 You can hardly look at internet news feeds or the lamestream media without seeing another article, newscaster, or politician loudly supporting or opposing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act) or voter ID laws…so, like always, I’ll try not to add to the noise but just give a few of my impressions and a few facts on this issue that you might find interesting.
Among many other things, the SAVE Act would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship (a birth certificate, passport, or other citizenship document) to register or re-register to vote, would require those voting by mail to submit documentary proof of citizenship, and would require states to run their voter rolls through the Systematic Alien Verification of Eligibility system to identify potential noncitizens on their voter rolls. Voter ID laws merely require voters to show ID when voting (though the implementation varies among the 36 states with voter ID laws already being enforced). The SAVE Act would preempt state voter registration processes for federal elections. Spoiler alert: I’m in favor of both. The Democrats’ biggest opposition to the SAVE Act seems to be that it will “marginalize” a segment of the population from voting as many of the “less privileged” (whatever that means) do not have access to documents proving citizenship or do not have proper ID at all. They say it is racist, with Chuck Schumer referring to it as Jim Crow 2.0 (and I would invite you to look up the definition of Jim Crow laws, which shows Schumer to be the idiot he is). They all say these further requirements to vote will disproportionally affect Black Americans – yet 76% of Black Americans favor showing photo ID to vote (82% of Latino Americans and 85% of white Americans favor photo ID to vote). I have seen a fairly large number of Black politicians and celebrities criticize those Democrats opposing the SAVE Act and voter ID laws, asking if they believe the Black community is too stupid to be able to get ID or citizenship documents. If requiring photo ID or proof of citizenship to vote marginalizes our citizenry, aren’t they being even more “marginalized” by the fact that they can’t get a driver’s license, rent or buy a home, apply for social benefits, open a bank account, get a credit card, fly on a commercial airline, pick-up certain mail, or buy alcohol or tobacco products without an ID or proof of citizenship? The far-left news outlets continue to report that there is no “widespread” voter fraud. They always characterize it that way…no widespread voter fraud. Isn’t any voter fraud bad, widespread or not? If we can eliminate fraud in our voting systems, why is that such a bad thing? I would point to a California woman who wanted to show how easy it is to game the voter system. She registered her dog to vote and cast ballots for her dog in two elections. Sad, but true. While sorta funny, I expect she gave the Democrats a new idea and a boatload of Democratic dogs, cats, goldfish, and bunnies have now registered themselves to vote. By party line (rather than race), the U.S. population breaks out this way: 95% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats favor voter ID laws. An overwhelming majority support showing ID to vote. So, why are Democrats so vocal in their opposition? I would say that it is because illegal immigrants’ votes are keeping a lot of Democrats in office or getting Democrats elected. What is most revealing to me about the hidden Democratic voting agenda is this nugget I recently heard from Senator John Barrasso (a Republican representing Wyoming). He reported on one of the new demands the Democrats have come up with regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Democrats want to ban immigration enforcement at so-called “sensitive locations.” These Democratic sensitive locations include schools, places of worship, courts, and hospitals. I can’t raise a huge objection to those sensitive locations – limiting immigration enforcement, in my opinion is a bad thing but, okay, places of worship, schools, courts, and hospitals don’t seem outrageous. However, their newest “sensitive” location is “polling places.” That’s right, they want to ban immigration enforcement at polling places. WTF? What possible motive could they have to restrict immigration enforcement at polling places? Illegal immigrants should not be at these places to begin with since they have no right to vote in federal elections (and yes, certain blue states have enabled illegal immigrants to vote in state elections; it seems the only way to make sure they get elected). Democrats want to protect illegal immigrants at polling places because they know illegal immigrants are casting votes for Democratic candidates in elections when they should not. You just can’t make this stuff up. Along the same vein of the “you can’t make this stuff up,” the socialist/communist mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, was recently on TV complimenting himself on hiring thousands of additional “snow shovelers” to get NYC out from under all of the recent snow. This is the same socialist mayor who, along with his NY Democratic colleagues, opposes showing ID to vote – but to get hired as a snow shoveler, you had to show two forms of ID and a social security card. Apparently, it’s more important to be sure that snow shovelers are American citizens and lawfully in this country than ensuring illegal immigrants aren’t voting for our elected officials. Hypocrisy at its finest! Both of Nevada’s Democratic senators oppose the SAVE Act. On the flip side, Nevadans overwhelmingly voted in favor of voter ID laws in 2024 (72% in favor/28% opposed). This will return to the ballot in November (remember that such issues must pass two election cycles to be officially voted in). If it passes again, it will be added to Nevada’s Constitution before the 2028 elections. Fingers crossed. Whichever side of the argument you might fall on, it’s important to get involved, have your voice heard, and vote when you can on critical issues like this. That’s right, I even support those that don’t agree with me and urge them to participate in our political process to the extent they can. That is why this country is great. Everyone may express their opinions and vote their conscience, unlike some countries who suppress the opposition or outright kill them because of their opinions, party affiliation, or sexual preference. Let’s make and keep America great! Jerry Hashimura Pahrump, NV
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 I was reading about the results of a recent trial involving a young woman who sued her surgeon and psychologist for malpractice after they performed a double mastectomy on her when she was 15 years old. Before you skip over this article, thinking it’s just an analysis of some convoluted legal theories – it isn’t. I’m going to briefly recap the high points of the trial, of course, but also talk about gender dysphoria and gender transition surgery done to minors.
Let me insert here what motivates me to write these articles. First, I am honored to have a platform to write these articles and they are, at times, cathartic. Second, I don’t write them to convince you my opinions are correct; I write them to, hopefully, have you think about issues you might not otherwise have considered and maybe give you some information you might not have seen. I try to write on issues in today’s news or, on some occasions, topics that just catch my attention. In any event, I’m hopeful that they just don’t add to the noise on the internet and you find them at least interesting and funny, when appropriate. So, on to today’s topic of gender affirming surgery performed on minors. “Gender dysphoria” is defined as a state of distress or unhappiness caused by feeling that one’s gender identity does not match one’s sex as registered at birth. This is a topic that has bothered me for awhile – gender transition surgeries performed on minors with gender dysphoria and medical support like hormone therapies for minors. Related to my having real problems with this type of permanent surgery done to a minor is the equally disturbing issue of parents, doctors, schoolteachers, school counselors, or many others within a child’s orbit enabling their gender dysphoria. Many parents enable their pre-pubescent child’s gender dysphoria rather than treat it as a mental condition and older studies have shown that 80-95% of children with gender dysphoria naturally stop, most when they reach puberty. I wonder if the remaining 5-20% would have stopped if they had not been enabled. I have seen what I consider sad and tragic Youtube videos of mothers saying their three-year old child was “born in the wrong body” and really identifies with another gender – which they’re fully supporting. First, they weren’t born in the “wrong body,” they were born in the body they have. Second, a three-year old barely knows which shoe goes on which foot, let alone the difference between male and female and which gender they are. And third, if you are a mother who has a son but wanted a daughter (or vice versa), please don’t try to imprint your twisted desires on an innocent child, seek professional help for yourself. There are some medical professionals who believe that early social transitioning, enabled by parents, can solidify a trans identity that might otherwise have gone away on its own. Sad. This is a subject that is impossible to accurately assign percentages to, for or against, in a “what if” situation and, I expect, much of it goes unreported. Even more disturbing to me (actually, it pisses me off) are schoolteachers and/or counselors who enable a child’s gender dysphoria through such things as letting the child go by another name at school that matches their “preferred” gender or referring to them by using pronouns that match their preferred gender and they keep it a secret from the parents. How did we get to a place in America where the school thinks it has superior rights over the parents? My personal opinion is that the Democrats and far left’s support and constant rallying behind gender-affirming surgery and medical support for gender dysphoria is to blame. It may go deeper than that and I could be wrong; but, as my beautiful bride likes to tell me, I’m not always right but I’m never unsure. The latest statistic I could find is that, as of early 2025, 25 states have banned or restricted gender affirming care for minors, which includes medical and surgical procedures. I haven’t done the state-by-state analysis but I would bet my usual dollars-to-donuts that we’re talking about the difference between living in a blue state versus a red state. The latest stats I reviewed showed the U.S. having 24 reliably red states, 19 reliably blue states, and 7 “purple” or swing states, so the math lines up pretty well on the number of states banning gender affirming surgery on minors and the number of red states – go figure! If you are in a position to vote on these issues, especially as it relates to parents’ right versus schools’ rights, or gender affirming surgery on or medical support for a minor, please vote your conscience…and by “vote your conscience,” I mean agree with me – okay, just kidding. The freedoms we enjoy in this great country allow each of us to vote our own opinions and beliefs; I just ask that you to get involved and vote. By not voting, you are basically letting the other side go unchallenged. I’ll end this article with a brief recap of what I consider are the important aspects of the trial I mentioned in the opening paragraph. The result, in my opinion, may cause some medical professionals to stop performing gender affirming surgery on minors because it will hit them in the pocketbook – and that, oftentimes and unfortunately, is the only way to change someone’s behavior. The young woman was awarded $2,000,000 ($1.6 million for past and future pain and suffering and $400K for medical expenses). Personally, I think it should have been $20,000,000 for two reasons. First, she deserves it. And second, it would send a much stronger message to the medical community. The young woman who is the subject of the lawsuit, Fox Varian, had a sad childhood. Her parents separated when she was seven and a three-year custody battle ensued which saw her, in the end, estranged from her father. She had a myriad of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and social phobia. By the time she was 13 or 14, she was completely lost. By age 15, she started questioning her gender when talking with her psychologist. She changed her name twice to align with her preferred gender, cut her hair, started binding her breasts, and started telling people she was transgender. In 2019, 11 months later, she had her breasts removed. She was 16 at the time. She was one of thousands of minors who underwent gender transition surgery over the past ten years. Three years after her double mastectomy, she stopped identifying as a transgender and began a process known as “detransitioning.” At age 22, she filed a lawsuit against her long-time psychologist and surgeon. Her case was the first malpractice case to go to trial from a detransitioner. The trial included emotional testimony from Varian and her mother. Varian testified that the psychologist served as an enabler, repeatedly assuring her that the double mastectomy would greatly improve her well-being. Varian’s mother testified that the psychologist browbeat her into consenting to the surgery, telling her that her daughter would commit suicide without the surgery. What parent wouldn’t consent after such a warning from a medical professional. While this may have been self-serving testimony at trial, Varian said she immediately regretted the surgery after removing the bandages. Her mother testified that Varian was still anxious, depressed, and had all the same issues post-surgery. After the surgery, Varian began cutting herself. Self-mutilation, usually cutting or burning yourself, is a harmful way that some people cope with emotional pain, stress, anger, and sadness. Varian said that shame and the mental discomfort she had for having conflicting beliefs kept her from openly expressing her remorse for three years. At 19, she stopped identifying as a male and considered herself a woman…but an incomplete one. She testified that “It’s so hard to face that you are disfigured for life.” She has physical scarring, lack of sensation, nerve pain where her breasts once were, and she will never be able to nurse an infant. She testified, “No amount of reconstruction is ever going to bring back what I lost.” Varian’s psychologist treated her for two-and-a-half years before her surgery. Varian’s attorney portrayed her psychologist as heedless, sloppy, and ill-equipped to handle a case as specialized as Varian’s. The attorney said the psychologist “didn’t know what the heck he was doing. His obligation was not to empower her with every crazy idea that came into the head of a 16-year-old kid.” The psychologist had received no formal training in transgender care. The referral letter the psychologist wrote to the surgeon made no mention of the diagnosis of gender dysphoria but, instead said that Varian suffered from “body dysmorphia” (a fixation on a perceived physical flaw) – a diagnosis that is widely accepted as a reason not to perform plastic surgery. There obviously was a lot more testimony concerning the two doctors’ actions in her case that convinced a jury to find for Varian and award her $2M. In my experience defending personal injury product liability cases, we were often faced at trial with not only monetary damages (awards) for past and future pain and suffering and medical expenses but punitive damages (an award of money to punish the wrongdoers malicious, willful, or reckless misconduct and to deter similar such misconduct in the future). In my experience, punitive damages awards can be huge (the largest reported punitive damages award was $145 billion (that’s “billion” with a “b” and other large awards in the $20 billion dollar range). The largest punitive damages award against my company, which was later reversed on appeal, was $60 million. I don’t know why punitive damages were not available to Varian as I am unfamiliar with medical malpractice litigation. In the end, a vulnerable and fragile young woman received exactly the wrong care and must now suffer the consequences. Her doctors failed her and I’m hopeful this case and others in the future will dissuade such surgeries on minors in the future. Very recently, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons announced new guidance recommending gender transition surgeries be reserved for those 19 years old and older. I’m also hopeful that other states will join those banning such surgeries and medical support for minors – but I doubt most of the far left blue states will do so. When I grew up, there were no issues of this type at all. I don’t know how America has arrived at a place where our children are undergoing life-altering, permanent gender affirming surgery. Jerry Hashimura Pahrump, NV  Since we’re only a few days until Valentine’s Day as I sit here writing, I thought it might be appropriate to talk a little about this “holiday,” its roots, and how we got to where we are today.
While the exact origin of Valentine’s Day cannot be pointed to with any certainty, the best guessers believe its roots came from an ancient pagan festival of Lupercalia, which predated Christianity and was celebrated in the middle of February. It’s a Roman festival that involved feasting and pairing off of partners. However, unlike our Valentine’s Day, it was a bit wild and filled with debauchery, blood, and sacrifice. It was a tradition for the hide of a sacrificed goat to be cut into strips, dipped in blood, and priests would go around slapping woman with these strips. While the practice was welcomed because it was believed to make women more fertile, I can’t see it catching on today. This Valentine’s Day, I could take a strip of steak (only because I don’t know where to get goat) and slap my dear bride with it but then I’m sure my face would be on a milk carton in no time at all with a “Have you see this idiot?” caption. It is believed that as the Romans turned away from their pagan beliefs and embraced Christianity, the holiday evolved into honoring St. Valentine. In fact, Lupercalia was banned at the end of the 5th Century…though I can’t imagine why. Who was St. Valentine, you ask? Okay, maybe you weren’t asking but I’m going to try to explain it anyway. One account is that, during the 3rd Century, Emperor Claudius II of Rome executed two different men named Valentine on February 14th. One story says he was a priest who was arrested for defying a Roman order that prohibited soldiers from marrying and he was executed for continuing to marry soldiers in secret. Another story says that Valentine was a priest who was imprisoned, fell in love with one of his visitors, and started writing her letters. He apparently sent a letter before his execution that he signed, “From your Valentine.” Both stories have romantic undertones but neither can be verified. In the end, all we can say is that Valentine’s Day was named for a martyred St. Valentine. The renowned Romantic English poet Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare can both be credited with popularizing the romantic version of St. Valentine’s Day that we celebrate today. To me, Valentine’s Day is more than just buying some candy in a heart-shaped box or a bouquet of roses and going out for a romantic dinner – though I’ve done both of these on many a Valentine’s Day. For me, it’s honoring the love of my life. I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am today without by special Valentine. I’m blessed to have the life I have with my beautiful bride and give thanks to that fact every day. One more “official” day in the year to celebrate my Valentine is okay with me. For those that know us well, you know our story. For those that don’t, let me indulge myself and describe how we met. It would be too good to be true to say that we met on Valentine’s Day…it would also be a lie. I was assigned to Germany as my first assignment in the Army. I met Stephani through mutual friends at the very end of September of 1975 and we started dating a week or so later. We were married six weeks later and that “big” delay was because I had to process paperwork through the military and the German government, as well as get my birth certificate from California – which took some time. Back in those days (you know, when dinosaurs roamed the earth), I actually had to fill out an “Application for Permission to Marry” and have my company commander approve it. I was pretty confident he would approve it since his wife was German. At our German civil ceremony, I had to have a court approved interpreter with me – I guess to ensure a naive young American wouldn’t think he was signing up for a cruise but instead was getting married. As an aside, I spoke better German than the court approved interpreter (he was from some Eastern European country) so I wasted the 40 Deutsch Marks I had to pay him. In any event, last November saw us celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. So, if anyone tells you that love at first sight isn’t real, I beg to differ…it’s real. This coming February 14th, really celebrate and honor the love of your life – and a final word to the wise: men, don’t slap your wife with a strip of bloody goat; it won’t go well. Jerry Hashimura Pahrump, NV  I wrote an earlier article on Mamdani that appeared in Issue 11 of the Grassroot Conservative eMagazine, published July 9th, 2025, and a follow-up article just after NYC’s November elections where Mamdani became the Mayor-Elect. I am writing this short follow-up on his first thirty days in office as the first (and I hope last) socialist mayor of the Big Apple.
Mamdani made numerous campaign promises to get elected, sort of like President Trump, and as the media dissected Trump’s first 30 days in office, I felt Mamdani should get the same sort of treatment. For a quick recap, remember that Mamdani’s campaign promises (to get votes, of course) included such things as rent freezes, government-run grocery stores, free childcare, free city bus rides, and raising taxes on wealthy and successful residents and businesses. He was also going to create a Department of Community safety to prevent violence before it happens (quite a trick, if you ask me, and the premise of a Tom Cruise movie, “Minority Report” – an interesting movie that didn’t work out so well for Tom Cruise). I would also remind readers that Mamdani has expressed an avowed hatred for Israel and Jews (notwithstanding his trying to walk back those comments to get elected), he refused to condemn the Holocaust, and he supports Palestine and Hamas (the same Hamas from the October 7th, 2023, surprise attack and slaughter of over 1,200 Jews and the taking of over 250 hostages, as well as Hamas’s stated goal to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth) . And let’s not forget how he characterized the New York Police Department (again, before he tried to walk back those comments to get votes). He described the NYPD as “racist, anti-queer, and a major threat to public safety.” He called for defunding the NYPD many times before he started campaigning. In fairness to Mamdani, I guess if you can prevent violence before it happens, the NYPD won’t need a lot of officers and funding could be smaller. Good luck with that. Unlike President Trump, who accomplished a lot in his first thirty days (and quite a bit his first one or two days), Mamdani hasn’t been able to do anything he promised. Again, in fairness to this socialist (really, a communist if you look beneath the sheep’s clothing), many of his promises would be too difficult to do in his first month, let alone his first year or entire term unless he is a magician. But maybe he is; after all, he did get elected. So, what has he accomplished? He has complained about the huge budget deficit left by the previous mayor, Eric Adams, and how he will need to raise taxes and take other (mysterious) steps to get NYC out of the hole. I guess when he was campaigning, neither he nor any of his advisors knew that raising taxes is not within his power but resides with New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Unfortunately for Mamdani, Governor Hochul says the answer is still “no” on raising taxes. Two days ago, she said, “I don’t believe in taxing for the sake of taxing. Never have, never will.” She basically told Mamdani to first understand how much revenue is coming in and what adjustments can be made. She asked him, “Do you really have a full picture right now of all the revenues coming in?” Mamdani, of course, blamed former Mayor Eric Adams and that he “poisoned” the budget books by underestimating billions of dollars in recurring expenses. Mamdani said the city is underwater to the tune of $12 billion…I guess neither he nor his advisors bothered to do an analysis of NYC’s budget during his campaigning. Adams slammed Mamdani’s socialist views and said he left the city with $8 billion dollars in reserve. I would predict that we’ll never know the full truth. The only other thing he has accomplished is appointing a number of people to “important” positions within his administration. One of his biggest campaign promises was to protect tenants and freeze rents. To further this promise, he appointed fellow Democratic Socialists of America member Cea Weaver as the Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. Ms. Weaver’s prior statements include such things as, “Elect more communists (which clearly NYC has done with Mamdani),” “If you don’t believe in the government’s sacred right to seize private property, it’s over (a central communist/socialist “right” for government seizure of property and businesses – and I must be out of touch because I didn’t know that government had any “sacred” right to my property or business),” “Private property…especially homeownership, is a weapon of white supremacy (which must be a real shocker to the Black, Asian, and other minority homeowners),” and “Home ownership is racist.” As an American of Japanese ancestry, I didn’t know until now that I was a racist (my German (now proud American) wife must be shocked to discover this about me) and who knew that I was wielding a weapon of white supremacy. Weaver has faced significant backlash over these statements. Shortly after her appointment, as she came out of her apartment, she was confronted by reporters and then ran back inside crying when asked about the $1.6 million home her mother owns in Nashville, Tennessee. Mamdani’s pick to be his incoming City Hall Director of Appointments was Catherine De Costa. Unfortunately for him, she resigned two days after her previous statements came to light, including posts about “money hungry Jews” and NYPD “piggies.” Mamdani appointed Tamika Mallory to a newly established Community Safety Committee. Mallory was a former Women’s March leader who stepped down from its board amid allegations of antisemitism. No surprise with this appointment given Mamdani’s stated and committed anti-Israel/anti-Jew position. I would have to believe that she will have little, if any, consideration for the “community safety” of Jews in New York – and remember that New York City has the largest population of Jews outside of Israel. Mamdani continues to stand by Afua Atta-Mensah as his new Chief Equity Officer, following the discovery of social media posts where she appeared to endorse “taxing [white people] to the white meat,” and referred to “white liberal racism.” Surprisingly, those social media posts have since been deleted – okay, being sarcastic here; no surprise at all…she probably twisted an ankle racing to her keyboard to delete those posts. It sure sounds like she’s all about “equity” and won’t hold any biases. Mamdani’s pick for the Committee on the Criminal Legal System was Mysonne Linen, a former rapper who served seven years in state prison for armed robbery of two taxi drivers. He maintained his innocence and said he was a victim of misidentification. He also argued that he was not directly involved in the robberies. Come on now, if you claim innocence, you weren’t involved in the robberies at all – directly or indirectly. This seemed to me a true admission of guilt trying to be disguised as a statement of innocence. I guess he would have an advantage over others on the Committee (whom I don’t know yet) who may have only seen the Criminal Justice System from one side of the prison bars. Let me be clear, though, I strongly believe felons can be rehabilitated and maybe Linen is one of them – we’ll have to wait and see. Mamdani has also picked Ramzi Kassem to be NYC’s top legal counsel. He may be a fine lawyer but his pick of clients bothers me. During my 47+ year legal career, I’ve worked with literally thousands of lawyers, from criminal to civil to contract to many other types of law. Most attorneys I know, have hired, and worked with, can pick the clients they choose to represent. The lawyers I know would not represent clients they find repugnant or despicable in their crimes or beliefs. I believe in our justice system and every accused person has a right to competent legal representation but, except in rare cases, lawyers do not have to take cases. In my opinion, a lawyer’s selection of clients says something about him or her. Kaseem seems to have a storied legal career. But I cannot overlook the fact of his preference for defending terrorists, including more than fifteen who were incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay. He has represented Ahmed al-Darbi, an al Qaeda terrorist, who has a long history of coordinating and planning terrorist attacks and training al Qaeda terrorists. Ahmed al-Darbi pleaded guilty in 2014 for his role in a 2002 al Qaeda terrorist plot to bomb a French oil tanker off the Yemen coast. Kaseem also represented Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian who was arrested for his anti-Israel protests on campus. Again, he may be a fine lawyer but would not have been my pick as the top legal counsel for NYC. On a different note, like a good socialist (communist), Mamdani has previously said, “I don’t think that we should have billionaires,” really pushing the socialist/communist agenda of wealth distribution – you know, take money from those who worked hard and earned it and distribute it to those that have not done so. I will close by saying that Mamdani has made several picks to other prominent positions within his administration that, in my opinion, are highly qualified and should do good work for the Big Apple. I’m just troubled by some of his picks to very, very important positions. While NYC is on the opposite side of the country from where I live in Nevada (thank goodness), it is one of the most prominent cities in the U.S. and could have influence over things that might affect us here in Nevada. We should all keep a sharp eye on Mamdani and his communist and antisemite cohorts. Jerry Hashimura Pahrump, NV |
Authors"The Grassroot Conservative" publication is a collection of Southern Nevada authors with strong independent voices writing on the issues that matter. Matt Sadler is the editor-in-chief of this new eMagazine and blog, Each author brings life experience, talent, and insight to each thoughtful article. Archives
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