Torie Bosch, in her recent Liberal-Libertarian comparison column, says liberals and libertarians are virtually one in the same ("Where's the difference? Liberals, Libertarians fight for the same ideals," March 29). She may have been right, as she points out, in the 19^th century, but today's Democrats and Republicans are ideologically bankrupt to their founding promises. Her comparison focuses primarily on personal freedoms while ignoring the stark ideological differences when it comes to economic freedoms.

But, then again, Republicans are hypocrites when it comes to economic freedom. Never has a Republican president reduced the size of the federal government, and George W. Bush is by far the worst. I think Sen. John McCain's statement that Bush is spending money like a drunken sailor is an insult to everyone in the Navy. Bush is spending money like O.J. Simpson on a defense team.

Democrats, too, believe in taking money from others and redistributing it as they see fit, but to the poor instead of corporations. Both parties go about it in the most inefficient way possible -- through U.S. government bureaucracy. Democrats aren't any better at sticking to their ideological bases, as they frequently support measures that clash with personal freedom. Most Democrats in power are on the fence when it comes to gay marriage and all Democratic senators voted for the Patriot Act.

Bosch made a few mistakes, as Libertarians are not solely for home schooling but also for educational privatization. This is the same stance we take on healthcare -- we don't recommend you trying surgery on yourself.

It's nice to see Libertarians have their name in the paper once in a while, but today's liberals have just as much in common with Libertarians as conservatives do.