The Resistbot Podcast

Activist Jess Craven shares what motivates her to keep fighting for the issues most important to her and how you can do the same.

Show Notes

βœŠπŸ€– When there are endless issues our country and loved ones face, you probably feel compelled to help and get involved. Don’t know where to start? Our guest this week has you covered! Activist, organizer, and Resistbot user Jess Craven chats with us about what keeps her motivated, the midterms, and personal experiences with her work.
Our guests today:
Jess Craven
Mentioned on the air:
Episode edited by Angel Barrera. If you need a show edited, you can find her on Twitter!
β˜… Support this podcast β˜…

Creators & Guests

Host
Melanie Dione
Producer
Angel Barrera

What is The Resistbot Podcast?

Season 2 of The Resistbot Podcast, hosted by Melanie Dione, features a different interview every week with an organizer working to create change in their community. We aim to elevate voices without a large platform, focusing on their stories. Our pod is brought to you by the same volunteers behind the Resistbot (https://resist.bot) chatbot that's driven over 30 million pieces of correspondence to elected officials since 2017. If you haven't given it a try, pull out your phone and text the word "resist" to the number 50409 to get started. You can text officials from your Mayor to the President, check your voter registration, start your own campaigns, and much more!

Mel: Welcome to The Resist bot
Podcast, hosted by me, Melanie Dione. Join me this week and every week
as I chat with the advocates and activists in your neighborhood at the
intersection where policy meets people. Now let's start the show.

Mel: Hey friends, and welcome
back to the Resist Bot podcast.

I'm your host, Melanie Dione, and
I hope this episode finds you well.

And if it doesn't, I hope at the end
you'll find yourself in a slightly better

place than where you started today.

I am joined by one of my
favorite activists and

resist bot community members.

And the first resist bot user to get to
10,000 followers because she is tireless.

So everybody say hello to Jess Craven.

Hi Jess.

Jess: Hi Melanie.

Hi.

Thanks for having me.

It's great to be

Mel: back.

It is always good to have you back.

So can you introduce yourself to
the folks and tell them a little bit

about who you are and what you do?

In case we got some
newbies in the audience.

Jess: so I am a, well, I guess
I am, a full-time activist

and organizer is what I do.

I publish a daily actions newsletter
called Chop Wood Carry Water.

I guess you would call me a
full-time organizer and activist.

I am also the author of a daily
actions newsletter called Chop

Wood Carry Water, which has been
coming out five days a week.

Since the week after Trump was
elected, and it basically is, the

original tagline was your five
minutes of resistance assistance.

It now includes a couple of calls to your
representatives, a resist bot letter every

single time, with the little easy, quick
code so that if people wanna just send

it without editing it, they can do that.

and a bunch of ways to help win elections.

So that's what the newsletter is.

Now, I also have a presence
on TikTok where I have also

amplified resist bots great work.

And, I do a lot of work canvasing phone
banking, running phone banks working to,

elect great progressives and teach other
people how to elect great progressives.

So that's basically what I do.

Mel: You encouraged me
to do my first TikTok.

I gotta let you know, I, um, I
saw, I was like, Oh no, I gotta.

Jess is doing, and I can't.

I am not the camera girl, but , I, I
finally did my first resist bot TikTok.

And so thank you for pushing
me outta my comfort zone.

I to go look at it.

If you have not subscribe to Chop
Chocolate Carry Water Daily Actions

yet, you absolutely should because it's,
it's very easy to follow so many people.

want to do something and they
wonder, Okay, what can I do?

It really breaks down, Here's what
you can do, here's what you can do.

Here's a script if you wanna
talk to your Congress person.

So it's almost a blueprint of
how you can start your own little

movements, because of course, like
Jess, you cover so many things.

Your finger's really on the
pulse of what's going on.

But of course we all know we have
different areas of focus there.

We all have different things that
appeal to us, that speak to us.

So even if there's something that you
may think, Oh, well I would like to

talk about this, Chop would carry water
is a great way to show, just, you can

write your own script and call your
congressman for, whatever matters to you.

There's so many things,
so I appreciate how.

accessible.

You make it how you, you really
put it in the hands of everyone.

These are the small things that we can do.

And it's right.

It's a lot of work like a newsletter
five days a week, Jess is a lot of work.

So I wanna say, how do you
stay motivated with that

Jess: thank you for saying that.

the motivation is all around me.

I mean, it.

I would say a lot of it
comes from having a child.

there is a certain sense of just like,
well, I can't just sit and let the

world go to pieces without at least
trying to contribute something good.

I owe it to my child.

The newsletter and all of the
work I do really is an act of love

for my kid and for every child.

I have met and love and all the kids I
haven't met and love, I love kids and

I feel we've brought them into a pretty
bad situation and it could possibly

deteriorate and become much worse
and I, I don't wanna let that happen.

I don't want to sit and watch TV while,
you know, Rome is burning as it were.

So, what I try to do with the newsletter
is make it simple enough that, because I

think there's a real danger, people get
very overwhelmed, Ah, I can't fix it all.

It's so big, I'm not gonna do anything.

And my argument is it is so big, there
are a lot of things that are wrong.

And if every single person takes a couple
of small actions collectively, that

really starts to make a big difference.

And so a lot, this is
why I love Resist Bot.

It's just like you, you
can't send a Resist bot.

It takes you about five seconds.

And that goes through to
your representative as a

letter from a constituent.

It's not like a petition.

It's an actual letter from a
constituent, which they count and

they tally and it's meaningful.

Yes, I find most people do want
to do something, but they don't

wanna do the work of figuring
out what that something is.

My blessing slash curse is
that I do want to do that work.

I will do that work.

And so I do a lot of work, hours of work
for every newsletter so that people can

come and do five minutes worth of work
and actually be making a difference.

And Spot is obviously is an integral
part of that and has been since the very.

Mel: It takes, That's
the accessibility of it.

And then you taking this that's already
got accessibility built into it and,

Oh, you need a little more help.

Okay, here's where you go.

I appreciate that so much.

and then the responses.

I get responses from my Congress
folks with, every letter.

I mean, there.

Kennedy, I cassity.

So the responses are terrible, but
I get responses, and, and that's

the point they're getting, you know,
they're getting a letter from me if

your representative is not responding,
that should tell you something.

You know, that's something
that you have to look at.

I think sometimes when we take the tact
of whether it's petitions or letters,

oh, well, they're not gonna look at.

Okay.

Well what does that tell you?

Midterms are coming.

What does that mean to you?

Jess: Yeah, it's a, and my subscribers
will often forward me responses

from their representatives and it's
incredible the sort of difference in

someone sent me a response from Bernie
Sanders a couple days ago and it.

Almost immediately after the
resist spot letter went out.

Whereas I get responses from my California
senators who are, decent to good

senators, but months later sometimes.

So, But Bernie Sanders was right on
top of it, and I've heard a lot of

people send me incredibly thoughtful,
prompt responses from their lawmakers.

Uh, to be honest, only the Democrats, I, I
have seen some responses from Republicans,

but they're, yeah, they're really
unsatisfying, but I, it, it does say so.

The kind of response you get, how quickly
it comes, how thoughtful it sounds.

it's impressed me and also Dism made
me to see the different responses from

different lawmakers across the country.

Mel: It is true.

That was one of the things, uh,
sending a letter to Kennedy after

the, shooting in Texas when we, we
were sending a lot of letters about.

getting, assault weapons,
getting that under control.

Just that and the
responses that I received.

Yeah, It was disheartening because
you see all of the one voice that

they're all using the kind of distract
from the actual issue that we need.

Yes.

Mental healthcare is very important.

That does not change what this issue.

And I live in Louisiana.

You have eviscerated mental healthcare.

So,

Jess: and they just voted against another
bill for mental healthcare for kids.

They don't care about mental healthcare.

They're absolutely
uninterested in providing that.

The Republican states are the
absolute worst, for healthcare.

So yes, of course, but you're right,
it is seeing those talking points is.

Is dismaying, but, somewhere in the
background, they are still taking

note of how much noise is being
generated on different issues.

And, you may not remember, or
maybe you do when I believe it

was Cynthia Loomis of Wyoming.

Mm-hmm.

said that she was gonna support the gun
bill that they passed because she was

like, I got a insane number of calls
and letters about it, and I'm realizing

that my constituents do want this.

, that is not the norm for Republicans,
but we only have to move one or

two sometimes to pass a bill.

you just never know.

And someone in their office is paying
attention and noting like, Wow, we

are getting a lot of letters about gun
violence, so, you know, maybe we should

start to move our stance a little.

You just never know what's
gonna push 'em over the edge.

They're

Mel: tireless, so we have to.

Absolutely

.
Jess: So we're not evil.

We're running on hopefully

Mel: on.

Good.

Right.

I wanna talk a bit about midterms
are coming and of course all of us

are, We have our eyes on abortion.

That's a big one.

Something you said earlier about
how your daughter, or having,

having a child, I don't think you
specified, but having a child, you.

Really changed for you.

And I mean, I have two and one of
I, I have a daughter and I thought

about being a 21 year old woman and
having some sort of tenuous grasp on

my own reproductive choices, health
freedom, and how my daughter does not

have., I mean row in a lot of ways
from just the reproductive standpoint.

You know, I'm 45, that door is sort
of closing for me a little bit, but my

daughter has her whole life ahead of her.

she's a young woman and needs
to be able to make choices and

just, and not only young women,
they're, this affects trans people.

This affects non-binary people.

This affects, Generalized bodily
autonomy and not having that as a young

person, especially, as a Gen Xer, where
we were really kicking down the door

for that in a lot of ways and really
pushing boundaries on our own identity.

it's sobering.

And as a parent, it
activated my mama bear.

So outside of that, what issues
are you really having your eye.

for the midterms this year?

Jess: Well, first of all, so my child, the
reason I will say my child very often is

because my child identifies as non-binary.

So they're almost 13 years old, and
so I can't say my daughter or my

son, so I constantly say my kid.

There isn't really that I know of any
sort of common verbiage for that yet.

So that motivates me as well.

So when I make phone calls to
voters I will talk very honestly.

About the things that are motivating
me and I will say my child depending

on who I'm talking to, I sometimes
will get into the weeds and say My

child was assigned female at birth, or
I have a child who is, it has uterus.

Or sometimes if I'm talking to someone
who I just can't explain all that to,

I'll just say I have a daughter just cuz
it's shorthand for my kid has a uterus.

And I have a child who identifies
as lgbtq, and these are things that

Republicans are coming after kids
like mine on all kinds of fronts.

So, but I also really try to draw the line
when I talk to voters on the phone that,

sure, I'm 54, I'm not gonna have a baby.

But this is about bodily autonomy for
young people and also that it's a.

Once you start coming for
the bodily autonomy, you're

not gonna stop with abortion.

You know?

I mean, all we have to do is look at
Iran, there, these are women who can be

thrown in jail for cutting their hair at
the wrong time or showing a lock of hair.

It's a.

one gradation and we are on
one end of it, and the women

in Iran are on the other end.

But it's a slippery, It's
like a slip and slide man.

Once you're on it, you're just
moving down I don't want my

kid to grow up in that country.

And that's what I talk to
people about when I call them.

So we're watching that, Republicans
wanna come for birth control.

There are republicans who have
said like, We don't really

think women should be working.

Let alone gay marriage, interracial
marriage, racial justice across the board.

And then of course climate, you know,
I'm, and guns like climate and guns

are my other two really big issues.

stakes of this election are so
existentially it's hard to even understand

people who aren't watching it with the
same baited breath that you and I are

because it's like, if Republicans take
over and we stop making climate progress,

we're looking at like existential.

Destruction.

It's really hard for me to
understand how everybody's not

freaking out and registering voters.

I mean, a lot of people are, but.

It's existential.

So there's that.

And then the gun violence as well.

You know, it's like there's a bill
sitting in the Senate right now called

Ethan's Law that people have worked
really, really hard to get passed

in the house, and all it would do is
secure firearms from people under 18.

It would literally just require gun
owners to keep their guns safely stored

so that kids can't get hold of those guns.

Republicans will not support it,
like almost not a single Republican.

Yesterday we had a mass shooting where
a 15 year old went out, presumably

using guns that he didn't purchase
and belong to a family member.

Because where else did he get them
and killed five people, including,

excuse me, a police officer who the
Republicans care to claim so much about.

so this is the kind of thing that really
like gets me jazzed up is just like we

have Republicans talking about being tough
on crime and being pro-police, and yet

the biggest thing they could do to prevent
crime would be to pass common sense gun

laws, which PS police want them to pass.

and they won't pass them.

Police officers, law enforcement
officers are dying as a result.

Children are dying as a result.

crime is getting worse.

Not to mention suicide
and so many other things.

So these are all issues that fire me up.

And then of course there's democracy,
so I, don't even really feel like

I should be sleeping right now.

I do, I do cuz the body requires
it, but, there's no time to waste.

Stakes are really high.

Mel: Yeah.

I think a lot about . There was a
report today about how snow crab

season is canceled because a billion
snow crabs are who knows where.

these are little things.

It's the little changes
that we could have made.

We're past that.

we are now at the point
of the big changes.

I follow someone on
Twitter, climate human is.

Is the username.

I can only remember his
first name is Peter.

I cannot remember his last name.

Something with Cal Mo, I think.

Is it Cal Mo?

Yeah.

Yes.

And the constant messaging of, the
urgency of what needs to be done, where

we need to, the changes we need to make.

Because climate change is not a
joke and it's become sort of, this

thing to, gaw at, and it's like,
it's beyond, it's beyond paper

straws and little things like that.

There are large changes
that needs to be made.

Our dependency on fossil
fuel is something that, that

absolutely needs to be adjusted.

And that's the thing that I'm looking for.

Who is going to look at these issues
with any degree of seriousness?

there's a certain level of consideration
even when looking between democratic

candidates because there are some,
like, we also have to look at when

we, when you think, Oh no, we're
all on the same, it's like, Mmm.

You still have to, you still have
to nail down that when you get

between, you know, blue candidates.

It's been a big thing on my mind.

For example, we have, Gary Chambers
and Luke Nixon, both Duns in Louisiana,

but then you have to dig into the
finer points of where they stand

on things like, climate justice.

I'm a Louisiana girl, I'm in New Orleans,
climate change means a lot for me.

That's why Katrina was as devastating as
it was because our wetlands heavy eroded.

So those are things that I just can't
ignore and have to pay attention to

when I'm looking at who's saying what.

It's more than just looking the part.

It's also, what are you doing?

I wanna talk a bit about some
of the ways for people to.

help those who are trying to get,
whether it's registered, make

sure that they're registered.

Can you talk a bit about what your phone
banking, cuz you, you talk a lot about

phone banking in your newsletter, can
you, Talk a little bit about that and

give aside from you should, if you have
not subscribed to chocolate carry water.

I think I've said that before,
but if you have not, you should,

because there are always great phone
banking opportunities in there.

But can you talk a little bit
about what that's like, what to

expect of phone banking, what
that experience is like for you?

. Sure.

And,

Jess: You can subscribe@tinyurl.com
slash subscribe to Jess Craven.

I'm sure it'll be in the show notes
as well, but just wanted to say that,

uh, or I think you can Google it.

Yeah, so what I try to do in
the newsletter is give people

several different ways that
they can help get out the vote.

There's everything, there's so many
great, very data backed approaches at

this point, including letter writing, post
carding speaking of climate, candidates.

green piece has a great new letter
writing campaign out where you print up

the letter and then just write a couple
of sentences by hand, and they show the

voting records of the Democrat and the
Republican on climate, so they don't.

Tell the person who to vote for,
but they just show like supports.

Offshore drilling doesn't support offshore
drilling, and it just, it's very obvious.

And then they use something called social
pressure, which is a very well known,

very well tested technique to get voters
out, which is basically reminding them.

Who you vote for is a secret, but
whether or not you vote is public record.

After the election, someone may be
circling back with you to check and

make sure you were able to vote.

This sentence you will see in all
kinds of different voter outreach.

And the reason we use it is because
it can boost, turn out by three to

4%, which in electoral terms is huge.

So I love the green piece letters.

Um, but there's post carding.

There is canvasing, of course, which
is the most powerful tool we have.

And then phone banking.

And I like phone banking because
I can do it from home, you

know, with my dog and my cat.

it is a invaluable tool for campaigns
and when we volunteer to do remote phone

banking, that means that campaigns can
use their local volunteers to knock doors,

which is something I can't do for them.

and we gather an enormous amount
of data through phone banking.

So what you can expect is A training.

Every single time you go to any
phone bank, they'll never, they're

not just gonna give you a list
of numbers and say, Go to work.

They're gonna train you.

You will almost always be using a dialer
so that your number is not showing.

It's very unusual now to have to do
a phone bank where your number shows.

, you are gonna be calling people
who they believe to be likely

supporters, so they will never ask
you to knowingly call Republicans.

That's just a waste of everybody's time.

So you're always gonna be calling
likely supporters, and as we get closer

to the election, you will actually
be doing something called G T V or

get out the vote where we're circling
back to people who have already been

identified as supporters and making
sure they have made a voting plan.

And this.

Super impactful because actually once we
have walked through a voting plan with

a person and said like, So what day are
you gonna go and where are you going?

Do you know where your
early voting location is?

What time are you gonna go?

How are you gonna get there?

Once we've walked through all of that
with them and repeated their plan

back to them, they're 10% more likely.

To go and vote, because people will say
on the phone like, Sure, I'll go vote.

And they don't always do it
just because they say they will.

So these voting plans
are really impactful.

And also just yesterday I looked up a
guy's early voting location for him.

People don't, they don't always
know where they're supposed to go.

And in some states it's really
hard to figure out where to go.

So we can just say, Would
you like me to look up your

early voting location for you?

And that's an easy,
wonderful thing we can do.

And also sometimes we'll talk to people.

I do a lot of phone banking into Arizona.

I talk to a lot of people who are.

Quote unquote undecided voters.

They're really people who are registered
Democrats, but really just not paying

any attention, which I don't understand.

But those people are out there.

There's lots of them, they're part
of the like 80 million people who

didn't vote in the 2020 elections.

And when you talk to them once,
you start telling them a little

bit about the different parties and
where they're standing on things.

They get motivated.

Like, oh, one party wants to ban
abortion on a national level, and

one party wants to make abortion safe
and legal by passing a national law.

You know, like those kinds of things.

You, and I know it's very obvious, but
you'd be astonished how many people

do not even know that is happening.

Oh, Republicans want a sunset.

Social security and Medicare after
five years, What people have no idea.

Just by telling them that, 85%
of Americans want common sense.

Gun laws like universal background checks.

85% of Americans, including
most Republicans and gun

owners, Republicans, oppose.

any gun legislation.

So when we start to just talk
to voters who are, disengaged

and just sort of say like, Were
you aware that blah, blah, blah.

A lot of times they'll be like, You
know, I really wasn't aware and I,

I really didn't realize the states
of these elections and I will vote.

So in an ideal world, that's what we
do and I will often come from a very

personal place when I phone bank.

If I get someone undecided, I will
say, Do you have five seconds for me

to tell you why I'm volunteering today?

And if they say yes, I will tell them
about my LGBTQ kid and I will talk to

them about abortion and I will talk to
them about how scared I am every time I

send my kid to school because of guns.

These are things
everybody identifies with.

So once we get to that sort of
human level, people are generally

like, Yeah, you're right.

I really should

Mel: vote.

That's the truth.

And I appreciate that so much
because when we think about even

just from your personal experience
and just what we're seeing and how.

kids are being targeted.

Queer kids are absolutely
a target right now.

And when you look at the justifications
you see that it's just very

clearly coming from one side.

And as much as we don't wanna
be partisan, we don't wanna be

blindly following, whatever.

There is very clearly one side who.

Anti-democracy and totally
fine with attacking LGBTQ kids.

It's not a lot that we
have to do to sus this out.

It's very bare face.

So, having those conversations, do
you find yourself having a combat?

A lot of misinformation or is it more just
a lack of information that you encount?

Jess: it's more a lack of
information because again, we're

not calling Republicans mm-hmm.

, so we are not gonna get like the
Fox News viewers for the most part.

Occasionally maybe, but it's
more lack of information.

for every one person who's misinformed,
there's 15 people who just say, the

thing they always say is quote, I haven't
done my research yet, and by that,

that means I'm paying no attention.

And I really am just like, I'm
not I'm totally checked out.

So when we catch a person like
that, They probably wouldn't even

bother voting cuz they're, they
are just not paying attention.

Mm-hmm.

. So we're trying to just get them facts,
just give them facts about what's

happening and how important it is.

Occasionally, I had a phone banker
yesterday get somebody on the phone

who repeated some very, very outrageous
and LD accusations against the

Democratic candidates in, Arizona.

But again, I think those are
people who are already watching

Fox and or whatever other crazy.

Things and they're not gonna, we're not,
we don't try to convert those people.

They're so far gone.

That's not the kind of person
we're trying to get out.

We're trying to get the people who
would vote our way but are just

staying home cuz they're checked
out to just show up and cast a

Mel: ballot.

That's one of the things, one of one
of my little exercises, especially

as being on social media is, is,
has increased and just kind of,

especially with, since the pandemic.

and since that is how so much
messaging gets out these days.

One of the things I've been doing when I
see a politician or a candidate, specific,

specifically someone who is in office say
something outlandish, I just go back and

look at the bills that they've sponsored.

I look back at the bills
that they've gotten.

And when I see somewhere, it's just, I
mean, when we think about someone like

Marjorie Retailer Green, who doesn't
even sit on committee, these are people,

their, entire job in function is just
to disrupt and upset and inflamed.

They're not actually in
Congress doing any work.

Where do you as a voter
want to sit with this?

Are you comfortable with paying this
person's salary who is not doing anything?

They're not even in, in the
end of it, they're not actually

furthering any legislative goal.

, they're, It's real.

Yeah.

No.

Their job is to piss people off.

That is a very

Jess: high salary.

Yeah.

They're getting paid a lot.

I don't know why voters vote
for Marjorie Taylor Green, or

Ron DeSantis or any of them.

It just seems that their contempt
for their own electorate is so high.

. But again, when you have people who
are not paying attention, if they do

go out and vote, they vote tribally.

Mm-hmm.

, when I get, I got a woman on the phone
yesterday and she was very nice, but

she said, Oh no, I'm a Republican.

And I just thought, hell are
you supporting Republicans

as a woman right now?

And, , it's not worth engaging
in those kinds of conversations.

Right.

Cause if she's still
Republican at this point, she.

Gonna be hard to convert, but
it is it because she's probably

not paying any attention.

She's highly privileged.

She's, likely white.

She's not, maybe none of this will affect
her until, God forbid it does, you know?

Right.

But right now she thinks she's safe.

I talked to a young, sounded
like maybe 23 year old.

I think he was white.

I don't know.

But I talked to him in Arizona
about a month ago, and he said,

Oh, I'm not gonna be voting.

And I said, Do you mind if I ask why?

And he said, Well, I just don't
feel like any of this affects.

Which is such a privileged, insanely like
you just wanna smack someone like that.

Sorry.

But what I did instead is I just
said, Could I just tell you really

quickly why I did my old, like, can
I tell you why I'm phone banking?

And then I told them about my kid
and I said, So I understand that you

feel that politics don't affect you.

I, disagree, but that's okay.

We can agree to disagree on that.

They really affect kids like mine, like
in a really big way, life or death.

, and I'm asking if you will be
willing to go out and vote for

my child, if not for yourself.

He said he thought and he
said yes, I absolutely will.

So I don't know.

Will he?

I hope so, but at least sometimes
giving people a little reminder that

not everybody is as privileged as them.

Yeah.

And you may decide to stay home and vote,
but your decision affects not just you,

but people with a lot less power than.

Mel: It affects everyone.

It affects everyone.

it is an incredibly privileged, I
remember in 2016 where, you know, people

were like, ah, worst case scenario.

I mean, we lived through this.

We'll live through that.

And I remember thinking then
that is a very bold statement,

assuming that everyone is going to
live and I mean, we are here now.

Over a million people dead just from Covid
and, and having these conversations about

where are the workers and where are this?

And it's that they're gone.

These are the people you just assume
would make it out to the other side.

But it's such a privileged
positioned to take because you do

not know that you're going to make
it when something like freedom.

Bodily autonomy healthcare.

When these things are on the chopping
block, you do not know who is gonna

make it out On the other side, I wanna
talk a little bit be about some of the

petitions that are really, cuz you,
again, I, like I've said before, just

is tireless and you do not get to 10,000
followers on resist bot by just kind

of like sitting around twiddling your.

just creates a lot of petitions and
they are all, very climate change.

Common sense gun laws, things like that.

So, can you talk a bit about your
wishlist of your petitions right now?

That you would really like people to.

Take a look at.

Jess: Yeah.

And, and it's really nice looking
over like the whole list of petitions

cuz some of the things that I've done
petitions on have come to pass and

that's a really, that's a testament to
public pressure and, and what it does.

But I mean, starting with really
simple things like the assault weapons

ban, we did a petition about that.

I did, uh, maybe 10 days.

There's a bill that's passed in Congress
that I mean in the house that is just

sitting in the Senate, an assault
weapons ban, which we had for a really

long time, that Bill Sunseted, meaning
it basically had an expiration date and

when it expired they didn't re-up it.

I believe it expired in 2010.

Uh, I could be wrong by the date.

I think it's 2010.

But anyway, Mass shootings and gun
deaths went up dramatically when

that bill sunsetted and, American
people won an assault weapon

ban . And we will get it eventually.

So that one, I feel really strongly
about, you know, I'm doing a lot of

work around the Supreme Court, obviously
court expansion, Which is the idea

of adding, justices to the Supreme
Court with the idea of rebalancing it.

This is something that's been
done many, many times through

American history and, is absolutely
constitutional and allowed to be done.

So the Judiciary Act is a bill that
we have, that has not yet passed in

the House or the Senate, but we are
gathering support for it all the time.

My, I pressured my congress member
to co-sponsor and he did jump on

board finally about three months ago.

So that one is, big and then
it's sort of in the weeds.

But I'm also I work with a
group called Save the usps.

And, this is an issue that
Americans really care about

is, is, DeJoy Lewis Dejo?

Why is he still.

Running the usps.

And the reason is, is
because Biden can't fire him.

Only the USPS board can fire him.

And right now there are not
enough people on the board to

who are willing to do that.

So he remains, and he's, I think
anyone would agree he's running

the post office into the ground.

Joe Biden is just about to
make two new appointments.

And if he appoints good
people, we can get rid of Dejo.

He is, however, considering Reappointing.

One of the people who is on the board
right now, and if he does that, we will

not be able to get rid of Dejo because
this guy will not vote to fire him.

So again, like these things are so
in the weeds, but they're important

because sometimes these big victories
that we want, like Fire Tojo takes

a lot of baby steps to get there
and they are a bit in the weeds.

But if we can get him to appoint to good
USPS board members, We are like way,

way, way closer to getting DeJoy fired
than we were, you know, a year ago.

So I've got a petition
about not reappointing, this

guy whose last name is Mo.

So you know that one.

Uh oh.

And then finally there's a, a 21st
Century Courts Act, which would give

the Supreme Court a code of ethics.

Right now, there the only court all the
circuit courts have a code of ethics.

All the other ones, but not.

The Supreme Court, they have
no judicial code of ethics, so

they can do anything they want.

They can, weigh in on political issue.

They just they're
running, a muck basically.

So this bill would, give
them a code of ethics.

So those are some of my current favorites.

I have many, but

Mel: That's a few.

, I'm gonna give you folks
the call signs for some of.

Fantastic positions.

So for the 21st Century Courts Act, that
is past the 21st Century Courts Act, HR 74

26 S 4 0 1 0 to hold SCOTUS accountable,
and that call sign is P X P Z X V.

And that's P as in Paul X, P as in Paul,
Z as in zoo, X as in Diallo, phone V

as in victory . The next one, potus,
Don't reappoint mo for an additional

one year term on the USPS board.

That is p y t for you,
Michael Jackson fans.

P Q F.

That's P as in Paul, Y as in youth, P as
in Tom, P as in Paul, Q, F as in frank.

Assault weapons ban pass S 7
36, The assault weapons ban.

Now P S H R Y J.

That's P as in Paul, S as in Sam,
H as in Harry, R as in Robert,

Y as in youth, J as in James.

And those four.

Absolutely.

I think I've signed some of them.

I'm going to make sure, and you
should too, double check, make sure

that you have these petitions signed.

Have these letters signed, and
if you haven't, , all four of

these might take you five minutes.

It is one of the easiest
things that you can.

. Jess, I wanna thank you
as always for joining.

Before we go, can you tell folk, the
folks again, where they can find you?

Jess: Sure.

Uh, thank you for so much for having me.

I always really enjoy our conversations.

For one thing, you can find me so you can
find my link tree, which will sort of lead

you to everything else, uh, newsletter.

Various different links, at
bit dot lee slash jess page,

so b i dot l y slash jess page.

And you can find me on Instagram and
TikTok at Jess Craven 1 0 1, which is

also how you follow me on Resist bot,

.
You can text follow Jess Craven 1 0 1.

To resist bot.

So that would be some
of the ways to find me.

And you can, if you wanna subscribe to
my newsletter, uh, you can do that at

tiny url.com/subscribe to Jess Craven.

but you can also find that at the Bitly.

Sorry, I know there's lots of
little mini links, but that's

Mel: how it is, right?

Totally fine and absolutely I love that.

It's just, jess craving 1 0 1 because
you will absolutely get an education.

So yeah, by all means, by all means,
especially if you are a baby organizer,

a baby activist looking to get started
and you don't know where to start.

Jess is a wealth of information and her
finger is on the pulse of so many things.

Absolutely.

Somebody you should be follow.

On Resist Bot, and you can also get
your own following on Resist Bot.

All you need to do is
become a monthly subscriber.

It starts at only $5.

You cannot only create your own petitions.

You can jump the line when the bot is on
fire, but you can also make sure that your

petitions, your thoughts, the things that
matter to you get out not only in your

little network, but to other resist spot
users and help your petitions go farther.

I wanna thank you all for joining
me this week and every week.

I really appreciate it.

If you wanna learn more about Resist Bot,
all you need to do is go to resist.bot.

I also wanna remind you again that the
midterms are coming and if you wanna

make sure that you are registered
or if you want to register because

there is still time in most states, To
register online text check to 5 0 4 0 9.

Or you can slide in our dms
Facebook, Twitter, slide in the dms.

Just text check and let resist
bot take care of the rest.

It will take all of two minutes
and it's super important.

I wanna thank you so much for
joining and I'll see you next time.

The Resist Bot Podcast is a production
of Resist Bot Action Fund, a social welfare nonprofit organization. Resist Bot is funded by
monthly donors like you. Support Resist bot by texting. Donate to 5 0 4 0 9. You can learn more and see a complete guide to using the service, a real time list of trending petitions. Learn how to organize your own pressure campaigns or launch your own voter pledge drives at www dot resist. bot.

Thanks so much for joining,
and we'll see you next week.