You're confused because Libertarians describe themselves, and then (some) conservatives and/or liberals contradict that by describing their silly fantasies about what they imagine Libertarians to be.
Listen to the former, not the latter.
For example, I'm against the War on Drugs for the same reason I think the Prohibition of alcohol was counterproductive and a huge waste. That does *not* mean that I'm a proponent of getting drunk *or* stoned, nor does it mean that I'm an alcoholic drug addict, but I've been accused of that countless times by conservatives who ought to know better. (In truth, a six-pack of beer lasts about half a year in my fridge, and I tried marijuana very briefly a quarter century ago.)
At the risk of me being flamed for hijacking this thread, can you or anyone try this in twenty five words or less?
Like any political or social philosophy, you can't do it justice in 25 words. This is a quick overview, though: http://www.cato.org/dailys/01-01-99.html
In short, and at the risk of grossly oversimplifying it, liberterianism is the belief that most things which government does today would be better handled through private or societal means. Using government to enforce, at the point of a gun, one-size-fits-all "solutions" (often in the absence of any real problem) all too often creates more messes than it cures.
Regards
Heh -- I posted this before I saw post #148. Consider it a sterling example of the sort of thing I was describing.