In this Newsletter
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Friends,
This month the United States will be 250 years old. And it’s worth remembering how America – even if sometimes imperfect – has served as a beacon for other nations.
Starting with the American Revolution, proclaimed in Philadelphia on July 4th, 1776, the newly-born United States of America would launch one of the boldest and most successful experiments in democratic government ever attempted in human history. With classical Greece as its inspiration, the American Revolution was a seminal event, helping inspire the French Revolution and, a few decades later, the Greek War of Independence.
In the centuries that followed, America’s ideals of open government, of the rule of law, of equality, and of opportunity, would draw millions of immigrants to its shores – including almost every one of our forefathers and current members. And in the roughly 80 years of the contemporary era, the U.S. has served as a (mostly) benign guarantor of a global order that helped promote peace, prosperity and democratic values.
Those democratic values, however, are under siege in America today. From the proposed SAVE Act to attempted restrictions on mail-in ballots, the Trump Administration has repeatedly moved to curtail the rights of citizens – and particularly overseas citizens – to vote. So, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, DAGR calls on the tens of thousands of American citizens here in Greece to defend the country’s democratic traditions by registering to vote ahead of this November’s midterm elections.
America’s Semiquincentennial also coincides with another milestone of significant importance for Americans living overseas: Forty years ago President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). This landmark 1986 legislation guarantees U.S. citizens residing abroad the unfettered right to vote by mail in federal elections. This is a right that dozens of other countries, including our host country of Greece, have since moved to enshrine in law.
This spring, DAGR called on the roughly 40 American institutions in Greece to honor that milestone by sharing non-partisan voter registration websites: votefromabroad.org and fvap.gov with the U.S. citizens in their communities.
Because the hopes embodied in the 1776 Declaration of Independence continue to have urgent meaning, both in the U.S. and around the world.
Thank you for staying engaged.
Alkman Granitsas
Chair, Democrats Abroad Greece
Tuesday, JUL 14 - 19:30-22:00 EET
Happy Hour in Athens
Athens Happy Hour meets again at its fav retreat, En Aithria in Monastiraki. We start at 6, so those working downtown can stop by before heading home. Stop in and see what's shaping up for the months ahead. And don't hesitate to bring a friend. Details on DAGR Events Page.
Tuesday, JUL 21 - 19:30 EET
DAGR ExCom Meeting
The Dems Abroad Greece board, aka ExCom, meets every month. Members are welcome to sit in and come up to speed on the many things your board has to handle. Get a leg up on upcoming events in planning, and much more. Reply on this email for the WebEx link.
Any day now
Blue Vote Cafe
The weekly podcast by two DA members in Canada will feature Jane Kleeb, a vice chair of the DNC, president of the Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC), Nebraska Dem Party Chair, and a board member of Our Revolution. Recommended, as are many of the interviews listed on the BVC link above.
And that’s not all …
See what other country committees and global caucuses are doing, on the DA website Events page.
Abroad and Informed: DA’s bi-weekly news and events podcast
Join hosts Angela Fobbs, DA Events, and Aaron Fishbone, DA Comms (outgoing, moving) with guests. This time they’re covering the Freedom250 debacle, the latest attacks on voting rights, and the dust up in Maine’s senate race.
This Land Used to be Your Land, Used to be My Land
But as Heather Cox Richardson points out: “This president and administration are turning the extraordinary resources of the American people—the things we the people have created over decades with our effort and our tax dollars—to their own ends. We are paying for their theft with a significantly diminished country, and even with our lives.”
Read HCR’s take and then catch up with inspiring speeches you may have missed in the melee.
- Sen. John Ossoff in Savannah
- Sen. Cory Booker at Texas Dem Convention
- Rep James Talarico, Senate candidate, at Texas Dem Convention
250 for 250: A Minute a Day Keeps the Fascists at Bay
Heather Cox Richardson has prepared a series of 250 video shorts, one a day for 250 days, to celebrate the nation’s Semiquincentennial. They highlight people, places and events throughout US history. Each is narrated by a person of some note, and at about one minute a piece, they’re easy to digest. Take one a day to keep your confidence in democracy alive and well.
Democrats Abroad are now on Substack, too. Check DA global news here!
DAGR Phone Crew Wants YOU … in September!
Stateside, our fellow democracy defenders are marching in July 4th parades and handing out campaign lit at county fairs. Come September, they’ll be knocking on doors, getting folks registered, and arranging rides to the polls.
Out here in ‘abroad land,’ the doors are usually far between. We rally our members by Internet and phone. DAGR’s 2nd campaign will be in early September, ahead of ‘ballot drop’ on the 19th … 45 days before the election.
And we’ll need all the callers we can get, to make sure everyone is registered and that they’ve requested their ballot for November! BY EMAIL!
If you think you might be able to help or just want a little more info about what that entails, go to our GOTV Event page, and click the non-binding RSVP button. We’ll be in touch as soon as we get back from the beach.
In the meantime, if you or a friend haven’t requested your ballot, do it at VoteFromAbroad.org to guarantee your right to vote in the federal races. And ask for the ballot to be sent to you by EMAIL, to avoid Trump’s mail delays.
“Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean Trump isn’t out to suppress your vote!”
Traditional picnics mark DAGR celebration of Independence Day
Hope you saw coverage of our July 4th events in Greece, as published in Greek and English by Euronews.
Data Center Pushback, Something Both Sides Are Concerned About
The rapid rise of AI and the data center boom that supports it has led people on both sides of the political spectrum to come together and resist. Read here for an overview with links to reliable sources for more information.
Re-Raising the ICE Warning
While the media has moved on, Robert Reich points out that ICE hasn’t gone away. It’s become bigger, better paid, and more effective in terms of the 2000 people a day it’s now arresting. Arrests have expanded from ‘suspected immigrant’ to ‘possible antifa, support for terrorism.’ Protest is the target. Intimidation is the end game.
While We Were Rolling Eyes over the “Strait of Warm Ooze”
And other Trump gaffs, ‘they’ (aka DOGE) were installing Big Brother in the West Wing. Or somewhere in the now over-gilded White House. This Guardian report is long. But it details what intrepid journalists found and what they were not able to find: how much private citizen information has been swept up, who’s got it now, and what Trump and his autocrat army are planning to do with it.
Finally, Someone’s Organized to Bust the Corruption?
People were hired and then fired by the Trump admin, when they saw what was happening and spoke up. Well, Trumps’ loss is our gain. More Perfect Union video, 13 mins to save our lives. Note: The involvement of several states’ AGs is one of the factors suggesting that ‘states’ rights’ are not always there just to thwart voting rights laws.
Jack Smith: Back by Popular Demand
One of the most highly acclaimed prosecutors of our time, Jack Smith, and the investigative work his team had done were stymied by stacked courts when Trump 2.0 was sworn in. The evidence is still ready, aged like vintage wine. For the full interview with Nicole Wallace on MS Now, use the link in the heading above. For a synopsis, try this Alternet report.
Trump’s Corporate Tax Dodge Hidden in the Fine Print
U.S. companies skirted at least $40 billion in taxes since the beginning of 2025 thanks to schemes in places like Malta, Bermuda and Cyprus.This New York Times Gift Link will open the door to a long read, one pretty well guaranteed to make you angry.
Brookings Institute: States of Affordability
High percentages of Americans don’t make enough to cover basic necessities. Causes vary from high cost areas especially on the coasts, to low wage areas such as in Appalachia.
Need a Raise? Own the Business!
More Perfect Union launches a new series, Big Ideas, to look at ways to un-rig the economy. This first segment looks at co-ops: a Colorado drivers’ answer to Uber’s dwindling pay rate and a beef-packing plant in Nebraska owned by ranchers with a minor share from Walmart. (They needed the beef, so they helped build the plant!)
It’s been a rough month so far, news wise, fire-hose wise.
So, have a giggle and relax with these photos from the Great American State Fair.
The possibly unintended upside of the 102F fiasco on The Mall was the spike in requests for total immersion baptism.
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Summer holiday is upon us.
We are advised to rest and let cares of the world fade to the back burner. This year, that seems like another candidate for the 'yeah, right!' response.
But 'The perfect is the enemy of the good.'
So, relax at least 50%. Follow news with a sense of humor.
And try not to complain if the August newsletter comes out late, too. We're also trying to pry our eyes away from Trump-nanigans to do the work we said we'd do.
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