Democrats Abroad: The Blue Vote Café
By Democrats Abroad
Brought to you by David Schellenberg and Rachel Eugster (co-chairs of the Canada's Capital Region chapter of Democrats Abroad) this podcast is about Americans living outside the U.S.--who we are, what we stand for, how to get engaged back home, and how to make sure your vote is counted, Because when Democrats vote abroad, Democrats at home win.
For more info: democratsabroad.org
To register and request your ballot: votefromabroad.org
Democrats Abroad: The Blue Vote CaféFeb 12, 2023
Checking in with DA Kenya (Season 9, Episode 7)
David and Rachel are joined by leaders from Democrats Abroad's newest country committee, DA Kenya. Robyn T. Emerson (Chair) and Mohamed Ahmed (Treasurer) share the stories of how each connected with DA, and the founding of DA Kenya.
The discussion turns to a population unique to the "A" of DA's Europe-Middle East-Africa region: Americans of African descent; and touches on Mohamed's first votes as a person who has not yet turned 20; the importance of youth activism, particularly in addressing gun violence; and what it feels like to volunteer to help hold up the Democratic tent.
Mentioned in the episode: the Gun Violence Prevention Action Team Lauch with Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost.
Ken Martin, Vice Chair of the Democratic National Party (Season 9, Ep6)
Ken Martin, Chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Pary, President of the Association of State Democratic Committees, and a Vice Chair of the Demcratic National Committee, joins David and Rachel in the café, substantiating his claim that he will accept any invitation to talk where there are at least two Democrats.
Quoting LBJ, Ann Richards, Margaret Mead, Ayanna Pressley, and Confucius, Ken discusses the importance of the vote from abroad, and its majority Democratic comosition.
Outlining the incredible story we have to tell about Biden and Harris's achievements to date, he urges Democrats to stop agonizing and start evangelizing.
While acknowledging that you don't have to love someone to vote for them, Ken shares compelling personal reflections on both Biden and Harris, as well as on his home state of Minnesota.
Simon Rosenberg from the Hopium Chronicles (Season 9, Ep5)
Rachel and David's guest in the café is longtime Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg, who gained notoriety in 2022 for calling the election right when everyone else had it wrong.
Simon talks about the weakness of the GOP's position, with a candidate diminished in multiple ways and a crazy, ideologically unhinged politic, the 6 factors that will impede Trump in 2024, and about the Hopium Chronicles community that he founded with the watch words, "Do more, worry less."
With a reference to diapers and pictures you might not want to look up, and a resounding endorsement of FDR's four freedoms.
For more information, visit https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/.
Register and request your ballot every year at votefromabroad.org.
Find the full library of Blue Vote Café episodes as bluevotecafe.com.
Rev. Harcourt Klinefelter on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Season 9, Ep3)
The Reverend Harcourt ("Harky") Klinefelter joins Rachel and David to share memories from the time he spent working with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Harky, a DA member, talks about serving as Dr. King's press officer, and the Selma and Montgomery marches. He brings the voices of long-ago freedom fighters to life, and about working on Dr. King's funeral.
Clips that are mentioned in the interview and a transcription:
The part of the speech that appeared during Dr. King’s funeral was from “The Drum Major Instinct” King concluded the sermon by imagining his own funeral. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mefbog-b4-4 The three hour documentary that only aired once is “King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis”. The documentary was recently restored and can once again be seen in its original form. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065944/
The first part of the interview with the 10 year old Selma marcher is a bit hard to hear because of the quality of the recording. Here is a transcription of the first half:
`I didn't go prepared to march. I had planned to go all the way but I wasn't sure they were going to be able to take me because they taken all the names and I didn't take anything but my coat. So I had to sleep (in the) cold, and the heaters (in the tent) went out and the wind and everything was real terrible, and so I stayed woke (awake) that night by the little gas burner they had outside. The next day-- the next day we marched and marched and it rained, and that's the day we really had to walk hard all that rain.
I didn't get a cold, the next day it rained which was Tuesday, that was through Lownes country, Yeah, that's the day you had to `pick them up and put them (your feet) down'. Blisters and everything, oh boy I'm telling you, I said I know they (the racists) they're going to try something even if they have to wait until we come back. I said `Lord,I say, I know these people, in Lownes country. All I want you to do is take care of me and give me the strength to walk faster through this stretch. I mean, I prayed that prayer all the way through there.
I didn't have any water all day because if we stopped we had to run to catch up, you know, and I wanted to be credited for walking all the way So I just did without water, and my tongue was swole (swelled) up. The next day, ah, the nurses out there they waited on me and she came and she say (said) `Little girl are you going to march today?' I say (said) `Sure I am.? All those blisters?' I say (said) `There not hurting, only when I stop'. And you stayed out all the time? `All the time, every camp we stayed in. I slept in it.'
How did you feel when you marched up the street to the Capital?
`My feet were so bad! and when I had the flag carrying, one of the biggest ones out there, I felt so happy, I didn't knew what to do Dr King, I think he's the greatest that's happened. Really, it's just like heaven. And I'll go anywhere he tells me to go, really, with blisters, sores, sore head, anything.
You know, I couldn't hardly breathe when I was out there, I fainted, I passed out, and everything, but I ended up going on ahead. What do you feel the march was accomplished? `We're 50 years ahead from where we started when this voter registration started. Really in Selma, 50 years, because people can walk around and not be afraid. If someone get killed that doesn't stop them, I didn't walk 50 miles in vain.'
You feel that people will be afraid to register vote?
`Well, I don't think they should be afraid because after all they have been killing Negroes all the time and noting has be done about it. They do find out who killed'em (them) now.
This has been a big improvement?
`If you will excuse me for the slang, "It's just a nigger dead."'
Carl Weinschenk on Biden and the Swing States (Season 9, Ep4)
Carl Weinschenk joins David and Rachel to talk about his blogging and video efforts to communicate President Biden's substantial accomplishments to undecided voters in the swing states. With some discussion of the race to fill George Santos's vacant seat, a long-ago glimpse of the young Donald Trump in Jamaica Estates NY, a little of Carl's family history, and the Cafe's first mention of "double-haters."
Also a shout-out to @DanPfeiffer and @PodSaveAmerica.
Carl's site: https://bidenandtheswingstates.com/ and
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@bidenandtheswingstates
Checking in with DA Spain (Season 9, Ep2)
Kathy Tullos (Chair, DA Spain) and Andrew Anderson (Vice Chair, Veterans and Military Families Global Caucus) join Rachel and David from DA Spain to talk about DA Spain's recent growth, and its new community-building initiatives.
Kathy's leadership style evokes a quote frequently misattributed to Ghandi; Andrew gives an update on the progress with addressing complications with educational benefits for veterans and active servicepeople overseas, and both share observations of how how US politics are perceived in Spain.
The conversation also touches on dating tips, the importance of wine, and the "unhelpful desk."
Novelist Steve Erickson: 13 Resolutions to Save Democracy (Season 9, Ep1)
David and Rachel talk to Steve about the resolutions he posted on The Journal of the Plague Years on January 1, 2024. Click to read the post.
The conversation touches on the dangers of confusing imperfect choices for clear ones; the shift from James Carville's "it's the economy, stupid" to what Steve sees as our current reality ("it's the culture, stupid"); and how his work American Stutter would appear to a novelist in a parallel universe where Hillary won the presidency in 2016.
The talk also turns to living near the stars on Hollywood Boulevard, and plants seeds of optimism that Steve, Rachel, and David agree need urgent, active, and immediate tending.
Bonus: an answer to the question David posed to Wayne Liebman of the Blue Voter Guide (Season 8, Ep8) about how many different ballots there are in a given US election. Register and request your ballot at Vote From Abroad!
Wayne Liebman and the Blue Voter Guide (Season 8, Ep8)
Wayne Liebman joins David and Rachel to explain Blue Voter Guide, an organization founded to make voting easy.
When you enter your voting address at https://bluevoterguide.org/, up pops your ballot, linked to endorsements from progressive organizations.
With shoutouts to Her Bold Move, Vote Mama, and the Professional Fire Fighters of Nevada.
Dr. Dan Barkhuff and Veterans for Responsible Leadership (Season 8, Ep7)
Dr. Dan Barkhuff joins David and Rachel to talk about the organization he founded, Veterans for Responsible Leadership (vfrl.org). The conversation delves into the concepts of duty and honor, the downstream effects of the shift 50 years ago to all-volunteer military, and Trump's inability to understand the military and unfitness to serve as the country's leader. We also touch on the political composition of the military, how many veterans live overseas, and the Lincoln ads featuring Barkhuff that went viral in 2020.
Jason Berlin from Field Team 6 (Season 8, Ep6)
Jason Berlin joins Rachel and David to talk about Field Team 6, the partisan voter registration organization he founded to register Democrats.
Jason talks about Field Team 6's focus on unregistered voters, about the gaps in the traditional approach to voter registration, and the cost per voter.
High School Democrats of America (Season 8, Ep5)
Annika Krovi and Henry Pahlow, National Chair and Vice Chair of High School Democrats of America, join David and Rachel to talk about engaging voters and potential voters when they are still enrolled in high school.
Neither Annika nor Henry is eligible yet to cast their own votes, but they speak like veteran political operatives about canvassing, phone-banking, and participating on campaigns--and about their success in bringing a resolution to the Democratic National Committee meeting and have it approved.
We talk about expanding the membership of USDA, about the opportunity Annika and her grandparents will have in 2024 to cast their votes for the first time, about Henry's research and initiatives to involve rural voters, and--it must be said--about dad jokes.
For more information: https://hsdems.org/
Talking with Stewart Reynolds (aka Brittlestar) (Season 8, Ep4)
Rachel and David make social media darling Brittlestar laugh at his own jokes, and discourse seriously (and at least semi-intelligently) with his alter ego Stewart Reynolds on his recent book (Welcome to the Stupidpocalypse: Survival Tips for the Dumbageddon); on the objective perspective on the U.S. afforded to Canadians and to American citizens living outside the country; and on the challenge of learning to interact maturely with the big dumb, nonstop, in-your-face electronic bulletin board that is social media.
Ashley Houghton from FairVote explains Ranked Ballots (Season 8, Ep3)
Ashley Houghton, FairVote's Senior Director of Programs and Policy, sat down with David and Rachel to talk about election reform in general, and ranked choice voting in particular. FairVote is a nonpartisan organization that researches and advances voting reforms in the hope of making democracy more functional and representative.
Author David Pepper Spells Out How to Save Democracy (Season 8, Ep2)
A former chair of Ohio Democratic Party, David Pepper is the author of several books, including Laboratories of Autocracy and Saving Democracy. You may have caught him in a short segment with Rachel Maddow or Morning Joe. The day after Issue One was defeated in Ohio in August, 2023, he joined Rachel and David on the pod to talk about how the Democrats' strategy differs from the Republicans', how that must change, and how you can help.
For more information: savedemocracy.us
And don't forget to register and request your ballot EVERY YEAR at votefromabroad.org
Horrific Barriers of Buoys and Razor Wire in a Texas River (Season 8, Ep1)
Democrats Abroad member Amerika Garcia Grewal joins Rachel and David to talk about a return visit to her home town: Eagle Pass, Texas.
She has now witnessed the horrible situations that migrants trying to get into the United States face as they try to cross the Rio Grande river.
Amerika recently was a part of a group that went onto the river to see the newly installed barriers made out of floating buoys and razor wire.
She also saw the people that are pushing through these barriers to find a better life in the United States.
Amerika gives a first-hand account of the way that her home town has changed, and the need for border security without cruelty.
View some of Amerika's photographs.
https://www.votefromabroad.org/
The 2023 International Chair Candidate Forum (Season 7, Ep13)
Leedonal "Jazz" Moore and Martha McDevitt-Pugh, candidates for the office of Democrats Abroad's International Chair, answer questions compiled by the Nominations and Elections Committee.
Presented by the Democrats Abroad Nominations and Elections Committee.
Hosted by The Blue Vote Café, with Rachel Eugster and David Schellenberg, in one of the BVC's first video episodes.
More information on Democrats Abroad's upcoming elections can be found at https://www.democratsabroad.org/dpca_elections_2023
DPCA voting reps: Be sure to vote on June 11, 2023.
The 2023 Treasurer Candidate Forum (Season 7, Ep11)
Joshua Van der Ploeg, candidate for the office of Democrats Abroad's International Treasurer, answer questions compiled by the Nominations and Elections Committee.
Presented by the Democrats Abroad Nominations and Elections Committee.
Hosted by The Blue Vote Café, with Rachel Eugster and David Schellenberg.
More information on Democrats Abroad's upcoming elections can be found at https://www.democratsabroad.org/dpca_elections_2023
DPCA voting reps: Be sure to vote on June 11, 2023.
The 2023 Legal Counsel Candidate Forum (Season 7, Ep10)
Anne Brady and Heather Stone, candidates for the office of Democrats Abroad's International Legal Counsel, answer questions compiled by the Nominations and Elections Committee. NOTE: this episode will be updated when answers have been received from Summer Tillman, who was given an extended deadline to respond due to circumstances beyond her control
Presented by the Democrats Abroad Nominations and Elections Committee.
Hosted by The Blue Vote Café, with Rachel Eugster and David Schellenberg.
More information on Democrats Abroad's upcoming elections can be found at https://www.democratsabroad.org/dpca_elections_2023
DPCA voting reps: Be sure to vote on June 11, 2023.
The 2023 Secretary Candidate Forum (Season 7, Ep9)
Karen Frankenstein, Renee Clarke, and Susan Mackenzie, candidates for the office of Democrats Abroad's International Secretary, answer questions compiled by the Nominations and Elections Committee.
Presented by the Democrats Abroad Nominations and Elections Committee.
Hosted by The Blue Vote Café, with Rachel Eugster and David Schellenberg.
More information on Democrats Abroad's upcoming elections can be found at https://www.democratsabroad.org/dpca_elections_2023
DPCA voting reps: Be sure to vote on June 11, 2023.
The 2023 International Vice Chair Candidate Forum (Season 7, Ep12)
Art Schankler, Jennifer von Estorff, and Steve Nardi, candidates for the office of Democrats Abroad's International Vice Chair, answer questions compiled by the Nominations and Elections Committee.
Presented by the Democrats Abroad Nominations and Elections Committee.
Hosted by The Blue Vote Café, with Rachel Eugster and David Schellenberg, in one of the BVC's first video episodes.
More information on Democrats Abroad's upcoming elections can be found at https://www.democratsabroad.org/dpca_elections_2023
DPCA voting reps: Be sure to vote on June 11, 2023.
President Joe Biden Comes to Ottawa (Season 7, Ep8)
What you need to know when you find out that the President of the United States is coming to your town!
Why all Wisconsin voters need to vote right away (Season 7, Ep7)
Wisconsin voters Liz Blackbourn and Annie Graul explain the importance of this current election.
They outline why they are supporting liberal Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz.
Shari Temple explains the 100 year birthday party for the Equal Rights Amendment (Season 7, Ep5)
March 22, 2023 will mark 100 years since the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced.
And it still has not been passed.
Tricia Augustine-Hamilton catches us up on DA's quest to restore NJ's overseas voters' rights (Season 7, Ep4)
Tricia Augustine-Hamilton picks up the story where John Baumlin left off (listen to "The quest to restore New Jersey's overseas voters' rights, with John Baumlin" to hear Part One). Tricia shares with David and Rachel the inside story on how a team from around the world worked for three years to see legislation through to passage. She pulls back the curtain on Candice Kerestan's first action as DA's International Chair. And she touches upon the topic of trailing spouses, lauds the people and grassroots power of DA, and discusses the fact that lobbying and voter protection ≠ gravy.
DA's Youth Caucus joins Young Democrats of America (Season 7, Ep3)
After nearly a year of negotiations, Democrats Abroad has been formally admitted into the Young Democrats of America (YDA) structure.
Brent Jamsa, a member of DA's Youth Caucus Steering Committee, and Quentin Wathum-Ocama, President of YDA, join David and Rachel to talk about this new alliance, a first in both organizations' histories. Brent and Quentin talk about how DA and YDA can work together to support, involve, and advocate for young Democrats. They discuss how the 91-year-old YDA deals with the challenge of members aging out (at age 36), how "Emily in Paris" relates to young Americans who find themselves living outside the U.S., and how the international perspective of DA's Youth Caucus members can be applied to help fellow citizens in the U.S. Quentin (the longest-serving officer in YDA's history) invites Democrats to attend YDA's National Convention in June , and Brent invites all DA members under 36 to join DA's Global Youth Caucus. Both give a shout-out to DA's International Chair Candice Kerestan for helping to make this new alliance happen.
Introducing Jarryd Rauch, the new Executive Director of Democrats Abroad (Season 7, Ep2)
Three weeks into the job, Jarryd shares with David and Rachel what he hopes to accomplish as DA's new Executive Director. Amongst the cat talk and the banter about who is whose boss, Jarryd's role is distilled into "tending, water, and weeding--but not mowing--DA's grass roots." The conversations also explores voting as an expression of values, DA's Africa Task Force, relational organizing, Wisconsin's Supreme Court election in April, and upcoming state races in November.
Exploring State Teams with Jennifer von Estorff (Season 7, Ep1)
Democrats Abroad State Teams are working to make sure that everyone gets their ballots.
Georgia Runoff Election 2022 (Season 6, Ep9)
If you're a Georgia voter living outside the U.S., here is all the information you need about the upcoming runoff election. Georgia voter Deirdre O’Brien and Democrats Abroad Vote from Abroad Coordinator Heidi Burch sit down with David and Rachel to talk about how to vote from abroad, where to get help if you need it, and the need for speed. Hear about complications stemming from the new legislation, the three categories of Georgia voters living outside the U.S., and why this election is so important.
Leigh McGowan: Politics Girl (Season 6, Ep8)
If you follow PoliticsGirl, you know where Leigh McGowan stands. But do you know how she got there? Leigh sits down with Rachel and David to talk about how her love of democracy led to the creation of her persona as Politics Girl. She talks about how her early non-partisan blog posts about basic civics made that her realize that when people understand what's going on, they get engaged. She traces the path that led to the daily TikTok/IG/Twitter rants she delivers today (with her trademark sass) that--along with her podcast and YouTube channel--are followed by hundreds of thousands of people. The conversation touches on health care, power-hungry Republicans, and the careening Car of Democracy that we can only tip back to stability by voting in numbers in the 2022 midterms. PoliticsGirl wants the 6 to 9 million Americans who live outside the country to feel their transformational power and VOTE!
https://www.votefromabroad.org/
https://www.politicsgirl.com/
Elizabeth Hahn, Democrats Abroad’s Voter Protection Officer (Season 6, Ep7)
Two weeks into her job as DA's Director of Voter Protection, Elizabeth Hahn sat down with David and Rachel. She discusses the three things she'll be looking for in the lead-up to the midterms: the obstacles to voting that face Americans abroad, what countries it's most difficult to vote from, and what states it's most difficult to vote in. Liz talks about getting friendly with her volunteer Voter Protection force, and forging connections with her state party counterparts and the DNC.
Heather Stone from the Medicare Portability Task Force (Season 6, Ep6)
Heather Stone is the chair of the Medicare Portability Task Force which is working to ensure that all U.S. citizens have access abroad to their earned benefits.
Citizens who worked in the US, or for US companies, paid into the Medicare system throughout their careers. Once they begin receiving the Social Security they earned throughout their work lives, their benefit is automatically reduced for the cost of their Medicare. But US Citizens residing outside the country are unable to use the Medicare they paid for, and continue to pay for, without often-costly travel back to the United States. Many choose that option. Others never receive the benefits for which they paid. This has implications for fairness and cost to the Medicare system.
For more information contact medicare@democratsabroad.org or follow this group on Substack https://themedicarereporter.substack.com/
Antar Keith from the Reparations Task Force in Democrats Abroad (Season 6, Ep5)
The Reparations Task Force is looking for Democrats Abroad members who are motivated to jump into the fight for full reparative justice for Black Americans.
We are looking for volunteers who wish to support H.R. 40 and all other American reparative legislation at the local, state, and national levels.
If you are interested in getting involved in this fight for justice, please send an email to reparations@democratsabroad.org.
The quest to restore New Jersey's overseas voters' rights, with John Baumlin (Season 6, Ep4)
A tale of intrigue from John Baumlin, former DA Japan chair and newly elected rep to the DNC for DA Asia Pacific. John tells David and Rachel about his knotty five-year quest to re-enfranchise New Jersey voters living outside the country. With gratitude for a silver mine of DA knowledge, and side trips into internet philosophy, and the ins and outs of game translation.
Stephanie Perry explains the importance of GOTV (Season 6, Ep3)
A solid Get Out The Vote (GOTV) campaign is an important part of every election.
Request your ballot at www.votefromabroad.org
Get general help at info@democratsabroad.org
Get specific voting help at gotv@democratsabroad.org
Send your questions directly to Stephanie at gotv@democratsabroad.ca
Exploring Roberts Rules of Order with Rob Carolina (Season 6, Ep2)
What are Robert’s Rules of Order?
Why does Democrats Abroad use them in the AGM?
Rob Carolina gives us the history plus the pros and cons.
Talking with Will Bakker, Chair of the Resolutions Committee (Season 6, Ep1)
As Democrats Abroad prepares for an upcoming global meeting, Will Bakker explains the role of the Resolutions Committee (Carol Adamson in Sweden, Farid E. Ben Amor in Japan, Kent Getsinger in Australia, Beverle Lax in Kenya, past chair of the committee Susan Vaillant of France, and Rick Wicks of Sweden). How do resolutions get brought to the governing body? What sorts of resolutions are considered? What difference do they make? Who gets to propose and vote on them?
The Environment and Climate Crisis Council in Democrats Abroad (Season 5, Ep12)
Chatting with Dana Freling and Dash Nesbitt from the Environment and Climate Crisis Council.
Chatting with Jen Rakow-Stepper, the Regional Vice-Chair for EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) (Season 5, Ep11)
Jen explains the challenges of coordinating Democrats Abroad across more than 20 countries.
Talking to Rebecca Lammers who is the Chair of Democrats Abroad's Global Taxation Task Force (Season 5, Ep10)
United States citizens around the world are supposed to file their taxes every year but don't do it.
The Global Seniors Caucus in Democrats Abroad (Season 5, Ep9)
Getting all the details on why the caucus was created and its goals.
Meeting Allyssa Schoenemann from the Democrats Abroad Global Disability Caucus (Season 5, Ep8)
A lively and fun discussion about this new caucus that focuses on the rights and protections of Americans with disabilities around the world.
Talking with Steve Nardi about Democrats Abroad in the Americas (Season 5, Ep7)
Steve Nardi explains how Democrats Abroad is organised around the world.
Heidi Burch talks about DA's voter registration portal votefromabroad.org (Season 5, Ep6)
"Ballots in boxes!" is the central preoccupation of Democrats Abroad's Vote from Abroad coordinator. Heidi Burch joins David and Rachel to talk about votegfromabroad.org, the non-partisan voter registration portal operated by Democrats Abroad. Heidi outlines multiple reasons for registering via votefromabroad.org instead of directly with your state, what it takes to keep the site up-to-the-minute in the face of changing regulations, and how easy it is for overseas voters to get help in registering. Plus, you'll learn who does the snow shovelling in Rachel's house, what David has against librarians, and what it means to unremember personal information "the European Way."
Mike Nitz from the Global Veterans & Military Families Caucus (Season 5, Ep5)
The history of the Global Veterans & Military Families Caucus and the new problem that vets have when trying to use their education benefits around the world.
Meeting the Global Hispanic Caucus (Season 5, Ep4)
Understanding the challenges of the Democrats Abroad Global Hispanic Caucus with Carlos Colao, Edgar Lopez and Amerika Garcia Grewal.
The Democrats Abroad Progressive Caucus (Season 5, Ep3)
Learning the history and the future of the Democrats Abroad Progressive Caucus.
More information can be found at https://www.democratsabroad.org/pc
Follow the Progressive Caucus Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/prodacaucus/
Meeting Leedonal "Jazz" Moore from the Global Black Caucus (Season 5, Ep2)
The newly appointed chair of DA's Global Black Caucus joins David and Rachel to talk about issues, changes, and plans. Overseeing a team of 22 people, Jazz is working to ensure that the GBC is tackling a host of issues with a new deputy structure designed to avoid damage to the team and burnout. Jazz discusses growing issues of advocacy such as reparations and artificial intelligence, as well as the importance of justice and peace, taking down barriers and borders, and letting people be heard. Jazz briefly details upcoming events such as Spill the Beans: the GBC Cafe, and highlights the Power to the People podcast and the GBC's poet laureate's circle.
Meeting Nicholas Gordon, Regional Vice Chair for Asia Pacific (Season 5, Ep1)
Nicholas Gordon, one of the three new Regional Vice Chairs elected to DA's Executive Committee, is David and Rachel's guest. Nicholas represents the Asia-Pacific region, which includes the Pacific Islands; East, Southeast, South, and Central Asia; and Australia and New Zealand. The conversation touches on the diversity of cultures and communities in the area, its growing presence and power in American politics, the role of the regional vice chair in supporting members who don't belong to a country committee, and how to engage "Secret Americans." Nicholas describes how casting his first in-person vote in DA's 2016 Global Primary led to becoming RVC---with a brief diversion into whether or not there is still a bottle of vodka in the freezer at his U.S. voting address.
Meeting Orlando Vidal, the International Counsel (Season 4, Ep11)
Orlando Vidal is the newly elected International Counsel for Democrats Abroad.
Meeting Beth Landry, the new Secretary for Democrats Abroad (Season 4, Ep10)
With side forays into game design and encroaching thunderstorms, David and Rachel chat with Beth about the role of DA Secretary. Beth shares the perspective of someone who hasn't lived abroad very long, yet has contributed at all four levels of DA (local, country, regional, and now inernational). Beth reveals a passion for dotting i's and crossing t's, and talks about bringing on deputies for Secretary and other ExCom officers, creating a DA handbook, and staying hydrated and cool as a delegate to the DNC. One of these undertakings revealed an answer to a question posed in our conversation with Chair Candice Kerestan!