Kids Rock The Vote

Kids Rock The Vote at the White House Christmas Party

2009-12-08T18:53:00.007-07:00

In November 2009, we got an invitation to go to President and Mrs. Obama's first White House Christmas Party. We were really excited to meet the Obama's and see the White House decked out for Christmas. On the night of December 4th, we arrived at the White House and got in line to go through security with the other party guests. It didn't take very long to get through security and inside the East Wing of the White House.

When we got inside the White House, there were lights and decorations everywhere. We heard music playing and there were lots of people walking around looking at the decorations. We went upstairs and I asked a man on the security detail if he knew when the Obama's would be coming inside from the lighting of the White House Christmas tree on the White House lawn. He showed us where the Obama's would come in to greet their guests and told us where to stand in the middle of the room so that we would be at the front of the group of guests once everyone gathered to meet the President and First Lady.

Soon, guests began trickling into the room where we waited. After 20 minutes, the rest of the 200 or so guests came in and stood beside and behind us. A few minutes after that, the Obama's came down the staircase from their private residence and spoke to the group.

When they finished speaking at the podium, we all waited patiently to have an opportunity to talk to the Obama's. There wasn't an official photographer taking pictures, and the Obama's had decided that they wouldn't pose for pictures with the guests since it would have taken all night for them to pose with everyone. However, when President Obama came to meet us, he said to the crowd, "I know I said that we weren't going to pose for pictures. But I'm making an exception for these two boys-- and that's all."

The President posed with us while Mom took a photograph. He asked us how we were doing, if we were making good grades in school and told us to keep up the good work with our volunteer activities.

Then, Mrs. Obama posed for a picture, asked us if we were ready for Christmas and told us to be sure and help our mom out around the house. Then, she thanked us for coming to the party. We felt so incredibly special. Several of the adults told us that they were really jealous of the time the Obama's spent with us since most of them only had time to shake the President and First Lady's hands.

After we met the Obama's, we went into the East Room, a ballroom where the dinner was served. The food was AMAZING! There were several tables, some with different types of meat, some with fruits and vegetables and casseroles, some with desserts, and others that had lots of different drinks--almost anything you could think of that was delicious was on those tables. We met people from all over the United States. There were people who had supported the President when he was running for office, prominent political figures, war veterans, friends of the Obama's, and a few other community volunteers like us--all talking and eating together while we studied the architecture and art in the most famous house in the United States.

While we ate, we listened to a member of the President's Own Marine Corp Band play Christmas songs on the famous White House Gold Piano. Not only is it the most visually awesome piano I've ever seen, but it has an unusual tone, as well. The piano was the 100,000th Steinway and Sons instrument ever produced and was given to the White House in 1903. It has lots of patriotic symbolism in the decorations, but the most obvious are the Great Seals of the 13 original colonies that go all around the sides of the piano.

As the party began to wind down, we decided to go back downstairs and go through some of the rooms we missed on our way inside. We've been inside the White House several times before, but we were either on tours where cameras weren't allowed, or where the room wasn't included on the tour, or we were too young to remember being there. So it was great to be able to spend time inside rooms like The China Room (where all of the White House China that the presidents have used since President Washington is on display).

We also got to visit The President's Library, which isn't included on tours but holds some interesting books and artifacts including a famous lighthouse clock. It's also interesting that President John Adams (the second President of the US) used what is now the library as a broom closet and laundry room!

As we walked down the East Wing corridor to leave the White House, we got to see the Kennedy Garden lit up with Chrismas lights, and some favorite Obama Family photographs. The one of the President and First Lady watching a 3D movie with friends in the White House Movie Theater was our favorite.

It was an honor to be invited to the White House by President and Mrs. Obama and it was a night that we will never forget. Not only were the President and First Lady very nice, but they acted kind of like normal parents. That may be because they ARE parents? Anyway, the White House looks different decked out for the holidays than it does at other times of the year, and having a chance to use the etiquette lessons we learned in cotillion was pretty cool, too (even if cotillion wasn't our favorite part of elementary school). We felt very lucky to be able to have this once-in-a-lifetime experience and to be able to share it with our Kids Rock The Vote

readers.

Your Parent's Priorities Start with YOU

2009-02-22T12:37:00.008-07:00

The other day, a friend of ours told us that an old article that People Magazine did in 1995 about my dad taking me to work with him when I was little had popped up on a Google search. It's missing all of the 'interesting' pictures that appeared in the original article (like the one of my dad changing my diaper in his office. Yeah...).

(You can click here to read the article)

Reading this story reminded me of one of the most important things that kids can do to make a difference in our country--Make issues that are important to kids (YOU!) a priority with the adults around you.

The greatest thing that you can do for our country might be to simply remind your parents and other adults of what's most important for your future. Schools (so that you can get a good education no matter where you live), affordable healthcare (so that they can afford to take you to the doctor when you're sick), jobs (so that they can pay for your food, clothes, home and other things) and safety (so that we can all be safe and healthy wherever we are) should be some of the most important issues on adults' minds.

In the current economy, some of the most important necessities for kids might seem like luxuries. But when teachers, policemen, firemen and others lose their jobs, this really hurts kids.

TAKE ACTION: Talk to your parents this week about an issue that's important to you. Ask them for their opinions, then tell them what you think, too.
Topic ideas might include:
*What can you and your parents can do to improve your educational experience? Could your parent volunteer at your school? Could they devote 30 minutes each school night to help you with homework that you don't understand? Could you donate books that you don't read anymore to the school library or to disadvantaged children?
*What sorts of things can you and your family do to help ensure your safety at home, at school or in your community? Could you work with your parents to develop a safety plan to figure out what you would do to be safe if there was a fire in your house? Does your family have a "meeting place" where everyone knows to go in case there is an emergency and you either have to leave your house or you can't get to your house?
*What is an issue that is important to you that you would like to learn more about? (ask your parents to help you gather and understand the information on your chosen topic)

President Obama's Inauguration

2009-02-02T16:27:00.044-07:00

Day 7: January 20, 2009
INAUGURATION DAY!
Part Three: The MTV Youth Ball
The Washington Hilton

We were SO excited on Monday when we were given tickets to one of the two televised balls, the MTV Youth Ball. There were 10 official balls that President and Mrs. Obama attended. The two televised balls, The Neighborhood Ball (televised live on ABC) and The MTV Youth Ball (televised live on MTV) were evidently the smallest and least crowded balls.

We were amazed that the ballroom wasn't crowded at all. That meant that we had a close-up view of all of the evening's events and it was really easy to get around.

We got there at 9PM and the ball was just getting started. Our seats were right beside the MTV stage where MTV News Team member Sway was hosting the live broadcast of the ball. We had only been there a few minutes when Kid Rock (at left) took to the stage. His set was great and he sang "All Summer Long".

Next up was Kanye West. I didn't know his music so well, but everybody else seemed to. The crowd was totally pumped for his set. We saw Rosario Dawson, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, and other celebrities all having fun.

Usher was one of the 'reporters' for MTV's live broadcast of the ball. During one of his breaks, Usher invited us back into his "private getaway" to meet and talk to him and have our picture taken with him. We also thought that the lady with him was his handler (the person who makes sure he's not being mauled by fans and that he gets where he's supposed to be on time for the broadcast). But some friends from MTV later told us that she was his wife, Tameka. They were both so nice to us. Usher has some new fans in our family now.

While the Marine Band was setting up for the Obama's first dance, we were sitting beside the MTV stage talking to some of the staff. One of them said into their walkie-talkie "We have Tobey," and I realized that I was standing right beside Spiderman! Tobey McGuire talked to us for a second and was so nice when we asked if we could have our picture taken with him. It was so cool. I mean...SPIDEY! Fun.

Next, President and Mrs. Obama arrived. President Obama spoke about the important role America's youth played in the election and about how he hoped the youth would put their enthusiasm into service and building a better world for their futures. Then they danced while the Marine band played "At Last". The ballroom was lit up the entire time by all of the flashes going off. The Obama's were definitely the biggest stars of the night.

Finally, our friends from the convention, Fall Out
Boy, came out and rocked the house. They played some of their big hits, like 'Thanks for the Memories' and 'Dance, Dance'. Since they came right after the Obama's, everyone was really hyped and dancing. We read later that the guys from FOB were among the many celebrities who got to the swearing-in late (as in NOT an hour or two early...) and weren't allowed to go to their seats. They actually climbed trees on the Mall and watched the swearing-in from there. Fortunately, the got to meet the Obama's backstage at the ball.

Since I still had casts on both of my legs from my surgeries, I didn't try to walk into the crowd. But one of the ball staffers walked Wes and Mom right to the front of the stage. Wes said it was really fun.

At the end of their set, Pete Wentz threw his guitar pick to Wesley. But it bounced off of Mom and some guy picked it up off the ground before Wes could grab it. Wes was not pleased since he's a big fan of Pete's AND he plays the guitar. Still, he had a great time watching Pete, Patrick, Joe and Andy play from 10 feet away.

Before we left, Mom and I danced (as much as I could in casts!) up on the dais.

Overall, it was a great night. Washingtonian Magazine (which rated all of the balls) rated the Youth Ball 20/20--the best of the Inaugural balls. I totally agree.

TRIVIA: The first inaugural ball was held in honor of George Washington in May of 1789. But, it wasn't until the 1809 inauguration of President James Madison that the Inaugural Ball became a fixture on Washington DC's social calendar. In 1809, 400 ball tickets were sold for $4 each.

2009-02-02T07:15:00.014-07:00

Day 7: January 20, 2009
INAUGURATION DAY!

Part Two: The Inaugural Parade

The White House

Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC

The press and inauguration officials warned us

that we would not be able to attend both the swearing-in and the parade. We would have to choose, because of all of the security checkpoints and roadblocks set up to try to keep the President safe. But when Mom's friend "Jonathan the Magnificent" gave us six 'Golden Tickets' for us to sit in the reviewing stand next to President Obama's stand at the White House, my dad and our friend Pat Merkle would NOT be deterred.

We had to be in our seats thirty minutes before the parade started. This meant that, after the inauguration, we only had an hour to go from the Capitol to the White House (sixteen loooong blocks from the Capitol) and get through all of the security lines before we would be blocked from watching the parade. Dad and Pat came up with a strategy to drive from Pat's house by the capitol, all the way downtown (away from the parade), then cut back down as close as they could get to the White House and park at Pat's office downtown(hopefully).

IT WORKED! We made it! We got front row seats right on the street where President Obama walked.

Then we waited while the parade procession slowly made its way all the way from the Capitol to our seats at the White House. Finally, we saw all of the police lights and knew that we wouldn't have to wait much longer. First, Vice President Joe Biden and Mrs. Biden got out of their car and walked in front of us. Their family was walking with them, too. They looked really happy.

Next, we saw the new Presidential limosine coming toward us with police and Secret Service people everywhere around it. Just as the President's limo got close to the Presidential reviewing stand beside us, the limo stopped and the Obama's stepped out. They waved at everyone and started walking down the street.

First, they walked in front of their stand where their families and closest friends were waiting for them. Then, they walked in front of us. It was so cool! They waved right at us! Luckily, my dad took the picture to the left just as they were waving at us.

After the Obama's passed our stand, they got back in their limo and drove around the corner, past the OEOB (Old Executive Office Building, where the Vice President's office is located.) A few minutes later, we watched the Obama's come into their reviewing stand and greet their family and friends.

In this picture of Wes and me, you can see the Obama's right between us in their stand.

It was great seeing the President and First Lady up close, but we were FROZEN! So we left the parade and came back to the Merkle's so that we could get ready for the MTV Youth Ball!

TRIVIA: Martin Van Buren's 1837 Inaugural parade was the first to include floats.
TRIVIA: In 1881, President Garfield became the first President to review his Inaugural parade from a stand in front of the White House

President Obama's Inauguration: Day 7

2009-02-01T20:18:00.018-07:00

Day 7: January 20, 2009
INAUGURATION DAY!

Part One: The Swearing-In Ceremony

US Capitol Building, West Front

Today was really exciting. And it was COLD!!!. Fortunately we had enough hand and toe warmers for us, and some left over for the Coast Guard guys who worked as ushers for hours in the cold without coats. We wore six layers of clothes. We put hand warmers on our heads inside our hats. We still froze.

But if there is one thing I've learned, it's that if you want a decent seat for an inaugural event, you have to get there early. There are no reserved seats--for anyone--except the President, Vice President, and their families. For everyone else--even Members of Congress--there are reserved sections. There might be thousands of seats in your section. You're either in the front or the back, depending on how early you are willing to get there.

This is even true for big celebrities. I saw Dustin Hoffman in the section beside us over two hours early, claiming his seat just like us. Other celebrities were disappointed when they arrived later and didn't have a seat at all!

We were really lucky because our US Senator, Bob Bennett, was the head of the entire inauguration. He gave us an amazing section to sit in. We were sitting with all of the Tuskeegee Airmen (WAY cool!) They were really nice and so proud to be there to see President Obama sworn in.

There were more than a million people on the Mall (the long grassy area between the Capitol and the Washington Monument) to try to see the inauguration. Some people who had tickets to see the inauguration up close didn't get in because the security machines didn't work. It was sad that thousands of people came to DC from all over the country and didn't get in to the swearing in. But lots of people did. And it was a great show.

The Swearing-In ceremony started with a prayer and a couple of musical numbers by people like Aretha Franklin and YoYo Ma. Then the Vice President was sworn in.

The President is supposed to take the oath of office at exactly 12 Noon. This time, the oath was given a few minutes late. It was exciting when it finally happened, though.

Our seats were way up at the front on the capitol steps. But we could hear the people all the way down the mall by the Washington Monument cheering and shouting "O-ba-ma! O-ba-ma!" In the picture to the left, President Obama is standing with his family to take the oath of office.

In this picture, President Obama, his wife Michelle (in the yellow dress) and his daughters Sasha (in the orange dress) and Malia (in blue on the right--you can see her face over the rail) are waving to the crowd after he was sworn in as our 44th President. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, (who gave the oath to President Obama) is standing between Malia and Sasha.

Then the President gave his inaugural address. He talked about hope and courage. He told people all around the world that America wants to be their friend and that they should expect good leadership from their own governments. He also warned people who wanted to hurt us, like terrorists, that if they do something against us, we WILL fight back.

After President Obama's speech, there was a poem read and another prayer. When the inauguration ended, we hurried back to the Merkle's house so that we could get to the parade really fast so that we didn't get locked out.

TRIVIA: Until 1937, the Vice President took his oath of office in a "separate and distinct" ceremony from the Presidential Inauguration and was sworn in inside the Senate Chamber just prior to the President's more public Swearing In ceremony on the East Front of the Capitol (before 1981) or the West Front of the Capitol (since 1981).

TRIVIA: When the President's oath is running past 12 Noon (like it often does, and did this year) the clocks at the Capitol are stopped so that the requirement of a Noon oath can be "met".

President Obama's Inauguration: Day 6

2009-02-01T17:52:00.017-07:00

Day 6: January 19, 2009

Today was SO much fun! After lunch, we went to RFK Stadium to participate in the National Day of Service. The Obama's opened the event. Then everyone was off and running in a sort of conveyor belt to fill goodie bags for soldiers overseas. The picture on the left is of Wes and one of the PIC (Presidential Inaugural Committee) volunteers who was about his age and was helping hand out goodies for the bag.

There were lines where you could go through and fill bags full of shampoos, toothbrushes, gum, phone cards, and lots of other stuff. Since I was still in my

wheelchair after my surgery, my dad pushed me and I filled bags for both of us. We figured out how to carry four and five bags at a time. Our family filled over 150 bags in a little over half an hour.

While we were there (over half-way through the day), they reached the 60,000 bag mark. I bet they filled 80,000+.

Getting bags with things that they can't get overseas will probably make the soldiers pretty happy.

Then, we signed cards to the troops and told them how grateful we were for their sacrifices and service. As a family, we met our goal of writing 100 cards. Our time at the stadium was a lot more fun than Wes and I thought it would be and I'm glad we went.

Later, the Merkle's took us for a special treat--to dinner at a great restaurant on the water in Annapolis. The food was great and it was a fun time. On the way home, we stopped at a fishing store to buy hand and feet warmers. It is so cold here, I'm pretty sure those will come in handy.

TRIVIA: RFK Stadium (named for President John. F. Kennedy's brother, Robert) appears as a location in at least four video games: MLB 07: The Game; Major League Baseball 2K6; MLB 06: The Show; MVP Baseball 2005

President Obama's Inauguration: Day 5

2009-01-31T21:25:00.011-07:00

Day 5: January 18, 2009
Hi, this is Wes. Today, Mom and I went to the Opening Celebration for President Obama's Inauguration at the Lincoln Memorial while Dad and Will moved our stuff over to our friends, the Merkle's, house. The price for our hotel room went $500 higher today. YIKES! So our friends who live right on Capitol Hill, the Merkle's, are nice enough to host us for the rest of the time we're here.

So, anyway, mom and I walked to the Memorial and found our seats. The good news is that we had great seats because we got there early (most people had to stand up). The bad news is that we had to wait for more than two hours in the freezing cold for the show to start. I was so cold that I was begging Mom to leave when the show first started. But she put more handwarmers in my shoes and gloves, and we stayed. (Moral of this story: Be prepared.)

I'm glad we stayed because the show was totally amazing. We were pretty close to the front, so we could see everything. But we also had a jumbotron screen to the side of us so that we could see all of the bands and singers up close.

So, the show started with Bruce Springsteen. That was pretty cool. I've never seen him in person and he was great. Then the Obama's and Bidens were introduced (this picture to the left is of them together waving to the crowd from the stage before they went to their seats.

Then lots of other performers came on. And I mean LOTS! There were people like Tom Hanks, Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington who talked about past presidents, like Lincoln, Kennedy and Roosevelt and talked about things the Presidents had said and done to give people hope when things were bad.

There were so many bands and singers that I can't remember everyone. Some of them were Jon Bon Jovi, Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crowe, Beyonce, Usher, James Taylor, Mary J. Blige, and lots more.

However, I only got up out of my seat twice. First, Garth Brooks came on and sang "American Pie" with a big choir. That was awesome. I know every word of that song. But then, they started singing "Shout!" The entire place got up and put their fists in the air for Garth. It was AMAZING! In the picture above, you can see everyone with their fists and cameras in the air while Garth dances across the stage in front of the choir.

The second time I got up out of my seat was for U2. BONO! LIVE! One of the song's they sang was "In the Name of Love"--definitely one of their best songs. This picture of me with U2 in the background. Our seats were actually more over to the center, but mom didn't want to block other people while we took the picture. The next picture is of U2 from our seats. They were amazing.

Yeah, it was freezing cold, but I think it was worth it to get to see all of these great musicians and stars in one place. Also, it was really exciting to see the Obama's and Bidens. Everybody was so happy and excited about the inauguration. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Trivia: The statue of Abraham Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial shows one of President Lincoln's hands open and the other in a fist. Many people believe that the sculptor, Chester French, did this as a tribute to his deaf son and to memorialize Lincoln's signing of legislation that allowed the deaf university, Gallaudet, to grant college degrees. It is said that his hands are actually forming his initials, "A" and "L" in American Sign Language.

President Obama's Inauguration: Day 4

2009-01-31T19:40:00.019-07:00

Day 4: Saturday, January 17, 2009

Today started off with Wesley and me watching a bunch of our favorite shows on Discovery Channel and History Channel (yes, these are our favorite channels. Deal. haha) while our mom wheeled and dealed to get us event tickets (all we had as of this morning was Swearing-In tickets). Having pulled that off, thanks to her new best friend "Jonathan The Magnificent", we headed to the US Capitol.

Since my dad was a Congressman, we can go into the Capitol even when it's "closed". So tonight we took Maggie (the volunteer coordinator from the Obama for Utah campaign and friend from school) and her dad on a private tour of the capitol. It's good to go at night when it isn't packed with people so you can see everything. It was also fun showing Maggie places that aren't open to the public. The first place we took her was the floor of the US House of Representatives. This is where congressmen debate and vote on legislation.

In the first picture above, I am standing where President Obama will stand to give the State of the Union address and where lots of other presidents have stood, as well. If you look closely, you can see Wesley sitting in the Speaker of the House's chair, and Maggie standing beside him.

In the second picture to the left, Wesley is standing at the podium that is used for the State of the Union. This has been the House Chamber since 1857. Before that, the House of Representatives met in Statuary Hall (also called the Rotunda).

Next, we showed Maggie the Speaker's Lobby balcony. This area is not open to the public because it is sort of a "sanctuary" for members of congress. In the Speaker's Lobby, you can find newspapers from all over the world. Members can go there and read a paper between votes. In nice weather, they can go out on the Speaker's Balcony and relax on a lounge chair with a great view of the city. There are also a few work tables so that members of congress can meet with each other and still be close to the House floor for votes.

Then, we showed Maggie Statuary Hall (or Rotunda). This is one of the most amazing rooms in the capitol. It is where the capitol dome is. The Rotunda used to hold statues of two important citizens from each state. However, when it got too crowded, the Architect of the Capitol moved some of the statues to the Brumidi Hallways that go through the House and Senate sides of the Capitol. Now, some of the statues have even been moved to the new Visitor's Center. The picture to the right is Maggie with the statue of Brigham Young that is still in Statuary Hall.

Before 1857, Statuary Hall served as the House Chamber. John Quincy Adams is the only US President to serve in the US Congress after completing his Presidency.

In the next picture, Wesley, Maggie and I are testing out the crazy acoustics in Statuary Hall that once allowed John Quincy Adams to overhear his political foe's whispers from all the way across the room. The story goes that Pres. Adams (who served in the House for several decades after his presidency) would pretend to be sleeping at his desk. In fact, due to a quirk of architecture in the domed room, he was listening to every word that was whispered by his foes across the aisle. Today, there are plaques on the floor that show you where to stand to test out Adams' technique yourself. We toured the rest of the capitol, then went to our friends, the Merkle's, house for a nice fondue dinner. It was a really fun night.

TRIVIA: John Quincy Adams had a stroke while sitting at his desk in the House Chamber (now Statuary Hall) and died two days later in the Speaker's Office in the Capitol.

TRIVIA: There are actually eight different levels in the new US Capitol Visitor’s Center, but the public will probably only ever be allowed to see the top two.

President Obama's Inauguration: DAYS 1-3

2009-01-31T12:56:00.019-07:00

Day 1: Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
At the end of November, I had a surgery on my Achilles tendons and have been in casts on both legs for two months. So, today we left for DC to attend President Obama's Inauguration...and discovered how hard it is to travel with a wheelchair. We didn't rent a car for the trip, so we are taking the subway everywhere and walking (or riding in the wheelchair!) alot. It gives me a lot more appreciation for people who use wheelchairs all of the time. It would be very hard to get around town without help. I'm so glad I get my casts off when we get back home.

Today is also Wesley's birthday, so we went to Union Station for dinner. Our friends Pat and Richard Merkle, who live a block away from Union Station, met us there. It was fun seeing them since we're not in DC very often. Since I had several huge projects due before we left for DC, I was really tired. So we went back to our hotel, watched Discovery Channel for a while, then crashed. TRIVIA: Union Station (pictured left) is the site of President Obama's Eastern States Ball, as well as several other balls and dinners during inaugural week.

Day 2: Thursday, January 15, 2009
Today was a slow day. We didn't leave the hotel til 1:30 PM. Then we went to the Capitol to pick up our inauguration tickets and have a late lunch. We walked through the capitol and looked at the exhibit in th Senate corridor about past inaugurations. It was interesting to see what inaugurations used to look like. TRIVIA: All of the inaugurations at the US Capitol were held on the East Front of the Capitol (where the new Capitol Visitor's Center was just built--shown at the top of this entry) until President Ronald Reagan held his on the West Front (facing the Mall).

Day 3: Friday, January 16, 2009
Today we visited embassy row and Woodrow Wilson's retirement home (shown left). We walked up Massachusetts Avenue where there are lots of Embassy's from different countries around the world. Then we got to President Wilson's home. There we saw the interior of the home and a presidential china collection that was almost exactly like the one they have in the China Room at the White House. It was at President Wilson's house because his wife, Edith, actually started the China Room Collection at the White House.

Since I had casts on both legs, we got to ride in President Wilson's old Otis elevator (a picture of Wes and me in the elevator is on the left). It was awesome to think how many times he used that same elevator, too, since he had a stroke right before he left the White House and had a hard time taking the stairs. We spent several hours with the nice curator there, and my mom and I got some interesting ideas for the book we are writing together about DC.

After we left the Wilson home, we walked to Connecticut Avenue for dinner and passed more Embassies. It was fun to see all of the flags and to try to guess which countries flags they were before we got close enough to read the brass plaques on the door.

Along the way, we found this cute Panda painted with Chinese designs. Then we went to dinner and watched the unbelievable story of the plane that crashed into the Hudson River. That pilot was a hero, for sure. Today ends our laid back, "Enjoy DC" part of the trip. Tomorrow the real stuff starts.

TRIVIA: If you are on the property of a foreign embassy, you are theoretically on that country's soil. So, let's say, you are on the property of the British Embassy in DC, you are considered to be on "British Soil"--not American. And while you are on the grounds of the British Embassy, British law applies. So, theoretically, if you are walking along Embassy Row, you can go to dozens of countries within an hour's time--without a passport!

Election Day, Part Two: ELECTION NIGHT!!!

2008-11-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

So, this was what all of the work was all about: Electing a new President of the United States, US Congressmen and Senators, Governors and State Legislators, mayors and city councils. We went to a hotel downtown to watch the election returns come in. At 9PM (after all of the polls across the United States had closed), the newsmen on the big screens in the ball room told us that Barack Obama was predicted to have been elected the President of the United States.

I think the happiest person in the whole room was the blonde woman in the picture above. Her name is Suzanne Gelderman and she was the Utah State Director for the Obama for America campaign. The girl with the red hair is a friend of mine from school, Maggie Flanigan. She's only a ninth grader, but she was the volunteer coordinator for the Obama campaign for the entire state of Utah! She was pretty happy, too. And she proves that you really don't have to be old enough to vote to make a difference in an election.

Another very happy person in the room was our congressman, Representative Jim Matheson, who was elected to serve another term in the US House of Representatives in DC. Congressman Matheson's son Will is only a couple of years younger than me, so he and Wes and I hung out while his dad was being interviewed by the tv stations and our parents were talking.

There were so many parties on election night that we could have stayed out all night and still not made it to all of them. But we were really tired, so we decided to go home after we stopped by a couple of parties that were at the same hotel where we were. On our way out the door, we ran into the Salt Lake City Mayor, Ralph Becker. We talked to him for a minute, then called it a night. It was a fun and exhausting day.

Election Day, Part One: The Polls

2008-11-06T11:00:00.004-07:00

I am homeschooled every other day, so I was really lucky that Election Day fell on a homeschool day for me. That meant that I got to go to the polls twice: Once with my dad, and once with my mom and Wes.

First, I went with my dad. The ballot started with the President of the United States and went down from there to the local races. I pretty much knew who my dad wanted to vote for, but on a couple of the items, like judges and referendums, I had to ask him to point to the one he wanted.

On one race, my dad wasn't really excited about either candidate. So he told me that I could WRITE-IN a candidate! It was so cool. My dad told me that he didn't care who I wrote in, but that I had to take my vote seriously and write in someone who could actually serve in that role. In other words, I couldn't vote for Mickey Mouse or SpongeBob. I won't tell who I wrote in, but the person would have been a really good choice, in my opinion, even though they weren't officially running for office.

Then, Mom checked Wes out of school at lunch and I went to the polling place again with them. At the polling place (which for us is a funeral home!), we saw former Congresswoman Karen Shephard who served in Congress with our dad (the pic to the left is us with Rep. Shephard). Then it was time for Wesley to help mom vote.

In Utah, where I live, you get a thing that looks like a credit card that you stick in the machine so that the machine knows that you are a valid voter. Then you use a touch screen to vote for the person you think will do the best job in office. So Wesley voted for mom. It took about seven or eight minutes. Not long. Then we got something for Wes to eat and took him back to school.

Since it was only noon and I had already finished all of my school work, I went to the Obama for Utah office and made phone calls to remind people in some of the swing states (I called Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Arizona) to go to the polls and vote. The list in front of me on the desk is one of the three lists I called from on election day.

GO TO THE POLLS WITH YOUR PARENTS!

2008-11-04T10:37:00.002-07:00

I can not believe that it is FINALLY election day! I'm about to go to our polling place with my dad. My mom is going to check Wesley out of school to vote with her in an hour. Take your parents to the polls and vote for the candidates of your choice. This is the most important thing that kids can do to make a difference in our country--get the adults they know to the polls. So do it! Come on...only a few hours left to vote!

Peace,
Will

Get Out The Vote with our new PSA's Featuring The Cab

2008-10-28T21:19:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone, now it's YOUR turn to be a Kids Rock The Vote correspondent. Over the next week, send out our new Public Service Announcements (PSA's) featuring one of our favorite bands, The Cab, to your family and friends who are old enough to vote and help us ROCK THE VOTE!

If your local high school has a TV station and would like a higher resolution version of the PSA's to broadcast, let us know and we will get it out to them ASAP. Help us make sure that all of the registered voters remember to go to the polls on November 4th!

Kids Rock The Vote in Colorado

2008-10-20T12:29:00.000-06:00

Over our fall break from school, my friend Jonah and I went to the important swing state of Colorado to help sign up residents to register to vote by mail. The first night we met up with dozens of kids like us who were working to get people to register to vote.

The youngest worker we found was three. She was helping to get mailers ready to send to residents. There were more than a dozen kids who were ages 12 and under who were working on mailers, answering calls and dispensing the snacks to other volunteers. The kids who were over 12 were calling voters in Colorado and reminding them to register to vote. It was awesome to see so many kids involved in the political process.

The next day, Jonah and I got up early and went to a restaurant in Denver to meet other volunteers and get our lists of homes to visit. Then we went to different neighborhoods and registered people to vote by mail. I speak Mandarin, and Jonah speaks Spanish and French. Our foreign language skills came in handy when we spoke with several families who were voting citizens but spoke very little English. On Saturday, we got to have sushi for lunch (yum!). We walked neighborhoods for 8 hours on Saturday and two hours on Sunday. We visited almost 200 homes and registered dozens of new voters and voters who had moved to new precincts. We felt really good knowing that we had helped to get so many people registered to vote in an important swing state.

KIDS ROCK THE VOTE AT THE ROCK BAND LIVE TOUR CONCERT

2008-10-19T13:57:00.001-06:00

Hey! Wes here. I don't even know where to start except to say that the Rock Band Live Tour concert was AWESOME! The guys from The Cab, The Plain White T's, Dashboard Confessional and Panic at the Disco were so nice to us, not to mention that they put on an amazing show. It was so much fun. So here's what happened:

First, we met the guys from The Cab in their dressing room backstage at the E Center. Cash Colligan was really nice and offered to film a Rock The Vote public service announcement (or PSA) with us for high schools to upload and play on their school TV stations to remind first-time voters to go to the polls. Then, the other guys joined in and we ended up taping TWO PSA's, which was good because of what happened later with the Plain White T's. But, anyway, the guys from The Cab were awesomely cool and we had a great time hanging out with them.

Here's a picture of all of us in The Cab's dressing room before the show. Cash is the cool dude in the back flashing the peace sign. Alex Marshall is almost totally hidden by Jonah (wha?) and Alex Deleon and Alex Johnson are hanging on the right. Ian was very busy and important on the computer and somehow managed to escape the pic. And, yeah, three of the five guys in The Cab are named Alex. Hmmm...

So that was amazing, but then it got even better. We all got to go inside the E Center again for a special meet and greet with ALL of the bands. Yep, you heard me. ALL OF THE BANDS! It was so tight we couldn't even believe it. Only twenty-five people were invited to the meet and greet so we felt special. Here are some pics of the Kids Rock The Vote gang from the meet and greet:

The pic to the left is Hannah, Sarah Z, Jonah, Will and Me (behind Will) with the guys from Panic at the Disco.

Above right is Sarah K with all of the members of Dashboard Confessional.

To the left are Hannah and Sarah Z hanging out with the Plain White T's.

Below is Sarah Z with Chris Carabba, the lead singer for Dashboard Confessional.

To the left is Hannah with Chris Carrabba (he totally liked the girls more than us guys).

Below is Sean with our buds from The Cab.

During the meet and greet, we gave all of the guys Rock the Vote buttons and talked to them about Kids Rock The Vote. We were excited when several of the guys wore their Rock the Vote buttons on stage.

So after the meet and greet, I don't know what everybody else did but Sean and I played flip the penny for a long time while we waited for the doors to open for the concert.

Finally, they opened the door for the concert and we went to the Plain White T's merchandise table where we were planning to meet the PWT's again to film a Kids Rock The Vote PSA. One problem: They stopped my mom at the door and wouldn't let her take her video camera inside the center. Yeah. So, no Get Out The Vote PSA with the Plain White T's. That was a huge bummer.

But, anyway, the guys with the Plain White T's were really cool about the whole thing. They talked to us and let us take pics with them again.

So after we hung out with the PWT's, we went to go play ROCK BAND 2! Woot! It was so much fun. They had a competition where people could compete to play RB2 onstage during the concert, so we decided to do it. Jonah is awesome on the guitar, but he didn't want to miss the concert waiting in line to compete, so I stood in for him in the second practice round and it was so sweet! We scored 260,000 in the practice round and we were pretty sure that Will (who got 98% on vocals), Sean (88% on drums), Jonah (who didn't finish his practice round because the electricity went out) and Sarah (96% on HARD on bass) would get over 300,000 in the competition round and get up on stage.

But they finally got up to compete and THEN they told us that Sean was too young to play (you had to be 13). You'd think they'd tell you that BEFORE you miss 30 minutes of the concert. Anyway, yeah, so we didn't get to compete. But our practice round score even without Jonah was higher than all but one of the four groups who got to play onstage during the concert. Annoying....

The good news is that when we finally got in for the concert, it totally rocked! Our seats were right off the stage, beside where the bands walked up and down the steps to the stage.
So, in the pic above Shawn and I are rockin out to Dashboard Confessional. We were stoked when Brandon Urie from Panic at the Disco opened their set with a shout out to remind everyone in the audience (who's old enough, of course) to vote. So that was cool. In the pic below on the right, I'm lovin Panic At The Disco. In the pic on the left and lower right, Sarah, Hannah, Sarah, Will and Jonah are rockin and candling with the PWT's. The concert was AWESOME!

In this pic we're singing along with Dashboard Confessional.

Rockin' Weekend Ahead!

2008-10-15T10:53:00.002-06:00

The election is only three weeks away, and we are busier than ever working with kids and first-time voters to ROCK THE VOTE! Tomorrow, we will be heading over to the E Center for the ROCK BAND LIVE TOUR, starring Panic At The Disco, the Plain White T's, Dashboard Confessional and The Cab.

We will be getting together with the bands to film PSA's for high schools to download and remind first time voter students to go to the polls. That would be awesome enough. But wait...there's more!

Friday morning, my friend Jonah and I will be heading out to do Get Out The Vote work in Denver for the weekend. This is the most important election of my life (so far), and we are going to go door to door and encourage people to go out and vote in one of the most important swing states in the country.

Of course, we'll be shooting video from the road, and we'll be sure to post the best stuff here.

Until later, ROCK ON!

Rock The Vote Updates

2008-10-10T10:21:00.001-06:00

WOW! It's been busy. Voter registration in Utah ended on October 6th. We were excited to sign up new voters and re-register people who needed to update their registrations.

Our last voter registration drive was on Thursday, October 2nd at West High School. It was the last of four voter registration drives held at the school, so we didn't expect to find any people left to sign up. However, we registered a bunch of new voters and re-registered one person who had moved to a different address. It was awesome.

The top pic is of me with TJ Ellerbeck (who helped me with the registration drive) and a senior at my school who registered to vote in her first election. (I go to middle school at a high school--long story.) The second pic is of me with the Salt Lake County Clerk, Ms. Sherrie Swensen, when I went to the county offices to turn in the voter registrations I collected.

Now, we're really busy doing Get Out The Vote (GOTV) stuff. Next week, we'll have new GOTV videos featuring members of some of your favorite bands posted for high school TV stations to download and remind their school's first-time voters to go out to the polls and VOTE. Stay tuned...

The

Kids Rock The Vote Now Official Partners with Rock the Vote

2008-09-10T06:12:00.000-06:00

It's official! We just received confirmation from Rock The Vote that we are now official Rock The Vote partners. Woo Hoo! This means that we can use the Rock The Vote logos, promos, etc. to help us get more kids involved in the political process and register more young voters to go to the polls in November.

We will be hosting several voter registration and Get Out The Vote events here in our area, so check back in the next few days for details. If you'd like more information on how to host events and sign up new voters in your area, shoot us an email and we'll get back to you ASAP.

Let's work together to get as many voters to the polls as we can so that they can vote for people who will support issues that are important to US!

Interviews with Congressman Chet Edwards and LeeAnn Edwards

2008-09-03T18:04:00.005-06:00

Hey. Wes here. This interview with US Rep. Chet Edwards (Texas) was at the Pepsi Center in Denver during the DNC. We have known the Edward's all of our lives. They have two sons who are our ages. We hung out together all of the time until we moved away from DC. So we were pretty excited when we heard that Mr. Chet was on the short list to be Senator Obama's Vice President running mate. I was thinking it would be pretty cool to stay in the Vice President's mansion up on the hill at the Naval Observatory. But then, Sen. Obama chose someone else! Uh!
Anyway, here's our interview with Mr. Chet about what it was like to be SO CLOSE to being the Vice President of the United States.

Then, we talked to Miss Lee Ann about where their sons were and what they were up to.

Anne Hathaway Interview

2008-09-02T14:45:00.000-06:00

So, the good news is that the Anne Hathaway Interview is up now, and it's a REALLY good one. The bad news is that she was really fun during the introduction, but my mom's memory card ran out right after the intro so we had to start over. Hopefully, we'll get the intro joined to the interview soon so that you can see how great Anne's personality is.

Anne was really excited to talk about arts education and healthcare. But what I thought was the coolest part of the whole interview was at the very end when she talks about how easy it SHOULD be for people who are interested in different issues to come together, have some give and take, and everyone work toward a win-win for everybody. That's how it SHOULD be. But it's not. I think I'm going to send this interview to some of our Republican and Democratic friends in Congress and ask them why it CAN'T work this way. Listen to the interview, and you'll see what I mean.

I vote Anne Hathaway for US Congress. Do I hear a second?

Will's Interview with Hayden Panetierre

2008-09-01T07:58:00.004-06:00

It was really fun that my seats at Invesco field were right in front of Anne Hathaway, Susan Sarandon, Josh Lucas, Tim Daly and other celebrities I met in Denver. But I was so excited when I turned around and saw Hayden Panetierre sitting there, too! She is really pretty. But when I interviewed her, I found out that she is smart and very involved in political issues that are important to me, too.

First, she is involved with The Whaleman Foundation, a group that tries to save whales and dolphins from slaughter and loss of habitat. I want to be a marine biologist, so this issue is REALLY important to me.

Second, she's involved with a group called Declare Yourself that encourages people over the age of 18 to vote. Well, yeah, I'm sort of involved in THAT issue, too. So Hayden and I are soul mates, for sure. How about you?

Here's my interview with Hayden:

Interview with Zooey Deschanel

2008-08-31T21:20:00.014-06:00

Yes! My interview with Zooey Deschanel is here! I'm a big fan of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". I love the opening song "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish". So, anyway, when I saw Zooey Deschanel at the Denver Art Museum, I was SO going to interview her. She was really nice and had some good answers to my questions.

She talked about how important arts education is to school kids and how that issue is very important to her because she's an artist. She also had a great idea for a way that kids can get involved in the election. She said that you could do something like make jewelry and sell it (like her neice does) or have a bake sale or something, then donate the money to the campaign of someone who you think will support the issues that are important to you.

So, basically, she's nice, creative and talented. Oh, and she sings in a band, too. Anyway, here's my interview with her:

Thursday at the DNC, Part 1

2008-08-29T11:40:00.005-06:00

Hey,

It's Friday morning and we're packing to go back to SLC so we're going to do our big post when we get home. But yesterday was AMAZING! Not only was the convention really great, but we met and interviewed Hayden Panettiere from Heroes and Alan Cumming from Spy Kids. More when we get home!

KUER News Story about Kids Rock the Vote

2008-08-28T23:56:00.010-06:00

Hi. This is Wes. Yesterday, Elaine Clark from KUER put a story on the air and told all about our experiences of interviewing stars, congressmen and many other people. What I want to say is "Elaine Clark knows how to put a good story together"! I like it. She even took a part of our real interview with Congressman Barney Frank from our website.

Here is the link to our interview with her.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuer/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1351803

Wes

KUER Interview

2008-08-28T06:55:00.002-06:00

Hi! Will here. Since we had computer "issues", we're just now putting up some of our podcasts from earlier in the week. The day before we left, KUER interviewed us at the Obama Campaign Headquarters in SLC to find out what we were going to be doing in Denver. Here is the video from that interview:

WWE Smackdown Your Vote Interview

2008-08-28T06:51:00.007-06:00

At the MTV Rock The Vote Ballot Bash, WWE’s Smackdown the Vote asked if they could interview us about how we were trying to help kids get interested in the election and what kids can do to make a difference in politics. There were so many people recording the interview that Mom sort of got squeezed out. But here is what she got:

Then, when the WWE correspondent asked to re-do the ending of the segment, we taped a new ending to the interview and a public service announcement.

Wednesday at the DNC, Part 2

2008-08-28T00:40:00.001-06:00

Wednesday night, the convention was so much fun! It was so crowded that they stopped letting anyone but delegates into the convention hall. Since Wes, my mom and I weren't delegates, we walked around until our dad could find seats for us and ran into a few people, like Anne Hathaway again. Then, we made friends with a security person and she let us go backstage to watch the show. We couldn't believe it! It was cool.

We finally made it down to the convention floor just in time to watch Sen. Biden give his speech. Then, Sen. Obama surprised everyone and came onto the stage. It was so loud that we had to plug our ears. Everyone was really excited and we got some "party trash" (that's what my mom calls all of the campaign stuff) to take home.

A lot of the Hollywood celebrities and some famous politicians like Sen. George McGovern sat with the Utah delegation all week. After the convention ended, we met Josh Lucas who we have seen in "Sweet Home Alabama".

When I was little, news reporter Joe Johns did a story about me and my dad on The Today Show for Father's Day. Mr. Johns is with CNN now and we met him at the CNN Grill.

Wednesday at the DNC, Part 1

2008-08-27T23:58:00.001-06:00

Will here. Last night while our dad was at the convention, we went to the Media Pavillions. It was SO much fun! I don't think it was actually supposed to be fun, but it was. We met two boys whose mom works for Reuters, and they were the only two kids we had seen here for the convention. While they were at the convention, we interviewed a reporter from The Washington Times, visited some reporters from Roll Call newspaper (they used to put our pictures in Roll Call a lot when we lived in DC) and went from tent to tent to see what the reporters were up to. They were very busy, but all of them were nice to us.

Then, we met Jeff who works for HDNet and Dan Rather Reports. He was so great. He fixed our computer problem so that we could upload some of our videos and let us sit in his office to watch Hillary Clinton's speech. I found out that reporters work really long hours, which I had sort of already figured out doing this blog, and that they are very nice, smart, multitalented people.

After the convention was over, we went to Coors field for a big party sponsored by the Airline Pilots Association. The party was in a huge skybox area, so we ate and then went out into the box seats to take these pictures.

This morning, we had breakfast with the Utah people, then got dressed in nice clothes and went over to the Denver Museum where Mom thought we might find Anne Hathaway for an interview. First, we found Matthew Modine and Richard Schiff. They talked to us about education, global warming, arts education and more. We found out that Matthew Modine is from Utah! That's pretty cool.

Next we talked to Susan Sarandon, who has won an academy award. Then, I met Zooey Deschanel from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! That is one of my favorite movies. I was really glad that Zoey was so nice, it could have totally ruined the movie for me if she wasn't. She was sweet, though.
Just about the time we were going to give up on meeting Anne Hathaway, she walked out of the museum! Wes and I couldn't believe it! We liked her in her other movies, but we REALLY love the funniest movie this summer, Get Smart. She was in a big hurry but she took about five minutes answering our questions about arts education and healthcare. Then she posed for this picture. It is SO going to be hanging all over our house now.

I could have died when Anne was about to leave and Wesley handed her his business card and said, "Be sure to give us a call!" I was embarrassed, but everybody else thought it was funny. Whatever. Anyway, tonight at the convention, we ran into her again and she talked to us for a minute there, too.
Which brings me to the convention. I won't go into all of the convention stuff right now. I'll wait til we get to the pictures from the convention floor. But while we were walking to our seats, we ran into our friend Congressman John Lewis. Congressman Lewis was almost killed by mad racists in Alabama when he was walking with Martin Luther King. He's a real live hero. We have known him our entire lives and whenever we go back to DC, I love to just walk around in his office and look at all of his pictures and newspaper stories. It's like a really cool museum. He talked to us about what should excite kids about this election, which he said was the fact that there was so much history that will be made and we are old enough now to remember it and appreciate it.

As soon as we have time (it takes FOREVER to download all of the videos) we will post all of our interviews from the convention. Our interviews for today included:

Matthew Modine
Richard Schiff
Susan Sarandon
Congressman John Tanner--Tennessee
Congressman Patrick Kennedy--Rhode Island
Zoey Deschanel
Ashley Judd
Congressman John Lewis
Congressman Chet Edwards--Texas, who we have known forever and who was ALMOST VICE PRESIDENT (that would have been SO awesome!!!!!)

Will

Guess Who We Met?

2008-08-27T14:55:00.003-06:00

OMG! OMG! OMG! Guess who we met at the Creative Coalition luncheon today? We met Zooey Deschanel from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Anne Hathaway from Get Smart! It was really cool. We got to interview them each for several minutes and they were really nice. We also interviewed Susan Sarandon, Matthew Modine, Ashley Judd and Richard Schiff.

We're headed out to a Blue Dog Coalition reception right now (our dad was a founder of the Blue Dogs) and then we're going on the floor of the convention. WOOT! Back tonight...

Will and Wes

Interview with Congressman Barney Frank

2008-08-27T11:21:00.005-06:00

We interviewed Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the chairman of the US House Financial Services Committee, and asked him how kids can get involved in this year’s election. He said that there are a lot of ways kids can help a candidate, and they are usually happy to have the kids involved. However, he gave this advice: If you say you’re going to do it, DO IT!

See the complete interview below:

Part of the Fall Out Boy Interview

2008-08-27T07:08:00.005-06:00

This is part of the Fall Out Boy interview. Mom missed the last part because the memory card on her camera ran out and she had to switch to hard drive. It ends right as the band comes back to pose for another picture and Patrick Stump joins the interview. Sad... you've gotta "love" technology. But the wrap of the WHOLE interview is below.

Fall Out Boy, Part 2, Daughtry and More

2008-08-26T11:42:00.000-06:00

OK, Wes here. So, anyway, Pete and the guys hung out for a while. Patrick Stump was SO fun. He talked to me for a really long time until the staff member said that he had to go and get ready for his performance. In this picture, Patrick is thanking me for my business card. Patrick said that the political issue that was most important to him was foreign policy--like the war, our bad relationships with other countries and that sort of stuff. I also found out that his voice is a lot different when he talks than when he sings, he cares about his fans, he's a really nice guy and he pays attention to political issues.

Will asked Andy Hurley (below) what political issues were most important to him, and he said that global warming was most important--global warming and the environment.

After Fall Out Boy went backstage, Chris Daughtry and his band "Daughtry" came over to meet us. We don't have still photos of that because mom couldn't run the video camera and the still camera at the same time. Daughtry only stopped for a minute because the staff was trying to get them backstage, but Chris seemed like a nice guy.

Next came this guy. Someone told us that his name was "Pharrell". We didn't know who he was, but he seemed to think that everyone should. He just passed right by us. He acted sort of cocky. He did an interview with MTV, but that was it. He wouldn't meet with us even though several people tried to introduce us. We weren't sad or anything. But it was weird that the people that EVERYBODY knows (except my dad) who are super big stars were so nice. And this guy who we had never heard of wasn't so nice. We looked him up on the internet today and found out that he is with a band called N.E.R.D. Maybe one day when he gets to be a big star he'll be nicer.

So here is my crazy brother holding "The Carpet Fiber that Pete Wentz Walked On". Will is always finding things on the ground, usually money. This time it was something pretty random.

Rockin' with Fall Out Boy, Part 1

2008-08-26T02:31:00.003-06:00

Oh. My. Gosh. So, last night we had our Rock the Vote gig to go to and get some "gets" (which is evidently what everyone in the interviewing biz calls the big interviews. Well, first we ran into our friend Congressman Barney Frank, Chairman of the US House Financial Affairs Committee (sometimes called the banking committee) and we interviewed him. Then, we ran into Congressman Dale Kildee who is a subcommittee chairman for the US House Education Committee and interviewed him. Then, we ran into Congressman Charlie Rangel, chairman of the very powerful and important House Ways and Means Committee who is totally one of the big kahuna's on Capitol Hill (we see him on the political TV shows ALL the time). So, yeah, we thought we were doing pretty well getting our "gets".

But (sorry Mr. Chairmen) it got WAY better. So first, WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) interviewed us and asked us to film a short promotion thing for Smackdown the Vote. That was pretty sweet. But then, the Rock the Vote people came in. Seth from Rock the Vote brought the entire FALL OUT BOY band over to us! Yeah. I'm really not kidding! The first picture is Wes looking awestruck as Seth tells Pete to come say hello to us.
Wes asked Pete what political issues he cares about the most. Pete stood and told us that foreign policy was the most important issue to him. Then he asked us a couple of questions, even though we had to keep posing for pictures and stuff. He was totally cool. Oh, and he took our business cards and put them in his pocket. Maybe he'll be my new pen pal? Yeah. Not. But still cool.

This is Wes and me posing for the official Rock the Vote photographer with our new bud Pete. Since my mom was running the video camera, she handed her still camera to some random woman standing beside us. The random woman did a pretty decent job taking pics for us considering how everyone was all bunched around us, but I hope Seth gets us the official pics. That would be SO sweeeeet.

The last picture shows us looking dumbfounded that Pete is STILL hanging out with us and talking to us. It was pretty cool, but it wasn't over yet.

Interview with Congressman Charlie Rangel, Chairman of the US House Ways and Means Committee

2008-08-26T02:13:00.000-06:00

Congressman Charles Rangel from New York is the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. It's a very important committee because they decide how to pay for everything and how much everybody pays for taxes. I asked him what the most important issue that affects kids that Congress is working on. Listen to the video above to hear his answer.

Rockin' The Vote with Bob Springmeyer, Dem for Utah Governor

2008-08-25T16:25:00.003-06:00

This morning in Denver, we met Bob Springmeyer, the Democratic candidate for governor of Utah and a man with a million bow ties (or close to it). We asked Mr. Springmeyer how kids can get involved in the campaign.

WES: Mr. Springmeyer said that one way kids can get involved in political campaigns is to communicate with other kids, their families and their friends over the internet and tell them who they are supporting and why. We agree TOTALLY! Mr. Springmeyer has a Facebook page and he says that he finds a lot of volunteers through the internet.

WILL: I felt that one of the most important ideas Mr. Springmeyer talked about was that no matter who you are, you can always help out and volunteer for a candidate who you support. You can go to their campaign headquarters and volunteer to do things like put up lawn signs in your neighborhood, make campaign calls to talk to people about the candidate, and march in parades with the candidates. Actually, I've done parades with my dad before and they're pretty fun!

You can see our full interview with Mr. Springmeyer, candidate for governor of Utah, below.

Kids Rock with Rich Piatt of KSL-TV

2008-08-25T14:13:00.005-06:00

This morning we went to the Utah delegation breakfast where we ran into Richard Piatt from KSL-TV. We sat down with him to talk about the role of the press in the political process and how the press can affect kids.

WILL: Rich said that the press covers events like the DNC so that people who weren’t there would know what happened and could make their own decisions about which politicians would represent their views and opinions the best.

WES: I also thought Rich was right when he said that when you have a dollar and somebody rips it in half, that doesn’t feel very good. He’s right. And that’s what happens with taxes.

You can watch our full interview with Richard Piatt from KSL-TV below.

We Made It To Denver!

2008-08-24T23:45:00.003-06:00

We're here at the DNC! It's almost midnight and we have an early morning breakfast to go to. We'll be posting podcasts and blogs letting you know what's happening, who says what and who we see. Tonight, Anne Hathaway, Sheryl Crowe and lots of other famous people were here for a concert. There will be lots of celebrities here for the festivities. It should pretty much ROCK!

TTYL,
Will and Wes

Our Interview with Director of Obama Utah

2008-08-23T18:10:00.000-06:00

At the Obama Campaign headquarters we met Suzanne Gelderman, Utah State Director of Obama for America. She talked to us about her political experience, how she became involved with the Obama campaign, what kids can do to get involved in Election 2008 and why she’s excited about Senator Obama becoming president.

WES: I thought it was interesting when she said that Sen. Obama made her feel like it was okay to be a Democrat because of her faith instead of despite her faith. She said that she felt that way because Sen. Obama wants to help poor people and wants to make the world a better and safer place for kids.

WILL: I thought it was very interesting and new that Ms. Gelderman wanted our input on some of the questions that we asked of her. I was glad she was interested in getting our points of view and I hope that she will pass our opinions on to Senator Obama. It’s good to know that some of our leaders really do care about what’s important to kids.

You can watch our full interview with Utah State Director of Obama for America Suzanne Gelderman below:

Interview with KUER

2008-08-23T16:15:00.000-06:00

Today, we went to the opening of the Obama campaign headquarters in SLC. It was very exciting for me when Elaine Clark of KUER radio asked to interview us. You can click on the player below and listen to our interview with her.

Rock on \m/

Wes

Subscribe Free Add to my Page

Welcome to Kids Rock The Vote!

2008-08-23T13:23:00.002-06:00

Hi Everyone,

We are two brothers who are total opposites of each other. But we both agree that kids can make a difference and this year's election gives us a chance to help change our country and our futures.
Before we start talking about the campaign, we want to introduce ourselves...

I'm Will. I'm 13 years old and will start 8th grade as soon as I get back from the Democratic National Convention in Denver. I'm looking forward to going to the DNC so we can see some of our friends from Washington DC (I was born there and lived there until I was five.)

WILL'S FAVES:
Favorite Food: Veggie Suicide (a mix of lots of green, white and yellow veggies)
Favorite School Subject: Any science class
Favorite Hobbies: Building cool stuff with Lego's and junk I find, singing, playing MySims on the Wii, hanging out with my friends
Favorite Band(s): Five for Fighting, The Beatles, Billy Joel (soft, meaningful stuff)
Favorite Brands: Abercrombie, Ralph Lauren and Sperry (Topsiders are awesome!)
Career Goals: Marine Biologist living on Antarctica and trying to save the penguins
College Choice(s): Harvard, MIT, Duke or Johns Hopkins
Political Views: Liberal (I want more money spent on public schools; I want more action on environmental issues; I want the war in Iraq to end by, like, five years ago; and if we need to raise taxes to fix our country, then we should raise the taxes of everyone except for the poor. And if you're making $5 million per year, you're not poor)

Hi! I'm Wesley. I'm 11 and a half years old and I'm going into the sixth grade. I'm stoked about going to all of the parties and talking to people at the DNC. If my parents let me go to the MTV party for a little while to do interviews that would be SWEEEET!

WESLEY'S FAVES:
Favorite Food: Steak and Salmon (with no bones)
Favorite School Subjects: Art and Recess (I know it's not a subject)
Favorite Hobbies: Riding bikes and hanging out with my friends, riding my 4-wheeler, playing my guitar
Favorite Bands: REM, Bowling for Soup. I like good lyrics and a strong beat
Favorite Brands: QuikSilver, Hurley, O'Neill, Billabong
Future Career: Race car driver or car designer
College Choice: Not sure, but maybe University of Utah
Political Views: Conservative (I think that everyone should pay somewhere close to the same percentages of taxes; I would rather cut out money that we spend than tax everybody more; I think it's time to end the war in Iraq, but I don't think that we can just pull everybody out right away; I think that people who make $300,000 a year are middle income)

Thanks for coming to visit us! We hope you'll check out our blog and tell your friends about us.

Will and Wes