There are 6.6 million Americans (excluding the military) living overseas, which would make them the 17th most populous state if they were somehow combined (source).  Add to that over a million members of the armed forces, who are deployed abroad.

So, if you're an American living abroad, this diary is for you.  Here's some help with registering to vote, requesting an absentee ballot and with casting your vote.  Tips on networking with Dems in your area also provided.

let's make change global (as hundreds, i guess thousands, of people are already doing)

So, I came across something called Overseas Citizens Voters Week, which is taking place between Saturday, June 28th and Monday, June 7th. (I also noticed that Republicans Abroad have republished the above notice about the week of voter engagement...)

So, the week is organized by the Federal Voting Assistance Program, which basically works for the Secretary of Defense and is in charge of facilitating overseas voter registration and absentee voting for our military and their families, for our diplomats, and for millions of citizens, who are living abroad either temporarily or permanently.  Considering some of the criticisms that the FVAP received in 2004, the on-line community can play a part in ensuring that this year the Overseas Citizens Voters Week is actually "geared toward non-military voters."  

this is meant to be a spark, and i'd be happy to see other diarists follow-up this week and next

i was searching for info (about registering to vote, acquiring an absentee ballot, and about other potential ways to help with a GOTV effort for Americans living [or studying] abroad), and I came across something called Overseas Citizens Voters Week, which is taking place over 10 days between Saturday, June 28th and Monday, June 7th.

From the Federal Voting Assistance Program's July Newsletter

Overseas Citizens Voters Week is generally geared toward non-military voters, but the Services are encouraged to have an Independence Day registration booth, too.

FYI, I noticed that Republicans Abroad are pointing people to these events, but I didn't see the Democrats Abroad website mention this.  So, I wanted to see if we can help create a viral voter registration effort for Americans abroad and launch it at the beginning of next week Saturday.  

so there's this WSJ article about McCain's campaign coordinating donations of upwards of $70,000 from individuals

Wall Street Journal. April 21, 2008. McCain Funds Solicit Big Donors: Plan Could Appear To Contradict Senator's Record"

This makes me wonder why Obama is "only" coordinating up to $33,100 from individuals, by sending $28,500 to the DNC.

Anyways, props to Obama with his ability to raise small donations from over 1.5 million people, and I'll drink a beer to Obama not getting swift-boated. Cheers!

Below, I just compiled a bit of info. Sorry that it's a little choppy.

---
h/t to Christian Dem in NC, who referenced the WSJ article in a recent diary.

So as pointed out on the front page, yesterday, Senators McCain and Obama both co-sponsored S. 2731, for "foreign countries to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, and for other purposes."

Previously, DemFromCT covered the hold by Sen. Coburn and six other Republican Senators.

This act by McCain and Obama is a huge signal to Majority Leader Reid and Minority Leader McConnell that this bipartisan bill is going to pass, if they just let a vote occur.  Also, 14 R Senators had previously expressed their support for this bill passing before the G8 summit (...meaning before the July 4th recess).

I'll discuss how the bill can impact the G8 summit and the world at large [rant included], and then I want to also point progressives to the outstanding (and difficult to swallow) issues that remain.

Today on Obama's website, when I clicked on Make Calls, I got this message:

Congratulations! You have made calls from coast to coast and have built this movement one conversation at a time. Now, you can thank fellow supporters for their involvement in this campaign for change and ask them to participate in Vote for Change to register new voters.

For those of us in non-swing states like CA and NY, this might be a fun way to help the campaign. So, let's do our part (and put our free cell phone minutes to good use) by encouraging people in swing states to organize Vote for Change events in their communities.

An important global health bill (S. 2731 - the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008) is stuck in the Senate due to a hold from 7 Republicans led by Tom Coburn (OK). Coburn and company have been widely criticized for this position, but they have continued the hold.

There is widespread bipartisan support for this bill, and we have more than 60 votes to pass it, even if those 7 Republicans insist on holding the bill up.

Organizations from across the political spectrum are advocating for the reauthorization bill to be passed in the Senate before the upcoming G8 meeting in early-July...

according to their analysis from yesterday:

there are about 194 votes from either leaning or safe Republican states, and 190 from leaning or safe Democrat states.

a problem is that CNN is counting New Mexico as leaning Republican.  Some fools at CNN got together and decided that New Mexico is not a toss-up.  That's despite the latest poll from Survey USA (5/16-18) showing a tie and the latest Rasmussen poll (5/14) showing Obama up 9 points, and both these polls were before the recent unity bounce.

what the hell is CNN thinking?

For months now, John McCain has said that as President he would "establish the goal of eradicating malaria" [a, b, c].  

This week the New England Journal of Medicine said,

eradication is judged to be impossible with the current tools....reaction to the call for a new global eradication campaign has been mixed....Arata Kochi, chief of WHO's Global Program on Malaria, contends that "to move toward eradication at this moment is counterproductive".

So, this diary is about fighting malaria.


:: ::

and I couldn't resist posting this picture ;-}

A wave of xenophobic violence swept the country, leaving 62 dead and at least 50,000 foreign nationals displaced from their homes in South Africa. A couple of weeks ago, an image of an immigrant being burnt alive was published across South Africa. It had a huge impact, but the violence continued for another week,  and the South African government is unable to help the refugees, who were terrorized while the government failed to respond adequately to the crisis.  The UN must provide help URGENTLY; it is what these people want and need.

Yesterday, the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Council of Churches (among other civil society organizations) sent an appeal to the international community asking that organizations "demand that the UN and UNHCR acts with speed."

pls digg their appeal to the international community.  [Better yet, send the appeal to any international organizations (or people, who work in one) that you're friendly with]

I just got off the phone with Senator Reid's office b/c I was taking part in an action from MoveOn.  

I was requesting that Sen. Reid urgently schedule for debate and the vote on the global HIV, TB and malaria reauthorization bill.  The nice lady on the phone told me that Republicans have a hold on the bill, but the thing is I KNOW THAT. That's the reason I was calling in the first place!

I kindly asked the person on the phone if they knew that Sen. Lugar and 13 other Republicans have written a letter to Minority Leader McConnell, also asking that he and Reid urgently schedule for this vote, and the person on the phone did not know this.

What scares me is that the Democratic leadership in the Senate may allow this bill to die, in order to blame the Republicans come November.  BUT WE HAVE THE 60+ VOTES RIGHT NOW.

Quoting MoveOn:

It's got broad bipartisan support, and will pass easily—if it ever gets a chance.

the Senate will be back to business this week, and some activists are hoping we can overcome a senseless hold that 7 Republicans (led by Coburn-OK) have placed on a bipartisan global health bill.

The House has passed the reauthorization bill for the 5 year program on AIDS, TB and malaria, and activists (and the Bush Administration--yes, that's right) see a tremendous amount of urgency in getting this bill passed and signed in June, before the G8 meeting in Japan in early-July.

please sign this petition from MoveOn to Sen. Reid that says

"Senator Reid, the lives of millions around the world matter more than the feelings of 7 of your Senate colleagues. Bring the global AIDS, TB, and malaria bill up for a vote as soon as possible."

and please read on.  I've put in a good amount of work here in order to explain something about the Abstinence, Be faithful and Comdomize model that the Bush Administration claims came from Uganda.  I'm trying to forward a hugely important argument about why Uganda did have a successful HIV prevention program, before the introduction of the ABC model.

where were you when AIDS activists begged for your support?
when millions of lives were on the line.

did you stand side-by-side your comrades?
did you take a minute of your time to sign a petition that MoveOn has been kind enough to organize?
did you (take an extra step) and call Senator Reid's office?

or did you ignore us?

(photo of Lesotho Positive Action members. Source: the Treatment Action Campaign)

this week is a good time to help save the lives of millions of people in the world's poorest countries (and the actual advocacy will only take 5-10 minutes).

The Senate will be back in session next week, and they need to urgently vote on a bipartisan bill to fund the U.S. global HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB programs.  

Advocating for this global health bill can easily (and convincingly) be combined with advocacy, in support of a separate bill on debt relief (called the Jubilee Act, which has 25 bipartisan co-sponsors).  That way, poor countries will be able to invest much more of their own money on their own people.

We need these bills (especially the first one, i guess) to be approved ASAP, so that the US can leverage more commitments from the G8 countries (especially Japan), before the upcoming G8 meeting in early-July.

this is a follow up to a top rec'd diary
http://www.dailykos.com/...

basically, me and a couple of other Kossacks were questioning the legitimacy of the story because there was no verifiable info posted, such as the address of the correct polling location (and the address of the incorrect place where people were sent), nor was a picture provided of the voter registration card that many voters appear to have received.

papundit provided a link to an image of the (bad) voter registration card s/he received in the mail, and I wanted to point out that the incorrect polling location can also be found from other sources on the net.

This morning there was a cool diary by Fozzie Bear.

Basically, on Thursday's edition of The Colbert Report:

[Edwards] made it quite clear that if either candidate really wants to curry favor with North Carolina's best [dressed] son, then perhaps they could send a couple of jet skis his way.

Late last night a few of us Obama supporters decided we'd do just that ... at least symbolically. {snip} So we're hoping to raise $12,100 (Elizabeth needs a jet ski too!) for Save the Children.

I'm spreading the word, and I setup another donation counter over at NetworkForGood.org