DAT Announces Obama-Biden Inauguration Party -- evening of January 20 - and more DAT activities

Dear DAT members,

Seasons greetings to you all! Here is wishing that you spend many hours and days over the holiday season with friends and family.

First of all, save the date -- January 20, 2009! DAT in Bangkok is already planning for the New Year as well, and the biggest first event we will have is an Inauguration Celebration Party, to watch live the Inauguration of Barack Obama and Joe Biden as our new President and Vice-President! DAT will be gathering at the Roadhouse Barbecue (map at www.roadhousebarbecue.com) from 8:30 p.m. onwards on the night of Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The Inauguration Ceremony will take place between 10 and 12 p.m. (Bangkok time), but there will be plenty of coverage, parades and other events leading up the formal ceremony -- so come on down and enjoy this historic occassion in the company of friendly fellow Democrats! DAT will also be encouraging members to send their best wishes and sign the two white DAT t-shirts that we will be sending to President Obama and Vice-President Biden at the White House -- let them know that the Americans in Thailand are sending all best wishes in their mission to restore our country's international standing in these dire times in the world! DAT will have our t-shirts available, and there are plans for a special inauguration coffee mug too! More details will be forthcoming on all of this, including possible Inauguration Parties organized in the provinces too.

Please note that global Democrats Abroad is also taking up President-Elect Obama's call for national service. Specifically, Dems Abroad is engaging in two global projects: letters and gift packages to American servicemen and women, and spreading cheer among the most needy at home in the US through foodbank contributions, at http://democratswork.org/index.php?page=display&id=177

Second, DAT will be holding its regional Asia-Pacific organization meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on February 7-8, 2009. The meeting is open to all members of Democrats Abroad in the Asia-Pacific region, so if you want to learn more about what we do and get involved, please plan to join us. As Chair, I plan to attend and I believe several other DAT leaders will also be going. If you are interested in joining us, or learning more about this meeting, please send an email to DemocratsAbroadThailand "at" gmail.com and I will ensure you get updates as the plans come together. Please also note that DA is an all volunteer organization, which also means that it is a "pay your own way" organization -- we do not have any travel costs for either leaders or members to participate in our activies.

Finally, for those of you who ordered Obama t-shirts and have not yet picked them up -- please get in touch with us ASAP. The demand for the shirts is great and we are not going to be able to hold orders forever. If you know that you are going to pick them up at some definite date in near future, please tell us that -- that counts for letting us know what your plan is. However, if we have not heard at all from you about your order by January 3, then we regretfully will not be in a position to ensure that all the shirts you ordered will continue to be available. It is important to remember that these shirts are being exchanged for donations to DAT (500 baht per shirt) -- so that we can build the party chapters in other parts of Thailand (Chiang Mai and the North, NE/Isarn and the Mekong, Phuket and the Andaman, Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard, perhaps Hua Hin and the South) in the future. So please -- follow through on your support for DAT -- you took the time to pre-order, now communicate to us at DemocratsAbroadThailand "at" gmail.com about your order.

Happy New Year, and best wishes to you all from DAT, the Best Party in Town.

Phil Robertson
Chair, DAT

More Election Night Party Photos from the Roadhouse

DAT members and friends made the long drive from NichadaThani into town and assembled en masse on the night of November 5th on the 3rd floor of the Roadhouse Barbecue to cheer in the new era, here are some great photos of our big victory night. Thanks to the Banburys for the deft camera work!



In the course of evening, I recall that there were quite a few rounds of some sweet drinks called B-52's amidst the house-rocking chants of O-Ba-Ma, O-Ba-Ma, O-Ba-Ma (with the chant continuing for three minutes or more each time, yelled at the top of your lungs...). The next morning saw a few hang-overs and hoarse throats, that is for sure!

A Cartoon that Says it All!

IMPORTANT -- Obama T-shirt Pick-up and Payment Procedures

Democrats Abroad in Thailand

For those of you who have ordered either the Thai/English Obama t-shirts, or the “Bangkok for Barack” t-shirts, as part of DAT’s last t-shirt order, here are the instructions on payment and pick-up of the shirts. The shirts will be delivered to DAT late on December 8^th, meaning that they will be available starting on December 9.

As has been stated many times in the past, the donations you provide to DAT are used by this organization for voter registration drives in Thailand -- such as supporting efforts to encourage Americans in Thailand to visit www.votefromabroad.org and other voting sites in order to take part in upcoming US elections, and supporting other activities that help “get out” the American Democratic vote in Thailand. You can be especially proud of wearing your DAT-provided T-shirt because it means you are already contributing to our efforts to build on our Congressional majority in upcoming elections in 2010.

There are two ways that you can make your donation, and receive your shirts – by either bank deposit to the DAT bank account, or in cash. DAT is not able to take credit cards, handle pay-pal requests, or any other form of donation – sorry about that, but we are an all volunteer organization and we need to keep things simple!

Bank transfer: Please make a bank transfer to DAT’s account – which is at Krung Thai Bank (Queen Sirikit Center branch. The name of the account is John Andrew Boname (who is DAT’s Treasurer) and the account number is 009-0-09385-2. After you have made the bank transfer, please send the bank pay-in slip to us. You can scan the bank-slip and email to us at democratsabroadthailand@gmail.com or you can fax it to us at 02-634-3799. In either case, include your name, number of shirts that you have ordered (so we can double-check against our list) and contact information. One shirt is provided for each donation of 500 baht.

For those who wish to have the shirts mailed to you, DAT will have to request that you reimburse us for postage. In Thailand, we send the shirts by EMS – for every 2 shirts you have ordered, add 50 baht to your order. If you have ordered an odd number of shirts, please top up the postage cost (i.e. for 7 shirts, please pay postage for 8). For those wishing to have shirts sent overseas, postage reimbursement is 200 baht per shirt. These postage reimbursements are based on the real reimbursements of postage from our experience in sending shirts in September and October.

For those of you in Bangkok, we strongly encourage you to make arrangements to pick up the shirts directly from us. Save yourself a trip to the bank, and come hang out with DAT! DAT will be at the Roadhouse Barbecue (www.roadhousebarbecue.com, corner of Rama 4 and Suriwong Roads) with the shirts on the afternoon and evening of December 9, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. – please send us a note to democratsabroadthailand@gmail.com if you expect to come to pick up your shirt on that day. You can make your donation in cash then, or bring the bank pay-in slip for your donation and show it to us. Phil Robertson, DAT Chair, will be the one handling the distribution of shirts that day, and he is reachable at (085) 060-8406.

Starting on December 10, the shirts will be available in exchange for a donation at the office of ISM Tech. To pick them up there, you will need to call (02) 634-3800, and speak to either Peter or Jaeng, and tell them when you are planning to go to ISM Tech. There is a map on their website, at www.ISMTech.net, hit the contact us button, and then download the map. They are located walking distance from the Chong Nonsi BTS stop, on Silom Road. Please, please do call ahead -- so that people can pull together your shirts and be prepared to get them to you easily and quickly.

Show your Obama and Democrats spirit around town -- let's make sure everyone knows that change is coming!

Finally, DAT will be organizing an Inauguration Party to celebrate the official investiture of Barack Obama as our 44th President. Details are still being worked out, but the event will be in Bangkok on/around January 20, 2009. DAT members will receive email notice of this event (for those who are not members, you can join at www.democratsabroad.org, hit the join button on upper right hand side), and you can also check back on this space where news of the event will be posted.

Obama Sticker from Down Under

The DAT celebration party at the Roadhouse -- which was free admission -- was attended by people from many nations who cheered a return to responsible leadership in the US -- including a group of Australians from the ARTIP anti-human trafficking project based in Bangkok. One of their group was inspired enough to come up with her own sticker design -- which she distributed for free to anyone who wanted them at the festivities. Woohoo indeed!

DAT at US Embassy Election Watch Party -- 5 Nov 08

DAT split its representation on Election Day in Bangkok -- with over 180 members going to the US Embassy's official "Election Watch" party at the Grand Hyatt Erawan -- and well over 200 heading to the DAT unofficial club house on the third floor of the Roadhouse Barbecue on Rama 4 and Suriwong Roads. These photos are from the Embassy party.

It was full of media (7 live media interviews in Thai for Chair Phil Robertson), hundreds of Thai school-kids (all asking questions from some civic education questionnaire -- "why do you support the Democratic Party?" -- the mind blurs with all the answers possible for that one...), some Americans, various Thai big-wigs (PM Somchai showed up - and gave a speech -- and then Bangkok Gov. Apirak appeared shortly thereafter -- the battle of the dueling entourages was on!), a few (and I do mean few) Republicans lead by "Sal" and "Al", the mystery McCain staffers never seen before election day despite big titles like "Country Coordinator" -- who predicted a McCain victory early on but rapidly became more reticent as the morning progressed. Needless to say, the DAT table was front and center, and surrounded by a constant flood of DAT members offering cheers and high-fives! Ambassador Eric John picked the right color with his neon blue silk tie as the Democrats romped -- and when California was called for Obama, and the network declared him the next President, the vast majority of Americans and Thais in the crowd cheered madly. Obama won 90% of the straw poll at the event -- and the cheers reflected that. A pile of McCain-Palin buttons sat off on a side table, undisturbed... YES WE CAN -- and then DAT moved en masse to the Roadhouse.

Photos of the Campaign in Thailand -- Fundraising Dinner for DAT -- Sept 2008

DAT was determined to run advertisements in Thailand's many English newspapers to encourage Americans to vote -- but that costs money! But combine some of the best food in Thailand at Ruen Thong Restaurant on Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Road and a good cause, and DAT members turned out, ready to support us!











Over 25 members turned out, donating 1000 baht each to the cause -- and with the free corkage allowed by the restaurant, the wine was flowing as fast as the conversation of hopes for something different, something better for the US -- especially since the Presidential debates were just around the corner! With this and other fundraising, the DAT was able to run ads in The Bangkok Post, The Nation (Bangkok), The Phuket Gazette, The Chiang Mai Mail, The Pattaya Mail, Pattaya Today, Pattaya People, The Korat Post, The Nonthaburi News, and last but not least, The Vientiane Times.

DAT's favorite photographer, Lance Woodruff, was on hand to snap some photos. As is apparent from all the photos, it was a really lively crowd! Thanks, Lance for capturing the event so clearly -- and much appreciation to everyone who turned out for a fun evening.

Photos of the Campaign in Thailand -- Obama Policy Platform Session at the Roadhouse -- July 08

Once it was clear that Sen. Obama had won the Democratic nomination, there was time to start thinking about ideas and policies -- and the Obama campaign encouraged "house parties" for engaged citizens to propose their views on what should be front and center in the Democrat Party platform to be adopted at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Democrats Abroad has its own platform but we thought it was important for the members to have their say -- and in late July, about 50 DAT members came down to the Roadhouse Barbecue to do just that -- over some cold ones and Chef Dana's best ribs and other grilled offerings. Americans Abroad for Obama leaders Jon Fox and Brian Thomson played an important role in organizing the event -- with Jon coming up with the original idea, and Brian cranking on his lap-top to keep up with the discussion and make sure the ideas were put in a form that could be submitted through the Obama campaign website.







Chair Phil Robertson moderated the discussion, which was quite vociferous at times -- reflecting the fact that we're Democrats and we have strong views (and we're not afraid to express them!) A reporter from The Nation came by and wrote up an article about DAT (see earlier entry in this blog) which garnered us more attention in US expat circles in the Kingdom. Policy progress while having fun too -- the essence of DAT!

The best Party in town!

Photos of the Campaign in Thailand -- Independence Day 2008

DAT was busy all year 2008 -- registering Americans to vote anywhere we could! Bangkok does not have alot of places that Americans tend to hang out, so we had to make our own opportunities. One of the best places was the annual 4th of July party, held this year on a muddy field at the Port Authority of Thailand sports stadium in Klong Toey. DAT had the best spot in the fair -- right next to the booth of the Roadhouse Barbecue, which had great Belgian wheat beer on tap! DAT Treasurer Andy Boname had a chance to relax with one of those after registering a ton of people...


Chef Dana was on hand grillin', which was good -- because we got might hungry as we registered over 150 Americans to vote that day. We also broke out the new t-shirt design, "Bangkok for Barack" -- which people were eager to see and have. All in all, a great time was had by all -- except the Republicans Abroad, who were nearby and struggled to muster 15 people the entire afternoon. But they were kind enough to let us have some FPCA voter registration forms when we ran out of ours!

Austin Arensberg and the Americans Abroad for Obama also busted out a new t-shirt design -- which was more popular with the younger party-ers...

The Coolest President

What else can you say? It's so true...