Let’s Vote

During the last presidential election campaign I was asked whether the election of a US president should become a global event rather than being something only citizens of the United States can participate in. The reasoning behind that question was that since the United States is a super power whose actions influence the global economy, it was “unfair” that only US citizens got to choose. While I believe that the election of a US president should belong exclusively to American citizens, I have to concede that US policy decisions have a ripple effect on the rest of the world.


The importance of US elections is reflected in the global media coverage of each stage of the presidential campaign. From more than a year before, the world is alerted to the fact that elections will be coming up soon. From 11 months before the election date, our local news start following each party’s primaries. What each prospective party candidate is saying and doing starts to be closely being monitored. Progressively, candidates withdraw transferring their support to another hopeful within the party. Closer to the November election date entire pages of newsprint, radio, TV and internet are dedicated exclusively to what the two remaining players are saying or doing. Many countries across all time zones stay up during awkward times to provide their viewers with live coverage of the counting of ballots and the declaration of a winner.

Those who have a US citizenship have the right to participate in State and Federal elections. In order to vote you do not need to physically be present in the US. Voting by US citizens living outside the US is known as Absentee Voting. To be able to vote you have to complete the Registration/Absentee Ballot Request form and send it to your Election Official. When this is approved you will receive your ballot in the mail. Fill in the ballot and post it back to your election office. The process is simple and straightforward.

Some might say that their vote does not matter over who will win an election. This is far from the truth. We are seeing a surge in the number of people who make use of their right to vote and as democrats and republicans converge on many topics the difference between the winner and the loser will be getting smaller. Suffice to remind those who followed the 2000 US presidential elections between George W. Bush and Al Gore in which the former’s margin of victory in Florida was 327 votes (adjusted to 930 votes because of overseas votes). Thanks to Florida, George W. Bush became the 43rd President of the US.

For more information on how you can apply for an absentee vote for both State as well as Federal elections, you can contact FVAP on http://www.fvap.gov. For information on how to join the Democratic Party (and be eligible to participate in party primaries) point your browser to http://www.democratsabroad.org/. Republicans can do the same by visiting http://www.republicansabroad.org/. If you need assistance, you can either visit the US Embassy here in Malta or get in touch with us on info@StarsAndStripesMalta.com.

Stars And Stripes Malta (SASM) is in contact with both the Democratic as well as the Republican parties’ overseas voters sections to provide you with salient information about activities that may interest you. We have also subscribed to the Federal Voting Assistance Program and will keep you posted on announcements by this government branch.

By exercising your right to vote, you are making your concerns known. As the number of overseas voters increase, parties will be more than willing to listen and understand the needs and special situations of US citizens living outside the USA. With a US population of 3000 living here in Malta, we could have turned the 2000 presidential election one way or the other. By registering to vote and sending in your absentee ballots you would be making that difference.

Americans gain is Canadian pain in 2010 Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver are halfway over already. With so many Maltese living in Canada and America, these Olympics have been both a joy and a disappointment.

For the Canadians, nothing was right from the beginning. With the unfortunate death of the Georgian Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Olympics began on a sour note. After what appeared to be an incredible opening, the last arm of the Olympic torch failed to rise out of the ground, leaving the remaining arms seem out of place. It was an ominous start for the Canadians. Things looked up for the Canadians as they finally won a Gold medal on their own soil, but looking back that might have been the high point for them this Olympics. After spending millions of dollars to "Own the Podium" by winning the most medals in their own Olympic games, the Canadians sit a long off 5th place and have officially given up on this dream.

The biggest disappointment of the Olympics for the Canadians must be the Ice Hockey team, a sport Canadians hold so dear, yet they had to go to an overtime shot out to beat the Swiss and then lost in a horrible fashion to the Americans. Yes the Americans are better than the Swiss at hockey, but to lose to their neighbors in a game they call their own, ripped at the hearts of the Canadians. Now their team must beat the Germans before facing off with the Russians in the quarterfinals. A team destined to win the gold, now will be lucky to get to the medal games at all.

For the Americans however, the games have been a great success. American athletes seem to be medaling at an incredible pace. The best athletes have shown brightly for the Stars and Stripes, and the underdogs have made a stand (See the Hockey team for an example). There is a theory floating around America for this incredible success, and that is the theory of familiarity.

Many American athletes have trained in Vancouver for years, Apollo Ohno the American superstar speed skater, grew up in Seattle and learned to speed skate as a young boy in...Vancouver. Many people are saying the Americans have all the comforts of home without the pressures of playing at home. With Canadian and American cities so similar in layout, with virtually the same language, cultures and lifestyles the Americans are in quite the comfort zone.

It should be an exciting finish to the 2010 Olympics with the Germans right on the heels of the Americans for overall medal count, and the American media is already comparing the USA Hockey team to the "Miracle on Ice" team of 1980 (which is a bit of stretch). I hope all of you in Malta and around the world have been able to tune in and catch some of the action, it is certainly worth it!

Superbowl Review

The big game of the year has come and gone, but alas it wasn’t what many of us were expecting, in fact it was a bit predictable. Two high powered offenses squaring off against one another, and yet two totally different styles; the flash and trickery of the Saints squaring off against the proven pass happy Colts. It was only a matter of time until they got their feet under them and the points began to rain down. Sure enough in the second half the points began to accumulate, as well as the lone surprise coming with the onsides kick by the Saints to start the half, which they did recover. But it felt…different; there were no big flashy offensive plays, no Running back breaking it for a long exciting scamper down the sidelines, no Quarterback hitting a deep receiver for a huge gain. Rather the scoring came on methodical yet efficient drives.

Then it happened, the big play of the game. The interception returned for a touchdown, and it was big and flashy but sitting at home I had a different feeling, it wasn’t elation at a big play finally but rather it was a feeling that this was scripted. Perhaps one would say it felt like it was destiny. Maybe Peyton Manning knew that too, judging by the way he walked off the field, he looked like he knew he was a part of something bigger than himself. And honestly, how could the Saints not win the Superbowl? How could they make it all the way to their first ever title game and then flop on the biggest stage when they represent all that is good about New Orleans? They couldn’t. And though each person may have had an individual pulling interest, everyone deep down knew how the game would end before it started and maybe, just maybe, that is why it wasn’t the most exciting Superbowl because the hearts of America had picked the winner years ago when a city was devastated.

Overall, it was a clean and good game to watch. In fact it was everything good about football. The commercials were average this year, nothing made me laugh very hard but maybe that’s a good thing too, maybe it is time to start focusing back on what the day is, a day for football not commercials. For the sake of this blog, I’ll add that the Superbowl is truly a day where everyone in America comes together, regardless of where you are from. Enjoying the game with friends in a college town amplifies this. Sitting around our table, with chips and beers in hand, were two Brazilians, a Canadian, a Frenchman, a Peruvian and kids from around the cities and farms of the American Midwest. It was a great sight and I reflected on it, even if only for a moment, before going back to snacking and screaming at the television.

Maltese American Associations

When the largest number of the Maltese emigrated to the US, the phone was a device the majority of people spoke about rather than owned.  Yet today many of the organizations that aim to group together Maltese people living in different US states are still in the technological Stone Age.  A few days ago I googled the phrase “Maltese American”. The first 4 links were the following:

1.    A Definition of what a Maltese American is in Wikipedia.
2.    A website called americanmaltese.org about the Maltese dog.
3.    An article titled “Maltese Americans” by Dianne Andreassi.
4.    Another website about the Maltese dog.
 

After that were links to pages with links to either dog clubs or to Maltese American Clubs. I started clicking the links that made reference to “Maltese American Club”, “Maltese American Association”, “Maltese American Society” and other phrases that indicate an organization in which people of Maltese descent meet and mingle.
 

I regret to report that many of the links opened up into pages that belonged to business finding web sites.  These would carry the name of the organization, an address and sometimes a phone number. Many had a map indicating the address. Even though many of these pages allowed people to add comments and advertise events, all the links I clicked upon were void of such content. I get the impression that the owners of these information sites had gotten hold of an organization’s details not because someone from the organization actually filled in a form in order to be listed but because the organization’s details appear in some official list.
 

In today’s day and age, an organization that aspires to establish new contacts and retain existing ones should have an online presence. This is especially more true with organizations with one part of their heritage on the other side of the Atlantic. While those from Malta might not be able to attend the functions organized by their brethren living in New York, Michigan and San Francisco,  I am pretty sure that they would be interested in knowing what is happening and maybe occasionally even exchange an email or chat online. An online connection is even more important now that the first and second generation Americans have taken over the reins of these clubs. For many of these American Maltese people, the only knowledge of Malta is through the lives of their parents and grandparents and maybe a holiday spent in Malta.

Stars And Stripes Malta (SASM) would like to offer all Maltese American organizations a free web page and email address. This will allow them to announce their events and to stay in touch with the rest of the world both at home as well as in Malta. For more information contact us on info@StarsAndStripesMalta.com.