News - Democrats Abroad

From the Chair's Office

Dear Fellow DNC Member,

We're excited to announce Dems For You, a new service-based initiative, and to ask you to join us in participating and leading this initiative, starting this holiday season.

The mission of the new Democratic National Committee is to elect Democrats from the school board to the Oval Office. As a party, we must focus on demonstrating to Americans our core values every day, all across the country in a visible, action-oriented manner. We can no longer be just a political organization asking for votes every two or four years; we have to get back to our origins as a grassroots organization, together, helping to address the issues and problems faced by all Americans. It’s our job as leaders to champion our party’s values. We know that no bumper sticker slogan is going to fix the mess our country is in. People will. In every community and every day.

To support these efforts, the DNC is launching a new service-based initiative called Dems For You. When a hurricane hits in Texas, Florida, the Virgin Islands, or Puerto Rico; when wildfires ravage California or Colorado; when families need food, clothing, or toys during the holiday season; when young adults are looking for help on job interviews and crafting a resume; when families want to purchase their first home or need assistance signing up for a healthcare plan, the Democratic Party through Dems For You will be there to support all of our communities because Every ZIP Code Counts.

Today, we’re launching Dems For You, and we need your help in several ways over the coming weeks:

Organize a service event over the holiday season: support wildfire or hurricane victims, volunteer at a soup kitchen or food bank, organize a clothing drive, etc. Attend an event yourself, recruit elected officials you work with to attend or work with other democratic groups or allied organizations. Let us know what you’re doing, by entering your event here by Tuesday, December 19th.

https://my.democrats.org/page/event/create

Take action online:

Spread the word with #DemsForYou via social media or email about efforts to support hurricane or wildfire victims or other people in need in your community.

Share our Dems For You social media posts and graphics to encourage activists to get involved.

Send an email announcement to your list about Dems For You.

We know that many of you are already leading service events this December. Our goal is to help lift up that work to help you reach even more members of your community.

Any questions, ideas, feedback, reach out to Ryan Doyle DoyleR@dnc.org or Kalen Pruss PrussK@dnc.org

Thanks for everything you do,

Tom and Jaime

Tom Perez, Chair, Democratic National Committee

Jaime Harrison, Associate Chair and Senior Counselor, Democratic National Committee

You can find the toolkit here:

https://dnc.app.box.com/s/cjqnzun9zrzyyrm9jkkls1eanfbjbthc

and sample social media posts below:

FB: Graphic linked here: https://p14.zdusercontent.com/attachment/498562/ffUPdGaKMGw4RG66MSD4L1PRd?token=eyJhbGciOiJkaXIiLCJlbmMiOiJBMTI4Q0JDLUhTMjU2In0..qJ6xu2u-U-BH1hki8NyjHQ.Vt-JVjNHYs66X3923VZqs5DxLnsQXaS4Zg5ZZsQQoAxhldWop5oKm5l7BSXzCZmDaVxqmYXyKu0MjzGJGbpQIr7n3amnFuEYno0NiF5oLjdiQ1x47dBbACmW31n86GaSSTiymsIx87N9_w3HC5VPsQauFlqy3PExmPAQpGk1le4vZ39jvO2nG6vdemwdtmgeAhkn_XJ8jwN00JPhsAjptrQiJvIvv5Mo8ltRBVMV9qe3kipNm1udQspC9B0FPjNe8lUVoUJcREM5ajm1_Sevyw.G17CeiZ1dam7aRXhS7d2xw

Democrats are getting to work to give back and make our neighborhoods, towns, and cities a better place — in every community, every day. That’s why we’re asking you to join us in acts of service around our communities. Let us know you’re in, and tag a friend you’re bringing with you in the comments.

Democrats know that no bumper sticker slogan will fix the mess our country is in. That’s why we’re rolling up our sleeves to give back to our communities now and through 2018. Join us at [insert event] on [date]: [event link]

TW: Graphic linked here:

https://p14.zdusercontent.com/attachment/498562/ML11q4fahNFkZZ9W2PuAcxuMk?token=eyJhbGciOiJkaXIiLCJlbmMiOiJBMTI4Q0JDLUhTMjU2In0..iU4SQs5KZupgzDbbJDOwgg.sWwysJjyWbqgMUgsGVmhHNQy3O3IYh8-f95ZT36V3dZox7Lf7v-uLtL4XZh6Iiou27FWb5TkpLBztjMh7tEJtEx_uQywYvt9jhra9CDb8rwrQxQ5JvKGcEgpMkPQfFglcpQKRncff6Jei4i9edVG7dKVA4kz-TkgwOn4zbMUbYGT9LChwZfds-8JzEMPlqXr0CSWchcs_vMo1gR89g0Pv4iEtJkijCHT9UoVHPK6e90YpPHcguvFNsrZKi-KM0DOGLiPyIgnDuvl8eT0IKN6iA.n3LQTi3wBGmfS-GLK9OxoQ

We know that no bumper sticker slogan will fix the mess our country is in. That’s why Democrats are rolling up our sleeves to give back to our communities now and through 2018. Join us at [insert event] on [date]: [event link] #DemsForYou

Democrats are getting to work to give back and make our neighborhoods, towns, and cities a better place — in every commu

Democrats lead with our values, and that means giving back to the communities that have given so much to us. Sign up to join us for acts of service through 2018: [https://my.democrats.org/page/event/create] #DemsForYou

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posted by |
December 31, 2017

From Julian Bryan:

In the quiet of this week, as many of us enjoy time off from work (and from Congress being in session!) the Excom and global teams are wrapping up several projects and preparing for our massive GOTV efforts in 2018.

Before the New Year we’ll be presenting a working set of guidelines for DA expanding our Code of Conduct to specifically address sexual harassment issues.

We’re also preparing our first GOTV email for the year, which will go out on January 1st to all members and will encourage everyone to kick start the year by sending in their ballot requests.

Sadly, we learned this week that Stanley Grossman passed away over the weekend. Stanley was a two-term DA DNC member, a long-term advocate for FATCA reform, and a passionate Democrats Abroad leader. He will be greatly missed by many. Joe Smallhoover (France) is currently working on a resolution honoring him – if you have any comments to add to the resolution please reach out to him.

Stanley would have been delighted to hear the news from Washington. Thanks to the mighty efforts of our Taxation task force, we are really pleased to note that Representatives Dina Titus and Jamie Raskin have both submitted statements to the Congressional record supporting Americans abroad and the need for taxation reform on our behalf.

We encourage you to review these statements. They are valuable evidence for our members that DA is heard in Congress, and that we have Congressional friends who believe in the importance of votes from abroad.

Our next ExCom meeting is today at 8am DC time. As always we'd be delighted to have you join as a guest. If you're interested, just get in touch with Jeffrey Cheng at secretary@democratsabroad.org and he'll send you the link to the meeting.

Thank you for all that you do!

Best, Julia

Julia Bryan

International Chair, Democrats Abroad

Mark your calendars

GOTV 2018 Kickoff!! – January 1, 2018

March to the Ballot Box – January 20th - 21st, 2018

Annual General Meeting – May 25-27th, 2018

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posted by |
December 28, 2017

Unity Reform Commission Information

Dear DNC Member,

Please find here, the final report of the DNC's Unity Reform Commission. The Rules and Bylaws Committee will begin its work to incorporate these recommendations in the 2020 Delegate Selection documents.

https://dnc.app.box.com/s/55lk3avwwnpqu2g00sdyd1i6ylz9fz0b

Finally, I want to thank you for your continued leadership and work this past year. We have a lot to celebrate and be proud of as Democrats. Have a wonderful holiday season with some much-needed rest!

Yours,

Jason Rae

Secretary

Democratic National Committee

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posted by |
December 24, 2017

Julia Bryan in the Alabama Vote

Glorious news from Alabama today! To follow up on this remarkable win, we are going to be sending out an email tomorrow morning to all members. In the email we will encourage everyone to call their senators and demand that they wait till newly elected senator Doug Jones is seated to vote on the tax bill. Due to Alabama's rules, that will not happen until Congress is in session next year. This action is inline with Chuck Schumer's call for Mitch McConnell to "hit pause on the tax bill and not hold a final vote till Jones is sworn into the Senate." We will provide scripts and calling information, as usual.

Please let me know if you will be able to encourage your members to participate in this action as well.

All the best,

Julia

Julia Bryan

International Chair, Democrats Abroad

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posted by |
December 13, 2017

DA's current version of the Code of Conduct and Ethics

As a follow up to the DPCA Executive Committee's Statement on Sexual Harassment, please click the following link to view DA's current version of the Code of Conduct and Ethics. Please note that the Code of Conduct applies equally to all elected and appointed officers and representatives of the Democratic Party Committee Abroad and its recognized member country committees.

Best regards,

Tom Schmid

International Counsel

Democratic Party Committee Abroad

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posted by |
December 07, 2017

DA's current version of the Code of Conduct and Ethics

As a follow up to the DPCA Executive Committee's Statement on Sexual Harassment, please click the following link to view DA's current version of the Code of Conduct and Ethics. Please note that the Code of Conduct applies equally to all elected and appointed officers and representatives of the Democratic Party Committee Abroad and its recognized member country committees.

Best regards,

Tom Schmid

International Counsel

Democratic Party Committee Abroad

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posted by |
December 07, 2017

DEMOCRATS ABROAD TAXATION TASK FORCE

Dear Leaders,

If you’ve suffered whiplash watching the GOP tax plan speed through both Houses of Congress then you’re not alone. No one could have imagined Congressional Republicans would succeed in so rapidly progressing a thoroughly debunked “middle-class tax plan.” Adding insult to injury, it seems hardly anyone – including the US Treasury – actually understand what’s in it.

If you, like the members of the US Senate, have not read the Senate bill that will form the basis of what will likely go to a final vote in both houses of Congress before Christmas, then here is a breakdown of what is in it.

Clearly the determination of Republicans to pass SOME tax legislation, ANY TAX LEGISLATION at all, no matter how poorly it serves the nation, has overwhelmed their long-standing aim of bringing down the deficit.[i] The plan passed by the Senate in the wee hours of Saturday morning blows out the deficit by $1 trillion.[ii]

Nor do Republicans seem concerned that their plan does not achieve their stated goals, such as stimulating the economy.[iii]

Or closing business tax loopholes.[iv]

Or cutting taxes for the middle class.[v]

Or bringing jobs back from overseas.[vi]

Or encouraging companies to hire more workers and pay them better.[vii]

Or eliminating the carried interest loophole that gives such outrageous advantage to hedge fund managers.[viii]

So what’s next? Tomorrow (Monday, Dec 4) the Congress will convene a Conference Committee to reconcile the differences between the bill passed by the Senate yesterday with the bill passed by the House of Representatives the week before Thanksgiving. The momentum is pretty powerful but there may yet be holdouts and dissenters.

The Taxation Task Force watched every hour of debate heard by the Senate Finance Committee and then on the floor of the US Senate chamber this last week. Reports and rumors from the press and the Hill had us on watch for floor amendments related to residence-based taxation, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and FATCA. In the end there was silence on these matters.

We have drafted floor speeches for friends of Democrats Abroad in both houses of Congress and hope to hear our concerns voiced in those chambers and appearing in the Congressional record before this is over.

We're already hearing that the Congress will follow up with a further tax bill early next year so there's more work to be done.

In line with the statement released by Democrats Abroad on Saturday, the Taxation Task Force recommends you continue to encourage your members to call or message Congress to tell them to vote NO to this Trickle Down tax scam that rewards Republican donors at the expense of hard-working Americans. The campaign we ran for the last two weeks yielded over 1,100 messages to the US Senate, which is not nothing. Ten times that would have been preferable but it’s been a record-breaking year for outrage and our Resistance activists are clearly exhausted. We are grateful for their engagement.

Thanks to all leaders who have supported this important work. Please contact us at any time with questions

TaxationTF@democratsabroad.org.

Democratically yours,

DEMOCRATS ABROAD TAXATION TASK FORCE

Julia Bryan - ex officio (Czech Republic)

DeeDee Gierow (Sweden)

Carmelan Polce - chair (New York and Australia)

Michael Ramos (Australia)

Joseph Smallhoover (France)

Orlando Vidal (UAE)

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posted by |
December 03, 2017

DAGT Policy Retreat: Saturday, January 20, 2018

Fellow Democrat,

Your Democrats Abroad Guatemala country committee is planning to convene a policy retreat on Saturday, January 20, 2018. We have an indoor venue identified that will hold up to 50 people comfortably and will provide lunch, but we need to book no later than December 8^th. So we are asking for your vote of support now for this important event. The event would run from 9:00am to 4:00pm and would cost Q85 per person or Q75 if you prefer not to have lunch with the group.

We are almost one year into the Trump presidency, and many Democrats still feel the need to voice their concerns and to share their thoughts and views on policy issues being affected and changed by the Trump administration. The latest example is Friday’sSenate vote to approve “the largest tax cut in history” as Trump likes to call it, but is more accurately captured by Bernie Sanders as one of the “great robberies in U.S. history.” This policy retreat is your opportunity to be heard.

The following issues have been identified for the day’s agenda: Achieving Universal Health Care; The Democratic Party – Winning Elections in 2018 and Beyond; Immigration Reform; Russia and US Elections; Key 2018 House and Senate Races; Women’s Issues; Tax Cuts and the US Economy.

A presenter will introduce each topic using slides or a short detailed talk of five to 10 minutes, followed by open discussion for 45 minutes to an hour, closing with a summary statement that best captures the sentiment of the open discussion. Closing statements on each topic will be used in messaging to Get Out The Vote for the 2018 midterm elections.

Your input is important, so please consider participating in this important one-time event. Respond right away, no later than December 7, to Kee Kalwara, at keekalwara@gmail.com that you will attend. And direct any questions to Kee as well. Please do not click "reply," but use this email address keekalwara@gmail.com

Thank you.

The Executive Committee

Democrats Abroad Guatemala

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posted by |
December 03, 2017

November 29, 2017: ExCom Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the Executive Committee of Democrats Abroad Guatemala

Wednesday, November 29, 2017 at 5:30 pm

Dave’s & Kee’s house/Via Skype

Attendance: In person: John Chudy, Chair; Tom Totino, Treasurer; Kee Kalwara, Events/Membership/Fundraising Coordinator; Lyn Totino, Secretary; Elisabeth Shackelford, Volunteer Coordinator, via Skype: Mary Reynolds, Media Contact; Traci Styner, Lake Atitlan Meetup Group Chair.

Call to Order - 5:38 pm

The agenda and minutes of the previous EXCOM minutes were approved unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report:

Our Net Worth stands at Q725.40 of which Q310 is a credit at the Revue. While this is just a small increase over last month we paid for 12 hats which can be sold or given as a token of our appreciation for donations. So far this year, we generated revenue of Q3,189 from showing eight movies. In addition to donations from the seven attendees at November’s movie, Letty Manne gave a Q100 donation. After paying for space rental and the popcorn lady we’ve netted Q2,278 well on our way to covering the Q3,800 cost of the projector. The report was accepted unanimously.

Events for 2017:

Film Series:

Megan Leavey, a true story about a young marine and her bond with her military combat dog, was shown at CCC on November 17. Although the film was interesting, only 7 members attended, five of which are board members. We netted Q155. We discussed low turnout which could be because films are shown Fridays. We discussed changing the day or the venue. It was decided that CCC is pretty much a perfect place to show films. Since Friday is the only day available at CCC we will continue to show the films same place, same time. We can hope more people show up.

Christmas Vacation is still scheduled to be shown at CCC on December 15 at 6:30 pm. Kee will send an email requesting an RSVP from members who plan to attend. We could cancel the movie if interest is scarce.

Fund Raisers:

On January 2 DAGT will begin our Anti Inaugural Anniversary fundraising drive. Members can visit our website to donate and pay through PayPal or Stripe.com. The prize for a donation of $25 or more is either a Women’s Caucus 2018 calendar (which are made available as a donation by John Chudy) or a cap embroidered with Lo Siento por el Imbécil. The donation drive will last until February 20.

Most members in attendance liked the caps so much that we decided we could begin selling them right away. Elisabeth will be testing the market in Antigua to see how they sell. A photo will be posted on Facebook to see if that generates any interest. We will probably need to have more caps embroidered, this time minus the quote marks. We will be selling the caps for Q80.

One 25-pack of Women’s Caucus calendars have been ordered and will be here by the end of the year. The Excom expressed appreciation to Rachael for the idea and for arranging the embroidering. If there is enthusiasm Rachel will arrange to have more hats embroidered. The calendars and the caps will be sold at all of our events.

Other Items:

DAGT Policy Retreat:

Although the venue has not yet been decided, our retreat will take place on January 20 in Antigua. Thus far the issues to be discussed are: Achieving Universal Health Care, The Democratic Party Identity,and Policies, (John Chudy will present these.) Immigration, Russia, and US Elections, Key 2018 House and Senate Races. We still need volunteers to select and present one of the remaining topics or another of interest. John sent out a separate email providing more details and volunteered to lead the discussion on Universal Health Care. Kee will contact Sue Patterson and request that she lead a discussion on Women’s Issues.

Americas Regional Meeting:

The meeting will take place in Costa Rica on January 26-28.

Database Cleanup and Voter Registration:

Members will be working on this in January. At this point only those members who have not logged on to the DA web page since 2014 will have to be called.

The next meeting: Dave’s and Kee’s house at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, January 10. This meeting is open to all members.

Travel Notes:

Lyn and Tom will be gone from December 16 to January 6. John will be gone from December 6 to 30. Dave will be gone from November 22 to December 24. Letty will be gone from November 28 to December 14. Annie will be gone from December 20 to January 7. Mary will be gone from December 14 to January 6.

Adjourned: 7:08 pm.

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posted by |
December 03, 2017

2017 DA Global Auction is NOW LIVE

The 2017 DA Global Auction is NOW LIVE via: biddingforgood.com/demsabroad/demsabroad17

Please check out all the great deals including places to stay, services, and gifts before next Sunday (Dec 3) at 5pm EST.

Thank you to all who have donated items and made the Auction possible! You don’t want to miss this!

If you have any questions, contact auction@democratsabroad.org

Best regards, Larry Pihl (English : "peel" )

DA Mexico, Chair email: Info-Mexico@DemocratsAbroad.org

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posted by |
November 29, 2017