Hello all, my name is Ryan Loney and I'm giving you fair warning, I'm new to blogging. This blog will express both my admiration and distain for the federal government. That's the essence of my senior project. I will be exploring the relationship between a congressman and their constituents. My findings will come from my internship with Congressman Trent Franks over the course of three months. Pardon my manners, let me introduce myself first and foremost.

I'm a senior in high school at the moment and my only contact with the government has been my four tries at the DMV and the civics class I took as a freshman. The idea that a government can be ran by normal people seemed crazy. During that same year we had read Mythology by Edith Hamilton. This book presented the Greek folk lore. In contrast to the idea of American democracy, these societies were ran by holy deities and the divine. No mortal men were destined for leadership. The American Government turns normal people into gods. My congressman, for example, is seen by his constituents through the same medium the Athenians would have seen Hercules. The only difference is my congressman takes down snake headed monsters that aren't named medusa.

I chose to intern for Congressman Franks not just because he's the representative for my district or because his chief of staff's grandkids know me, he's a true conservative. I was born a member of the GOP so I've always looked up to Mr. Franks. The member sits at the forefront of the pro-life movement and has vowed to never raise taxes, only cut spending. Furthermore, he's the conservative I hope to be.

I will be working at the local office. This is not as flashy as the congressman's D.C. where they work on the legislation, my office focuses on connecting constituents with the federal government. This can be done in a variety of ways from voicing the opinions of the people to cutting through the red tape of the bureaucracies. After my internship is through, I will be able to see if congressmen are men of the people and see how the office helps the local community.