Author: MichelleMcHatton

I'm a writer. I'm also a wife and a parent who works too much and lives too little. In addition to writing I also love to read, listen to music, travel, cook, I enjoy looking for bargains at flea markets or thrift stores, Christmas, football and of course writing! How did I come up with the title of my blog? Two things: 1. I live in New England (duh) and 2. Canadian singer Alan Frew once arrogantly told me to "get a New England life"--again--DUH! I already HAVE one!
Godspeed, Senator McCain

Godspeed, Senator McCain

by MichelleMcHatton

I can’t say I was ever a political fan of John McCain’s.  I wasn’t even familiar with him until he ran against Obama for the presidency in 2008.  Politics aside, over the years I gained respect for him.  You have to respect someone who fought in Vietnam and spent over five years of that time as a POW.  As a Senator, McCain was truly the epitome of what one should be:  a bi-partisan member of Congress willing to stand up for his policies yet willing to work with the other side on their policies.  He certainly wasn’t perfect. A lot of derogatory things about Obama came out of the McCain campaign.  But as a Senator he stood up for his constituents.  Which is a lot more than many current and past Senators have done for their constituents.

I wanted to honor the late Senator in some way so I looked back over my blog and came across a post I wrote after the election in November 2008.  Considering ten years have passed and the country is now in the throes of a would-be dictatorship, it’s eerie to recall how McCain supporters reacted to his losing to Obama.

The first sentence reads:  “McCain supporters state that the Republican Party has lost their ‘identity’ and say they don’t know how it happened”.  Folks, McCain was the identity of the Republican Party.  He was one of the last few who were willing to work both sides.  Maybe that’s the problem his supporters had with him.

I also wrote in the post that unhappy voters stated “no way!” to McCain’s promise to work with Obama.  His supporters were saying they were “really disappointed” and “distraught” about the loss.  Ten years later it still leads me to wonder how much they really believed in McCain to start with.  It was reported at the time that “some voters wrote that they cried through the night, declaring Tuesday a ‘sad day’for the country” while others encouraged Republicans to “hold your heads up high”.  Huh.  Sounds familiar.  Except ten years later America already knew what they were getting.  Or should I say Russia?

It was noted at the time that some McCain voters called Obama a “terrorist” and others said they were “afraid of an Obama presidency”.  Huh.  Again.  Not only would many label the person currently taking up residence in the White House a “terrorist” but also a “mobster” and his “presidency” is everything to be afraid of for this country.  Even scarier than the thought of Sarah Palin being in the White House.  But not by far.  Yet McCain’s supporters “booed” him when he urged them to be respectful and not fear Obama.  Which still makes me wonder how much “supporting” of McCain his “supporters” did.  As I wrote “with supporters like that, it’s no wonder McCain didn’t win”.

If history had turned and McCain had won the presidency instead of Obama, I’m not sure how different the country would be right now.  We will never know.  What we do know is that John McCain was a United States Senator for 31 years and he did his job well.  If there were more Senators today, both Republican and Democrat, like John McCain, Congress would be better for Americans.

Did They Play Woodstock? They Did Today

Did They Play Woodstock? They Did Today

by MichelleMcHatton

The Woodstock Fair in Woodstock, CT has been a Labor Day weekend tradition for 158 years.

What’s great about this fair from others is that it’s not too big and it’s not too small.  It’s just right.

As with just about any kind of fair or festival, you can eat your way through.  Just about any kind of food imaginable is available, from fried dough to bacon on a stick (yes, there is such a thing) to fried frog legs (again, yes, there is such a thing).

Like rides?  The Woodstock Fair has them.

Like animals, big and small?  Plenty.

Gigantic pumpkins and squash?  Yup.

Entertainment consisting of bands you knew existed but you haven’t heard of since the sixties?  The Woodstock Fair has them too.  Today it was The Cowsills and The Lovin’ Spoonful.  Fun fact:  The Cowsills are from Rhode Island and the song they opened with today (“I Love The Flower Girl”) was in the movie “Dumb and Dumber”.  I don’t know if The Cowsills ever played at Woodstock, NY in 1969 but today they played at Woodstock, CT in 2018.

The great pumpkin.  Or is this a squash?

 

 

This calf was born just this morning.  As we watched her, she struggled to get her bearings and stand.  But she finally did and her mother was just so proud!  Then she was off and running!

 

 

 

fuzzy bunnies galore

 

 

The Red Beating Heart of Freedom and Democracy

The Red Beating Heart of Freedom and Democracy

by MichelleMcHatton

Today, as with many days over the past 19 months, members of the press sat in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room listening to Sarah “Huckafuck” Sanders ramble on about her lies.

Two nights before CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta was confronted by attention-seekers at one of SHITHOLE’S pep rallies in Florida.  I call them attention-seekers because they acted like banshees when the cameras were on but when the cameras went off, they were a different bunch, willingly speaking to Acosta and requesting to have their pictures taken with him.  It was there that SHITHOLE slurred on and on about how the “press is the enemy”.  So at today’s press briefing Acosta asked Sanders about the recent mention (and not the only mention) from SHITHOLE that the “press is the enemy”.  He wanted confirmation from her that the press is not the enemy of the people.  She refused to answer him.  And in protest Acosta did what so many members of the press should have done by now:  he walked out.

Despite what SHITHOLE or HUCKAFUCK or any one of SHITHOLE’S flock of brainwashed sheep have to say about the press, they are not the enemy of the people.  Think about it.

If you were alive on December 7, 1941 how do you think you got news about what happened in Pearl Harbor?  Unless you were actually there, which most weren’t, you heard it on the radio, probably in a breaking news report from the newscaster at the local radio station.  How do you think most of us learned about the events of September 11, 2001?  Unless you were actually there, which most of us weren’t, you turned on the TV or radio and listened and watched as to what was going on.  Who were some of the first people on the scene at both incidents besides first responders?  The press.  Who were the ones interviewing people?  The press.  Who were the ones helping get messages across to loved ones?  The press.

If it were not for the press we would be uninformed.  It’s unfortunate they need to sit in a room and listen to a liar, whom they know is lying, whom America knows is lying, and report it for what it is.  Because it’s their job.

It’s unfortunate the press needs to report on the misdoings of a person taking up residence in the White House.  And then he complains about it and calls the press the “enemy of the people”.  If only the person taking up residence in the White House behaved himself, the press wouldn’t be reporting negatively about him. He doesn’t get it.

Thanks to reporters like Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, people who cared about Americans and what was happening right under their noses, the country rid themselves of a cancer like Nixon.  He didn’t get it either.  In fact, with all of SHITHOLE’S remarks, wouldn’t you think he could come up with something more original than “enemy of the people” and “witch hunt”?  Those phrases are so 1974.

So the next time you watch the news or read a newspaper and become informed of what is going on around you, whether it’s positive or negative, remember that the person writing or reporting the story is not your enemy.  They are on your side.

They Knew What They Were Getting

They Knew What They Were Getting

by MichelleMcHatton

True story:

A company’s board members elect a certain person to be their President.  They research him, do background checks on him, etc. before they elect him.  He passes all their research with flying colors.  So he becomes the company’s President.

Six months later he is caught embezzling tons of money from the company.  Who knew?  The board members had done their research.  This guy was squeaky clean.

Of course the board members feel bad.  They feel duped.  Betrayed.  How could they not have known?  They didn’t know.  There had been nothing on this guy.

The difference between this story and what is actually happening in  America right now is that everyone knew what they were getting before electing SHITHOLE.  Anyone who had been around for at least twenty years knew about SHITHOLE’S past.  His bankruptcies.  His racism.  His sexism.  His sexual harassment.  Even his dealings with Russia weren’t secret.  SHITHOLE’S misdoings had been well publicized.  And that was long before “fake news”, folks.

So it’s understandable that SHITHOLE’S naive sheep try to block any of his misdoings from their minds.  To them it’s “oh, it’s really this” or “oh, it’s really that”.  “It’s Obama’s fault”.  “It’s Hillary’s fault”.  “It’s the cat’s fault”.  “It’s ‘fake news'”.  They are an embarrassed bunch.  They are afraid to admit they made a mistake.  They are too far in to live up to their choice.  So they must live with it.  Grin and bear it, so to speak.  Many of them are just brainwashed.  That’s what happens when you take a bunch of not too intelligent people and feed them a bunch of shit.  They swallow it.  They feed on it.  For them there’s no turning back.  SHITHOLE will be sitting in a prison cell six months from now and they’ll still be crying “he’s innocent!”.  When the writing was on the wall all the time.  It still is.  They’re just too blind to see it. I’d actually like to meet some of SHITHOLE’S supporters.  I could probably get a lot of money out of them.  Gullible bunch they are.

Unlike the people on the company board, the citizens of America knew what they were getting before they got it.  Eighteen months later I’m still wondering why they wanted it in the first place.