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.