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Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 07:00 PM Berlin Time · 23 rsvps
DA Germany Munich April Chapter Meeting
Democrats Abroad Germany, Munich Chapter is happy to welcome Chapter member Michael Gebler to speak with us at our April Chapter meeting. Michael is originally from the Boston, MA area, and has lived in Germany since 1964. He is the Kreisgeschäftsführer at Bavarian Red Cross Augsburg-Stadt, where he has worked for 16 years, and is currently in charge of 150 employees within that organization. Michael has a bachelor's degree in Social Work from Bamberg University, lives close to Augsburg, and is married with 2 sons.
Under the umbrella of our April topic “Public Health and the Pandemic,” Michael will provide us with a unique perspective of how the pandemic has influenced the Bavarian Red Cross’s work in and around Augsburg. They are responsible for, among other things, ambulance services, social services (kindergartens, senior services), and other volunteer work (water rescue, mountain rescue, disaster relief).
We will start the meeting with Chapter networking, breaking into small groups to have a chance to catch up with each other directly (as we might at an in-person meeting!). We will also reserve time at the end of the meeting for questions for the Chapter Board if you have them.
The agenda is as follows:
7:00pm-7:10pm Arrival and short welcome
7:10pm-7:25pm Chapter networking in breakout rooms
7:25pm-8:00pm Informal remarks by Michael Gebler, followed by Q&A
8:00pm-8:15pm Open Q&A to Chapter Leadership and meeting close
We look forward to seeing you virtually! Please RSVP to the event if you'd like to attend. Once we've received your RSVP, we will send you the login link.
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Göttingen-Hannover Spring Chapter Meeting
Come join us for the Göttingen-Hannover Spring Chapter Meeting on Sunday, April 18th at 3pm! This is a wonderful opportunity to recap all that we accomplished in 2020 and review the goals for our chapter for 2021. We also hope to hear from you so we can shape the chapter together and help to meet the interests and needs of all of our members. If you haven't already, please fill our Member Interest Survey HERE!
At our meeting we'll:
- Recap the AGM and the chapter activities in 2020
- Review the results of our Member Interest Survey
- Discuss Chapter and Precinct goals/events for the coming year
- Give an update on National and Global work to protect Voting Rights and States Outreach & let you know what action you can take
- Have time for open discussion
Please RSVP at the link below to receive the Zoom link for the meeting!
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Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 07:30 PM Berlin Time · 13 rsvps
ZOOM - RSVP for link in Wiesbaden, GermanyWiesbaden/Mainz April Meeting
Wiesbaden/Mainz Chapter Monthly Check-In April 21, 2021
Come join us online on Thursday, April 21, 2021, from 7:30 to 9:30 pm for our monthly meeting where we will discuss our chapter plans - both short- and long-term!
Meet the newly elected Chapter Chair and team who will be there for you in the coming two years and doing our part to help our country make great progress at the national, state, and local levels.
RSVP to receive the Zoom link.
Jesse Alama, Chair
DA Germany - Wiesbaden/Mainz
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Study Group Targeting Misinformation and Radicalization
We are piloting a group to review literature on misinformation and radicalization to help change the way we communicate in crucial swing districts. The project is designed for the mutual benefit of overseas and homeland voters.
For more information, please contact Jonathan Kooker [email protected]
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Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 07:00 PM Berlin Time · 4 rsvps
Zoom (RSVP for link) in Münster, GermanyEarth Day DIY Workshop
A year ago we decided to do our small part to save the planet on earth day by having members share their earth friendly Do-It-Yourself ideas. Last year we learned how to make earth friendly toilet bowl cleaner, deodorant and facial scrub. This year we will have a few new people presenting and perhaps a repeat performance (hope your face needs a good scrub!!). By RSVPing, you will get a list of ingredients well beforehand. Join us for this fun and earth friendly DIY session.
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Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 07:30 PM Berlin Time · 5 rsvps
Zoom - RSVP for Link in Berlin, GermanyApril Book Club - How Long ’til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin
Join us for the April gathering of the Democrats Abroad book club — virtual edition!
This time, we will discuss How Long ’til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin.With this book club we aim to provide a shared reading experience and relaxed discussion space for Democrats Abroad members. Just so you know, you don’t have to have finished the book entirely to attend. Each month we have attendees who only had time to make it partway through and we welcome them!
How Long ’til Black Future Month? by N.K. JemisinRSVP
Please RSVP in advance so we can send you the link to join the online video call (Zoom).
You can help out by sharing this event with your American friends and acquaintances in Berlin! As always, we welcome new faces, even if you've never attended a book club meeting or an event before.
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Interview with former Congressman Bart Stupak (MI-1)
North & Central Bavaria Chapter Chair Wayne Lempke will interview the former Democratic congressman from Michigan's 1st District, Bart Stupak. Stupak represented this vast rural district as a moderate Democrat from 1993-2011 and was instrumental in forging a compromise for passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), often referred to as Obamacare. Stupak is the author of For All Americans: The Dramatic Story Behind the Stupak Amendment and the Historic Passage of Obamacare.In addition to learning about Stupak's role in getting the ACA passed and other achievements of his 18 years in Congress, Lempke and Stupak will discuss the shift of this rural Michigan district, which Stupak once won by 40 points, to a district which Trump carried by 20 points. We hope to gain insight into what Democrats can do to win back these rural districts.This event is presented in cooperation with the Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut in Nürnberg and the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany.
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DA Germany April Online Meet and Greet
Join Kenton Barnes, DA Germany Chair, and Emily Lines, DA Germany Vice Chair, for an online "Meet and Greet" on Saturday, April 24th from 2:00pm to 3:30pm. We'll discuss our organization's structure and goals, introduce ourselves as the newly elected leaders of DA Germany, and ways you can get involved as a volunteer and with your local chapter.
Whether you're a long-time member or completely new to DA Germany, we warmly welcome all members to join us for this afternoon event. We hope to answer any questions you may have about DA Germany, as well as foster a lively, productive discussion with each other.
To actively participate in the event, you will need a computer with an internet connection as well as a working microphone.
Please RSVP to the event if you'd like to attend. Once we've received your RSVP, we will send you the login link. We hope many of you can join us!
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DAG States Outreach Teams
Are you interested in advocating for your home state or a state you want support? Do you want to help improve voting rights for citizens abroad and back home? Would you like to build strong connections to local organizers? Are you concerned about what's going on in state legislatures?
Then come out and meet our State Outreach Teams and see how you can get involved!
Several states already have teams forming - we will be introducing initiatives for voters abroad from Texas, Arizona, Georgia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and hope to find volunteers willing to start up groups for other states. We'll share strategies and information on how to help keep or turn these states blue and what you can do to from here in Germany.
Please RSVP for the Zoom link! We look forward to seeing you on Sunday, April 25th at 3pm!
If you have any questions or are interested in starting or contributing to a group from your voting state, get in touch with the DAG GOTV Coordinator, Teresa Ritterhoff at [email protected]
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Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 07:30 PM Berlin Time · 4 rsvps
Zoom (RSVP for link) in Münster, GermanyDA Münster/Osnabrück Book Club
For out next book club, we will be reading The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina--the Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist. Nick Johnson, a native Louisianan himself and a member of our chapter, will lead us in what promises to be an interesting discussion on what the author calls "stunning incompetence among the bureaucrats, the politicians, and the Army Corps of Engineers that culminated in the catastrophe that crippled, perhaps forever, a great American city." RSVP for the Zoom link. -
May Monthly Meeting & Spotlight Saxony w/ Lewis Erckenbrecht
Join us for our May Monthly Meeting, where we will cover important announcements and have a chance to chat among friends. We will also hear from our very own Lewis Erckenbrecht, who will be leading a discussion on the use and misuse of COVID-19 data and the challenges and opportunities of increasing quantification for political activism (see abstract below). All are welcome - even if you have never attended a meeting before! RSVP to receive the connection information.
The Nuclear Threat Initiative together with the Johns Hopkins University and Economist Intelligence Unit published the Global Health Security Index (GHSI) in October 2019. Releasing just two months before the first cases of Covid-19 became known in Wuhan, China, the index ranks 195 countries according to their capability of preventing and reacting to international public health threats and pandemics.
The GHSI received major international attention when former President Trump used the number 1 ranking of the United States at a press conference on February 26th, 2020, to justify his hesitant actions when the first cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the US.
However, the findings and the ranking of the index did not work as an indicator for the actual performance of countries in the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, statistical analysis shows that the GHSI worked opposite from the way it was intended. The higher a country ranks in the index, the worse it performed during the pandemic and vice versa. The talk will address the reasons behind this phenomenon.
The failure of the GHSI showcases the (over)reliance of policy making on statistical data and the problems that emerge from it. Defining social problems through numbers, indicators or an index and linking political action to numerical performance leads to a quantification of politics that leaves blank spots in our perception and changes the way a political debate is carried out. Whoever controls the numbers controls the politics. The talk will use the GHSI as an example to introduce the emerging debate among political scientists about this fundamental change.
Additionally, we will discuss the consequences of increasing quantification for political activism. Next to additional challenges, the prevalence of numerical data does also present new opportunities to better identify and solve social problems and provides new ways for activist groups to engage in the policymaking process.
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Texans Abroad Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with DA Mexico
For Cinco de Mayo, Texans Abroad will be turning our focus to the work of Democrats Abroad Mexico.
Please join us for our next online global event as we welcome guest speaker Edgar Lopez-Vallejo, Vice Chair of DA Mexico and member of the DA Hispanic Caucus Steering Committee. We will be discussing the promise and potential of Texas voters living in Mexico. There are over a million U.S. citizens living in Mexico, and fewer than 3% of eligible voters returned a ballot in 2016. We can help turn the tide in Texas by reaching these critical voters. Come and see how you can get involved!
We will also be discussing the 87th Session of the Texas Legislature and giving you information about key bills to support or oppose and how you can best do that. Our voices matter!
See you on May 5th at 7:30 CET/1:30 Eastern on Zoom. Be sure to RSVP so we can send you the link!
If you have any questions, please write to us at: [email protected]
You can also follow us on Twitter: @TXabroad
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May Book Club: Griftopia by Matt Taibbi
For May's book club meeting, we will be discussing Griftopia: A Story of Bankers, Politicians, and the Most Audacious Power Grab in American History by Matt Taibbi.
"The financial crisis that exploded in 2008 isn’t past but prologue. The grifter class—made up of the largest players in the financial industry and the politicians who do their bidding—has been growing in power, and the crisis was only one terrifying manifestation of how they’ve hijacked America’s political and economic life.
Matt Taibbi has combined deep sources, trailblazing reportage, and provocative analysis to create the most lucid, emotionally galvanizing account yet written of this ongoing American crisis. He offers fresh reporting on the backroom deals of the bailout; tells the story of Goldman Sachs, the “vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity”; and uncovers the hidden commodities bubble that transferred billions of dollars to Wall Street while creating food shortages around the world.
This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the labyrinthine inner workings of this country, and the profound consequences for us all." – description from Goodreads.comAll are welcome – even if you don't get a chance to read the book!
Please RSVP to receive the Zoom link.