal Boortz (http://www.boortz.com).

• They are pro-abortion. I guess the individual rights of the unborn child doesn't mean much compared to the mom's "right" to kill him or her before birth.
• They are against ANY form of religion in government. Christianity (or at least Deism) was the mold many of our founding fathers came from. To deny the role of Christianity in the shaping of our government and its laws is assinine, as is preventing the display of Christian symbols in our court houses, etc.
• They are for open borders. Our emergency rooms and tax dollars go to enough illegals as it is. Bad idea, especially with Islamic terrorists out for American blood.
• They are by and large against the war in Iraq. Please see my previous posts for more info regarding how we got in this war in the first place. Also, anyone who thinks Bush's actions in Iraq and Afghanistan haven't helped prevent more attacks on U.S. soil is living in another world. By making Iraq the battle field, we prevent terrorists from making America the battle field.

On the plus side, Libertarians support:

• Lower taxes
• Pro-gun laws
• Smaller government
• Individual property ownership

I have mixed feelings about the Libertarian support for legalizing drugs. Marijuana maybe, but harder drugs need to retain the stigma attached to criminalization. The use of medical marijuana should be legal nationwide. Why prevent the use of pot when other, more powerful drugs are available via prescription?

Anyway, as a conservative, I'm happy to live in what the lib dems have proclaimed Jesusland. A lot of folks here have the same old-fashioned, narrow-minded view that I do. Which is to say, we belive the Constitution says what it says and doesn't have abortion on demand, gay marrage laws, or similar "rights" hidden in it. Oh, and a lot of us believe the Bible too.

As a side note, seeing "Revenge of the Sith" has whetted my appetite to watch the first Star Wars movie again. After I get back from the Jesusland Hallalujah Video Rental and Baptistry, I'll put the DVD on slow-mo and try to pick out O'Reilly in the bar scene.