I'm not sure if this is (a) comic relief; (b) an attempt to deflect; or (c) an attempt by the Huckabee "we hate Libertarians" faction of the Lawn Jockey Caucus of the GOP to equate Libertarians with political violence, but it's in the Western Standard.CA:
Now it is important to note that the AP story which the author cites tying Roeder to the Montana Freeman makes no mention whatever of Libertarianism, as opposed to what the sentence might lead you to believe. Here it is, in its entirety:
So how does this get linked to Libertarians? Terrence Watson, the author of the original post quoted above, does so by referencing the Wikipedia page on the concept of Individual Sovereignty [not the page on the Montana Freemen, which mentions Libertarianism not at all], which mentions Libertarianism in passing, along with multiple other ideological perspectives:
Even sites sympathetic to the Montana Freemen mention virtually nothing about Libertarianism, which is as it should be, since the primary foundation of Libertarians is the Zero-Aggression Principle, which--among other things--rules out violence such as the Freemen advocate.
But, you see, we've entered a segment of history in which Americans are being consciously divided against each other in draconian, divisive factionalism. It's more important to score points demonizing your political opponents than to reach common ground as American citizens, and wherein the ruling wing of the Demopublican Statist Party paints the concept of bipartisanship as getting exactly what it wants without any demur.
Libertarians, oddly, should view this sort of distorted gotcha pseudo-journalism as an advance: it used to be that our ideas and our positions were considered way too marginal to be worth attacking.
What was it Gandhi said? Oh, yeah:
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."
Prominent abortion provider murdered (suspected killer may be a libertarian.)
...
It appears that Roeder is also a tax protestor, linked to the Montana Freemen, a group that -- if not exactly libertarian -- espouses libertarian-like views about individual sovereignty and the illegitimacy of government.
This may come up over the next few days.
Now it is important to note that the AP story which the author cites tying Roeder to the Montana Freeman makes no mention whatever of Libertarianism, as opposed to what the sentence might lead you to believe. Here it is, in its entirety:
TOPEKA, Kan. - A man identified by the FBI as a member of the anti-government Freemen group was arrested yesterday after deputies found what they called a bomb-triggering device in his car.
Scott Roeder, 38, of Silver Lake, Kan., was arrested in Topeka and held on charges of criminal use of explosives, driving with a suspended license and failure to carry registration and insurance.
Roeder was stopped because his car didn't have a legitimate license plate. Instead, it had a tag indicating the driver was a "sovereign" citizen and immune from Kansas law.
The same type of tag is sometimes used by Freemen, whose members in Montana are in the fourth week of a standoff with federal agents.
Roeder's name is included on an FBI list of Freemen, said Shawnee County Sheriff Dave Meneley.
In Roeder's trunk, authorities found fuse cord, a pound of gunpowder and two nine-volt batteries, one wired to a switch - the alleged triggering device. Ammunition and a blasting cap also were found in the car.
In Montana, meanwhile, federal agents increased security around the barricaded Freemen compound yesterday. And the FBI field commander refused to see Michigan Militia leader Norman Olson.
Olson said he had come Montana to help the FBI avoid "a field of battle."
The FBI has headquarters in Jordan, Mont., about 30 miles from the Freemen's farmhouse.
So how does this get linked to Libertarians? Terrence Watson, the author of the original post quoted above, does so by referencing the Wikipedia page on the concept of Individual Sovereignty [not the page on the Montana Freemen, which mentions Libertarianism not at all], which mentions Libertarianism in passing, along with multiple other ideological perspectives:
This notion is central to classical liberalism, individualistic political philosophies such as abolitionism, ethical egoism, rights-based libertarianism, objectivism, and some forms of anarchism. Sovereign-minded individuals would then seem to prefer an atmosphere consisting of decentralized administrative organizations acting as servants to the individual.
Even sites sympathetic to the Montana Freemen mention virtually nothing about Libertarianism, which is as it should be, since the primary foundation of Libertarians is the Zero-Aggression Principle, which--among other things--rules out violence such as the Freemen advocate.
But, you see, we've entered a segment of history in which Americans are being consciously divided against each other in draconian, divisive factionalism. It's more important to score points demonizing your political opponents than to reach common ground as American citizens, and wherein the ruling wing of the Demopublican Statist Party paints the concept of bipartisanship as getting exactly what it wants without any demur.
Libertarians, oddly, should view this sort of distorted gotcha pseudo-journalism as an advance: it used to be that our ideas and our positions were considered way too marginal to be worth attacking.
What was it Gandhi said? Oh, yeah:
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."
Comments
The problem we have here is the MSM is incapable of differentiating between the various varieties of political ideology. Except for George Will and the late William Buckley I doubt many in the MSM could tell you the difference between the political philosophy of John Locke, Thomas Hobbs, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, William Gladstone. They would find it impossible to tell you the difference between Classical Liberalism and Modern Conservatism, they could not differentiate between the beliefs of Harry Byrd, Sr., Thomas Jefferson, and Judge John Paul. In short they are ignorant, so they are forces to go for the easiest path which is to associate a right winged nut job with Libertarianism because it is outside the mainstream of Liberal and Conservative. What we have here, to quote Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke, 'What we have here is a failure to communicate [understand].'
Hank Foresman
BTW: As a Catholic (sort of) I find the remark about Catholics having abortions revolting--I respect Anonymous right to say what he/or/she has to say, they should respect of the right of Catholics to believe that abortion is wrong.