December 08, 2024

DEC NEWSLETTER - Warming Up for 2025


In this Newsletter

  • Chair’s Message
  • Upcoming Events
  • ICYMI
  • Volunteer Opportunities
  • DAGR News and Views
  • On our RADAR - DA Priorities

Dear friends,

We’ve had a few weeks to recover from the disappointing results of the U.S. elections. I'm proud of our voters in Greece, who turned out in strong numbers. But too many people in America voted for empty or vicious promises or else stayed home. The real world is a complicated place.

Future president Trump's campaign promises, if implemented by the people he has been presenting to us, will make the Republican Party unelectable for decades. So grieve for the wretchedness likely to follow, but don't lose heart for America's future.

If you are in Athens, please join us on Sunday, December 8 at 2 pm at the Hermion restaurant (Pandrossou 15 in Plaka) for a festive lunch. We'll meet new friends, commiserate with old ones, and thank one another for voting ourselves and helping others vote. It's always fun, whether we're 15 people or 50. Please RSVP via the website.

My term as chair ends in less than two months. It's time to elect a new ExCom to continue the work we do.  Please ask yourself whether your life has room for one 90-minute zoom meeting a month, plus a real or virtual event or two, and the chance to work together with bright, idealistic fellow Americans to help people vote. It's a chance to be on radio/TV, a chance to talk to people, an opportunity to write for an audience or manage a social media account. It's also a forum in which to air your political views and possibly turn emotion into concrete action.

Drop me a line at [email protected] if you'd like to propose yourself or someone else as a candidate, or would be willing to help with the Annual General Meeting in late January.

Here are the elected positions to fill, with current incumbents:

Country Chair - John Brady Kiesling
Vice Chair – Sarajane Kidd Leone
Secretary - Jan Sanders
Treasurer – Marion Kavallieros
Counsel - Charity Moschopoulos
Thessaloniki Chapter Chair - Randall Warner
Thessaloniki Chapter Representative - Peter Baiter
At Large Representative 1 - Gina Billy 
At Large Representative 2 - Daniel Roberts
Athens Chapter Chair - Tyler Boersen
Athens Chapter Representative - Cathryn Drake
DPCA Voting Representative - Karen Lee (non-voting)
DPCA Non-Voting Representative - Tasos Gounaris (non- voting)  

Brady

Brady Kiesling
Chair, Democrats Abroad Greece

Sunday, DEC 08 - 14:00 EET
DAGR Athens Winter Warm
-- aka the 'get-together'
Good food, good company, and a warm holiday mood will prevail as our mid-holiday get-together goes forward. We’ll meet, greet, eat and build strength for the year(s) ahead. Check out the menu and details on the DAGR Events page, DA website. RSVP required.

Monday, DEC 09 - 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 Zoom link.

Late January 2025
DAGR Annual General Meeting (AGM)

This is a local election year. Watch for more information, announcements, formal calls for nominations, etc. 

And that’s not all …
See what other country committees and global caucuses are doing, on the DA website Events page.

On Freedom!
Former RNC Chair Michael Steele in conversation with Prof. Tim Snyder, whose book On Freedom is highly regarded this year. This is one of those conversations between two people on two sides of a not-so-wide divide. A stimulating, thought-provoking discussion, valuable! In fact, this MAY be the conversation of the year! Video, 1 hr 10 mins.

Congressional Support for Direct File for Americans Abroad
If you missed the coverage in October, Dems Abroad are heard in Congress, more than ever. Direct File is a simplified, DIY tax form that’s been piloted for a few stateside taxpayers. We think it would be helpful, especially for those of us living outside the US who have simple tax returns.

Dems Abroad Post-Election Townhalls
DA held two townhalls to accommodate the time zones around the world. This recording from the first one shares some statistics on DA activity and growth. Participants went into ‘breakout rooms’ to share our impressions, suggestions, aspirations, etc. and those were not recorded. But this clip gives a good update on what DA accomplished this year. It was pretty impressive, despite the federal outcome.

The Origins of the US Thanksgiving Holiday
Heather Cox Richardson takes the long route back, pre-Civil War, to the first efforts, and forward to the final establishment of ‘the last Thursday in November’ by President Lincoln, first celebrated just a week after he delivered the Gettysburg Address.

December determination music: Eimaste Akoma Zontanoi - Protopsaltis
Given November and all, we were tempted by Protopsalti’s ‘Theos an einai’ stis flogies tha kais (Θεός αν έιναι, σις φλόγιες θα καείς). BUT sticking to the high ideals we strive for, we’ll go with ‘Eimaste Akoma Zontanoi!’ (Είμαστε Aκόμα Ζοντανοί). Thanks to Secretary Jan Sanders for reminding of this one!

DAGR needs ... If you can do, send an email to [email protected]/gr

Clerical skills: Extract useful links from email posts and website links and copy them into a spreadsheet for future use!! Not rocket science, but a good eye for detail and chasing it down is a boon for this volunteer position!

Research: Up and down sides of possibly useful apps. E.g. Bluesky (up and coming but privately owned and could be sold like Twitter in future). Or delve into the ‘dark’ and ‘other’ spaces of social media. See where folks are going for their fun and (dis)information. We can go there, too, and help them extract feet from the sucking ooze of the Big Muddy. Maybe. But a VPN might be a good idea for this one!

Voice with a Smile: Right, we just did a prodigious phone bank campaign before the elections. BUT, hey, it’s January in just a few weeks, and we have to verify our membership. It’s another time we hit the phones and try to reach the hard-to-reach.  It’s also a good time to shore each other up, share the shocks, share the commitment to get it the hell done right next time round!

What’s In A Name?
Insider magazine reminds us that the winter holiday season is chockablocka with names to wish Chronia Polla to. How many can you equate to US names of repute and respect that we could also greet? 

Goldmine in a Rabbit Hole!
We don’t know how else to describe this ANSWER to a Quora question: “Did Democrats finally get the message that we're all tired of constantly having their wants shoved down our throats?” It’s miles long, and most of the commenters are well-informed, thoughtful Democrats. As we enter the electoral-defeat Party makeover process, there’s much to be extracted here!

DAGR’s Weekly Reader
Starts with November w1 plus this month. And, the ancillary collection, Critical Thinking. includes some of the better early takes on how the vote went south. Both include some illuminating reads, too long for social media speed-like. These are mostly the longer ones favored by political wonks (like us) Have a look over each week’s offerings. And feel free to send us articles you think might fit here in the month ahead!

Great Respect and Fond Memories for Ken Sherman, former DPCA Chair
This obit was sent out by Steve Nardi, DPCA international Vice Chair, a fellow member of Democrats Abroad Canada. Ken Sherman was a long time, committed member of DA, a past international chair, and he participated in and added to DA meetings and events until just a few weeks ago. One of the best!

How “Y.O.L.O. Joe” Can Beat The Lame Duck
The Lever weighs in. Here is what Democrats could actually achieve in the months before Trump takes office. If we get any petitions to click or letters to send that look like the points in this article, it would be a very good idea to push them along!

Oh, Canada - History 2.0
Richard Gere talks about the film and why he made it. More than a film, it’s a history lesson for our younger members, a story that a lot of us old guys lived through.
Bonus: Some history of Vietnam War resisters

What Happens Now with Trump’s Trials?
Possible outcomes differ, but ‘delay by appeal’ seems to have worked in both federal and state cases. Marc Elias's Democracy Docket discusses the details. Meanwhile, we’ll remember Trump's rap sheet.

Educating Young People about Social Media
With the sudden rise of AI and crypto money, the online world has become even riskier, especially for young people. Helping kids learn how to use it seems more effective than banning them till they’re ‘of age.’ Finland leads the way with an approach that seems to work.

How to Prevent Floods like Valencia … and Ashville
The European Correspondent rolls out ideas that are already set in motion (here and there) and are working! It’s not rocket science. It’s just a ‘regenerative’ approach to the urban destruction that robs us of nature’s protections from severe weather phenomena.

Weather By and For the People
Project 2025 may urge privatizing NOAA and NWS, but we already have a network of citizen volunteers who are helping save lives by contributing real-time, on-the-ground data. It’s a system already ‘democratized’ and ready to carry on ‘for the common good.’

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It might be the rain still falling as we finish up this newsletter. It might be existential angst over Trump's plans to gut environmental protections (and to get his supporters to chip in for a space station he can escape to?).

Count to 10, banish catastrophic thinking! Enjoy the holidays, then ...

Roll up sleeves! We have work to do!