EARTH DAY was Friday, 22 APRIL Across the planet people are joining communities, contacting officials, signing petitions, planting trees, picking up plastic and more. Earth Hour invites us all to join together, all over the world to take action!    What did you do?

WE HAVE A NEW JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT!

The Democrats you helped elect in 2020 are making many “firsts” in history to the benefit of Americans both at home and abroad. On Thursday, 7 April, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed as the first Black woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court! We’re celebrating this moment and excited by the lived experiences Justice Jackson will bring to the Court. She is a brilliant legal mind who will undoubtedly shape our nation’s future for the better for generations to come. Read DA’s full statement here.

VOTING NEWS

Upcoming Democratic Primary Elections

Democratic primary elections are quickly approaching in many states. This is your chance to decide which Democrat will go up against the Republican in the November general election.

May 3:    Indiana, Ohio

May 10: Nebraska, West Virginia

May 17: Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania

May 19: Idaho

May 24: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Texas (runoff)

Request your ballot early AND return it early!

• State not listed? Find your deadlines here: www.votefromabroad.org/states/
• Need a ballot? Get it here: www.votefromabroad.org
• Need help voting? Respond to this email or write to [email protected]

VOTING ALERT!

Here is what happened in Texas in January, and it could happen in other states too. 

Voting by Mail in Texas - by Alice Embree Jan. 13, 2022

“Texas Alliance for Retired Americans (TARA) has challenged the legality of new Texas voter suppression laws. We also discuss the issue of nonpartisan redistricting. Listen to this blog by a longtime Austin writer and activist, Alice Embree, guests Jan Lance, retired Austin ISD teacher and president of the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans (TARA), and Julie Fleming, a TARA activist.  TARA “seeks to enroll, educate and mobilize retired union, senior and community activists into a statewide grassroots movement advocating on behalf of Texas retirees and seniors.” Read more…

Even Willie Nelson and wife Annie D’Angela-Nelson had trouble voting in the Texas primary - Friday, March 25, 2022 by April Slese

“It seems that no Texan is immune from the difficulties of trying to cast a ballot and adhere to the state’s stringent new voting laws. According to the Austin American-Statesman, it took Willie Nelson and his wife, Annie D’Angelo-Nelson, two attempts before they were able to vote absentee in the recent primary. D’Angelo-Nelson told the newspaper that it was ‘ridiculously difficult’ to try and cast a ballot. The two had trouble with SB 1’s identification requirement that states a voter must use the same ID to cast a ballot as the one they used when they first registered to vote.” Read more…

STATE TEAM NEWS

State Teams were launched in September 2021. This initiative is designed to enhance DA’s voter assistance, voter mobilization and advocacy by 

➔ Building partnerships with State and County Democratic Parties as well as grassroots advocacy groups

➔ Providing connection and a sense of purpose in staying engaged with domestic politics (“skin in the game”)

➔ Engaging and educating new members

➔ Enhancing internal communication with newsletters and voter/election alerts

➔ Join the State Team Slack to get the meeting links or email us

➔ Join your Voting State group on Facebook

HEALTH & MEDICARE

With the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act last month, President Biden also authorized the very first Medicare Portability pilot program so that Americans like you and I may one day soon be able to draw our hard-earned benefits from abroad.
Our voices from abroad matter, and they are being heard by this administration!

Medicare must negotiate drug prices to stop more massive premium increases

Alex Lawson, 10 January 2022

(Washington, DC) — The following is a statement from Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works, on the announcement that Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra will order Medicare to reconsider plans to increase premiums:

“Today’s announcement from Secretary Becerra is good news for seniors. Older Americans should not have to pay $22 more for Medicare every month to cover the outrageous prices of prescription drugs. 

Medicare will likely avoid such a large increase for one reason: Public pressure recently forced the pharmaceutical company Biogen to cut the price of Aduhelm, a controversial new Alzheimer’s drug, in half. But we can never rely on pharmaceutical corporations to do the right thing….” Read more…

Tell Congress to Require Medicare to Negotiate Drug Prices

Americans already pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs and pharmaceutical corporations continue to raise prices. Meanwhile, retirees and their families can’t afford the medicines their doctors prescribe.

The Alliance for Retired Americans has posted this petition to tell Congress to take action on this vital issue. Take action — Sign today!

The Political Folly of Siding with Pharma

With the narrowest of majorities, a complex set of policy issues, and huge differences between moderates and progressives, the path to the biggest, boldest piece of progressive legislation in recent memory was always going to be bumpy. Disagreements and disappointment were inevitable. But I have rarely seen a more selfish and self-defeating act than what three House Democrats did yesterday. As the Wall Street Journal reported:

“Democratic Reps. Scott Peters of California, Kurt Schrader of Oregon, and Kathleen Rice of New York voted against a measure enabling Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug costs in a House Energy and Commerce Committee vote Wednesday, preventing it from advancing when the panel deadlocked in a 29-29 tie.” Read more…

12 Mindless Habits that are Exhausting You

Feeling tired no matter how much rest you get? These behaviors you probably do every day could be to blame.

#1 Watching emotionally charged television shows!

One of the ways binge-watching emotionally charged TV shows can lead to mental exhaustion is through trait identification, which refers to the process of temporarily imagining yourself experiencing the same feelings and events of a specific character. Read more…

Correction to March Newsletter by Toni Kamins, Co-Chair, Medicare Part B committee, Medicare Portability committee

Ms. Foss is right when she says that Medicare is unclear and difficult to navigate. As such, it’s understandable that we all have difficulty assessing our benefits, understanding our rights, and understanding Medicare.

To clear up a few things, Medicare Part B is part of the federal-government-run health-insurance program for those over 65, and it's not-for-profit. Medicare Advantage, which is offered as a comprehensive substitute for Medicare Parts A, B, D, and Medigap, is private, for-profit insurance. And yes, she is correct, that their agenda is about profits. Big profits. 

The insurance offered under the ACA (Obama care) is also private insurance provided by for-profit insurance companies that agreed to deliver specific sets of benefits via the federal and state ACA web portals. The doctors in those insurance-company networks are private clinicians and not employees of the federal government, unlike the US Public Health Service.

Finally, Physicians for Single Payer Healthcare is a national organization, and not limited to Kentucky.

TAX NEWS

 If you owe tax to the IRS, it must be paid by 15 April. However, as Americans abroad we do not have to file our tax returns until 15 June, and if you file a tax extension (use form 4868), that date moves to 15 October – a full 6 month extension. 

The Democrats Abroad 2022 tax survey of Americans abroad ends today! 
Click here to take the survey. (Thank you for participating!)

NEWS AND STORIES FROM HOME AND ABROAD

The Loneliness, Loss and Regret: what getting old really feels like – new study (UK, September 2021)

Paula, 72, told me how four years ago she’d lost her husband. She had been his carer for over ten years, as he slowly declined from a degenerative condition. Read more…

This health care practice robs many seniors of vitality and life in their twilight years

A year ago, a prolonged surgery and trips back to theatre to battle the complications affected his memory …  Read more… 

Why so many elderly in China are unvaccinated

For weeks the authorities in Shanghai tried to stem an outbreak of covid-19 with a whack-a-mole approach. Individual buildings were locked down...Read more… 

THIS MONTH IN U.S. HISTORY

April 4, 1949 - Twelve nations signed the treaty creating NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The nations united for common military defense against the threat of expansion by Soviet Russia into Western Europe.

April 8, 1913 - The 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified requiring direct popular election of U.S. senators. Previously, they had been chosen by state legislatures.

Many more historical events are listed here. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

April showers bring May flowers, and our Events are blooming too! 

Sunday, 10 April: The Seniors Caucus had its 2^nd WEP meeting. We will update you in our next newsletter, so stay tuned for that.

Tuesday, 3 May: The DA Taxation Task Force is holding a session to recruit volunteers. 

Wednesday, 4 May the Women’s Caucus is launching a project to promote voter registration under the theme Reproductive Rights for ALL.

17 May: World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 

The ITU has chosen this year’s theme as: “Digital technologies for older person and healthy aging” to raise awareness about the important role of telecommunications/ICTs in supporting people to stay healthy, connected and independent, physically, emotionally and financially – to a life of healthy ageing - and as critical for the sustainability of economic and health systems.

From book clubs and cocktail hour trivia nights to heavyweight speakers answering our questions about Washington DC, Demystifying the DNC, and what’s coming up in the primaries in 2022, there is something for everyone at Democrats Abroad.

CHAIR’S CORNER

In April, we saw the escalation of the war in Ukraine, and I understood from some DA colleagues that many American Seniors abroad are quite worried about this state of affairs. Yes, we need to be hopeful and indeed supportive of our government’s policies with regards to this war. As I said in March’s Chair’s Corner many, if not all of us, “remember the trauma of World War II and many of us, had fathers and relatives who participated in that war. War always brings suffering and trauma.” Let us hope that this war does not drag on and that we can celebrate a peaceful solution to this conflict.

I am happy to report that our WEP Committee had its first meeting on April 6^th and a smaller group met on April 9^th. We are working hard to come together to eliminate WEP. I would like to thank Rebecca Lammers, Chair of the Taxation Task Force for her help and leadership in our formation of this WEP committee. Also, the Medicare Part B/ Medicare Portability Committee had our first meeting on April 14^th. We are liaising with the Medicare Portability Task Force (MPTF), chaired by Heather Stone and thank her for her help. In our new Seniors Medicare Part B Committee, chaired by Toni Kamins (who is also a member of the MPTF) we are hoping to have a clear understanding of Medicare Part B for those of us living abroad as well as to make Medicare Portable. Thank you to all those members of the Seniors Caucus who volunteered for these committees. We need many hands on deck.

Finally, I would like to celebrate with you the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson as an Associate Justice for the Supreme Court. It was a difficult confirmation. I felt horrified and sometimes physically sick by how this dear judge was treated by some Senators in the Judiciary Committee. It felt to me as if their words were shaped by racism and misogyny. Nevertheless, this well-qualified and intelligent woman was confirmed. I am currently reading the biography of Constance Baker Motley, another judge who was an inspiration for Justice Jackson. Both are inspirational women and patriotic Americans. 

FRAUD CORNER

Thanks to Steering Committee member Tilly Gaillard for bringing this to our attention — fraud police in France that help elderly people with issues relating to fraud, online security and more. 

We also found that the UK has a similar program. If you know of one in your country, please write us an email to let us know so we can share that information with our members. Thanks!

Top 10 Scams Targeting Seniors

By Robert Scott

Seniors are being targeted with financial scams more and more each year. According to a consumer report from Georgia, financial scams are now considered “the crime of the 21^st century.” In this first report we will identify the Top 10 Scams Targeting Seniors and we will examine other aspects of these scams in subsequent articles. Read more…

Why Fraud is so Wide Spread? A bit of history…

We missed this anniversary in last month’s newsletter, but the next time you get angry at some breach of your privacy via social media, thank Jeff Flake, the Republican Party, and their corporate “constituents”. THIS is Republican governance. Read more…

TECH CORNER

Memorizing multiple passwords can be a pain, but it's downright dangerous to use the same one for everything, and online privacy is not the place you want to be cutting corners. With many employees still working remotely, it's never been more essential to make sure that your online presence is secure and safe from prying eyes.  Please click here to find out more on how to keep your passwords safe! As promised, here is the latest on the best apps to keep your passwords safe. 

IN SEARCH OF VOLUNTEERS...

We are still looking for volunteers for the Global Senior Caucus Steering Committee. What does a member of the Steering Committee involve?

• Good communication skills in meetings and enjoying the company of others.
• Steering Committee Meetings are via WebEx once a month (the 1st Wednesday of the month) for 60-90 minutes at 8 am Eastern Time.
• Taking on a specific role on the Steering Committee and helping the Caucus to organize around your role. 

Please click here to find out more and to contact us.

The Global Communications Team is also looking for volunteers as they ramp up for the midterms! Do you have a communications background and are interested in helping? If so, please fill out the Global Communications Team Interest Form. Thanks!

DA IS GETTING A NEW WEBSITE!

From time to time, websites need to be updated, with new technology and a fresh look. It’s more important than ever in this election year to have a strong digital presence. 

We’ve been working on the new design, and are working to put it into place, but we need your help – more funding. If you can, please help with this vital upgrade that will help us reach more Americans like you, living abroad, to VOTE this year.   Please chip in today!

GRATITUDE: THE SHORT FILM BY LOUIE SCHWARTZBERG

 “The one day that’s given to you – right now. The only appropriate response is ... gratefulness.” 

The invitation: Open up your heart and feel grateful for this day, the beauty of this planet, the people we meet.

Watch now as we celebrate the 52nd EARTH DAY on 22 April.

 MEMBERS OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE

Welcome to all of our new members! We hope you enjoy being here. We had an overwhelming response to our email last month about WEP, and now have a very healthy sized WEP committee. Look for the announcement below on how to attend the upcoming meeting on 6 April.

VOTING in the 2022 mid-term election is VITAL TO OUR DEMOCRACY

Continuing from last months’ newsletter, we remind you that on November 8, 2022, 34 U.S. Senators, 435 U.S. Representatives, 46 State legislatures, and 36 governors will be elected. State primaries begin in May. Voting has never been more important.

To see which Senate seats are up for grabs this year, click on this 2022 election map -- hover over states for information on incumbents, open seats, recent Senate and presidential election margins of victory, and race ratings.

To our new members, we URGE you to check your Voter Registration, and then Request your Ballot. Even if you’ve received ballots before, this year may be different. Depending which state you vote in, you may not automatically receive your ballot each election cycle as you had in the past, so to be sure you’re ready to vote and to avoid confusion or even disappointment when it comes time to vote. Check your voter registration status, and request your ballot at VotefromAbroad.

If you’ve never used the VFA website before, just click here, then click on the RED START button, and you will be led through the registration and ballot request process. When complete, you will have requested your ballot(s) for all elections in 2022.

Here you’ll find voting deadline and ballot return information for your state's upcoming elections. Choose your state from the drop-down menu.

TAX NEWS

With tax season looming, more DA leaders are organizing Tax Webinar for us overseas voters. You won’t want to miss this one, hosted by DAUK, this webinar is available to view online through 8 April 2022. They ask for a small donation to view it.

Tax Filing — Have question or problems with filing? Is this your first year abroad?

Not to worry - below we’ve shared a few links to help you get organized. 

If you have questions, need help on anything tax advocacy related, or if you are interested in joining the TTF please don't hesitate to reach out to Rebecca Lammers.

• The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide assists with online queries.  providing virtual tax assistance to anyone, free of charge, with a focus on taxpayers who are over 50. That’s us! 
• The IRShas a helpline and these pages are designed specifically for international taxpayers. 
• Form 1040SR can be used for those 65 an over (born before 1 January 1957). 
• Form 2555 is used to reporting Foreign Earned Income. 
• Best of all - you can file online, for FREE with e-file: https://www.e-file.com/ HOWEVER, you will need a US mobile phone number. You can get a US mobile phone number on SKYPE.

HEALTH & MEDICARE

How are you Feeling Today?  Last month our Vice Chair Jim Dobson shared his thoughts on Exercise and Aging - Part 1. Even as the pandemic restrictions ease in some places, we should keep asking ourselves - am I moving enough? Am I making excuses to stay in, not walk, not stay mobile? Here is Part Two on Exercise and Aging.

Exercise and Aging- Part Two - by Jim Dobson

Last month I suggested that regular exercise is a key aspect of managing one’s aging — that it reduces the health risks that accompany aging and that it allows for a more engaged and rewarding life. I also promised to provide you with a recipe for developing a productive and sustainable pattern of exercise.

“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” When Theodore Roosevelt said those words. Read more here.

This story about Medicare B comes from Seniors Caucus member Connie Foss…

I worked for physicians in the University of Louisville, KY school of medicine (clinical and academic fellows). While there, I learned a lot from these MDs about the Humana health insurance industry. They called the health insurance industry "the devil," because it interfered with true medical care between doctors and their patients. Through this experience, I became more aware of the way Big Pharma and insurance giants like Humana, Anthem, Cigna, etc, profit from this relationship. Read more here

Medicare Part B Committee (in formation)

We are currently gathering members to explore Medicare Part B. If you are interested in joining our Medicare Part B Committee please email us and we’ll get back to you.

Activist's Corner

“We are living at the last possible moment in human history when we can do something about climate change, or fail to do so, thereby denying hundreds of millions of people a liveable future. This is not hyperbole. This is our call to action.

On this World Social Justice Day let's continue working at the intersection of democracy and the environment for racial, social, and gender justice.”  — Jane Fonda

Chair’s Corner

In March, we celebrate International Women’s Day when we praise the contributions of all women, old and young, Black, and white, straight, and gay and living and dead.  The theme for this year's International Women's Day is: “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.” About this day, the United Nations has said:

“With the latest data, we now understand the vital link between gender, social equity and climate change, and recognize that without gender equality today, a sustainable future, an equal future, remains out of reach. 

Women and girls experience the greatest impacts of the climate crisis as it amplifies existing gender inequalities and puts women’s lives and livelihoods at risk. Across the world, women depend more on, yet have less access to, natural resources, and often bear a disproportionate responsibility for securing food, water, and fuel.

As women and girls bear the burden of climate impacts, they are also essential to leading and driving change in climate adaption, mitigation and solutions.  Without the inclusion of half of the world's population, it is unlikely that solutions for a sustainable planet and a gender equal world tomorrow will be realized.” (1)

This text has been hard to write as I am so saddened about how peace in the world, particularly in Europe, is being disrupted. Many, if not all of us, remember the trauma of World War II and many, if not all of us, had fathers and relatives who participated in that war. War always brings suffering and trauma. As seniors, we have an acute sense of the need for peace as we are in the evening of our lives. Let us all please be hopeful.

“In life, there are many challenges. It’s a season of life. There is a time for mourning or celebrating, a time to fight or rejoice, a time to question or trust, but there is one thing we always hold onto, Hope.” (2)

Warm wishes,

Betsy Ettorre
Chair, Global Senior Caucus

(1) In Focus: International Women's Day | UN Women – Headquarters
(2) 30+ Inspirational Messages of Hope and Encouragement 2022 (wedskenya.com) 

Facebook Messenger: Most of us have gotten strange private messages (PMs or DMs - Direct messages)  from fake accounts pretending to be one of our friends. What to do??? Tell your friend by email, if possible to CHANGE THEIR PASSWORD immediately. If you don’t have their email, go to their real Facebook page and send them a message from there.

Passwords – how to keep them safe.
Next month we’ll report on apps that keep your passwords safe.

News and Stories from Home and Abroad

We've collected some funny, some serious and some informative articles for you in this corner. Click here to be taken to our curated monthly collection.

• Remote indigenous Amazon tribe has lowest dementia rates in the world
  Researchers working with remote indigenous populations in the Bolivian Amazon have found the communities experience extraordinarily low rates of dementia. The new study follows on from prior findings reporting the same groups display almost no cases of age-related heart disease...
  
• Feeling Forgotten as Baseball Gets Back to Business
  Senior former baseball player and brother of the infamous Pointer Sisters, of the disco 80s gets lost in the red tape…
  
• “Wisdom and respect”: what Peru’s forgotten generation can teach us about life and ageing
  Enedina Avilés sits on a rocky ledge surveying the city below. She comes to this spot every evening after spending the day earning a living peeling garlic cloves. “This is her moment of meditation,” says Peruvian photographer Alex Kornhuber...
  
  

This month in US history

March 2, 1836 - Texas declared its independence from Mexico.

March 3, 1931 - Congressional resolution makes the "Star Spangled Banner" the official U.S. anthem.

March 3, 1791 - Congress establishes the U.S. Mint.

March 4, 1789 - The Constitution of the United States of America goes into effect.

That just gets the month started.  Many more historical events are listed here. 

In Search of Volunteers...

We are still looking for Volunteers for the Global Senior Caucus Steering Committee. What does a member of the Steering Committee involve?

Please click here to find out more and to contact us.

UPCOMING EVENTS

March started with a bang with our 3 March State of the Union 2022 event. There are so many to choose from, from book clubs and cocktail hour trivia nights to heavyweight speakers answering our questions about Washington DC, women’s issues, the DNC, and what’s coming up in the primaries in 2022.

• Friday, March 25 @ 3 PM CET: DA Global Disability Caucus: Building Allyship Online — RSVP here
• Monday, March 28 @ 12:00 PM EST: Progressive Prescription: Healthcare for Americans at Home+Abroad RSVP here
• Wednesday, March 30 @ 8-10 PM CET: The Struggle for Justice in the Halls of Congress: event on Justice Reform. Online — RSVP here
• 6 April: First Seniors Caucus WEP Committee meeting

Thank you to all who responded to our request for this committee. The Committee will break into 3 sub-groups related to the 3 questions below:

1. How do other countries deal with this issue (i.e., Do they have any process like WEP for their retirees?) We aim to have a policy paper on these which reports on all the countries you live in.
2. What is the current state of actions to eliminate WEP in Congress (e.g., See the incomplete list below and we want to complete this list) and
3. How can we move our legislators to help to eliminate WEP? We aim to contact many of them.

You can join this meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone. The link is:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89987272008?pwd=SkRFRGtNRkJFMlIrazlhQ3VXMS9Wdz09
Password: 038904

Tech Tips

Having a hard time reading your computer screen? We’ve been there ourselves. You can enlarge the size of the display of you’re seeing by holding down these keys:

MAC: Command, Shift and the + sign

PC: Use Magnifier. 

NEW: Travel Translation - 9 Best Translation apps

PEACE TRAIN by Cat Stevens

Fifty years ago 'Peace Train' became one of the most iconic hits from the '70s - and now in honour of the International Day of Peace, Yusuf/Cat Stevens has corralled a global cast of musicians for a beautiful rendition of the song.

Joining Yusuf — who appears at a white piano in a tranquil open air setting in Istanbul Istanbul, Turkey — are over 25 musicians from 12 countries, their contributions seamlessly combined to create a song that transcends genre or style. 

Featured musicians include Pat Simmons (The Doobie Brothers), James "Hutch" Hutchinson (bass player with Bonnie Raitt), five time Grammy Award winning blues/Americana artist Keb’ Mo’ and Grammy nominated Senegalese artist Baaba Maal.

 Members of the Steering Committee