October 2022 Events
OCTOBER is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
President Biden Delivers Remarks on Cancer Moonshot to End Cancer
60th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis
October 1-8 Absentee Voting Week
October 2 End of Blue Star Welcome Week
October 3-7 National Voter Education Week
October 8 VMF Meeting 4:00pm EDT, Password dems WebEx Link
October 10 Columbus Day
October 13 U.S. Navy Birthday
October 21 National Pets for Veterans Day
October 26 Day of The Deployed
October 27 Navy Day
October 30 Ms. Veteran America Pageant —The Woman Beyond The Uniform
GLOBAL VMF CAUCUS MEETINGS
The VMF Caucus meets once a month.
All Democrats Abroad members are welcome!
WebEx link for October 8 at 4:00pm EDT, Password dems. WebEx
Check out veterans benefits and events in the October VMF Global Caucus Newsletter
Please join the VMF caucus to show your support for the U.S. military!
Will you join us for Veterans Day at the Luxembourg American Cemetery?
Are you interested in a PACT Act Info Session/Webinar?
Contact: [email protected]
November Elections
November 8: General Election in all states
If you have never voted while overseas before, it is not too late!
November 8: Special General Election-California U.S. Senate
November 8: Special General Election-Oklahoma U.S. Senate
Have you requested your absentee ballot at Vote From Abroad?
Register and request your ballot by your state’s deadline.
Check your State Voting Rules.
Voting problem or question? Contact: [email protected]
ABSENTEE BALLOTS have arrived! Fill yours out and send it right back!
Haven’t received your ballot?
Back Up Ballot:
BB-1. What is the Backup Ballot and how do I use it?
BB-2. I haven't received my blank ballot yet. Should I use a Backup Ballot (FWAB)?
Your Vote Counts
Many U.S. elections within the past ten years have been decided by a margin of victory of less than 0.1%. All states are required to count every absentee ballot as long as it is valid and reaches local election officials by the state’s absentee ballot receipt deadline.
September 2022 Events
September is
National Suicide Prevention Month
and National Service Dog Month
September 2 – V-J Day (Victory over Japan) commemorates the Allied victory over Japan in World War II. Sept. 2, 1945, the Japanese formally surrendered.
September 3 – 2022 National Book Festival Library of Congress livestream.
September 5–Labor Day Thank the labor unions, workers and labor leaders for ensuring a 40-hour workweek, sick leave, and vacation time.
September 10 – VMF meeting September 10, 2022, 07:00 EDTWebex Login
September 10 – World Suicide Prevention Day
September 11– Patriot Day—National Day of Service and Remembrance to honor those killed on September 11, 2001.
September 12– Online -11:15am to 11:45am EDT National Archives Museum
The Constitution and Our Community (Grades 3–5)
September 12–Online 2:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. EDT The Constitution Rules!(Grades K–2)
September 13–Online 1:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. EDT National Archives Museum
No Conscription Without Representation: Voting Rights and the Constitution(Grades 9–12)
September 16–Online 1:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. EDT National Archives Museum
Voting Rights, the Constitution & Representative Government (Grades 6–8)
September 16–National POW/MIA Recognition Day
September 17-23—Constitution Week
On September 17, 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the United States Constitution. This document that established our national government and fundamental laws, was intended to protect and guarantee certain basic rights to our citizens.
“I confess that there are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them. For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise.”
— Benjamin Franklin, 1787
September 17–Constitution Day/Citizenship Day
September 18–Air Force (USAF) birthday-The Air Force turns 75!
September 18–Air National Guard Birthday
September 20–National Voter Registration Day Register to vote today at VoteFromAbroad.
September 25–Gold Star Mother’s and Family Day is the last Sunday in September.
September 29– Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Day The VFW, founded in 1899, is an NPO whose mission is “To serve our veterans, the military and our communities.”
September 2022 Newsletter
Democrats Abroad Germany
Veterans and Military Families Caucus
Greetings! An incredible amount of work came to fruition in August through the perseverance of our Democratic Senators and Representatives. President Biden delivered on his promise to Veterans with the passage of the PACT Act. Other accomplishments include student loan forgiveness, a new executive order on abortion rights, gun safety, CHIPS and Science Act, topped off with the Inflation Reduction Act that was passed without a single Republican Senator's vote! We should all ask those Senators why they did not support these benefits for all citizens. Senators and Representatives are elected to represent the will of their constituents. It is time to hold them accountable! There is so much more to accomplish to keep our country on the right track and continue to deliver what our citizens need. Everyone's help to get out the vote is needed!
As Election Day approaches, there are still ways you can help! Please check with all your friends and colleagues to see if they have requested their absentee ballots and if they haven’t, help them do this. It is amazing how many DA members do not request absentee ballots. We need to increase our voter participation level. We cannot lose the House or the Senate.
“There’s no such thing as a vote that doesn’t matter. It all matters.” – Barack Obama
The ballots should arrive 45 days before the November 8th General Election, around the middle of September. Hopefully you requested your ballot be sent by email. When your ballot arrives, fill it out and return it immediately! If you do not receive it by mid September, then fill out a FWAB (Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot)! See FAQs from Vote From Abroad (below) for directions.
Phonebanking volunteers are urgently needed! You can do this from the comfort of your own home at the time you want! Live phonebanking trainings are scheduled at the following times:
If you can't make it to an online training, you can watch a recorded training.
GLOBAL VMF CAUCUS MEETING
Next VMF Caucus meeting: September 10, 2022, 07:00 EDT
- Webex Login
- Password: dems
- Meeting Number: 23171825082
General Election November 8, 2022
The Uniformed And Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act
In the 2020 election, it was estimated that 47% of active duty military and 8% of U.S. citizens abroad voted compared to 46% active duty military and 8% of U.S. citizens in 2016. Keeping control of the House of Representatives and getting a solid majority in the Senate are mandatory! We need 100% voter turnout! Request your absentee ballot today from VoteFromAbroad.org. Get certified for voter outreach! Take the FVAP online training.
There is still time to help Get Out The Vote! Let us know if you would like to help military and veterans request their absentee ballots: [email protected]
“The vote is precious. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democratic society, and we must use it.” – John Lewis
FAQs from Vote From Abroad:
BB-1. What is the Backup Ballot and how do I use it?
BB-2. I haven't received my blank ballot yet. Should I use a Backup Ballot (the FWAB)?
Do you need help with your absentee ballot or have a question? Contact [email protected].
"Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting." – Franklin D. Roosevelt
Make the right choice!
“In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate – look to his character . . . . When a citizen gives his suffrage to a man of known immorality he abuses his trust; he sacrifices not only his own interest, but that of his neighbor, he betrays the interest of his country.” – Noah Webster, 1823
September is National Suicide Prevention Month and National Service Dog Month
Labor Day September 5, 2022 -- Look for the Union Label!Thank the labor unions, workers and labor leaders for ensuring a 40-hour work week, sick leave, and vacation time. Read about the history of Labor Day.
Patriot Day National Day of Service and Remembrance to honor those killed on September 11, 2001.
September 17: Constitution Day, Register Together Day
September 20: National Voter Registration Day
Lots of valuable information on veterans benefits and events in the September VMF Global Caucus Newsletter including a reader survey that we hope you will submit.
- VA honors Women's Equality Day
- VA Disability Increase 2023
- COLA 2023 | Cost of Living Adjustment 2023
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs - GI Bill Message
- Are you interested in a PACT Act Info Session/Webinar? Let us know so we can schedule an event.
- The Veterans Day Commemoration at the Luxembourg American Cemetery will soon be here. Let us know if you will join our group this year.
Please contact: [email protected]
Encourage all our VMF members to submit their absentee ballots!
Have you requested your absentee ballot?
Stay healthy! Eat your crudités!
In Unity,
Robert Scott and Terese Sarno
DAG VMF Caucus LeadersDA Germany
http://www.democratsabroad.org/
PACT Act
President Biden Signs the PACT Act and Delivers on His Promise to America’s Veterans
PACT ACT MARKS MOST SIGNIFICANT EXPANSION OF VA HEALTH CARE IN 30 YEARS
The PACT Act
The PACT Act And Your VA Benefits
https://www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-va-benefits/
PACT Act: Passed on second Senate vote August 2, 86-11
August 2022 Calls to Action
Stewart, Dems call out GOP Senators over PACT Act. https://youtu.be/Q1UuVyO__hU
Call To Action!
What do we do? We contact our Governors to urge them to support high standards for our students at all levels. Only certified teachers should be entrusted with the education of our students. Stop the radical right from dismantling our public education system. Public tax money should be for public education, not charter schools or religious schools no matter what the Supreme Court has declared. Church and state should be separated. The far right does not seem to care about this part of the Constitution.
Email and Tweet Your Governor Now! Students need quality public schools and public schools need professionally trained teachers.
August 2022 Events
August is
National Antiterrorism Awareness
August 4 - Coast Guard-232nd Birthday
August 7 - National Purple Heart Day honors the men and women who have been wounded or killed in military service.
August 9 - Health Care for the Homeless Day
August 10 - U.S. Department of Defense Birthday
August 10 - Agent Orange Awareness Day
August 13 - VMF Caucus Meeting 7:00 am EDT, WebEx Login
August 14 - Navajo Code Talkers Day 80th Anniversary - 400 Navajo Code Talkers who served with the Marines in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945 developed a code using their native language that the Japanese never broke. There are four Navajo survivors: Thomas H. Begay, John Kinsel Jr., Samuel Sandoval, and Peter MacDonald Sr.
August 14 - V-J Day President Harry S. Truman announced on August 14, 1945, that Japan had surrendered
August 16 - National Airborne Day honors the Army parachute tradition.
August 19-28 Department of Defense Warrior Games
August 29 - Marine Corps Reserve Birthday
July Events
JULY is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
July is extra special for veterans because of National Hire A Veteran Day.
July 7 - Abortion Rights: Litigation, Legislation, and Liberation 7-8pm EDT Zoom ACLU
July 16 - VMF Meeting 16:00 EDT Webex Login Password: dems Meeting #:23151492714
July 17 - Anniversary of John Lewis’s passing “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." - John Lewis
July 21 - Anniversary of the Creation of Veterans Administration
July 25 - National Hire A Veteran Day
July 26 - National Disability Independence Day celebrates Americans with Disabilities Act.
July 27 - National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day
July 28 - Buffalo Soldiers Day celebrates the first Black American Army regiments.