I certainly don’t want to jinx the excitement of what’s going on, but in monitoring a simple graph of the American Dollar versus European currencies like the British Pound (L) and the Euro (€), the American Dollar is on the rise. Since January 2006 the dollar has been in a steady decline of value. There is a lot of speculation at what causes are behind this rapid fall in the Dollar’s value (mine being high American corporate taxes), but Economics is not always so black and white. To give an idea just how bad the Dollar’s value became, compare the Pound’s value to the Dollar over the last five years. About .63L was equal to each Dollar at the end of 2004. A roller coaster was experienced between January 2005 and January 2007 (the Dollar’s top value found around January 2006), but by December 2007 the Dollar had fallen to a staggering .49L.

By analyzing the Euro a similar trend ensued over a 5-year trend beginning in October 2004, when the Euro was at its high around .90€. The most dramatic value change in the Euro began in January 2005 where it began around .75€ and climbed to about .85€ by January 2006, then fell consistently until about six weeks ago where it bottomed out at about .63€.

But in the last six weeks something has happened to swing around the values. The Dollar is up to .55L and .68€. This is about a 12% increase against the Pound and an 8% increase against the Euro. So what happened? I imagine economists can guess, but my belief falls into the court of the cost of crude oil. Oil reached its highest cost ever in June 2008 and has steadily declined over the last eight weeks. I am one who believes in fact the U.S. economy has become tied to the cost of oil primarily due to our dependence on oil. As prices increase we have to spend significantly more to keep our economy running.

Therefore some may suggest the government needs to control the price of oil, but rather my opinion is that we either need to supply our own oil (therefore giving a huge fall to the global price) or come up with our own energy alternatives (solar, wind, tidal, natural gas, etc.). My opinion is of the fact that we need to do both. It is well beyond the time that we should be anxiously engaged in drilling and identifying newer, cheaper solutions to energy independence. But I believe drilling is only a short-term answer, whereas the long-term answer is eliminating oil from the equation altogether through the introduction of other natural energy sources.

What an unexpected, yet splendid surprise to learn McCain’s running mate will be Governor Sarah Palin, of Alaska! Palin is the first woman the GOP has nominated to the presidential office and the timing I say is better late than never. She has “real” leadership experience (Commander of Alaska’s prestigious National Guard), she is a constitutionalist (she outwardly praises the Constitution’s originality, and she brings a tremendous amount of energy to McCain’s campaign due to her youth and rapid rise to fame in a matter of hours, a simple “hockey mom in Alaska,” as she puts it. “I didn’t get into government to do the safe and easy things,” said Palin. C’mon America, come jump on the train!

According to KSL, Governor Jon Huntsman placed his endorsement of Congressional candidate, Jason Chaffetz. Hang on for a fun ride!

I was perusing You Tube and came across an interesting 10-minute documentary on global warming today. I find it interesting that so many people are caught up into believing the hype of global warming. How could someone like Al Gore lead so many people into a misguided representation of facts? Sorry Al, I know you’re a cousin (a very distant cousin), but your conclusions are simply twisted.

You Tube Video: Unstoppable Solar Cycles

The real problem with our environment is that our human-generated pollution from auto emissions, coal/oil burning, etc. are damaging to our breathable air and water supplies. Global warming isn’t the problem… pollution is where we should be focusing our attention. Let’s get it straight.

I came across a website today called “Real Democrats USA.” In particular there is an article entitled “Welcome” written by “Women for Fair Politics” ranting about the unfair treatment Senator Hillary Clinton received in her run for the Democratic nomination. This is a portion of that message:

“This website was founded in the desire to reveal the corruption, misconceptions and distortions of the liberal and biased media who have prohibited the free flow of ideas and truth…. It is only by banding together will we get the word out that the treatment of Senator Clinton by the media and the Democratic Party is completely unacceptable. Together we will find a remedy so that no one will have to face what Senator Clinton endured in the 2008 Democratic primary.”

First off, I find it absolutely hilarious that a Democrat would call the media “liberal and biased.” I could not agree more.

Second, I find it even more hilarious that the Democrats nominated the candidate who is less likely to win against Senator John McCain (based on the polling data of two months ago).

In fact, why is it that the Democrats nominated Barack Obama? That is an easy answer… they did it merely because Obama says he is in favor of “change.” Obama’s rant about “change” is nothing short of rhetoric. When his nomination platform stood almost entirely on his nationalized healthcare plan it is easy to understand that in order to have nationalized healthcare it equates into higher taxes and yet another ridiculous government program that will inevitably fail. And even with the evidence right before their eyes, some will still ask, how could socialism fail? Easy… just take a look at Social Security, Veterans Affairs, or even the Internal Revenue Service. Social Security is a complete joke — I will get about 5 cents back for every dollar I have put into it, that is if I get any of it at all. Veterans are not receiving the healthcare they deserve — just ask any veteran who has received medical care recently. And the I.R.S. is nothing short of the communist KGB back in the 80’s — just ask anyone who has had a tax audit. Hello America…. an idea like national healthcare is not change, but rather it is business as usual.

Real change would be eliminating the ridiculous high-tax culture and teaching our fellow citizens how to improve their own lives and the lives of those around them. Real government would be making its nation’s tax system simple, something worthy of national pride. Real government would be helping the individuals who are physically or mentally unable to help themselves. Real government is letting the people make their own decisions, not making it for them. Real government is listening to the people at the local level, not mandating a national agenda. Real government would be ensuring its citizens were hired for any job based on individual’s qualifications, not due to race, gender, or religion. Real government is letting local communities decide how best to educate its citizens, not mandate a national curriculum.

In short, my call to “Real Democrats USA” is this…. Let us teach Americans the importance of getting out of the business of government. Now if the Democratic Party stood for ideals like that, I would sign up.

I had the pleasure this Sunday evening of yet again visiting Valley Forge in southeast Pennsylvania. What an honor it is to stand in this spot of American history. I only had a few short minutes this trip (well, ok, a few minutes that resulted in an hour), yet I enjoyed snapping a few photos of wandering whitetail deer in the Park and this one of the statue of Major General Anthony Wayne. If you have not had a chance to visit this national treasure it is well worth it! See http://www.nps.gov/vafo/ for more information.

Due to an unprecedented grass roots effort in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, Chris Cannon has been ousted from the Republican ticket. Many thanks to all who supported Jason Chaffetz, particularly those of you who took those extra steps to get friends and family involved throughout the campaign. I am happy to be one who got involved early in the process. It was a delightful day to wake up in Utah!

[UPDATE 25 Jun 2008 18:47] I just noticed a blog running at TownHall.com. Very interesting comments regarding the results of this exciting race!

Three years ago I became increasingly disatisfied with the bureacracy within the FAA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The bureacracy had created a vacuum in which good-hearted, efficient, and positive people within a short time became non-authoritative, submissive, negative, “yes”-people. In a nutshell I created a five-page document outlining where I believed the FAA was failing in safety and efficiency. I polished the letter into an essay format and submitted it to four individuals:

1) Representative Chris Cannon, since I was a constituent in his district
2) Representative Jim Matheson, although I  was not a constituent in his district, he was a member of the Aviation Sub-Committee
3) Senators Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch, since they are my state Senators

From Bob Bennett I received a short note essentially saying “thanks for your opinion.” From Jim Matheson’s office I received several follow-up phone calls, suggesting I continue contact with my district’s Representative (Chris Cannon). From Senator Hatch I received a personalized letter indicating a letter had been dispatched to the FAA Administrator requesting an explanation. Later (about two months later) I received the official follow-up letter from the FAA in addition to yet another personalized letter from Senator Hatch regarding the situation. And so what did I receive from Cannon? Absolutely nothing. Not a phone call, not an email, and not even a form letter. And this is exactly what has been happening with him for 12 years.

If there are any of you out there who remain undecided for this Tuesday’s Primary (or are even still hard-lined in Cannon’s camp), please take my personal experience as a factual event that reflects the attitude of Chris Cannon, an attitude that will not change. Yes, there are literally thousands of experiences out there just like mine. In fact I have some co-workers who made a special trip to Congress to visit Chris Cannon’s office just last year. They actually saw Mr. Cannon sitting at his desk yet they were told he was not available since he was on the floor in a vote. Can you believe the gall of this man? Yes, this is another true story, not just hearsay. We need to move on to someone new who has the energy and is willing to listen to the people. It’s time for Jason Chaffetz!

All partisanship aside, what in the world is Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts doing by wasting tax-payer money introducing a bill to congratulate the Boston Celtics (co-sponsored by Senators Christopher Dodd, Judd Gregg, Edward Kennedy, Patrick Leahy, Joseph Lieberman, John Reed, John Sununu, and Sheldon Whitehouse)? Of course this type of behavior is not limited to the left, because I have seen similar practices on the right (not to mention two of the co-sponsors are Republicans). When we have such important issues to address like war, terrorism, taxation, and illegal immigration, why would Congress waste their efforts on this type of stupidity? No wonder the Congressional approval rate is in the low 20s.

Associated Press Writer, Michael J. Sniffen, reports the “IG criticizes FAA’s training of air traffic controllers.” To those of us who work in the ranks of the FAA this isn’t news, but rather a known dilemma. We’ve been trying to get our local Republican Congressmen (Rob Bishop and Chris Cannon) to understand and place pressure on the FAA Administration to fix the problem but they have routinely voted against any legislation that would point towards corrective measures. Wake up gentlemen. Perhaps they (either the Administration or Congress) will listen now that the Department of Transportation’s IG is clearly laying out the problem…. just maybe.