Week 4

Remember the old mystery gang? The all-star crew of super sleuths? Do Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, Fred or Scooby-Doo ring a bell? I'm sure they do and it may sound cliché but its their teamwork that solved what I thought to be unsolvable. Alone, these characters represent stereotypical teenagers. There's then jock, the pretty girl, the nerd, the stoner, and the little dog too. Much like these crime fighting good doers, I play my part in solving cases. These aren't the kind of cases you're probably thinking . We don't find bank robbers or missing people. The district office solves the mystery of the federal government.

In Mr. Franks office, each employee has a role in solving cases, just like the TV show. For example, the chief of staff is the Fred of the workplace. He's the man in charge and tells the gang how to "split up" just like in the show. He divides the employees up into different specialties like Social security, Veteran's affairs, or immigration. In contrast to popular belief, the congressman does not deal directly with the cases. For example, many call in asking the congressman to solve all their problems directly and some have refused to speak to anyone besides the congressman. What many don't understand is that the congressman is often in Washington writing and voting on legislation rather than making sure Jane Doe gets her 2014 Tax Return. In the midst of all this case work, I'm the Scooby-Doo of the office. My words on the phone aren't the most coherent and I don't have much expertise when it comes to casework but I sure love snacks. As an intern in high school, there's not a whole lot I can do to solve cases but like  Scooby-Doo I act as a cushion the office can lean on. As the first voice constituents hear when they call into the office, I'm the glimmer of light at the end of a dark hall, the shimmer of hope that insures them that their case can be solved. In other words, I'm just a pup surrounded by the experts. Ruh-Roh.

Week Three

To many, where our rights come from may seem like great mystery. If you were to ask Kanye West he'd probably claim that human rights stemmed from him. On the other hand, others may say that their rights come from their governors. In reality, rights aren't things that need to be earned; human rights come at birth. They are given to us by god. This was the belief of John Locke who's ideologies make up the foundation of the constitution. What many of the congressman's constituents believe is that their rights are granted to them by the government but it's really the other way around. I've learned that the U.S. government is founded on the basis of governed. In other words, the government is only able to rule because the people let it. The power really lies in the people.

The constituent's misconceptions became extremely evident this week after Congressman Franks announced his endorsement of both Rubio and Cruz. In the office, we received a lot of feedback almost instantaneously. The Trump supporters found this especially alarming. Some of the calls ranged from simply asking the congressman to "lay off" to a slandering assault of my employer. Many of the Trump supporters believe that the congressman has no power to tell the people how to vote because his endorsement does not always take into account the entire district. What many don't understand is that a men are voted into office to represent their constituents not always because he represents the constituents. Trent Franks, for example, was voted into office because he was seen as the person best fit to make decisions for the district. Trent Franks only has power because he has the consent of the governed, he's a man selected by the people. It's the people that run the government. The voting process puts people in office who are best fit to help the district. If they're not fit then the mistake is usually correct in the next election cycle. Trent Franks is not making voting decisions for the people he's making he's guiding the district as it chosen leader.