Ben Sheehan

Ben Sheehan Podcast Episode · Democracy Optimist · 11/20/2025 · 26m

The latest episode of the Democracy Optimist podcast is out! In this interview @bensheehan.bsky.social and I discuss how to make the Constitution interesting to everyday people:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

The Epstein files are out, but not in the way people assume. @bensheehan.bsky.social breaks down why key documents may still be withheld.

Which class in journalism school covers free PR services for pedophiles?

Re: Democrats and the shutdown, it feels like eight senators are currently bragging about crossing a picket line.

Senate Republicans are...stopping Trump? Hell is experiencing icy temperatures.

Trump is trying to get the Senate to ditch the filibuster. Will it work? open.substack.com/pub/bensheeh...

Per John Della Volpe, young men (18-29) supported Democrats by double-digits in NJ, NY, VA. A large swing! We’re persuadable! (Note: I have aged out of this demo.)

It's almost as if people dislike...

• Not being able to afford rent, groceries, childcare, transportation

• Unidentified federal agents grabbing people from their schools & workplaces

• Federal troops marching through neighborhoods and parks

• The president's friends saying he won't leave office

I’ll be discussing Prop 50 tomorrow (Monday) with @wkamaubell.bsky.social on his Substack WHO’S WITH ME?, live at 11am PT (2pm ET for the east coast curious). Hope you can join! And even if you can’t, but you live in California, vote YES!

We wouldn’t need $100B in annual SNAP funding if people were paid a living wage. The federal minimum wage is *still* $7.25/hour (and that’s also true for 20 states). The federal tipped wage is $2.13/hour! How is this possible in a nation responsible for 25% of the world’s GDP?

The Case For Starving 42 Million Americans It must be done.

The case for starving 42 million Americans. open.substack.com/pub/bensheeh...

SNAP costs $8.3 billion a month. The WH just approved $40 billion for Argentina. We have the money.

Tons of ‘red’ states have early voting and vote-by-mail and have no issues with it…

The quickest way I can describe Prop 50: If you’re at a bar and a drunk guy (Texas) punches you in the face, you can either proclaim “people shouldn’t punch!!” (what Democrats normally do) or you can punch the drunk guy right back (Prop 50).

Can Donald Trump Serve A Third Term? Here's your honest answer.

Could Trump really serve a third term? open.substack.com/pub/bensheeh...

Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness came out thirty years ago today, named for the feeling you get after spending five minutes on social media.

Some metaphors are too on the nose

Trump’s 2025 tariffs will have raised $200 billion. Unfortunately, our total debt is now past $37 trillion, our budget deficit is $2 trillion (we spend that much more than we bring in each year), and for the first time ever, this year America will pay more than $1 trillion in *interest* on our debt.

To recap, Trump:

1.) Pushed out a U.S. attorney in VA when he declined to seek charges against Comey

2.) Replaced him with a former WH aide who has never been a federal prosecutor

3.) Quickly secured indictments against Comey and Letitia James (two of Trump's enemies)

Happy Retribution Fall ❤️

Yes they are

The language they’re using around National Guard deployment is intentional: To ‘protect federal property’ and ‘assist federal law enforcement’. This is designed to skirt the Posse Comitatus Act (1878), which prohibits directly using the military for domestic law enforcement.

We reached out to multiple people in the independence movement. They declined to participate or failed to respond to our outreach.

That is my opinion

YouTube video by PBS Why Don't U.S. Territories Have the Same Rights as States? | Civics Made Easy

youtu.be/iCxL6y94Nu0?...

Should Puerto Rico be a state? Independent country? Something else? Find out 👇🏻

Confused about the government shutdown? Watch 👇🏻

Pretty wild there’s no federal requirement for influencers to disclose if they’re being paid by a campaign or a SuperPAC…

Glad to hear Disney is doing the right thing and that it had nothing to do with the $4 billion it lost in market cap.

What Does the Constitution Actually Say? Do you know what the Constitution actually says? This witty, highly relevant annotation is your go-to guide to how the U.S. government works (or is suppose...

If you’d like help with that… www.blackdogandleventhal.com/titles/ben-s...

It’s Constitution Day…and just 9% of Americans can name all their First Amendment rights 🤦🏻‍♂️

YouTube video by PBS Why Do So Many Americans Not Know How Their Government Works? | Civics Made Easy

Why don’t Americans know more about how the government works? youtu.be/hMqEnmDp2m8?...