Sherman R. Frederick/Properly Subversive

In the ever-growing file labeled “Is Push Coming to Shove in America?” comes a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll that finds 3 in 10 people now say they may have to resort to violence to get the country back on track. 

The number of Democrats who think this has doubled since April 2024 — 12% to 28%. Republicans of the same mind increased by 3 percentage points to 31%, and independents rose from 18% to 25%.

Of course, the large majority of Americans still disagree with the idea of resorting to violence to settle political differences. But, clearly, something’s brewing out there and it ain’t good.

Agents of violence stir the pot. Here’s Jane Fonda using rhetoric to not enlighten, but to raise the temperature.

It is common now for American debate to call ICE officers “Nazis” and deportation centers “concentration camps.” It is, of course, over-the-top speech that, you can be assured, will trigger someone someday. 

And, the cheering of the murder of Charlie Kirk was a big tell of the growing ugliness. 

To say — as way too many have — that Kirk deserved what he got because he was an extremist (which he was not) puts a bullseye on the foreheads of more than 50% of Americans out there. 

A little alarm, my fellow Nevadans, is justified.​

Ask My Cat

  • Reader: Do my tax dollars actually go to give free healthcare to illegal aliens?
  • Mr. Properly Subversive Cat: Yes.
  • Reader: Is it really that cut and dried? 
  • Mr. Cat: When I say “yes,” I mean “yes.” Here’s how the game works. Some states — California, New York, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, and others — have restructured budgets to let them expand Medicaid coverage to Illegal Aliens who should not qualify, while still drawing from federal Medicaid matching funds. For example, California (and other states) taxes hospitals and insurers, then recycles the money back through Medicaid payments. That inflated spending triggers more federal matching funds, which are then used to give full coverage to illegals. On paper, it’s a “state program”, but in practice, these programs rely on the same infrastructure and funding flows as Medicaid. The result is Medicaid $$$, both state and federal, are being used directly and indirectly to pay for the health care of illegal aliens. 
  • Reader: So, Democrats are lying about this? 
  • Mr. Cat: Yes, especially this one. 

Reader: Thanks, Mr. Cat. You are the best!

(Sherman R. Frederick is a longtime Nevada journalist and a member of the Nevada Press Association Hall of Fame. You can reach him at shermfrederick@gmail.com. You can read him daily at shermanfrederick.stubstack.com.)