This past Saturday, I drove out to Corona to attend a memorial service for my friend Donald A. Dix. Don was very well known in conservative circles in Southern California. Many remember him as co-host of the Jen and Don Show on radio 590 am, The Answer. To others, he was a conservative activist and Republican party leader in Riverside Country. Most recently, Don led the recall effort against California governor Gavin Newsom in Riverside County. The recall was defeated, but Riverside Country was the only large county that voted in favor.
For several years, Don was also the chapter leader of Act4America in Corona, and I once had the honor of speaking to his group. It was in this capacity that I got to know Don several years ago when he was part of a group of concerned citizens who came to UC Irvine during the annual week of pro-Palestinian events dedicated to bashing Israel. Alarmed by recurring reports of anti-Semitism featured during the events, with vitriolic speakers who not only attacked Israel, but often attacked America and Jews in general, these activists joined me in attending and reporting on the events.
Occasionally over the years, Don and I would attend the same events, our focus being on observing the activities of people we judged to be radical Islamists. For example, we once both attended a speaking event by Hussam Ayloush, CEO of the Southern California chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. The event was held at a leftist church in Riverside.
I should note at this point that Don was not a person who hated Muslims or any other group of people. (One of the speakers at his service, Ali Mazerei, is a conservative Republican Muslim.) It was the jihadists who were Don's concern, the people who posed a real threat to our security. Don was an outgoing, super-friendly person whom everybody that came into contact with him liked.
More recently, Don was known to talk radio listeners as co-host of the Jen and Don Show, The Answer on 590am. His co-host was Jennifer Horn, a rising star among conservative commentators. She was one of the speakers at the service. Listening to Don, I was amazed at how polished and professional he was on the air. He had what they call the radio voice that people could easily listen to. One of the speakers compared him to Vin Scully, the legendary announcer (now retired) of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The service was held at the Crossroads Christian Church in Corona. I'm not good at guessing crowd size, but I'm guessing that 400-500 people were in attendance. The service lasted two hours but nobody got restless. Aside from Jennifer Horn, other speakers were his daughter, Alexandra Dix, State Senator Melissa Melendez, State Senator (retired) Mike Morrell, Congressman Ken Calvert, Dean Seif, and Ali Mazarei. Speaking by video were Larry Elder and Sebastian Gorka.
Don passed away on February 22 after a long battle with ulcerative colitis at the age of 64. May he rest in peace.
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