A few thoughts while watching Obama's press conference today about the debt celing...

(Update.  Can't believe I wrote this in 2013)

Frankly, while I have in the past identified strongly with "those on the left," hence the title of this blog,  the reality is -- I'm pretty much also "Louise on the right," too.

I'm now a somewhat right-leaning, formerly all left-side leaning leaner. 

Maybe not quite like Teddy Roosevelt, but I like his style.

So really "Louise on the Left" was about being inclusionary to all people -- of all walks and talks.  But, I'm pretty much an "old school Republican" about some of the other stuff.  I think.  (Your thoughts, please.)

I do believe in conservation.  I think it's a global issue.  We need to get everyone on board with this. (Easy to do, right?)

This used to be a Republican concept. It isn't anymore.  Can't understand this.  It makes good sense financially to live healthier.

I do not like fundamentalist thinking. I think black/white absolutist thinking is going to be the death of us all. 

And, while it may ruffle some liberal feathers hearing me say this, I do not like letting everyone on the planet show up and pig out at the dinner table just because they arrived with hands out.  If I were Jesus, I'd be fine with that.  I could turn all the fish into dinner for 4,004,567 if I needed to, but we're not Jesus, we're America, and we can't feed and educate everyone endlessly without more resources.

Not now.  Now there are too many people.  We have to do something.  Have to.  And I think we can do something which would be in line with all schools of thought:  We could be inclusionary and humane to those seeking a new life here, but we have to have more security at our borders, we have to have a way so that our schools can move forward at a pace that keeps up with other countries.  Do I have an answer for how this should be done right now?  Nope.   

I think investing in education is the key to a stronger country. I think taxing people to some degree always makes sense, and I think EVERYONE should pay taxes, from Dora the Explorer's mom and dad who just jumped the fence in Texas to Warren Buffet. 

I think those who we elect to run things in Washington should be booted if they go renegade and refuse to negotiate.

I think our environment is in grave danger and to ignore this is the stupidest thing in the world and to do so means humans deserve to go to Hell in a hand basket, but the wildlife and environment doesn't deserve to be destroyed at the hands of our greed and ignorance. 

Need help seeing why we need to put a global effort into reducing global warming?

Okay -- Look at these images:

Not a bomb.  This is volcanic activity -- which becomes more active as the sheets of polar ice melt.

So this throws more ash into our atmosphere and…well, you can imagine.  Not cool.

Mother Nature is very, very pissed off by our greed.

Malaria on the rise due to higher temps.  Don't forget allergies and asthma, too.

You can probably guess what I think about our having outgrown the second amendment, right?

I'm sure our forefathers did not mean to put semi-automatic rifles in the hands of any fool.  So, I truly think we have to rework the gun problem.   No, I don't think taking guns away from all Americans is the answer. Not going to happen.  But something is wrong with how things are now.  More and different gun regulations are long over due. 

Isn't this an old conservative concept?  I'm down with that.

I think a lot of things that are more in line with old school Republicans, actually.  I stopped respecting radical-greed-based Republican thinking when I saw what was happening in the 80's while watching them create policies to put big business growth ahead of all else.  (Didn't Reagan raise the debt ceiling like 70 times, or something?  Clinton did it, what? Maybe four times?) 

So here we are now.  And I like Obama's tough stance about discipline.  It's about time.  But we do need those with a brain and some new, visionary insights to come back to the conversation again and help out the rest of the folks who are floundering for an answer. 

I will leave you with one image which has not come true, yet.  But it could come true at some time in the near future if we don't do something dramatic to halt global warming.