John Block

FULL TEXT: Congresswoman Yvette Herrell’s speech against impeachment

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Wednesday, Congresswoman Yvette Herrell from New Mexico’s Second District rose, along with her colleagues, to speak out in opposition to the Democrats’ second impeachment attempt of President Donald J. Trump, this time erroneously accusing him of “incitement of insurrection.” 

The Congresswoman’s full floor speech reads as follows:

“Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise in opposition to these articles of impeachment. Political violence has no place in our constitutional republic and those who assaulted police officers and forced their way into the Capitol are responsible for their criminal actions. Leaders in both parties have a responsibility to condemn such violence, whether in the halls of Congress or the streets of America. I don’t believe, Madam Speaker, that the American people have an appetite for this. They are expecting us to do the will of them–those who sent us from each state around the nation. Right now, Madam Speaker, we’ve seen this body impeach once before–trying to do it a second time. Two wrongs do not make a right. We’ve got to stand for the American people because we will not get a second chance to get this right the first time. 

Watch the live session below: 

FULL TEXT: Congresswoman Yvette Herrell’s speech against impeachment Read More »

Herrell stands firmly with President Trump as Dems make second partisan impeachment attempt

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Wednesday, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is set to force through a rushed and vengeful second impeachment attempt in her chamber of Congress, which already has anti-Trump neocons and Democrats licking their lips at the prospect of taking down President Trump.

Democrats in New Mexico’s U.S. House delegation have lined up one by one and proudly shouted their support for another impeachment charade. This time, the impeachment claims the President “incited” what Democrats are calling “insurrection.”

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich wrote on his Facebook wall, “So should Donald Trump be impeached? Obviously. Should he be allowed to ever hold office again? Absolutely not. There must be accountability as we hold responsible those who committed these violent acts, those like the President who incited these crimes, and those who enabled the President’s worst impulses.” 

According to the Roswell Daily Record, Adan Serna, a spokesman for Democrat Ben Ray Luján, said, “If the impeachment proceedings come to the U.S. Senate and there is a trial, Lujan will support impeachment.” 

First-term Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez posted on Facebook, “Our beloved democracy was violently attacked. It’s time to finally hold this President accountable.” 

Rep. Deb Haaland did not respond to comments from the media today about the impeachment. However, she was rabidly supportive of the Democrats’ first impeachment attempt. She is former Vice President Joe Biden’s nominee for Department of the Interior despite her lack of experience in land management.

New Mexico’s lone Republican in the delegation, Rep. Yvette Herrell, spoke out strongly against impeachment or invocation of the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump, writing, “I don’t believe invoking the 25th or going through a second impeachment is really healthy for the nation. I think it puts fuel on the fire and I’m not in favor of that.” 

The U.S. House of Representatives is slated to vote on the partisan impeachment attempt this afternoon. All of New Mexico’s congressional Democrats will likely vote for impeachment.

Herrell stands firmly with President Trump as Dems make second partisan impeachment attempt Read More »

MLG proposes massive $7.3B budget, Dem legislators pre-file radical legislation

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On Monday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Department of Finance and Administration released the Governor’s executive budget, which seeks to spend $7.3 billion, an increase of 3.3%. 

“The pandemic and economic uncertainty may have disrupted our forward momentum in job creation, child wellbeing improvements, and various other policy emphasis areas, but we are ready to bounce back quickly and robustly. This budget recommendation is our first step to position New Mexico to prosper in a post-pandemic world,” said the Governor.

Here’s the Governor’s proposed spend: 

  • $475M for additional pandemic relief for New Mexico.
  • $893.1M in total fund money for behavioral health support across all state agencies.
  • $193M for the continued rollout of early childhood education and care investments.
  • $5.1M for youth, adolescent, and young adult suicide prevention.
  • $151.2M to maintain K-5 Plus, Extended Learning Time (ELTP) & Career Technical Education and Community School Programs.
  • $26M to continue on the promise for tuition-free education at one of New Mexico’s public colleges, including
  • $4M for a pilot program for students that lost the lottery scholarship.
  • $25M to restore and revitalize the tourism economy.
  • $10M from the General Fund for broadband expansion across New Mexico, which should be bolstered by significant funding from capital outlay.
  • $4.5M for investments in cybersecurity for state agencies and public education institutions.
  • $2M for innovative grid modernization projects.
  • $6M for the Secretary of State to fund local elections.

NOTE: No further details from the Governor’s office were provided.

Also, Democrats in the New Mexico House and Senate are already preparing radical legislation, including an anti-life physician-assisted suicide bill that includes some horrifying language. The bill, sponsored by far-left friend of Gov. Lujan Grisham Rep. Deborah Armstrong (D-Bernalillo) and Senators Liz Stefanics (D-Santa Fe) and Bill O’Neill (D-Bernalillo) proposes a signed document where an individual requesting to have a medical professional help them kill themselves acknowledging the following:

“I understand the full import of this request, and I expect to die if I self-administer the medical aid in dying medication prescribed. I further understand that although most deaths occur within three hours, my death may take longer.” 

Another bill sponsored by Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D-Bernalillo) and Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero (D-Bernalillo) proposes “non-discrimination” in public schools over certain types of hair and headdresses, but not all. The bill outlines the “protected” styles below:

As used in this section: (1) “cultural headdresses” includes burkas, head wraps or other headdresses used as part of an individual’s personal cultural beliefs; (2) “protective hairstyles” includes such hairstyles as braids, locs, twists, tight coils or curls, cornrows, bantu knots, afros, weaves, wigs or head wraps; and (3) “race” includes traits historically associated with race, including hair texture, length of hair, protective hairstyles or cultural headdresses.”

A bill sponsored by Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D-Bernalillo) proposes changes to the state’s definitions of what “domestic terrorism” is. A concerning section of the legislation appears to say any firearms teacher may be charged with a third-degree felony if someone they taught may at any time use the weapon for the bill’s definition of “terrorism.” 

Any person who teaches or demonstrates the use, application or making of any firearm, destructive device or technique capable of causing injury or death to any person with the intent that the knowledge or skill taught, demonstrated or gained be unlawfully used to commit terrorism as defined in Subsection C of this section in furtherance of a civil disorder is guilty of a third degree felony

Any person who trains, practices or receives instruction in the use of any firearm, destructive device or technique capable of causing injury or death to any person with the intent that the knowledge or skill taught, demonstrated or gained be unlawfully used to commit terrorism as defined in Subsection C of this section in furtherance of a civil disorder is guilty of a [fourth] third degree felony

The narrow definition may endanger gun stores, ranges, and firearms instructors, as they may be accused of being an accomplice to domestic terrorism, even if they are not.

The bill also redefines terrorism, as follows:

Terrorism consists of committing any act that causes great bodily harm or death with the intent to: (1) intimidate or coerce a civilian population, including committing mass violence in a place of worship or public accommodation; (2) influence the policy of a state entity or political subdivision of the state; or (3) affect the conduct of a state entity, political subdivision of the state or public accommodation by mass destruction, assassination, kidnapping or an act of violence enumerated as a serious violent offense in Section 33-2-34 NMSA 1978. Whoever commits terrorism is guilty of a second degree felony.

The bill also bars the public from filing an Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) request on more information relating to “terrorism.” 

The following information is not subject to inspection pursuant to the Inspection of Public Records Act: (1) information a state entity receives regarding cyberterrorism, terroristic threats, terrorist acts or any other information prohibited by the Antiterrorism Act; (2) notice sent from the state entity to the New Mexico all source intelligence center regarding cyberterrorism, terroristic threats, terrorist acts or any other information prohibited by the Antiterrorism Act; and (3) information that the New Mexico all source intelligence center, other state entities and any political subdivision of the state receives from federal entities regarding the detection and prevention of cyberterrorism, terrorism and terroristic threats, terrorist acts or any other information prohibited by the Antiterrorism Act.”

Another bill proposed by far-left Rep. Angelica Rubio (D-Las Cruces) looks to force private businesses, already suffering through Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s lockdowns, to pay their employees one hour of “paid sick leave” for every thirty hours worked. This means that if a worker works 40 hours per week for a year (52 weeks), they would have accrued 69.3 hours each year of “paid sick leave,” which all New Mexico employers would be forced to pay. The act, does, however, limit that number to 50 hours per year of accrued sick leave hours. 

Rubio is known for belittlign her constituents and saying, “Who said the shut down was only supposed to be temporary?”

These legislative proposals by House and Senate Democrats are not a definitive list for the 2021 Legislative Session, however, there is sure to be a fight ahead between Democrats and Republicans on this legislation. Abortion up-to-birth and legalization of recreational marijuana bills are expected to be proposed, per the Governor. All bills proposed so far can be found on NMLegis.gov.

This upcoming legislative session will be 100% virtual, per House Speaker Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe), meaning the public is barred from attending in-person, and technology will be 100% utilized.

MLG proposes massive $7.3B budget, Dem legislators pre-file radical legislation Read More »

NMSU professor and fmr. ‘NeverTrumper’ jumps on Trump Train, blasts leftist school president’s letter

42 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Over the weekend, David K. Clements, a business law professor at New Mexico State University (NMSU) and former candidate for U.S. Senate in 2014, broke his silence on a left-wing letter the University President, John D. Floros, was disseminating.

Clements, who described himself as a “NeverTrumper,” said he did not vote for Trump or Clinton in 2016, but he did vote for the 45th President in 2020. 

In the video, he describes the double-standards he sees reeking from the left as they work to discredit and lie about the protesters who entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, interrupting a joint session of Congress as they prepared to vote on certification of the allegedly fraudulent presidential election.

“I don’t like making these type[s] of videos. I like my privacy. I don’t like confrontation, but I feel compelled to respond to an email that was sent yesterday by the President of the University because I feel someone needs to speak up for a large segment of the University that is silent,” said Clements. He added, “I hope to give you an idea of what a Trump voter might look like because right now, I’m seeing all kinds of things being sent through social media online that has equated Trump voters as ‘traitors,’ as ‘treasonous scum,’ as ‘racist.’” 

“75 million people–at least–voted for President Trump,” Clements noted. He mentioned one of these liberals dehumanizing Trump voters, state Rep. Liz Thomson (D-Albuquerque), who wrote on her Twitter account that Trump voters should be “forever branded with a Scarlet S for seditionist.” The Piñon Post previously reported on this statement by Thomson. 

He then read from the letter NMSU President Floros penned. 

“Wednesday was a scary and difficult day. The heart of our democratic institutions, in the building that symbolizes freedom and democratic ideals around the world, was brutally attacked by an angry mob incited by a group of demagogues claiming to represent ‘true’ American values.” wrote Floros in the letter.

Clements opined, “Let me stop right there. Our cities were on fire… Kenosha, Wisconsin, was on fire. Parts of Minneapolis were burned to the ground. Courthouses were set on fire, police precincts were destroyed. I never got an email from the president condemning mob violence that was perpetrated by Antifa or Black Lives Matter, but we get this now. Hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and we are told time and time again that ‘riots are the voice of the unheard.’”  

Clements added how he was “offended that this is the email you’re going to send to faculty when you have been largely silent while cities have burned–people have lost their businesses, homes.” 

He went on to go through the rest of the NMSU president’s letter and explained that when he ran for U.S. Senate, he dealt with people who tried to push him around. He said, “I don’t have tolerance for bullies,” regarding a lawsuit one of his opponents filed against him, and he got dismissed with prejudice. 

Watch Clements’ full video below:

NMSU professor and fmr. ‘NeverTrumper’ jumps on Trump Train, blasts leftist school president’s letter Read More »

Piñon Post Editor: I am leaving Twitter FOREVER.

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On Friday night, Twitter, President Trump’s once-preferred social media network, permanently suspended the 45th President’s account (@realDonaldTrump) and barred him from even posting on his official government account (@POTUS)—an unprecedented and dangerous assault on free speech. 

If these tech tyrants can suppress or “cancel” the United States’ sitting President, they can do the same to all of us—and they are. The mainstream media, aided by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, and the hyenas screeching from their Ivory towers on Capitol Hill, erroneously claimed President Trump began an “insurrection” on the U.S. Capitol. Now, many unhinged and deeply disturbed members of Congress believe these leftist lies and conspiracy theories are grounds for another impeachment (coup) attempt. Trump called for no insurrection, but that didn’t matter to the left-wing media. 

These cowards’ move is not because they are actually angered by the lives lost at the U.S. Capitol, but because their hatred for President Donald Trump is greater than their love for this great country. If they somehow manage to impeach the President, they would permanently bar him from ever holding elected office again. 

These rabid partisan leftists and Republicans in Name Only (RINOs) will do whatever it takes to tear down the President, uphold their illegitimate and fraudulent election results, and try to silence forever true Americans who duly elected and re-elected the 45th President of the United States. Aided by the tech giants, the fake news media, and the rabid cesspool rotting in the bowels of the D.C. Swamp, the Left started a civil war. Their first action: silence us.

On my personal Twitter account, which used to have nearly 5,000 followers, it now sits around the 3,600 follower mark, with over 1,100 followers are either suspended or left for another platform. On the Piñon Post Facebook and Twitter accounts, the platforms purged an editorial we wrote, claiming we “violated” their “community standards” and tanked our distribution. 

Note: the bloodthirsty terrorist Ayattolah Kamaine of Iran, anti-Semitic pastor Louis Farrakhan, white supremacist Richard Spencer, and Chinese Communist Party propagandists are still active on Twitter, yet the sitting U.S. President cannot post on the platform. 

But the mass exodus from the social media platforms wasn’t enough for these deranged, power-hungry tyrants. They couldn’t bear to see us leave their oh-so-precious Twitter and Facebook for another platform (the free speech application, Parler). So, these anti-free speech oligarchs colluded to effectively cripple Parler by removing it from both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. But even that wasn’t enough. Amazon, the application’s server provider, pulled their hosting services, leaving Parler stranded and searching for a new host service. This will result in the social media platform being offline beginning late Sunday night until Monday afternoon.

The shameless assault on the American peoples’ right to free speech and expression, not to mention the President of the United States’ suppression, is dangerous and against everything our country was founded on. These social media titans can hide in their dark rooms and plot against honest, hard-working, and decent American patriots, but they will not be rewarded by me or by millions of others.

For these reasons, I announced over the weekend to all my remaining followers that I will be effectively leaving Twitter forever effective 11:59 p.m. tonight (Sunday) due to their down-right assault on basic free speech rights bestowed upon every citizen. If anyone would like to follow me on Parler, MeWe, Gab, or any other platform, I have linked them there, or you can find me on each platform @JohnForNM. I follow back. The Piñon Post will still be available on these platforms until we are permanently banned (which we expect to be sooner than later). I encourage each and every reader to leave Twitter and take their business elsewhere.

We must stand strong by our President and for our First Amendment. The Elitist Democrat Establishment and the spineless anti-Trump traitors in the Republican Party must be stopped, and the first step is by bleeding their allies in Big Tech dry by leaving these unpatriotic platforms full of double standards and censorship. 

As I wrote on my Twitter today as one of my last posts on the platform, “If Davy Crockett lived today, he’d probably say, ‘You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Parler!’”

UPDATE: As of 2022, Elon Musk is purchasing Twitter and giving President Trump the option of being restored to the platform. Therefore, I will also join patriots like Marjorie Taylor Greene and others in getting back on the platform in light of apparent freedom of speech being restored to Twitter.

Piñon Post Editor: I am leaving Twitter FOREVER. Read More »

Leftist lawmaker: Rep. Herrell’s Legislative speech would be a ‘prop’ to spread ‘conspiracy theories’

2 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A far-left lawmaker who demanded state-funded security due to mean phone calls he got, state Sen. Jacob Candelaria, has been increasingly vocal on social media as tensions rise between conservatives and radical lefitsts.

During Candelaria’s melodramatic response to mean calls he got, he made multiple videos of him breaking into tears claiming his safety was at-risk. Bodycam footage from State Police officers responding to his calls revealed he referred to himself repeatedly as “Senator,” threatened to call the Governor on them, and then kicked out the officers who were there trying to assist him.

Later on, Candelaria posted on social media about his lavish shopping spree at Hermés, a luxury French fashion house, telling his followers, “Treat yo self. The road is long and the fights are hard—-celebrating your joy is a seditious act.” It is unclear what Candelaria meant here by “seditious act.” 

In one of Candelaria’s seemingly unhinged recent rants, he called for Princeton University to rescind U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) diploma for his vote to not certify an alleged fraudulent presidential election, while another tweet said he would oppose U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-NM) from speaking before a joint session of the New Mexico Legislature, as is customary for all congressional representatives. 

He wrote, “I will object to @RepHerrell addressing joint NM Leg session, as is our custom, now or ever. I will not allow our Senate to be yet another prop and forum for her to spread conspiracy theories and lies.”

The dramatic state legislator did not elaborate on what exactly he percieved as “conspiracy theories and lies,” however, it is clear that for some reason Candelaria appears to have a deep-seated hatred for Herrell, New Mexico’s newly elected congresswoman in the Second District. 

Leftist lawmaker: Rep. Herrell’s Legislative speech would be a ‘prop’ to spread ‘conspiracy theories’ Read More »

NM House Dem calls for Trump supporters to be ‘forever branded with a scarlet S for seditionist’

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On Friday, in a tweet, far-left state Rep. Liz Thomson (D-Albuquerque), said that anyone who supports President Donald Trump after the January 6 protest at the Capitol be forever branded with a “scarlet S” for “seditionist.” The comment echoes another arguably unhinged op-ed in the Washington Post calling for similar actions to be taken against Senate Republicans who voted against the certification of votes from states with voter irregularities. 

She added that no individual who supports President Trump should ever be given a position of “power or responsibility,” among other attacks.

“Here’s a thought. Anyone who continues to back the orange traitor after the terrorist attack, is forever branded with a scarlet S for seditionist. They should never be given any position of power or responsibility, nor should they ever be given a platform to spread their lies,” she wrote.

The comment comes after Thomson has been a constant critic (on Twitter) of Republicans, specifically pro-Trump patriots. She has on multiple occasions demeaned New Mexicans with differing opinions, many times resorting to ad-hominem attacks and personal jabs.

In December 2020, the Piñon Post reported that Thomson mocked New Mexicans who were concerned about taking the COVID-19 vaccine, writing, “Yikes. Some education is obviously in order. Unfortunately, all of the disinformation is rampant and strong.” 

NM House Dem calls for Trump supporters to be ‘forever branded with a scarlet S for seditionist’ Read More »

The battle has just begun. Stand up and fight like hell, patriots.

5 Comments / Editorial, Opinion / By

While American patriots marched from the White House to the U.S. Capitol to demand members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate vote not to certify a certainly fraudulent election, those supposed “leaders,” including Vice President Mike Pence and traitorous members of Congress defied the will of the people and certified an illegitimate election in favor of Joe Biden.

All the information about how protesters got inside the U.S. Capitol and who they truly are is still a mystery. However, some Americans’ actions–good and bad–will forever remain in the history books as a monumental start to what will be a battle for our nation.

This was the point in history beyond reconciliation. Americans finally saw those in public office who are fighters for the Constitution and those who are sellouts to the Washington, D.C. swamp. Only 147 brave public officials in Congress stood up and rejected the stolen election, while the rest revealed their true colors.

This battle for our nation will be long, hard-fought, and be the start of many more clashes between crooks who look to cling to their power and those who get up every day to fight for Americans across our country who only want goodness and rightness for what is left of our republic. 

As they have done for the past four years, the Radical Left–aided by the biased media machine and big tech oligarchs–will continue to try and discredit us, shame us, and tear us down for supporting our President. They will doxx us, they will try to break our families apart, get us fired from our jobs, spread rumors about us, and maybe most importantly, try to kill our spirit.

These attacks, aided by a spineless and hollow “Republican” establishment, will not cease. If anything, they will get louder, more emboldened, and increasingly violent. Many GOP “leaders” will cry out against us, but their self-centered manufactured outrage must not matter to us. The bloodshed of patriots will not matter to them as they defile and curdle the very identity of our nation.

But we, as New Mexicans and Americans, must never stop fighting for our values and against fraudulent elections that happen far too often in our state. The crooks have been taking over our government for decades, but if we do not fight back now, there won’t be a country left to save.

Take courage, my fellow patriots. The fight will be long and hard, but I will be fighting right alongside you every step of the way. The enemy’s voice may be loud, but ours is louder. Never, ever stop fighting for our Country. Do it for our children and our children’s children. Their future depends on our actions now. 

What you can do:

Stand up and fight like hell, patriots. 

Join a pro-Trump protest in your community, such as one that happens each Saturday in front of the New Mexico state Capitol in Santa Fe. 

Connect with your local Republican Party, and if the leaders of that local chapter are RINOs (Republicans in Name Only), organize other patriots to attend meetings and vote the establishment out in numbers.

Despite Democrat leaders locking the public out of the Capitol for the upcoming Legislative Session, show up anyway in numbers and demand they hear your voices. Scream and shout as loud as your voices can carry you. Do not stop writing your legislators’ offices and inundating their inboxes about bills and amendments until they can’t take it anymore. 

Ram down these legislators’ throats the demand for free and fair elections, without crooked operating systems tallying votes and late-night ballot dumps of fraudulent “absentee” ballots that have been sitting in closets and suitcases. Demand Voter ID, purging of illegitimate voters on the rolls, and ballot harvesting. 

Consider runs for public office in your communities. Take out RINO politicians who vote with Democrats, such as many of the state representatives and senators who currently sit in the Santa Fe Capitol. Find those who did not stand up and fight and demand they tell you why. Why did they cower in fear while New Mexicans suffer? Look up their freedom scores on places like the Rio Grande Foundation and the American Conservative Union. If they don’t represent your values, mount primary challenges to them and boot them the hell out of office. The same thing goes for every other elected office across our state. If they don’t fight for us, then fire them.

If we organize in numbers to take back our government one step at a time, we will. Never stop resisting tyranny and never stop looking toward the horizon at what we can do if we work together and finally take out the trash that has been rotting in the Santa Fe and Washington, D.C. swamps. I am with you, my fellow patriots. We must all stick together and remember that there a lot more of us than there are of them. Stop the steal.

The battle has just begun. Stand up and fight like hell, patriots. Read More »

MLG shakes down O’Reilly Auto Parts store for $80k after it allegedly defied COVID mandates

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On Tuesday, it was announced by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) that the Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham Administration had “settled” a dispute with an O’Reilly Auto Parts store on Airport Road in Santa Fe for allegedly not forcing employees to wear masks or display government-mandated COVID-19 signage. 

According to the release, in July, the store was cited after they were snitched-out by “several citizen complaints.” The Department “observed that management did not require employees to wear face coverings– a violation of state law, public health orders and COVIDSafe Practices.” NMED claimed that the alleged non-compliance by the store exposed “staff and customers to the imminent danger of COVID-19.” 

“The store was also cited for failing to post signage requiring customers to wear face coverings while inside the store, further endangering employees. During subsequent inspections, NMED observed store management corrected the violations,” wrote the NMED release. 

“Failure by employers to protect staff from COVID-19– a known workplace hazard – is unacceptable,” said Lujan Grisham’s NMED Cabinet Secretary James Kenney. “Employers must take their worker protection responsibility seriously or they will face robust enforcement action by the State of New Mexico.”

O’Reilly Auto Parts will pay $79,200 in penalties, says the release. The penalties will go to the state general fund, meaning the Governor and the Legislature will have access to these funds at the upcoming Legislative Session in January. Gov. Lujan Grisham’s giant $7.6 budget passed the last Legislature in 2020, which included the creation of a new state department, among other pork-filled measures.

O’Reilly being a national franchise most likely can afford to expend nearly $80,000 in fines, however, a mom and pop shop would likely be forced to close for good if faced with such steep demands.

MLG shakes down O’Reilly Auto Parts store for $80k after it allegedly defied COVID mandates Read More »

Egolf says 2021 Legislature to be ‘100% virtual to the public,’ dealing a blow to rural NM

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On Monday, Speaker of the New Mexico House Brian Egolf confirmed to KRQE News 13 that the 2021 Legislative Session will be “100% virtual for the public,” meaning the “Roundhouse will be closed to the public.” 

Previously, legislators were discussing utilizing the Santa Fe Convention Center to accommodate “social distancing,” however, that appears not to be the case, according to one report.  

“Speaker Egolf said they will be expanding the use of Zoom so people can participate remotely in the session. They will even have closed captioning for people hard of hearing,” said the report. 

The move to go 100% virtual, however, will be the final call of the Legislative Council, but Egolf appears to have the votes.

Republican legislators responded to the news that was delivered to them via tweet, instead of the Speaker letting them know any other way. Rep. Gail Armstrong (R-Catron, Socorro & Valencia Counties) wrote on Twitter, “So much for transparency!” 

Rep.-elect Stefani Lord (R-Bernalillo, Sandoval & Santa Fe Counties) wrote to her followers, “If you don’t have internet.  If you have a spotty internet connection. If you don’t know how to use ZOOM, well, your voice won’t be heard this year at the roundhouse.  P.S. I can’t believe I learned about this on Twitter.  Shouldn’t the speaker let the legislators know?” 

The upcoming Legislature will be 60 days long and many hot-button issues including an abortion up-to-birth bill, recreational marijuana legalization, anti-gun bills, and other previously defeated legislation from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham are expected to be discussed. The move to go 100% virtual may hamper access to those who live in rural communities without access to a reliable internet connection, among many others. 

Speaker Brian Egolf can be contacted via email at this address brian.egolf@nmlegis.gov.

Egolf says 2021 Legislature to be ‘100% virtual to the public,’ dealing a blow to rural NM Read More »

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