 It’s been all over the news, almost nonstop, for some time now because of President Trump’s statements about the U.S. needing to take over Greenland for “national security” reasons. In the words of today’s youth, I can only say, “WTF?”
Don’t get me wrong. I’m still a Trump supporter but it’s getting harder and harder to justify some of his actions against his campaign promise of America First. I voted for him in 2016 and took pride in what he said he would do and his backing it up with what he accomplished during his first term. I characterize his first term as, “He promised it; he won it; he did it.” Watching America fall into the dismal state it did during the Biden Administration’s four years was sickening. I voted for him again in 2024 because I believed his campaign promises would be fulfilled like he did in his first term…and voting in Kamala Harris as President would have been a nightmare. President Trump started strong with his crackdown at the border, eliminating most of the Biden initiatives that were to blame for most of the troubles facing America, his elimination of DEI initiatives, and his strengthening of the economy. After Biden’s disastrous border policy (or no border policy really), it’s hard to believe that we now have negative migration (more leaving than coming in). Even though I cringed at Trump’s flip-flop attitude concerning tariffs, who can argue that the United States should be treated fairly and equitably by our trading partners…and, based on statistics I have reviewed, his tariffs brought in $200 billion in his first twelve months in office (and that’s not including the massive amounts of investments promised by our foreign partners – which Trump claims is in the $21 trillion range but might really be somewhere between $7 and $9.7 trillion; which I still view as a great accomplishment). Biden was a joke to our foreign investment partners. I wrote an earlier article on Trump’s successful capture of Venezuela’s Maduro, so you know my feelings on that military operation. He claimed it was to stop drug’s coming to the U.S. and Maduro’s treatment of the citizens of Venezuela but I think it’s clearer now that he wanted Venezuela’s oil. Now, on the heels of Maduro’s capture and rendition to the U.S., Trump has ramped up his rhetoric on the United States taking over Greenland; which has our NATO partners worried and many other countries shaking their heads. Greenland is in the Arctic region. The Arctic region consists of territory across eight countries: the U.S., Canada, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. About 80% of Greenland is covered by ice and has around 56,000 residents. It is a former colony of Denmark and is now an autonomous territory of Denmark. Greenland is rich in minerals and home to two rare earth deposits that are among the biggest in the world. While the U.S. signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Greenland during Trump’s first term to explore joint projects, that MOU is nearing expiration since Biden could not get it extended. Trump even offered to purchase Greenland during his first term but was told that Greenland was not for sale. The U.S. has long suffered from a lack of rare earth minerals that are integral to many of our consumer goods, like cars, clothing, drugs, smartphones, and are especially important to our national defense – things like our fighter jets, submarines, guided missiles, drones, night vision devices, secure communication systems, and advanced radar systems. We are very, very dependent on China, who holds the majority of rare earth minerals today, and when China implemented export controls on rare earth minerals, Trump ramped up his talk of acquiring Greenland. So, yes, it’s about national security but like he said Maduro was about drugs when it was really about oil, Greenland is about minerals because America outsourced its defense to China. Even though Denmark doesn’t have the military might or resources of the U.S., imagine this scenario: what if Denmark told the U.S. that Alaska is key to Denmark’s national security and offered to buy it? They would be told in no uncertain terms that it is not for sale. Likewise, if Denmark said they would annex Alaska through other means, maybe even military force, it would not be taken kindly. Greenland would welcome U.S. investment and partnership in mining rare earth and other minerals but nothing has really occurred. If the U.S. won’t invest in Greenland, their only other option may be to turn to other investors, like China. I’m hopeful our NATO allies would step up to invest in Greenland before they turn to China or Russia. Let’s also not forget that the U.S. has a military base in Greenland going back to 1951. It seems to me that we could take some of the $200 billion in tariffs received last year to bolster our military base in Greenland and partner with Greenland and other NATO countries to invest in rare earth and other mineral mining in Greenland. I won’t argue that Greenland is not important to the national security of the U.S., it certainly is given its location and wealth of rare earth minerals, and our failure to have a reliable source for rare earth minerals within the U.S. or from an ally country. However, there are good and bad ways to ensure America’s national security. It’s my opinion that Trump and the White House saying publicly that it is “discussing a range of options” to acquire Greenland and that using the U.S. military is not off the table is taking the bad way by threatening a NATO partner. We should do better than that. Jerry Hashimura Pahrump, NV
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 The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear its first case regarding transgender athletes’ participating in sports. This should settle the issue once and for all and, I hope, the Supreme Court Justices make the right decision (i.e., agree with me). I wrote an article about this issue back in May of 2025 in the Grassroot Conservate eMagazine Issue #4 – it was actually the fourth article I was honored to write. Since the Supremes (the Justices, not the singers accompanying Diana Ross) are hearing oral arguments today, January 13th, 2026, on this issue, I thought a reprint of that article would be informative for those who might have fallen asleep reading it missed it last May.
I would also list here some recent statistics on the topic: 69% of U.S. adults believe transgender athletes should play on sports teams that match their birth gender; 66% of U.S. adults believe people should be required to put their birth sex on government documents, such as driver’s licenses and passports; 90% of Republicans believe transgender athletes should play on sports teams that match their birth gender; 89% of Republicans believe people should be required to put their birth sex on government documents; 72% of Independents believe transgender athletes should play on sports teams that match their birth gender; 66% of Independents believe people should be required to put their birth sex on government documents 41% of Democrats believe transgender athletes should play on sports teams that match their birth gender; and, 38% of Democrats believe people should be required to put their birth sex on government documents. ******************* Transgender Women in Women Sports: Is it wrong or is it right? There has been much written and talked about regarding transgender women competing in women sports, so let me add my voice to the noise. I will start by stating right out of the gate that I do not support transgender women competing in women sports…nor transgender men competing in men’s sports (what’s good for the transgoose is good for the transgander). I would begin by dispelling any thoughts that I am homophobic or anti-transgender, anti-agender, anti-genderfluid, anti-omnigender, or anti any gender identity. I wholeheartedly believe that people suffering from gender dysphoria may believe and identify with whatever gender identity floats their boat and their choice of sexual activity, while against some religious beliefs, in my mind, is their own business when done in the privacy of their own homes. That is their right while living in a free society like the United States. Contrast that to countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia with state-sanctioned executions for consensual same-sex sexual activity or punishment for gender expression. There is also a lengthy list of countries with potential capital punishment for what they define as homosexual acts (which, I believe would include sexual activity between transgender women and biological men). We should celebrate the fact that we live in the United States and enjoy freedoms denied in other countries. While I’ve lived most of my 70+ years thinking you could only be one of two genders, male or female, imagine my surprise when I found a list of 72 gender identities on-line …clearly, I haven’t kept my finger on the pulse of gender identities. My biggest objection, among many, to transgender women competing against biological women is a matter of fairness. Athletes born male possess physical attributes that provide a distinct advantage in competition. These attributes include leaner body mass, more hemoglobin, larger heart size, and a larger lung capacity. Post-pubescent males have fifteen times the amount of testosterone than post-pubescent females, which results into a 20% advantage in jumping events and a 10-12% advantage in running and swimming (2018 Endocrine Review by David Handelsman, et al.). Hormonal therapies that decrease testosterone and increase estrogen, which athletes competing in the Olympics must do for at least 12 months, can significantly reduce this advantage; however, natural male advantages, including bone structure, heart size, and lung capacity, are not eliminated by hormonal therapies, especially if the transition is post-pubescent. Sure, there are the exceptional few elite biological female athletes who can overcome some of the born with advantages possessed by transgender women but it is unfair to require anyone (grammar and high school, college, or the majority of professional athletes) to compete against transgender women possessing physical advantages by virtue of birth. It just isn’t right. It chaps my behind that biological females who have invested years of intense training and personal sacrifice are denied the rewards for their hard work – things like school records, state/national championships, and scholarships, merely because someone changed the rules by allowing biological males to compete against them. What’s equally sad is that it may incentivize coaches and athletic directors to actively recruit transgender women athletes to improve their win-loss records. I found it interesting that one of the greatest female tennis players ever, Serena Williams, during an interview, talked about how professional male tennis player Andy Murray (who is successful but did not dominate men’s tennis in the same fashion that Serena dominated women’s tennis) joked to her about their playing a match. Serena said that “men’s tennis and women’s tennis are completely almost two separate sports [sic].” She went on to say that if she were to play Murray, she would “lose 6-0, 6-0 in five to six minutes, maybe 10 minutes.” She stated that, “Men are a lot faster and they serve harder, they hit hard, it’s just a different game…I love to play women’s tennis. I only want to play girls because I don’t want to be embarrassed.” I applaud people unafraid to speak their minds and the truth. I also found it informative (and comical) that, in 2023, Avi Silverberg, a pro powerlifter and head coach for Team Canada Powerlifting for more than 10 years, entered the Heroes Classic Tournament in Alberta, Canada, stating he identified as a female. (Hint: he was making a point of how unfair and discriminatory the Canadian Powerlifting Union (“CPU”) rule is that allows an individual to “participate in the gender with which they identify and not be subject to requirements for disclosure of personal information…(n)or should there be any requirement for hormonal therapy or surgery.” This huge, bearded “trans” woman wearing a male lifting singlet, casually walked up to the platform and bench-pressed over 368 pounds, beating the then current record by nearly 100 pounds. According to CPU rules, he should now hold that record. The previous record was held by a transgender woman, Anne Andres, who was present to see the record broken. Andres won eight of the last nine competitions entered in the women’s category over the prior four years and, when interviewed, complained about Silverberg breaking the record, but also openly admitted that “maybe my participation isn’t necessarily fair – you know, there’s science, whatever.” Having trained in combat sports for over 60 years, I also think there is a safety issue here by allowing biological men to compete against biological women. If I were matched against a female of my same weight and technical ability, I would hold a clear advantage in power (absent a very few exceptions); something that’s clearly unsafe if it were allowed. This is merely a physiological advantage of being born male; not an “I worked harder than you” advantage. Now, I’m sure some would say that I could hold the same advantage over a biological male athlete with different genetics, and that’s certainly true. But it is something the male athlete could attenuate by working longer or harder and something a female athlete might never overcome no matter the work she puts in. I would not and could not take pride in knocking out or choking out a female athlete merely by the circumstance of my being born male. However, that is a separate but equally important to remember issue. In the end, I don’t know what a fair and equitable solution would or could be. Smarter people than I could probably figure it out but, I’m sure, there will be many complaints. I only know that the current situation is neither equitable nor fair. I won’t address here the issue of transgender girls/women using girls/women locker rooms and bathrooms in this article. I would only ask that you think about this: (1) a story I read from April 2023 wherein a transgender identifying high school student in Wisconsin, who is an 18-year-old biological male, showered in the girl’s locker room, exposing his male genitalia to four freshmen girls. The four girls came to the locker room after a physical education class and noticed this trans individual changing at a locker. They didn’t think anything of it because the school allowed him to use the girl’s locker room (which in and of itself is sad). When these four freshman girls were in the shower, this biological male joined them in the shower, exposing them to his male genitalia. I cannot, under any circumstances, understand how that high school failed to prevent this from occurring. And (2), these are but a sampling of headlines from various publications around the country (and I’m confident I could have found many, many more): Virginia Judge finds transgender teen guilty of sexual assault in Loudoun County High School girl’s bathroom case; Oklahoma transgender student charged with assaulting female classmates in bathroom; and, transgender Wyoming woman convicted of sexually assaulting 10-year old girl in bathroom. Who allows these policies? Why are transgender rights more important than protecting our girls? I have to say that it sounds like the crazy people are running the sanitorium. Part of my objective in writing these articles is to get you thinking and, hopefully, if they touch a nerve, taking an active role in doing something about them. I welcome polite disagreement. My opinions are no better than the opinion of anyone else…and, as my wife likes to tell me, “You’re not always right but you’re never unsure.” Jerry Hashimura Pahrump, NV  Unless you’ve been living in a proverbial cave these past few days, you (and most everyone around the world) has heard that President Trump authorized a successful military operation to capture Venezuela’s “President” Nicolàs Maduro and bring him to the U.S. for trial. I use quotation around the word “President” because I think it is common knowledge that Maduro stole the last two elections. Most every respected country in the world has commented on this news, with most countries that I’ve read condemning Trump for acting in this manner.
I, for one, am a bit torn on this issue, though my scale leans toward condemning this most recent action by President Trump and asking why, why, why. Maduro can take credit for ruining Venezuela and causing a massive refugee crisis. I wrote a Grassroot Conservative article last October about the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Corina Machado – a brave young woman championing the cause of the Venezuelan people. While this put a larger microscope on conditions in Venezuela, little has changed for the Venezuelan people in the last twelve years since Maduro took over from Hugo Chavez. We have all read the stories of U.S. Reaper drones, AC-130 Gunships, and fighter jets, bombing drug boats out of Venezuela. The last count I read we have bombed 35 boats, and killed 115. More recently, we blew up a dock on Venezuelan soil. I have applauded President Trump bombing drug boats coming out of Venezuela that are bound for America. I think it is great that Trump has made it a crap shoot for the drug runners…will they successfully get their drugs to the U.S. or will they die in their drug boats carrying this poison to America? While I have some sympathy for the Venezuelan people, I could care less about Venezuela. Under Maduro (and Hugo Chavez), they have never been America’s friend. They do not advance America’s interests in any way. They are in massive debt, brought about, in part, by China propping up Venezuela with billions of dollars in loans since the 2000’s and Venezuela cutting deals with Russian state-owned energy companies. Maduro has also chased military alliances with Cuba and Iran. If Venezuela were to fail, again, I could care less. I am America First and we are not the world’s policeman or the world’s ATM. I recognize that Venezuela has one of the world’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at over 300 billion barrels. Could the U.S. benefit from getting cheap oil? Of course. But we cannot take over other sovereign nations under the guise of preventing narco-trafficking – which was President Trump’s reason for this action. Remember that, in 2020, the Justice Department indicted Maduro and some of his top regime officials for an alleged 20-year conspiracy to flood America with cocaine. President Trump made it clear that U.S. intervention in Venezuela is not over. He said in his press conference that, “We are going to run the country.” Will the U.S. get access to cheap oil as it “run[s] the country”? I would not be surprised in the least. I wrote a Grassroot Conservative article this year that talked about President Trump’s National Security Strategy. While this action could conceivably be put under one or more National Security Strategy objectives, I think it runs counter to the intent of this strategy. Finally, I don’t believe we should ever put America’s military in harm’s way for actions such as this. My son served in the 82nd Airborne Division. I obviously would not have wanted him to be harmed while on active duty but I would not want my son to have been catastrophically injured or killed in an operation such as this in Venezuela. While the special operations soldiers who completed this mission were, from all reports, unharmed, no one on earth can predict the outcome in a kinetic event such as this one. I do not support exposing our military to harm for what I characterize as a backhanded way to get America’s hands on controlling Venezuelan oil. What do you think? Jerry Hashimura Pahrump, NV  I thought I would end 2025 with a “lighter” piece on what strange things are dropped across the United States to welcome in the New Year. Most everyone is familiar with the “ball” dropping in Times Square to celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of the next. But the U.S. is home to more untraditional and, frankly, strange things dropped by towns across America. One that makes some sense is in the Idaho State Capitol in downtown Boise. I’m sure you are already thinking about a giant potato – and you wouldn’t be disappointed. Idahoans have been dropping a huge artificial potato for more than ten years now. Florida, not to be outdone by a giant potato, has Orlando dropping a large, artificial orange to celebrate the city’s citrus past. I guess we should be glad that Orlando doesn’t drop a basket full of senior citizens who retired to that great state. Key West also gets into the fun by dropping a giant red shoe. In years past, drag queen Sushi (why pick that name is beyond me and I probably don’t want to know the true story) sat in the giant red high heel shoe but starting in 2023, female impersonator Chris Peterson assumed this role. I guess they couldn’t find any real women willing to sit in the shoe or maybe Key West has a reputation of which I’m unaware. Las Cruces, New Mexico, gets into the fun by dropping a 19-foot chrome chile pepper bedecked in lights. The lights are either bright green or fiery red, and no one knows the color for that year until the chile drops. I presume they serve hot, chile-spiced food leading up to the drop so I guess the people at that celebration are also dropping their own fiery red or green sauce by the end of the night. Traverse City, Michigan, is known as the “Cherry Capital of the World” so it’s not hard to guess what they drop every year – a 600-pound, brightly illuminated red cherry to ring in the New Year. Raleigh, North Carolina, drops a 10-foot-tall acorn. They drop the acorn twice…once at 7 p.m. for the children, and again at midnight for the adults still awake. I couldn’t find an explanation for this (and frankly didn’t care to research it hard) but why not Lebanon, Pennsylvania, has a long history of producing Lebanon bologna so the town leaders and community members decided to drop a gigantic bologna. Flagstaff, Arizona, drops a 70-pound, six-foot pinecone because whenever I hear about Flagstaff, I think about pinecones…or not. My three favorites are: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, dropping a 4.5 foot tall, 400 pound bright yellow Peep (because my lovely bride loves them Peeps; she even lines them up on the counter and yells at her Peeps); Eastover, North Carolina, dropping a 3-foot tall, 30 pound flea. I don’t think this will make a lot of people flock to Eastover if the town celebrates fleas but, in fairness, the town was once known at Flea Hill; and finally, Mobile, Alabama, dropping a giant Moon Pie. I’ll also give a final nod to Mechanicsburg, PA, dropping a wrench; Havre de Grace, MD, dropping a duck decoy, Plymouth, WI, dropping a chunk of cheese, and Mt. Olive, NC, dropping a 3-foot-long pickle. There are lots more strange things dropped on New Year’s Eve and if you’re having trouble sleeping some night, Google it. 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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