MEMBERS AREN'T VOCAL ON SUBJECTS THAT WOULD BE UNPOPULAR

Letters in The Gazette have, at times, been submitted by Libertarians. The
Feb. 27 Gazette had two such letters, one dealing with the failure of the
war on drugs and the other objecting to bigger government ("Prohibition
puts money into terrorists' pockets;" "Taxing visiting athletes just isn't
right"). I found myself agreeing with the basic thrust of both letters and
most of the previous ones submitted by Libertarians. So, I decided to check
out their official party platform (www.lp.org). I found it difficult to
believe what I read. Following are some of their thoughts in selected areas.

Taxes: Eliminate income tax. Freeze rates on all other taxes. Prohibit any
new taxes. (This would certainly result in a smaller government.)

Health care: All medical funding by government would cease. No more
Medicare, Medicaid, VA medical treatment, research. Medical care would then
be affordable because it was the government that drove up the cost.

Military: Rescind the Uniform Code of Military Justice. No more court-
martial offenses such as refusing to obey an order or going Absent Without
Leave. Further, a member of the military would have the right to quit his
job at any time, just like a civilian worker.

It would appear that Libertarians will advocate positions they know are
somewhat popular with a large number of people. But, they seem to maintain
a silence about other aims of the party such as the type outlined above.

Tom Richardson

Fountain