[artisan001]

"They usually dodge the personal nuke question by pleading its impracticability."

Which is an argument consistent with the moral position regarding the initiation of force.

[HumanaeVitae]

I have to go...wife's complaining about the car not being washed. In the meantime, you libertarians best not eat the burritos...you don't know where that meat came from!

[Kevin Curry]

But the punchline is, libertarians never demur to any aspect of libertarian absolutism on account of impracticability EXCEPT in the case of personal nukes. Libertarians have made the froot loop, impracticable, fuzzy-headed "no initiation of force" panacaea more than an art form. They have made it into powerful mojo-magic. They simply mouth over any impossible toad of a problem the incantation "no initiation of force" *zingo* it solves itself with princely perfection.

Except personal nukes. Personal nukes are impracticable.

The real problem with allowing each man to possess his own personal nuke is that he could just about guarantee that he would never be brought to justice after having targeted his oh-so-tolerant libertarian neighbors. Some straight-thinking man bent on self-preservation would take the law into his own hands and preemptively and permanently adjust the nuke-bearer's attitude before the device could be ever be triggered. That may be a most unlibertarian action to take, but it is what can be expected to happen where libertarian hubris and stupidity meets human reality.