“Yes… Yes, I’m getting the definite feeling that your spleen is riiiight abouuuuut here.”
“Who’s a nice little goiter, hmm? Does the nice goiter want to go outsie? Yes it does!”
Hmm…my experience with the Libertarian Party has been that it’s pretty much chock full o’ nuts. From Blue Men to people who think the income tax is unconstitutional due to some Wyoming senator’s dog’s bad case of the sniffles in 1916, Libertarians got 'em all.
But yeah. Crystalwavers do tend to give us skeptical leftists a bad name.
Daniel
Fuck off.
Better? 
As many have said, the right wing is just kooky in a different way. In fact, the difference is that left-wingers are kooky in different ways, but right-wingers are all kooky in the same way.
Have you ever looked at their literature? They evidently believe that a guy that’s been dead for 2000 years personally loves them, and that guy is the son of an invisible, powerful man who lives in the sky, and a woman who happened to be passing by. I guess invisibility isn’t inherited! Those crazy Republicans!
As I see it, the Left Wing (in the USA at least) has as a guiding priciple: though shalt yield thy thoughts to government at all times. This means that the individual is of no consequence, and lying, cheating, stealing, etc., are OK, if practiced for the greater good. This is why the left-wing is so big on academic terrorism (left wing students shout down anyone who disagrees with them). However, the left wing has found that they cannot corrupt the physical sciences (its too hard to study and understand physics, biochemistry, etc.) so they are attracted to these pseudoscientific beliefs. The comment on colonic therapy an enemas is an apt one-for some reason, left wingers are overly concerned with this aspect of life.
I know, I was a victim of a leftist economics professor (I had the temerity to agree with Milton Friedman!-I refused to recant my error, and got a C on the paper!).
Oh my.
Liberals = liars, cheats, and thieves. Right, gotcha. Much the same way conservatives are only interested in things that lead directly to their personal gain, are sexually aroused by destroying the enviroment, and are totally lacking in compassion, charity, caring, and all other emotions beginning with the letter “C”.
Well, you’re bang-on as far as the science thing goes. I mean, you’d never see an conservative argue against the fossil record and carbon dating techniques because it disagrees with the three-thousand-plus year-old legends of a tribe of nomadic sheep-herders.
Oh, wait…
I want to nominate this line for least authoritative argument from authority. Are you sure you didn’t get the C for just being exceptionally stupid?
Evolution. Magical Sky Pixie. Pot. Kettle. Et cetera.
That’s me to a T! Choppin’ down trees gives me wood!
You forgot to mention that it’s only the damn lib’rals who demonize their opponents and oversimplify their positions so they can feel superior without actually having to address the substance of their arguments.
Ass.
Funny, I never thought of magic power crystals/empowerment through furniture layouts and the like being a liberal thing (IANAL, I’m Not A Liberal. However, oddly enough, I am anal, just like the acronym says!) I rarely see that sort of thing around here, so I always assumed it was a west coast sort of thing… <ducks and runs>
I used to subscribe to the Utne reader in pre-internet days.
Lately, I’m afraid that the magazine has lost it’s original raison d’etre: the Alternative Press has a perfectly adequate platform now.
As a result, UR has intensified its New Age slant.
Conclusion: There are lots of parts of the Left that are not especially sympathetic to New Age stuff. The Nation, In These Times, The Village Voice, The Left Business Review, Dollars and Sense, etc. come to mind.