In this Issue:

Events:

• Young Dems – Drinks for a good cause
• Solidarity Sundays What’s Immigration Reform Look Like?
• Experienced Dems
• Black Caucus Book Club
• Women's Rights Workshop in Graz
• Annual General Meeting

Issues & Actions:

• DAA 2019 Survey
• Thanks to Tax Survey Participants
• Call for Nominations
• Elections Announcement

Reviews:

• Global Black Caucus
• SolSun

Events

Sunday, March 10 - International Women's Day (weekend) Women's Rights Workshop in Graz

Ladies and gentlemen alike, join us for an afternoon focused on women's rights - with information and action - in Graz. We'll be viewing a fascinating documentary on the Equal Rights Amendment in the U.S., discussing and writing postcards to legislators. On-site childcare is available by prior arrangement.

Check out the welcoming, bohemian Seddwell Center, a hidden jewel near Griesplatz. Our hosts are committed to helping women and our communities, and we’re looking forward to hearing from non-Americans working to advance the status of women!

Contact Caitlin to get involved!

When: Sunday, March 10, 2019 from 2:00-5:00 p.m.

Where: Seddwell Center, Dreihackengasse 32, 8020 Graz

Contact: Caitlin Ahern • database@democratsabroad.at

RSVP: On the event page or on Facebook

Experienced Democrats Meet-up

Monthly meeting of Experienced Democrats. Join us!

When: Tuesday, March 12 6:00 pm

Where: Café Museum, Operngasse 7, 1010 Vienna

Contact: John Cahill • jmcahill47@yahoo.com • 06766952766

RSVP: On the event page

Young Democrats - Drinks for a good cause

The Under 35s are gathering again, and this time it's for a good cause!
Young Democrats are getting together at VinziRast, a bar/restaurant running a charity organisation by the same name. So it is your chance to eat good food and drink and feel good about it - all profits go to the homeless!

There is plenty to talk about with the ongoings in our beloved home across the pond, political or nonpolitical, and we are happy to welcome some new faces!

Contact David for more information. We are hoping to see as many of you as possible. Spread the word and bring your friends!
In Love and Solidarity, Your Young Democrats

When: Monday, March 18,  7:30 pm

Where: VinziRast-Lokal "mittendrin", Währinger Str. 19

1090 Vienna

Contact: David Heckenberg • youngdems@democratsabroad.at • +43 664 378 2040

RSVP: On the event page

Global Black Caucus Book Club V

Another month, another transformative book! "Just Mercy: A story of justice and redemption" is a personal memoir of lawyer-turned-activist, Bryan Stevenson. Stevenson reflects upon his experiences and his clients, while offering a critique of the American criminal justice system. Some of the stories will inspire, while others will infuriate, but the book offers a poignant theme, quoted by Stevenson at his TedTalk: "We will ultimately not be judged by our technology, we won’t be judged by our design, we won’t be judged by our intellect and reason. Ultimately, you judge the character of a society...by how they treat the poor, the condemned, the incarcerated." Join us at Café Phil as we explore this beautifully written book! And make sure to bring a donation to Bryan Stevenson's organization, The Equal Justice Initiative (www.eji.org).

When: Friday, March 22, 7:00 pm

Where: Cafe Phil, Gumpendorferstraße 10-12, 1060 Vienna

Contact: Faith Herbold • f.hall-herbold@democratsabroad.at • 0660 2776485

RSVP: On the event page or on Facebook

2019 Annual General Meeting & Wine Tasting

Come for business –

Join fellow DA Austria members on Saturday, March 30 to recap 2018 and elect members to the 2019-2021 Executive Committee. We'll present brief reports on 2018, discuss plans for 2019 and 2020, conduct a vote on amendments to the DAA Bylaws, and hold elections.

We're happy to announce that DA International Chair and DNC Representative Julia Bryan

will be speaking to us about upcoming plans at the meeting!

Stay for a wine-tasting & dinner –

After the business part of the meeting, fellow DAA member Laurin Seymann will share with us a few wines from his family’s vineyard, Seymanns Weinhandwerkerei. Afterwards, we’ll be moving on to Le Burger for a no-host dinner.

We hope you’ll join us! All members of Democrats Abroad Austria are welcome. Any American over 18 (by the next federal election) and residing in Austria may also join the meeting.

Help us start the meeting on time –

We ask you to pre-register with your name, address, phone number and voting state so that your record stays current and to ensure that we have an accurate vote count. We encourage all members to pre-register, even if you're uncertain that you can make it, in order to minimize long waiting lines.

And if you’ll join us for dinner – 

We’ll make a group reservation for dinner after the meeting at 6:30 pm at Le Burger (Mariahilfer Str. 114, 1070 Vienna, upstairs with an elevator) – a five-minute walk from the meeting location. If you'd like to be included in the reservation, please RSVP by Saturday, March 23!!  

When: Saturday, March 30, 2019 from 3:00-6:00 p.m. (doors open at 2:30)

Where: SPÖ Neubau, Lindengasse 64, 1070 Vienna

RSVP and Pre-Register: Please fill out this form to pre-register for the meeting and RSVP for the wine-tasting and no-host dinner. Contact Caitlin Ahern database@democratsabroad.at with any questions.

You can find information about the agenda, information about the proposed amendments to the  Bylaws (including copies of the current and proposed Bylaws), and directions to the AGM here.

Solidarity Sundays 22:  What’s Immigration Reform Look Like?

How to make sense of the alphabet-soup that’s U.S. Immigration Policy today? — DACA. ICE. Wall. Chain Migration. Family Separation. Undocumented. Lawful. Caravan. Asylum. Every term is loaded.

Sunday, March 31st, Solidarity Sundays takes a deep dive into US immigration policy — what it looks like, possible remedies, which committees and politicians are working on it (or not). We’ll help you make sense of a multi-faceted issue that’s key to our core values as Americans. Join the discussion, and write an email to your Congressperson about what you want them to do (we’ll help you write it).

The 3 C’s — Coffee, Cookies, and Civics —

When: Sunday, March 31, 4-6 pm

Where: Amerlinghaus, Stiftgasse 8, 1070 Vienna

Contact: Tanya Lolonis • solidaritysundays@democratsabroad.at

RSVP: On the event page or on Facebook 

Issues & Actions:

DA Austria’s 2019 Survey

Are you satisfied with DAA? What do you think we should be doing? Please take a few minutes to help DA Austria’s Executive Committee better fulfill your wishes and expectations in the next two years. The questionnaire will take just about five minutes of your time and will be invaluable for us. Please fill it out here! Thank you for your participation!

– DAA Executive Committee

Democrats Abroad Taxation Task Force

Democrats Abroad has published its 2019 research on the tax filing and financial account reporting experience of Americans abroad.  Click here to download the report entitled "Tax Filing From Abroad: Research on Non-Resident Americans and U.S. Taxation."  At this link there is a short summary of the findings. Many, many thanks to the almost 10,000 people who answered the 2019 Tax Survey.

Meetings With Congress Next Week

Next week a delegation of Tax Task Force members and others will be on Capitol Hill to share the research and resume discussions with legislators about residency-based taxation. We are asking DA members to call or write to their elected representatives in support of our recommended reforms.

This is an up-to-date campaign guide (call scripts, language for letters/emails/postcards, links to find your Congresspeople). All outreach is good outreach - in fact, it is essential for pushing for reform. Thanks in advance for your help.

Our first meeting of the week is with the sponsor of the Tax Fairness for Americans Abroad Act, introduced on the last sitting day of the 115th Congress and proposing a switch from our current system of citizenship-based taxation to residency-based taxation. As you know from our report on the bill, it was not a perfect bill but it serves as a valuable marker that there is sponsorship in Congress for real expat tax reform - and of course it is a wonderful milestone for expat tax advocates who have been working so long and so hard pushing for change. We look forward to providing updates on the bill (the design elements need work for it to attract co-sponsors) and the plan by proponents to move it forward.  

Please send questions and comments to taxationtf@democratsabroad.org.

– DA Taxation Tax Force

 Democrats Abroad Austria’s 2019 Elections

Call for Nominations

The 2019-2021 Executive Committee will be elected at this year's Annual General Meeting on March 30, 2019. Here's what you need to know to run for a position.

– Kate McGrath (Chair), Renee McCormack and Antje Lewis, 2019 Nominations and Elections Committee (NEC)

At the Democrats Abroad Austria 2019 Annual General Meeting in Vienna on March 30th elections will be conducted to fill the following positions for two-year terms:

• Chair
• Vice-Chair
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Counsel
• DPCA Voting Representative (new)
• 2 to 6 Members-at-Large - In the past Member-at-Large responsibilities have included: Salzburg Coordinator, Database Manager, Media Contact, Social Media and Member Communication, Membership Engagement, Graz Coordinator

If you would like to run for any of these positions or you would like to nominate someone for office, please send your name or the nominee’s name and a short bio directly to the Nominations Election Committee (NEC) at  daa.elections@gmail.com.  

Each nomination must be seconded, also via email to the NEC.

Please note, nominations and seconds must be received by March 13.  

READ MORE

DA Austria’s 2019 Election and Voting Procedures

The 2019-2021 Executive Committee will be elected at this year's Annual General Meeting on March 30, 2019. Here's what you need to know to cast your ballot in the election.

– Kate McGrath (Chair), Renee McCormack and Antje Lewis, 2019 Nominations and Elections Committee (NEC)

Important Dates:

• February 28 Call for Nominations
• March 13 Nominations close
• March 17 Voting begins for those who would like to vote electronically
• March 29 Deadline for eligible voters to become DAA members
• Electronic voting ends
• March 30 Elections are held at the Annual General Meeting. All ballots, including electronic ballots, will be counted and results announced by NEC
  

Important Change:

This year DAA will accept electronic votes. All members will receive a ballot via mail on March 17. If you would like to vote electronically, please fill out your ballot and return it to daa.elections@gmail.com no later than 23:59 CET on March 29.  

In the past, nominations were accepted from the floor at the AGM.  Because we will accept electronic ballots this year we will not be accepting nominations from the floor.

Below are the Rules Governing the Election for 2019 as excerpted from the DAA Bylaws.

READ MORE

Reviews

Solidarity Sundays 21:  How Monopolies Hurt America‘s Economy

America has a monopoly problem. Since 2008, there have been more than $10 Trillion in merger — that’s a BFD. Consolidation lies at the root of many of our most pressing economic & political problems.

When a company buys smaller companies until no rivals are left, people’s welfare suffers. Farmers struggle against agricultural conglomerates. Corporate giants in coastal cities buy out middle America‘s banks and businesses. Wages fall because employers don‘t need to compete to attract and retain workers. Profits concentrate wealth in a few hands.

Tanya Lolonis led attendees through the story of how Democrats traditionally led the fight to protect citizens from corporate power and corruption. The Reagan administration relaxed regulation enforcement to „liberate“ consumers with lower prices.

Progressive antitrust enforcement is good politics for Democrats in 2020:  regulating Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Oil is a pro-business, pro-liberty message that plays in almost every section of every state. No need to re-invent ourselves:  anti-monopolism re-connects Democrats with our traditional belief that economic power is political power.

Global Black Caucus Black History Open Mic Night

Members and guests gathered together at Beaver Brewery for an evening of poetry, spoken word, music and comedy to celebrate Black History Month. First, the event opened with an introduction about the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) founded by Bryan Stevenson. The EJI not only fights to exonerate the falsely accused, but has also built and supports both the Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum: From Slavery to Mass Incarceration.

The event continued with a little comedy from Okello Dunkley and Regi Bärris. Jennifer Lusser shared her journey in finding her ancestor and challenged the rest of us, especially those who are descendants of African slaves, to find and name ours. Lisa Rosenblatt gave a beautiful presentation about swimming and how Jim Crow-era segregation and racism have limited African Americans from learning how to swim and competing in national and international swimming competitions. She also highlighted the current African American competitive swimmers and their accomplishments. Margaret Carter gave a presentation about the concept of “Time” and how it is experienced differently by different civilizations. She highlighted the many ancient accomplishments of Africans. Kriti Sharma recited excerpts from various works by James Baldwin, Audre Lorde and  Alexis Pauline Gumbs. Sherri Spelic read a thought-provoking excerpt from Tressie McMillan Cottom’s book: Thick and other Essays entitled “Obama was because Trump is.” Bruce and Renee Murray gave an acoustic guitar rendition of John Legend and Common’s song Glory and Bob Marley’s Redemption Song. Antje Lewis continued with a poem by Susan Griffin entitled: I’d like to think of Harriet Tubman. To close out the show and give a nod to Women’s History Month in March, host Faith Herbold read Ain’t I a woman? by Sojourner Truth. At the end of the night, 318 Euros ($362) were raised to support the ongoing efforts and projects supported by the EJI.

Many thanks to all of the presenters and all those who attended and gave generously!

If you would like to become a supporter of the EJI, please visit www.eji.org to learn more.

Links and other Information:

• Come see Okello Dunkley Live at Tunnel in Vienna. Check out his FB page
• Check out Regi Bärris at Vienna Chuckles Stand Up Comedy and on Facebook
• African American swimmers making history:
  • Simone Manuel
  • Lia Neal
  • Cullen Jones

In This Issue:

Events:

• Experienced Democrats Meet-Up
• Sol Sun #21: Monopoly – It's Not a Board Game
• Global Black Caucus Book Open Mic Night
• Women's Rights Workshop in Graz
• Annual General Meeting & Wine Tasting

Issues & Actions:

• Call for Nominations - 2019-2021 Executive Committee
• DA Austria’s 2019 Election and Voting Procedures
• ERA Notes
• Medicare for All
• Veteran's and Military Families Caucus
• DAA Volunteer Positions

Reviews:

• Women’s March Looks at the ERA
• Global Black Caucus Book Club IV Review
• Solidarity Sundays #20 Examined Gerrymandering

Events

Experienced Democrats

Join us for some food and conversation at our monthly meeting. All levels of experience are welcome!

Solidarity Sundays #21–

Tackles The Biggest Economic Problem You’re Hearing (Almost) Nothing About

Monopolies used to be a central concern of voters; now it’s called “antitrust” and is left to experts. What do monopolies do? Why are they bad? Do they affect you? Yes, if you travel by air, buy cat food, chat on social media, consume journalism, make health insurance co-payments, buy sunglasses, watch porn, or have an Amazon habit that your partner keeps on about. Is this unique to the U.S.? Pretty much. Join the Solidarity Sundays Monopoly Crash Courseand learn how the federal government went from protecting citizen welfare to consumer welfare, why this makes Americans miserable, and what remedies we have.

Black History Month Open Mic Night

The Global Black Caucus of Democrats Abroad Austria would like to invite you to come celebrate Black History Month by participating in our first Open Mic Night. Everyone is welcome to contribute their African or African American inspired acoustic performances, comedy, poetry, or spoken word. Interested performers can sign up in advance for a 5-10 minute slot by contacting Faith Herbold at f.hall-herbold@democratsabroad.ator come and sign up at the event. Make sure to bring a small donation to support the Equal Justice Initiative, an American non-profit organization committed to exonerating the falsely accused and reforming the criminal justice system.

Save the Date!

International Women's Day (weekend) Women's Rights Workshop in Graz

Ladies and gentlemen alike, save the date to join us for an afternoon focused on women's rights - with information and action - in Graz. We'll be viewing a fascinating documentary on the Equal Rights Amendment in the U.S., discussing and writing postcards to legislators.

Stay tuned for more details or contact Caitlinto get involved!

RSVP: Caitlin Ahern • database@democratsabroad.at

2019 Annual General Meeting & Wine Tasting

Come for business –

Join fellow DA Austria members on Saturday, March 30 to recap 2018 and elect members to the 2019-2021 Executive Committee.We'll present brief reports on 2018, discuss plans for 2019 and 2020, conduct a vote on amendments to the DAA Bylaws, and hold elections.

Stay for a wine-tasting –

After the business part of the meeting, fellow DAA member Nancy Lee Akinci Seymann will share with us a few wines from her family’s vineyard, Seymanns Weinhandwerkerei.Afterwards, we’ll be moving on to Le Burger for a no-host dinner.

We hope you’ll join us! Please RSVP for the meeting hereand for the dinner on the RSVP button below. All members of Democrats Abroad Austria are welcome. Any American over 18 (by the next federal election) and residing in Austria may also join the meeting.

Help us start the meeting on time –

Please contact Caitlin Ahern to pre-register for the meeting by email. 

Include your name, address, phone number and voting state in your email so that your record stays current and ensure that we have an accurate vote count. We encourage all members to pre-register, even if you're uncertain that you can make it, in order to minimize long waiting lines.

And if you’ll join us for dinner – 

We’ll make a group reservation for dinner after the meeting at 6:30pm at Le Burger (a five-minute walk from the meeting location). If you'd like to be included in the reservation, please RSVP on this site by Saturday, March 23!!  

You can find information about the agenda, information about the amended Bylaws (including copies of the current and amended Bylaws), and directions to the AGM here.

Issues & Actions:

Call for Nominations -

Democrats Abroad Austria Executive Committee Elections 2019

The 2019-2021 Executive Committee will be elected at this year's Annual General Meeting on March 30, 2019. Here's what you need to know to run for a position.

– Kate McGrath (Chair), Renee McCormack and Bill Holaday, 2019 Nominations and Elections Committee (NEC)

At the Democrats Abroad Austria 2019 Annual General Meeting in Vienna on March 30th elections will be conducted to fill the following positions for two-year terms:

• Chair
• Vice-Chair
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Counsel
• DPCA Voting Representative (new)
• up to 6 Members-at-Large - In the past Member-at-Large responsibilities have included: Salzburg Coordinator, Database Manager, Media Contact, Social Media and Member Communication, Membership Engagement, Graz Coordinator

If you would like to run for any of these positions or you would like to nominate someone for office, please send your name or the nominee’s name and a short bio directly to the Nominations Election Committee (NEC) at  daa.elections@gmail.com.  

Each nomination must be seconded, also via email to the NEC.

Please note, nominations and seconds must be received by March 13.  

READ MORE

DA Austria’s 2019 Election and Voting Procedures

The 2019-2021 Executive Committee will be elected at this year's Annual General Meeting on March 30, 2019. Here's what you need to know to cast your ballot in the election.

– Kate McGrath (Chair), Renee McCormack and Bill Holaday, 2019 Nominations and Elections Committee (NEC)

Important Dates:

February 28 Call for Nominations

March 13 Nominations close

March 17 Voting begins for those who would like to vote electronically

March 29 Deadline for eligible voters to become DAA members; Electronic voting ends

March 30 Elections are held at the Annual General Meeting  

All ballots, including electronic ballots, will be counted and results announced by NEC

Important Change:

This year DAA will accept electronic votes. All members will receive a ballot via mail on March 17. If you would like to vote electronically, please fill out your ballot and return it to daa.elections@gmail.comno later than 23:59 on March 29.  

In the past, nominations were accepted from the floor at the AGM.  Because we will accept electronic ballots this year we will not be accepting nominations from the floor.

Below are the Rules Governing the Election for 2019 as excerpted from the DAA Bylaws.

READ MORE

Understanding the Equal Rights Amendment

What is the ERA?

The ERA is a proposed constitutional amendment which would add the following constitutional guarantee: “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.”

The first proposal ever created that called for gender equality harks back to the 1920s. The above text is from the version created in 1972, which was approved by Congress.

– Compiled by: Alma Stankovic, J.D. January 1, 2019

READ MORE

Medicare for All

The Democratic Party endorses Universal Health Care.  Among those who have striven to achieve this goal are Senator Bernard Sanders and the 16 cosponsors of S.1804-Medicare for All Act of 2017, as well as former Representative John Conyers and the 124 cosponsors of H.R.676-Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act.  This past summer Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Keith Ellison, and Debbie Dingell also initiated the Medicare for All Congressional Caucus, which now boasts 70 members.  The Progressive Caucus of Democrats Abroad(ProDA), too, is supporting Medicare4Allwith a variety of initiativesto strengthen the mass mobilization for H.R.676 in February.

At the same time, other Democratic leaders favor more incremental steps, proposing expansions of the Affordable Care Act. As POLITICOreports: “That spectrum includes Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)'s bill allowing patients to buy into Medicare starting at age 55 and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Michael Bennet (D-Co.)'s plan to create a Medicare-style public option to compete with private insurers on up to bigger revamps, like Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)'s expansion of Medicare eligibility to nearly all Americans. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) would let everyone purchase Medicaid.”

The Discussion about how best to proceed certainly will continue in the coming months, especially in the context of selecting the next Democratic presidential candidate. We recommend following and participating in the discussion. Stay tuned!  

– Bruce Murray, DA Counsel and ProDA member

Veterans and Military Families Caucus

The VMF Caucus is up and running and we’re looking for members to join our Steering Committee. Contact usif you’re a veteran or a family member of a veteran and interested in joining us!

– VMF Caucus: Anna Marie, Michael L, Michael R, Donald, Eric, John, and Raymond

DAA Needs Your Help

There is a lot to do before 2020 and we need volunteers to help us gear up for the biggest Get Out the Vote effort ever. Regardless if you can spare a few hours a week or an hour a month, we have something you could help out on. Ready and willing? Contact Jennifer at chair@democratsabroad.atfor a full description of the positions.

Currently needed volunteer positions:

• Research Position  
  • track and notify when US politicians or notables are in Vienna (2hrs/month)
• Media Contact Coordinator (1hr/wk)
  • Should demonstrate verifiable experience and/or training in the fields of Media, Press and/or PR.

Reviews:

Women’s March Looks at the ERA

The Women's Wave workshop brought a wave of women and men to the Amerlinghaus on the afternoon of the global Women's March.

After a rousing and competitive trivia round, everyone settled in and watched the documentary film "Equal Means Equal," which detailed the history of women fighting for equal rights and protection under the law through the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Thirteen states have not ratified the ERA, which was introduced by Alice Paul in 1923.

READ MORE

Global Black Caucus Book Club IV Review

The members of the Global Black Caucus gathered at Café Phil for their monthly meet-up, this time with a smaller, more intimate group. The book How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective,edited by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, was a compilation of a series of interviews by the founding members of the Collective and contemporary black activists. There was something in this book for everyone - whether they were a newcomer to feminism or had been a part of the feminist movement for quite some time. Even within this small group, everyone had different views on feminism and the influence that the Combahee River Collective had on black, radical and mainstream feminist movements present today. One thing is certain: if we are going to move forward, we need everyone – in places of power and privilege, in the margins, and from all walks of life – at the table.

– Faith Hall Herbold, Member-at-Large

Solidarity Sundays #20 Examined Gerrymandering --

Plus Democrats’ Number One Priority This Congressional Session

Attendees took turns learning about civic issues to share with, and empower, fellow Americans. On January 27th, Solidarity Sundays member David Heckenberg took us through the history of congressional redistricting. We learned where it got the name “Gerrymandering”, and how phrases that sound like a rap song -- cracking, packing, andkidnapping-- are widespread tactics for stealing elections. He explained how the citizenship question for the 2020 census could impact redistricting, and which organizations are fighting the administration about its inclusion in the census.

Tanya Lolonis took us through House Resolution 1-- the 571-page Magnum Opus legislation introduced to begin the new Democratic Congress. Top priorities are introduced first -- hence its number, ”1” -- and the Resolution has three aims: ending the dominance of money in politics, putting teeth back into ethics laws, and making it easier to vote. Without GOP support in the Senate, it is unlikely to become law, but is important for two reasons: first, HR 1 broadcasts that the new majority will emphasize voting rights in this Congressional session. Second, it lays the foundation to restore the Voting Rights Act, the gutting of which by the Supreme Court in 2013 initiated our current era of voter suppression.