Cold War in the US Government.

And eleven days later the government is still shut down. What does this mean? Well for the average American, it just means they have another reason to complain about the government, and what a terrible job they are doing. Or for those that affiliate themselves with a party, it means they have an even bigger reason to hate the other party. If you work for the government or an affiliate of the government, or if national parks are a big part of your areas economy, well then, you have absolute license  to complain because your life is seriously being effected by the gridlock.

For me personally, the government shutdown means that I didn't get to talk to the NSA or CIA or State Department at the career fair this last week.

So why is this happening? Well, basically the Republicans are trying to stall the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act (Obamacare) from getting its funding, and the democrats won't have it because it is a bill that has already been signed into law, and it has been validated by the Supreme Court. As part of this, the Democrats are determined to raise the debt ceiling. In fact, Mr. Obama, at the beginning of his second term, vowed to not negotiate over the debt ceiling with Republicans again, which given his previous experiences, you can't really blame him.

So that is a quick rundown of the "sitch" as Kim Possible might have said, and you know what it just gets my goat! You might say I have a bit of a vendetta against our countries two party system. By having only two parties, the whole political system feels the need to polarize itself. I almost feel like our countries government has its own "Cold War" going on. Take a good look at the system and you'll see it too. First, republicans and democrats can't agree on anything! If they do, those individuals that do get the whole weight of their party bearing down on them, or they are shunned. In the Cold War, the entire world was either with the Red Russians or the Americans. Both groups pretended to be nice to each other on a surface level, but it was all out indirect war, and agreeing on anything the other side was doing was blasphemy.  Second, because of this, compromise is practically impossible and gridlock is inevitable, (kind of like how we didn't compromise with those dang communists during the Cold War) which leads to the government shutdown. And finally, they are constantly blocking each other's moves for more power, or for change, which leads to the governments own personal Vietnam's and Korean wars.

Needless to say, I find all this very frustrating. The Republicans should not be trying to gut a piece of legislation that has already been passed, and the democrats shouldn't be antagonizing them. Our government has forgotten what it means to compromise. News paper articles shouldn't have to say that "the republicans and democrats are having diplomatic talks". We are one country, not several discussing international problems. The parties should be reminded of this more often: being a republican or a democrat does not supersede being an American.

Harry Potter, the Story of My Childhood

If my childhood can be tied to anything, it is definitely Harry Potter. The first book was published in 1997, about a year or so after I learned to read. Being not quite five, I knew nothing about Harry Potter—my books were all about horses. However, the craze didn’t take long to reach my house once the book was brought to the US in 1998. Before I was seven, my Dad, in between reading us the Chronicles of Narnia and The Golden Compass, read the first two books to my two sisters, a few of my brothers, and I, at night before we all went to bed. Harry Potter from that time on became my childhood companion.

By the age of nine, I had voraciously read every book out, at least twice, and waited with baited breath for the next book. I remember how that same year, through much begging, my parents took all of my siblings and I to see the first movie. I remember covering my eyes when Voldemort first showed his face, and slowly un-hid my eyes as the scene continued.  Quirrel was just as I had always imagined.

I would sometimes wonder, in the time before my eleventh birthday, if I did get a letter, if it would come the summer I before I turned eleven (my birthday being in November you see) or the summer after. I was never entirely sure on the matter, so I allowed myself to hope for two summers in a row. Although I, being the sensible child that I was, knew that Hogwarts was fiction and that I probably wouldn’t get a letter because none such letters existed, I still hoped and hoped for one. (It was rather like the time I hoped that I would follow in the footsteps of Mia Thermopolis from Princess Diaries and find out suddenly that I was a princess. This, much to my disappoint, never happened either.) The second summer I waited was particularly painful when I would be the lucky one to go to the mailbox, and unlock its contents. Sadly, my hope was never satisfied, and I continued at my completely normal, un-magical, private school, where the uniforms were not nearly as awesome as those at Hogwarts.

That was the point I started hating Harry Potter. Much like the character himself, I was a bitter, and somewhat angsty middle schooler. It didn’t help that liking Harry Potter was distinctly uncool back then. No worries though, because this ended before eighth grade did.

The summer before my freshman year of high school proved to be a treat with my dear friend. That was the summer that the Order of the Phoenix movie came out, and I went to my very first midnight showing. My two friends and I laughed throughout the movie, pretending that we didn’t love it as much as we really did. Sirius’ death was saddening, and the experience was simply wonderful.         

The Deathly Hallows was released mere weeks later. The final book.  Needless to say, I devoured it within two days as soon as I obtained a copy. ‘Twas a beautiful time, yet bittersweet as well, as I realized that this was it. I would not have any new adventures about Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Voldemort was gone. Snape, my favorite character dead. Fred, dead. All my favorite characters dead! It was heartbreaking. I wanted desperately for more. This turned my towards fanfiction for some time. However, I eventually rejoined normal society and waited with baited breath for the remainder of the movies.

This last July it all ended. I had been in college for a month the night it premiered, and drove to American Fork because all of the theaters in Provo were sold out by the time my roommates and I went to get tickets. We waited in line for a number of hours to get in, dressed up as if we went to the very School we dreamed of, rather than the slightly less magical Brigham Young University. It was there that my childhood officially ended. All in the theater clapped in joy when Ron finally kissed Hermione. Cringed when Voldemort hugged Draco Malfoy We burst into applause at the awkward moment when Neville became the hot one. I personally felt like crying when Snape fell to his death in the boathouse by the hand of Voldemort. I very nearly choked up on seeing Fred’s prostrate body. All were like old friends—dead.

Now, about 8 months later, I am rereading the books—some for the 6^thsome for the 4^th time—and recalling everything I love about them. That moment when Ron and Harry became best friends on the train, the first quidditch match, the second quidditch match, and all of the other ones. Going to Nearly Headless Nick’s death day party, sneaking into Hogsmeade, Fred and George turning the Hallway into a swamp and flying out of Hogwarts on Broomsticks. Learning about Lily and Snape. Loving Snape, but knowing it couldn’t be. That moment when Kreacher becomes a friend. All are cherished memories for me, and so are many more.

I always have fancied that I would be sorted into Ravenclaw, however Pottermore has placed me in Slytherin five times. I don’t think I would have been good friends with our hero, though perhaps with Hermione. I wonder if the History of Magic is really as boring as they say it is, and I feel I would have been fascinated by transfiguration. I would have tried to become an animungus, and would have wanted to be best friends with Fred and George. I would go to all the quidditch games, and rooted Ravenclaw to victory, and then booed Slytherin to failure when they went against Gryffindor.

I never got a Hogwarts letter (except for the one that Tate and I wrote), and I never bought a wand. I wasn’t sorted by the Sorting Hat, and I didn’t serve detention with Filch. But I did grow up with Harry Potter, from when he entered Hogwarts, to when he saved it. With his story’s end, my childhood ended as well (Or so I like to say, I can’t guarantee this to be the case). He was one of my best friends. We shall continue to be good friends for the rest of my life. I will relish the day when I can do what my Dad did for me and my sisters, and read the, the adventures of this wonderful boy.

***This post was previously written for my tumblr sinceslicedbread17

Caving In

So for about a month now this idea of a blog has been floating around in my head. Because I am a somewhat crazy insomniac (well maybe not so much anymore) it’s what I think about when I can’t sleep at night. I have ideas for it on all the shelves in my brain, and a few written down/ typed up thoughts on a sticky note on my computer. So I think it is time to cave.

(Sometimes I think I'm funny)

I would probably have started this blog sooner except for a few pesky things like finals, and the like. Now I just have to come up with the perfect catchy title, coupled with the optimistic and extremely general catchphrase. Then to top off this have to be creative, not my best quality, and come up with a cutesy background, and all that stuff. Fortunately for me, I don’t do cute. Fortunately, I am not perfect. Fortunately this blog is going to not have any of those things. Instead I intend to let this blog reflect me: analytical, organized, snarky, and blunt, not cute and picture-perfect. So, I am Hannah Barton and this is Snarky yet Satisfying.

About Me

A few things before you continue reading this and before I continue writing it, that we should all know about me. I am…interesting? Odd? Messed-up?...Well whatever I am, you are sure to figure it out along with me as I write this. The basics though? I’m twenty right now, though that is liable to change. I am studying international relations with a psychology minor, due to my insanity, I am considering tacking on two more minors, we’ll see how things go. I am blunt, and under control. I like elephants, falcons, and cats. I also am a fan of the Oxford Comma, which always shows up where it shouldn’t in my Italian essays. I dream of travelling the world, reading all the books, and learning everything I can about everything I want to. I like the idea of people, but sometimes in practice they aren’t my favorite.  

How this is going to work?

Well, the big hope is that it actually will work… But hopefully, I will be posting something regularly. Now this isn’t going to be your typical blog that most girls do. It’s not a Mormon mommy blog, which would be difficult to do given babies are not in my near future, nor is it a lifestyle blog like all your friends are doing. This blog is determinedly the non-conformist blog. I intend to blog about things that I think about like who I am; why the world is a mess; how to clean up said mess; and how harry potter and Pride and prejudice greatly influence my life on a daily basis and why they should influence yours. So come along for the ride, it should be interesting if nothing else.