The Benjamin Dixon Show

Episode 767 |-- AOC showed us that we don't have to engage in corporate America's race to the bottom. It's time these businesses start paying their fair share!--Donald Trump went on an antisemtic rant. Here's the gag: no one is going to say anything about it. --Youtuber, Jimmy Dore, decided he and his wife wanted to interrogate Kamala Harris' blackness. The caucacity.--Finally, everywhere we turn Black people have our intelligence and question and our agency challenged. Enough's enough.

Episode 766 |--Mayor Peter thinks the Democrats don't "worry enough" about the deficit. Nevermind the fact that every Democratic president has lowered the deficit after inheriting it from their Republican predecessors. Lawrence O'Donnell from MSNBC was not having it. Neither was I.--A police shooting yesterday in Miami claimed the lives of four people including a UPS driver who was a hostage and an innocent bystander. Enough is enough!--A new poll shows that 43% of Republicans think the President could be more efficient if he didn't have to wait on Congress or the Courts. Basically, a dictator. --A few voicemails for you!--Finally, a "last word" from Senator Sanders. See you next week,- Ben

Episode 765 | --Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi has called for the chairman of the committee leading the impeachment proceedings to draft articles of impeachment. Trump responded. Are we living in two different realities where half of America can see the direct need for impeachment and the other half swears there is nothing there?--Rand Paul wants you to use your retirement to pay off student debt. Here's the gag: most Americans don't have a retirement. 66% of millennials don't have retirement. --The Trump administration has moved to cut SNAP benefits and school lunches which could lead to nearly 3.7 million people losing their benefits. All this to save $5.5 billion dollars over 5 years. This is basically a rounding error in the wealth of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos. This is smaller than a rounding error for the Defense budget. --George Zimmerman is still living able to terrorize the family of his victim, Trayvon Martin. That he is free to sue the family of Martin for $100 million suggests very loudly to me that the moral arc of the universe does not necessarily lean towards justice: we have to fight like HELL for justice!

Episode 764 | --Two prosecutors in the race. Only one got labeled a cop. The other hasn't been touched by this narrative. Why this matters and what we should learn from this. --Tulsi Gabbard has 5 points in New Hampshire. Sanders is down by only 3. Time for Tulsi to drop out and endorse Senator Sanders.--A brief note to young, Black progressives. It's just my experience and I want to share it with you. What I will say can be applied to any identity that doesn't control the reigns of power. But I only have one identity that isn't in power: Black. I'm a man. I'm Christian. So that part of my life is easy. But there are some experiences I want to share with young, Black progressives that I feel they should know. Listen in.-- Ben

Episode 763 |--Kamala Harris' team just announced that she is out of the running as she no longer has the funds necessary to compete for the presidency. This is breaking news.--The Middle-Class Squeeze is a real thing, and people need to understand that even if you're making $250,000 a year, you have more in common with minimum wage earners than people living off capital gains. --The UK is facing the grim possibility of losing the NHS system to America's vulture healthcare industry. Let's discuss.-- And white supremacist, Richard Spencer, shared a clip of Malcolm X. Here's why.

Episode 762 |Mayor Pete is pushing hard against providing college for the rich kids of CEOs. This is a disingenuous argument that creates a means-tested program destined to collapse in the future. It is also an argument that leaves the families that make between $100,000 to $150,000 a year without free college. --The way Pete is able to make this argument is the same way Democrats and Republicans have been able to make this argument for years: people who think they're rich but really aren't are the ones who bare the brunt of these means-tested programs. This inevitably sows dissent and discord around the program. It eventually leads to more animus between the working class and people who think they're rich but they're really not. --Ross Douthat of the New York Times put out a piece championing a case for Bernie Sanders based on the idea that Sanders will not stoke the wedge issues of social liberalism (abortion, LGBTQ rights, Race issues, etc.) The problem is, Republicans will still label Bernie a social radical and, even if he is, would we want him to go mum on these issues to appeal to social conservatives?Let's discuss.

Episode 761 | Republicans are masters of projecting onto "the Left" the very things they are doing. But since the election of Donald Trump, we've seen an escalation in this tactic to the level that we can best describe as "weaponized projection." Let's discuss this tactic and its implications.--Welcome to the show Malaika Jabali. She currently writes for The Guardian and has bylines in Essence, Current Affairs, and The Intercept. We discuss Barack Obama's alleged plan to intervene if Bernie Sanders gets too far ahead. We also discussed the Black vote and its importance to the 2020 election.

Episode 760 | Politico is reporting that former President Barack Obama has made it clear that if Bernie Sanders runs away with the primaries, he would consider intervening to stop him from securing the win. We covered this possibility last week as another outlet discussed this possibility. But let's discuss this from the perspective of how incompetent the establishment is in terms of fighting off fascism. --Mayor Bloomberg says he won't take donations or a salary. But this is far from impressive for two reasons: 1. salaries for politicians is a progressive concept that allows for non-rich politicians to serve; 2. The presidential salary of $400,000/year is NOTHING compared to the $3.1B that he'd pay if Warren or Sanders wins. --Finally, billionaires own our media. How can we ever expect corporate media to do the difficult stories of reporting on their bosses?

Episode 759 |Michael Bloomberg has committed to spending between $500 million and $1 Billion to run for president. If you're wondering why he wouldn't spend this on progressive causes, realize that this is 100% about stopping Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders from instituting their various wealth taxes. Under Elizabeth Warren alone, Bloomberg will have to fork over $3.1 billion next year alone. So investing $500 million is nothing compared to what he can save if he stops Warren.--Economists now say that canceling student loan debt will be a stimulus for the economy. But this was never rocket science. If you put more disposable income into the hands of consumers, the economy will inevitably grow. --Finally, Trump has signaled to the military that he will pardon them and back them no matter what they do so long as they are loyal to him. Yesterday, the President fired the Secretary of the Navy, Richard Spencer, in support of a disgraced Navy Seals member who was found guilty of posing with the corpse of a teenage member of ISIS. This is terribly disturbing and dangerous. Let's discuss why.

Episode 758 |Biden is not ready for the mainstage. He doesn't respond well under pressure. Listen to this clip of him telling a protestor that they should vote for Trump. That's right... Donald Trump. Donald Trump calls into Fox and Friends and basically admits to obstruction of justice. If only Republicans weren't on the wrong side of history. The contrarian left is bolstering Tulsi and this may come at the expense of Bernie Sanders. Finally, socialism is spreading. The fear of socialism is waning. And people are coming to their senses to understand that we have the ability to create any society we so choose.

Episode 757 |Let's breakdown the high points of the debate from last night. Also, the impeachment proceedings just got VERY interesting. And finally, Barack Obama is getting ready to wade into the primaries. This will backfire tremendously.

Episode 756 |Amazon made $11.2 Billion in profits in 2018 and will be paying $0 in taxes. I PAY MORE IN TAXES THAN AMAZON. You likely do as well. Let's discuss how they are extracting this obscene amount of wealth from our society but not contributing anything to its maintenance or development. Chick Fil-a is promising -- again -- to stop being bigots. Popeye's got em shook. But if they would just stop being homophobes, I'd much rather eat their chicken. Dave Rubin -- the resident token Gay of the Republican Party -- has decided that since Chick-Fil-A will no longer be homophobic that he will now boycott the chain. Seriously. Finally, why is it that we just can't help but laugh at flatulence?

Episode 755Neal Carter of Nu View Consulting joined me to cover all of the day's news including Colin Kaepernick's workout for the NFL that went sideways. I start the show off with a discussion on Medicare for All and the new Gallup poll that states that 34 million Americans have lost a family member because of the lack of medical coverage. MedicareForAll is a TANGIBLE! Neal and I discussed Kanye West and his problematic pulpit profiteering. Finally, we jumped into a conversation about Joe Biden's fear of the WEED.

Episode 754Deval Patrick has already messed up. He thinks we need to be more humble when it comes to Medicare for All.The impeachment proceedings aren't exciting enough for America? Well, that's part of the reason we got Trump in the first place.Dave Rubin has always been a bootlicker, but now he's given Donald Trump, Jr. permission to call him the F-word. Check out this 11-year-old who sounds more like a 60-year-old steelworker when it comes to fried chicken. ROFLAnd finally, Conservatives have been dog-whistling to racists and nazis for a long time. Now the Nazis are taking over.

Episode 753 Former Massachusetts governor, Deval Patrick, has entered the presidential race. After serving as governor, Patrick went to work for Bain Capital -- yes, that Bain Capital. I like Patrick on a personal level -- but politically speaking, Patrick represents the last generation of Democrats who bought into the notion that whatever was good for business was good for America. Not only is this untrue, but this thinking is exactly what this generation (not based on age, but based on everyone of any age who are adopting this new move to the left) -- this is exactly what we're fighting against.--Some suggest Democrats need to move further to the Right on cultural issues as a strategy to beat Republicans. How, Sway? HOW? This is what Democrats have been doing for nearly 40 years and it also is why Republicans have had to become even more rabidly intransigent and bigoted. --A high school in Minnesota was caught on camera throwing away hot meals of students who owed more than $15 in lunch debt. This is another thing that capitalism has wrought. When we could have a society that feeds all of our children for free, we've decided to NOT tax the rich so little that they won't even have to give up their yachts, all so that they never have to contribute to the society from which they've taken so much.

Episode 752 |I had a chance to sit with my good friend, @Mediastudied, at a coffee shop to discuss politics and some religion. We covered the politics and possibilities of Trump's impeachment, how Stephen Miller could be both Jewish and a White Nationalist, Ben Shapiro's evolution, and rebellion against our parents. See you tomorrow!

Episode 751 |Polling data shows that Bernie Sanders is in third place in the first four primaries/caucuses. Biden has a commanding lead still despite clearly being the worst pick imaginable. Democrats have a problem. They cannot win without the Black vote OVERPERFORMING. Yet, Black voters have not been motivated to overperform since Obama. So the problem is, White voters are extremely divided and a majority still support Donald Trump. So Dems should be pouring everything into getting the Black vote and by everything I mean policy specific solutions as well as funds into organizers and media. Finally, there are several movements trying to convince Black voters that programs like Medicare-for-All aren't a #Tangible benefit for African Americans. Well, when Black people die at a disproportionately higher rate from treatable and preventable diseases, something tells me Medicare-For-All will be one of the biggest tangibles we can imagine --- LIVING instead of DYING!

Episode 750 |Donald Trump and the Republican Party have been consistently throwing millions of dollars into getting the Black vote. They won't win the Black vote. But if they can convince just enough voters of something that isn't particularly untrue -- that the Democrats aren't doing anything for us -- then it may be enough to give them victory in 2020. Finally, the military coup in Bolivia is the next step in a global right-wing movement that is unified around religious fundamentalism, capitalism, and exploitation. And our American opposition to this movement doesn't know the score.

Episode 749 | Michael Bloomberg enters the presidential race, and he is the last hope for the monied-interests in the Democratic Party. But it is too little too late. This generation of Americans understands the game and we're giving the middle finger to BILLIONAIRES. Tulsi Gabbard returns to the premiere white supremacist media platform, Breitbart. This time, her visit was to fearmonger over "open borders."I've got a lot of voicemails with great questions and great comments.Have a great weekend everyone!

Episode 748 Ayanna Pressley has endorsed Elizabeth Warren along with 100 Black women organizes, activists, and influencers. Let's discuss.When it comes to how radical Americans can be, the wealthy should take Bernie Sanders up on his rather considerate offer.Finally, the best response to Republican treachery is a movement big enough that they couldn't possibly deny it.

Episode 747Democrats win big last night, but what's next? Will this new batch of Dems be prepared to take on Republicans and actually do something to help society? Or will they triangulate?Kamala Harris announced a plan that would make schools equipped to keep children until 6 PM. The idea is meant to assist working parents. Here's a better idea: Let's shorten the workday.Finally, I just think we are doing civilization all wrong. There are better ways of organizing society, and it starts with us believing we are more than just workers.

Episode 746 |Mayor Pete has a problem in the Black community and it's not homophobia. The Amazing Atheist and Kyle Kulinski have issues with identity politics. But they clearly see the problem with the way America treats their identity.Finally, capitalism just sucks.

I've said this since 2015. I know for certain that Black organizers have said this since then as well. In fact, former Black, Sanders staffers said this while working on the campaign in 2016. Bernie has both the ability to authentically connect with Black voters of all backgrounds, but he isn't connecting with Black voters of all backgrounds. Yes, he does well with Black millennials and Black Zoomers. But he needs to connect with Generation X, Boomers, the Black church and the politically apathetic. He certainly has the authenticity to do so. Will he? That was the question of 2016.Let's discuss.... again.

Episode 744 | Evangelist Paula White made her entire career on the back of the Black church. Now, she's serving as spiritual cover for Donald Trump -- at the expense of the Black church. Special guest, Adriel Hampton, discusses his primetime clash with Facebook over false political advertising and how he is challenging them head-on.Voicemails!

Joe Manchin is a turncoat, backstabbing Judas who said he'd would NOT vote for Bernie Sanders if its Sanders versus Trump. Let's discuss.Barack Obama speaks about "wokeness" and basically civility. He's mostly wrong. Let's discuss.Finally, the vote for the impeachment inquiry took place today. Two Democrats voted against it. Time to get these JUDASES out of the paint.

Episode 742 |Bernie is up in the polls. He's pulling 1% from Joe Biden while Tulsi Gabbard is now at 5% and pulling that from Biden's 9% drop. Let's discuss.Also, Kirk Franklin is a gospel artist who has decided to boycott a Christian awards show and television network. Here's the thing -- the problems he's calling out have been there all along. Let's discuss!

Episode 741 |Bernie answered a difficult question over the weekend. Here's why his answer was both correct and insufficient. Donald Trump managed to get Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and BOOED on the same day.Finally, Kanye West is the lastest false-prophet of White Supremacy sent to the Black community to keep us focused on the hereafter while they collect checks in the here-and-now.

Episode 740 |Facebook will begin curating news articles from "trusted" publishers including The New York Times, LA Times, and... {checks notes}...Breitbart??? Let's discuss how we need to operate under the notion that Zuckerberg is just a conservative tech-bro who is fine with White, male supremacy because... BREITBART is a TRUSTED source??!?Tulsi Gabbard went on Fox News and pandered Donald Trump's talking points helping to insulate him from impeachment. Time to call a spade a spade -- and Tulsi Gabbard is a conservative in "progressive" clothes.Finally, four voicemails covering a wide variety of topics including "what you would do if you had Medicare for All."

Episode 739 Folks -- I've got to call a spade a spade: Tulsi is increasing her grift and it is directly affecting the campaign of the one candidate running on a progressive platform -- Sanders.The New York Times has corrected its original reporting claiming Clinton called Tulsi a "Russian Asset." I've got the audio that shows this is not what Clinton said. More importantly than that, I need everyone to see how easily Tulsi and her Republican supporters are using everyone's hatred of Hillary Clinton to siphon off just enough percentage to swing this election to someone like Mayo Pete in the primaries and to Donald Trump in the general election.So let's call a spade a spade and crush this narrative with alacrity.

Episode 738 | Mark Zuckerberg is a unique threat to democracy -- not just America -- but the entire experiment of democracy. Here is why. "Good people will fight if we lead them." - A few quick thoughts about "good people" who need to fight as viciously for justice as other people are fighting against justice. Finally, Mayor Pete. Please.

Episode 737 |There was never a moment that I doubted whether AOC was going to endorse Bernie Sanders. Let's discuss!Let me be clear: Tusli is cannibalizing Bernie support. Period.Finally, let's talk about the practical steps we need to take for victory.

Special edition. I couldn't wait until Monday to chime in. A lot of thoughts. I hope you have time over the weekend to digest and to respond.Have a blessed weekend.-Ben

Episode 735 |So this episode is going to be extremely long. SORRY!But the callers had so many great questions that I decided to give as full answers as I possibly can. The topics that we covered were:Turkey and the KurdsBernie 2020 -- how to beat BidenChinaAmerican Empire and a Progressive Foreign Policy.Sorry for the delay! I'm preparing for my wife's surprise 40th birthday party.Have a great weekend!

Episode 734 |We woke this morning to the news that Baltimore congressman Elijah Cummings had passed away at the age of 68. Let's discuss one of his most powerful speeches defending the children being caged at the border. AOC and Ilhan Omar both endorsed Bernie, but now people are acting like these endorsements don't matter? How Sway?Finally, I want to refine for you my fundamental position on almost all issues: Human suffering. This is what drives me to oppose the MIC and American imperialism. But, this is what also drives me to support oppressed people across the world no matter where I see them and no matter who is doing the oppressing.

Episode 733 | Big night last night. Let's do a quick recap of the highs and lows of the evening. Then, we'll discuss the endorsements that broke the internet! I discuss Bill O'reilly's apparent "come to Socialist Jesus" moment from yesterday evening. Finally, I have to revisit the conversation on China from yesterday. Love and Respect,- Ben

Episode 732 | Is John Bolton one of the whistleblowers? Could it be that the most blood-thirsty person on the planet did a decent thing on his way out? Will this lead to liberals embracing another monster from the Bush administration?Mark Zuckerberg had a meeting with conservatives to compare notes about conservatism and social media. None of these tech companies are allies.Finally, a long discussion on Lebron James and his "fumble" (yes, I know that's football) on the issue of China and why this story is so complex we have to break it apart piece by piece. Let's go!

Episode 731 | Another Phone Call Friday!Thanks to all the callers. We discussed Elizabeth Warren's environmental justice plan, how we can actively get Biden out of here, President Obama's legacy, and my upcoming book!Have a great weekend everyone!

Episode 730 | Turkish officials confirm over 100 Kurdish fighters have been killed. Some images released show civil deaths -- even the deaths of children as young as six. All of this because Trump didn't understand or care about the magnitude of his responsibility. Now the real question is what will the rest of American leadership do about this? Tweet?Ellen tries to censor a video criticizing her decision to stand in class solidarity with George W. Bush despite his war crimes. Finally, Bernie is slowly but surely making a comeback! But here's what his supporters should consider. Note about the featured image for today's episode: it's a recreation of the most compelling image from the Ellen video that was taken down. Behind Ellen is the image of one of George W. Bush's torture victims.

Episode 729 | This is a FULLLLLL episode. First, a quick update on everything happening in Northern Syria since Donald Trump betrayed our Kurdish allies. Things have gotten wild. Second, Joshua Brown was a key witness in the conviction of Amber Guyger. He was shot dead last week. Now authorities are saying this is the result of a "weed" drug deal gone bad and that three men drove from Louisiana to buy weed from Brown. I call bullshit.Third, my friends over at Status Coup got amazing audio of Trump supporters calling for Democrats who don't support him to be tried for treason and HUNG. It gets even wilder.Finally, James Harden of the Houston Rockets apologized to China!??!? What the what?!?

Episode 728 -- today is an extremely sad day. Trump has betrayed our Kurdish allies in the fight against ISIS and left them to be attacked by his despotic buddy, Recep Erdogan. Let's discuss.

Episode 727 | Phone Call Fridays.Four voicemails from our listeners including one guy who hates my show so much he regularly goes back to listen to our Election Night coverage just so he can relive our anguish. HAHAHAHA. That is hilariously sad on so many levels.But the other callers were great! They asked questions about impeachment, why are some progressives afraid of impeachment, and the last caller asked about whether Bernie supporters should consider a backup plan.Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!

Episode 726: I want to be clear upfront. I am not criticizing the family of Botham Jean for forgiving Amber Guyger. However, they need to heal is their business and theirs alone. However, this episode is about the requirement America places on Black Christians to constantly forgive their abusers. When has America ever shown Black people the amount of mercy they require from Black people!?

Episode 725 | Sanders is hospitalized.First and foremost, a speedy and complete recovery to our friend, Bernie Sanders. Running for president is extremely demanding. We have to discuss the political ramifications because, if the shoe were on the other foot, I would certainly use this against another candidate. Next, let's discuss the polling data that shows how Biden has been cutting into Sanders' support for some time now. Yesterday's show wasn't that popular, but I've never lied to you. Here is the data. Bottom line, Biden is getting Sanders supporters from 2016 who hated Clinton but now see Biden as most electable. The action point? "BIDEN is unelectable" must be the talking point.Finally, Tulsi Gabbard is an op. Listen to this audio of her parroting Donald Trump talking points nearly word-for-word.

Episode 724 | Biden is Cutting Into Bernie Sanders' LeadThe prevailing narrative in the 2020 Primary cycle is that Elizabeth Warren is the artificial substitute for Bernie Sanders. Subsequently, we see a consistent press from social media and independent media going after Warren because of fears that she is pulling away voters from Bernie Sanders. The fact is, the real threat to Sanders' victory is Biden's support amongst white voters and older Black voters -- particularly in the South. Let's discuss this.

I am so excited about interacting with you all again through phone calls -- even if only voicemails for now. We had four (maybe five) really great voicemails and we covered issues from North Korea to the culture wars to my personal journey from being homophobic to being an ally. Listen in as we cover the issues brought up by you, the listener!

Episode 721 | The whistleblower complaint has been released and it is entirely different than the "transcripts" from the call that Trump released yesterday. Let's dig into the details and the leaps of logic being committed by Republicans.Secondly, it's Medicare for All or Nothing At All. Tulsi Gabbard has come out AGAINST Medicare for All and that's a problem.Finally, I've included a short clip of the bonus show I'm giving Patrons based on my gut feeling that 2020 is going to be worse than 2016 and there may not be anything we can do about it. Final finally: Call in and leave a voicemail for tomorrow's show: 857-600-0518

Episode 721 | Some people are working overtime to find ways to be upset about the impeachment inquiry. Why? Let's unpack this ridiculousness.I had the chance to interview Isaac McCorkle. He's running for Colorado's 4th district.Finally, Republicans are going to try to present themselves as calm, rational, and reasonable. Not on my watch. Always remember how they've carried themselves over the past 20 years.

Episode 720 | Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announces an impeachment inquiry into the crimes of President Donald J. Trump. Let's discuss the timing, the potential impact, the opposition, and the strategy.

Greta Thunberg is the 16-year-old evinronmental activist who traversed the Atlantic Ocean to bring her message to America. In that time, this young woman has challenged the world and, arguably, changed the world. In here speech today she said that she refuses to believe that politicians understand the dilemma and still refuse to act because, if she believed that, then they would be evil. I've got bad news for this brilliant young woman.Part 2 of today's show, a clip from Professor Rashawn Ray discussing the frugalness of poor black people. This goes against the standard tropes of Black poverty -- but that's intentional. Here's why.

Episode 718 | While we are engaged in an "extremely online" battle over the WFP poll, the reaction to that endorsement, the reaction to that reaction and -- I AM NOT EVEN JOKING -- the reaction to the reaction to the reaction to the WFP endorsement, older Biden voters have their outfits ready for Primary Day. They have an advantage that we -- no matter Warren or Sanders -- have to overcome. And WHAT is Nancy Pelosi doing? I thought about this, and I only have one possibility left that she could be implementing to rid our nation of Donald Trump. "Timing." Timing of impeachment is almost as important as deciding to impeach the president or not. It may be a stretch -- but I think it is the only route she has left to NOT going down as the biggest threat to our Democracy second only to Trump.