Hello, Freedom Writers!
Who’s afraid of the Trump Regime?
Today’s Actions >> CAD Dispatch - Please do these first so we can all row in the same direction!
Postcards to AZ - if you live in Western Mass, Order Your Postcard Packets for 4/27 Distribution Below
More Actions >> 5 Calls
Your support will help us grow!
INFO SHEETS - For Your Information
(If you’re reading this post in the Substack app, you can use the little bars to the left to navigate between bullets.)
Who’s afraid of the Trump Regime?
There's a lot to be afraid of right now. The loss of due process. The threat of El Salvadoran prisons. The looming Constitutional Crisis. The fluctuating market. The question hovering over our heads: Will our institutions hold up through the siege of Trump?
It’s a long list. Sometimes, we’re going to feel despair.
But, remember: the antidote to despair is action. Each one of us has to summon the strength to get up every morning and take some form of action. Below are some great actions we can all take today, either by ourselves or with our action groups.
Also remember this: We cannot afford to succumb to the fear. We’re Americans. We’re the world’s greatest hope. Our parents and grandparents and great-grand parents fought to protect our freedom – and dammit – we’re being called upon to do that today. We have to rise to the occasion today, just like other rose for us in the past.
Please, help us keep the legacy of American democracy strong by taking these actions today.
We thank you!
Today’s Actions >> CAD Dispatch - Please do these first so we can all row in the same direction!
CAD Team Weekly Action Dispatch - April 16, 2025
Each week, the CAD (Coordinated Action Dispatch team) receives suggested actions from a wide range of activists through the CAD Team Action Submission Form, and works with legislative experts, including the ACLU, Common Cause, and MIRA (Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition) to vet and prioritize a short list of actions for the week.
Please consider doing these priority CAD actions before you do other actions this week, so we can multiply our power and increase our impact! All actions can be done either by individuals or groups.
To receive the CAD dispatch via email every Wednesday, sign up HERE.
Today’s CAD Priority Actions:
National:
Protest Illegal Deportations - Kilmar Abrego Garcia - The Trump administration has unlawfully deported hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador, many without due process. So it’s not surprising that they may have made some mistakes.
Massachusetts:
Protect Trans Kids - Vote NO on Amendment 81 to H.4005 - “Democrats used a procedural motion to water the sports ban down rather than kill it outright out of fear of taking a vote and putting members on record.” - Erin in the Morning
Contact your local Dem Town Committee re: Call-to-action Letter - As national Democrats have struggled to respond to the deluge of Trump’s unconstitutional and illegal actions, Massachusetts activists are urging our MA congressional delegation to DO MORE!
Postcard to AZ - If you live in Western Mass, Order Your Postcard Packets for the Freedom Writers 4/27 Distribution HERE
We are writing postcards to voters who are Democrats or independents and likely to lean liberal or progressive, and who are newly registered or relatively frequent voters.
We’re asking these voters to:
(1) Know that their Republican member of Congress voted for a budget that would cut Medicaid and decrease taxes on billionaires.
(2) Call Congressman Schweikert's office. For those that are willing, this is important pressure to put on the Congressman. Recent surveys show many people are willing to speak up if asked but are not sure how; this is an easy way for people to get started.
More Actions >> 5 Calls
If you don’t have the 5 Calls app on your phone yet, read this instruction sheet. It was written by 3 activists in their 70’s. You can do this! Then open the app and look for these actions:
Oppose Funding Cuts to NPR and PBS
Fight the Trump Administration's Defiance of the Constitution and Courts
Attend an April Recess Town Hall: 4/12-4/27
Protect Worker Safety by Reversing NIOSH Cuts
Your support will help us grow!
When the Freedom Writers started out in 2016, we were a local Western Mass postcard writing group with a big vision: Great Americans deserve great actions. We strove to provide actions that are both impactful and efficient to activists who cared about saving our Beautiful Democracy.
We were on MailChimp at the time, and we were doing great … until we weren’t. We kept growing and growing, and MailChimp just wasn’t doing it anymore.
So, we got onto Substack [sound of chimes] and our mailing list doubled. Yay! Then our principal writer, EBFreed, helped to organize the CAD (the Coordinated Action Dispatch, an Action Group of the Indivisible Massachusetts Coalition), and the Freedom Writers expanded further. Yay again!
Now, our subscribers include lots of people from outside Western Mass, but the thing that brings us together is our agreement on this: Life is already too complicated. Americans who care about protecting our Beautiful Democracy are looking for efficient ways to make an impact.
If this is you, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to the fam!
But we’ve reached a critical nexus point again. There aren’t enough hours in the day to meet the current demand. We need help, and to hire that help, we need your financial support.
The Freedom Writers is still, and will always be, dedicated to providing ALL of our content to all of our subscribers, free or paid. But if you have the means, and you want to help us expand our impact, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
This is a critical time, and each of us is in a critical position to do some real good.
Think about it.
In solidarity, hope and action,
EBFreed
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:
INFO SHEET: Get Started - Taking Action with Indivisible - Get the most up-to-date information about what is happening in your area through a local Indivisible group!
INFO SHEET: Keeping Your Cool Under the Trump Regime - Access reliable, free news when it counts the most!
INFO SHEET: How to Contact Your Elected Officials - Find out why we act the way we act.
Three AOC Videos About the Importance of Phone Calls Now - Don’t let the MAGAts win the calling our elected officials game.
5 Calls App - Set Up Instructions - This beautiful instruction sheet was written by 3 people who are all over 70 years old. If they can do it, you can do it.
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