MORKO. A wily opportunist and inventor who ingeniously plants six gigantic plastic statues of SUPERMAN in seemingly inaccessible places - such as far beneath the sea, and in the interior of a mountain peak - as part of an elaborate scheme to fascinate Superman with the apparent enigma of the statues so that, in the process of retrieving them from their locations with the aid of his mighty super powers, he will unwittingly enrich Morko and his henchmen. When Superman bores through the earth like a human drill to retrieve a Superman statue far underground, for example, he inadvertently releases a valuable gusher of oil onto land owned by Morko.

Realizing finally that the giant statues are only ploys designed to trick him into using his super-powers for Morko's own benefit, Superman moves swiftly to ensure that Morko and his henchmen do not profit from their scheme, such as by redirecting the oil gusher onto a barren Indian reservation for the benefit of local Indians. And, when he is reminded that Morko and his men have really committed no crime for which they can properly be arrested ("He didn't break any laws!" muses Superman; "All he did was use my super-powers for his own ends! But a trickster like him shouldn't go free!"). Superman responds by tricking Morko and his henchmen into attacking him in the belief that they are only destroying a lifeless Superman statue and then hauls them off to jail on a trumped-up assault and battery charge.

Libertarians are no more or less compassionate about the fate of their fellow men than any other political stripe. What we take issue with is the means to deliver them from their need being the government, which we consider the most inefficient, corrupt, inept organization created by man.

That's a good thing. An efficient government all too quickly turns into a totalitarian one.

Libertarians can and do contribute to 501-3s,volunteer just like everybody else, and otherwise participate in philanthropic endeavors.

Given the choice between giving the government the money and allowing it to decide how to spend it on social services, and the other option of giving it directly to the charities of my choice, I always choose the latter.

Do you know where every fraction of every penny of your taxes is spent? Most likely not...because the government has a vital interest in not letting you know. At least I can force a 501-3 to open its books to me before I give it one penny of my own choosing. Better to give on your own, to an accountable organization that has the mission statement with which you agree.

The problem is the government is ultimately the worst option to deliver social services. It is victim to politics, either pork or anti-pork. It attaches too many "strings" to the services, such as not being able to mention contraception. It is victim to the influence of lobbyists, such as with the health care bill under the Clintons. Or it is most inefficient at delivering those services, re: NASA. If you give up money to your government, you guarantee the corruption, graft, patronage and inefficiency that any absolute power will eventually possess. The goal of the libertarian is to reduce that power and give it back to the people, just like the Constitution says it should.

Most programs created by the government aren't created because they are needed, but because they earn politicians brownie points for their constituency. It's inevitably and ultimately a bread and circuses patronage phenomenon - short-term government policies that seek short-term solutions to public unrest.

Libertarians are essentially socially liberal like Democrats (sans spending) and economically conservative like the Republicans. Americans appear to have a problem with that concept, despite the fact that our country was founded on those principals. I blame the entrenched two-party system.

True, libertarianism depends on an educated populace with the maturity to govern themselves. I don't think America is there yet; and I partially blame it on semi-socialized government. Dependency on your government breeds co-dependency in your populace, much like the way we make dogs and cats dependent on us, essentially keeping them in "puppy" and "kitten" mode.

Puppies and kittens can't survive on their own if they haven't been educated to be dogs and cats.

People can't be participating citizens in a democracy without learning to be adults...and any program that makes you dependent on your government for the basic necessities holds you back from just that.

Just because we don't think that socialism is the answer to helping out your fellow human being, doesn't mean we don't believe in helping out your fellow human being at all. It's the means, not the end, with which Libertarians have issue.