Watching the debate I saw a number of things:

1. McCain is physically very rigid. He can barely move his head. I know he has a terrible set of injuries to his arms from his time as a POW but beyond that he holds himself very rigidly. I have been a body oriented psychotherapist for over 25 years. McCain's body language suggests a rigid character and a lack of connection with his emotions.

Obama moves with confidence, he is not rigid, and his body language suggests someone who is grounded, who is connected with his emotions as well as with his thoughts.

2. McCain has obviously had botox treatment on his face. Botox paralyzes the small muscles of the face, creating a rigid mask. Human beings, as we age, change. Our faces change to reflect what has happened to us, our experiences, and our character. Botox creates essentially a mask which hides the true face of the person. What would McCain look like without Botox? What would his face show about his character if it weren't chemically altered by Botox? What is he hiding?

Obama’s face is expressive. He shows who he is with his face, he is not wearing a mask.

3. McCain used a lot of platitudes and attacks, but rarely said anything specific. His responses to the questions lacked substance. He focused on broad ideological responses, but didn't answer the questions.

Obama also didn’t answer the questions directly. He did describe a coordinated set of responses to curent situations, and made connections between the economy, education, and security, and he was less vague than McCain.

I came away from the debate thinking...McCain is an old man who, naturally, cannot see a future because his life is coming to an end. He is not forward thinking because his natural life span is about to end. Obama is younger, and has a future in front of him. He is in the middle of his life span, so he naturally envisions a future.

I would rather have an emotionally connected forward thinking president than a sick old president. I would rather have a president who sees the connections between the many aspects of our country than one who sees things as a top-down power structure pyramid.

“Flexibility is kin of life. Rigidity is kin of death.” -Lao Tzu

It rained last night here in the Bitterroot valley, western Montana. It's a beautiful sunny morning, Lasky is asleep on the floor. We arrived here on Monday after 6 days of driving. The week has been about relaxing, settling in, and last night watching the VP debate with a bunch of folks. That was a lot of fun, and the debate was...wel it's hard to know what to say. I did post this on a Washington Post discussion...

"I felt like I was watching a kind of charming Barbie Doll last night. She kept flirting with the audience with her winks and her wide eyed exclamations. She clearly disassociated a number of times, and babbled meaningless response to questions she couldn't answer. She changed the subject a number of times, and responded to questions with answers that stayed on the surface, demonstrating a shallow understanding of the issues, at best.

I'm sure the republicans see this as a win, which shows how shallow THEIR engagement is with the issues...all ideology, no real meaning."

I'm glad to be here. It is so beautiful and low key.

I sent out some resumés, made some calls, initiated the process of getting licensed in Montana as a counselor, and my friend who I a staying with, and I, have been working on a plan to create a Community Health Worker program for this area. I'm very excited about it. We have a lot of good ideas. She has lived here for decades and knows the lay of the land.

Now I'm needing to attract money. I have about $200, and the next scheduled cash in comes at the end of November. I really want a 2 cup espresso maker...one of those two compartment thingies...if anyone has an extra one, also looking for a massage table. drop me a line!

Traveling with my dog and cat friends again! They are so great. We are at a campground in Wisconsin about 100 miles east of the Mississippi River. There is no one else camping, so Chloe and Lasky are free to do as they please. They roam a little, snooze a lot. Last night Lasky did her job, sleeping by me, keeping watch. She never needed to be told to do that, she just does it. When we are in a building she sleeps by the door. Chloe was in the car with her food and her litter box but she chose to come out and sleep in my sleeping bag...nice bit of extra heat too! I slept well, had breakfast, taking our time, we are heading out, planning on Badlands National Park tonight.

Yesterday we started in central Pennsylvania. I figure I drove 800 or so miles in about 15 hours. I was pretty tired, had only slept a few hours the night before, but it was a nice drive, beautiful weather, relatively peaceful. Some folks really do like to tailgate, but no other really whacky driving.

Today we cross the Mississippi River which always marks, for me, being "in the west." It's also so beautiful and clean up north, and I am aware of what happens to this living river as it travels through the southern part of North America, where it is used for shipping but also as a toilet for industrial and other human waste disposal. By the time it reaches the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans it's so polluted you could probably die from drinking a cupful. Sad. And yet it is still a living river at it's mouth to the sea.

OK, onward!

P.S. New episodes of my "Stories from the Road" are available on the WBKM archive page.

It's hard to know what to say, as I watch the american fascists in their boldest move yet, forcing the taxpayers into out and out slavery to the corporations.

Bush is bankrupting the country, as he bankrupted every other business he's run. The people must not let him and his cronies get away with this. They should be held accountable for the fortune of taxpayers money they have squandered and absconded. Bush came into office with a surplus! Look at us now.

I urge you to stand up and help impeach George W. Bush by contacting your representatives relentlessly, talking with your friends about what's going on. Bush is clearly a criminal. We all know it. Some of us are afraid to face it, some face it but are scared to speak out, some are speaking out. This our time! The people of the world are behind us and it is our responsibility to bring this criminal administration to justice. The cowardice of the american people, in this hour, will cost the world dearly.

The Bush/Cheney government through massive chicanery, illegal war (and war profiteering) etc. etc. has sucked bazillions of dollars out of the pockets of americans and into the pockets of a few CEOs and politicians. Now the Fed, a privately owned for-profit bank, is going to loan a ton of that money back to us, charging interest of course. And few are talking about it honestly in the media or in the halls of power. This is all a well engineered rip-off. How are the personal fortunes of the Bushes, Clintons, Cheneys, Rumsfelds, McCains, etc etc? ALL GROWING at our expense.

At what point will americans get it that they have allowed themselves to be utterly scammed, and hold the thieves accountable? I know, I know, most people are too busy watching TV and believing what they are told to be as outraged as they have a right to be. But it's time to rally. There are people in every town and city, in the hinterlands and even in the halls of power who see what's going on and are horrified. If everyone just speaks out, it will be a step.

A more effective step is to stop earning enough to pay taxes. That situation is being forced on millions of people who have financial obligations but you know what? Fuck your financial obligations. If you are foreclosed on, stay in the house and invite other potentially homeless people to live there with you. Plant a garden. Live free. There aren't enough police, soldiers, and mercenaries to throw all the people out who are being foreclosed on in this country. Let the banks fail. Fuck'em. Fuck the shareholders and profiteers, Fuck the CEOs with their golden parachutes woven from YOUR blood, sweat and tears. Fuck them. Really.

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