Freedom Writers 3/1/25
We stand with Ukraine (Not the other guy)
Hello, Freedom Writers!
In Today’s Post:
Who’s In Charge Here? Trump? Musk? Vance? … or Putin?
Last Night’s Spontaneous Standouts - Thanks to all who came out!
INFO SHEETS - For Your Information
Actions » Actions » Actions
(If you’re reading this in the Substack app, you can use the little bars to the left to navigate between sections.)
Who’s In Charge Here? Trump? Musk? Vance? … or Putin?
I’m sorry to burst your bubble, Mr. President, but reindeer don’t actually fly, Haitians don’t actually eat cats and dogs, and Ukraine didn’t actually start the war with Russia.
Sooo … it begs the question, what IS behind Trump's childish performance with President Zelenskyy on Friday? Who’s in charge here?
On Friday night, Rachel Maddow said, what Trump did in the Oval Office … “wasn’t good for the United States, but it was good for someone.” And as Elon Musk and his chainsaw children shred our National Security Agencies, schools and foreign aid programs, again: it’s not good for the USA, but it IS good for someone.
When Attorney General Pam Bondi disbands the Foreign Influence Task Force, which stops foreign meddling in our elections, and disbands the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires lobbyists from foreign nations to register, that’s not good for us, but it IS good for someone …
Who might that someone be?
When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, we didn’t take the side of Hitler.
When The Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, we didn’t take the side of the Soviet Union.
And when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, we didn't take the side of Saddam Hussein.
So, what’s going on here? It has The New Yorker asking the question, “Has Trump been a Russian Asset since 1987?”
The good news is: there’s a gap growing between the hard core Trump base and the 2024 Trump Voters over all these things that are not good for us.
Trump’s hard core base is a lost cause because they’re racist. They need Trump to help them sleep at night with all that evil in their hearts.
But most of the 2024 Trump Voters just voted for him because they want the price of eggs to go down. They’re noticing that Trump is not, actually, operating in their best interest. Trump’s approval ratings are finally going down, and his disapproval ratings are going up.
And … this GREAT NEWS … Trump voters in multiple deep red states are voicing their anger at town meetings with their GOP Congresspeople.
Thier top issues are, in no particular order,
The price of eggs (of course)
Ukraine
The Federal Worker firings
Trump’s “I am King” statements
Medicaid cuts
Department of Education cuts
Consumer Protection cuts, so Trump’s friends at predatory banks and credit card companies can charge us fees to their heart’s content with no consequences at all.
… and, as this list grows bigger every day, the gap widens.
The critical thing about the gap is this: the GOP Congress members have been allegiant to Trump for ONLY one reason: recently, they have needed Trump’s support to get re-elected. If Trump becomes toxic, these members of Congress will drop him like a rock. To them, getting re-elected is all that matters.
In our actions below, you’re going to see some things we can do with your action groups to widen this gap.
Last Night’s Spontaneous Standouts - Thanks to everyone who came out!
Thank you to the over 50 people who came out for the Longmeadow and Springfield MA spontaneous standouts in response to the Oval Office debacle yesterday. That was a great turn out on such short notice!
Unfortunately, we’re probably going to have to do that many more times over the next four years. We need to get better at it, and be more prepared. See the actions below for more information on how you and your action groups can plan for spontaneous standouts.
INFO SHEETS - For Your Information
If you’re new to the Freedom Writers, WELCOME! Check out these INFO SHEETS with lots of great background information:
Actions > Actions > Actions
These actions are designed for you to take with your Action Group or by yourself. By ‘Action Group,’ we mean any group that meets regularly to protect our country’s democracy and freedom. It can be a church group, an Indivisible or Swing Left group, a Democratic Town Committee, or even just a pro-active group of neighbors.
Just meeting regularly to talk about these issues is important by itself.
These are scary times and we need to stay connected with each other. In order to protect our country, we’re going to need thousands of these groups to be educated and ‘at the ready.’ So, whether you join an existing group and swell its numbers so it can break into 2, or you just start your own, the bottom line is: find a group, build it up, get connected through information channels like this Substack and local coalitions, then teach others how to do the same.
Action 1: Call your Elected Officials - This is top priority - It really does make a difference!
If you’re new to calling your Elected Officials, PLEASE read our 5 Calls App info sheet to get started.
If you’re not sure why calling Elected Officials is so critically important, PLEASE watch these videos from AOC.
Actions: Use the 5 Calls app to make these 3 calls TODAY! You should find these 3 titles in the app.
Support Ukraine
Block the Return of Predatory Bank Fees
Reject Attacks on Medicaid to Fund Billionaire Tax Cuts
Action 2: Teach someone you know how to call their Elected Officials … ESPECIALLY if they live in a RED state.
Calling your elected official is a little bumpy for everyone the first time through, but we need WAY more people to make these important calls. Each of us knows at least one person who wants to take impactful action but doesn’t know how. Offer to walk them through it.
Action 3: Make a plan - Help your Action Group plan for the next round of Spontaneous Standouts -
If you are not yet part of an Action Group, you can get started HERE.
If you have an action group, in your next meeting discuss these agenda items:
WHERE will we do our Spontaneous Standouts? - Choose a well lit spot with lots of traffic that you’ve used – or seen others use – for standouts before. Each group should choose their favorite spot so that it’s familiar and comfortable for the group members. Most of the time, when organizers have time to plan actions, you’ll receive an invitation with a location on it. But when something important happens and we need to get out on the streets THAT DAY, we’ll put out a call for a “Spontaneous Stand Out” asking you to go to your group’s Spontaneous Standout location. That way, when people are driving around, they may see 1 or 2 or 3 of our standouts at different locations.
It’s awesome when several action groups use the same spot, but it’s not necessary. In my town, Longmeadow, MA, our Democratic Town Committee and The Freedom Writers both use the same spot, but our local Indivisible Group, RUWMI, uses a spot in the neighboring town, Springfield.
BUY POSTER SUPPLIES NOW - We know we’re going to need posters, but unfortunately we don’t know what they are going to say. Buy poster board, thick markers and reflective tape (which you can use to letters out of). Keep in mind that most Spontaneous Standouts will happen in the evening on the day that some news breaks. You need your posters to be visible and clear from far away in bad light.
PACK YOUR Spontaneous Standout KIT - Designate a backpack, fill it with flashlights, batteries, thick markers, duct tape and maybe a clip board for new people to share their contact information. You’d be surprised how many times a person who just drove by your standout will circle back to join you. It happens all the time.
WHAT ELSE? - Each action group will have other ideas on how to prepare for the next Spontaneous Standout. We’re putting an INFO SHEET together on this right now, so if you have good ideas, please share them with us!
Action 4: March 8 Day of Action Events - From the Women’s March.
This International Women’s Day, March 8, Americans are fighting back to protect our freedoms—just like generations before us who marched, organized, and refused to stay silent. Use this link to find an on March 8 near you: Unite & Resist: A National Day of Action.
Action 5: Write to WI Voters about their Special Election on April 1st
Order packets for the 3/9/25 Distribution - Freedom Writer’s Postcard Distribution of postcards for WI Voters. The Freedom Writers have distribution points in Western Mass, but we also mail packets of postcards to anywhere in the US. Order your packets for our March 9 Distribution here: ORDER FORM.