John Block

New Mexico highway ranked the ‘most feared’ road trip

30 Comments / New Mexico / By

According to a QuestionPro survey commissioned by Gunther Mitsubishi of 3,000 regular road-trippers, New Mexico’s U.S. Route 285, which spans from Denver, Colorado, down to Sanderson, Texas, was ranked the most feared road trip.

Z News Service reported, “The most feared route among American roadtrippers is along US Route 285 in New Mexico. This stretch of road traverses vast areas with limited access to services and amenities. Its remoteness means that breakdowns could leave travelers stranded for extended periods before help arrives.”

Map of U.S. Route 285 going through New Mexico. Screenshot via Wikimedia Commons.

“The route often passes through arid desert regions, where extreme temperatures can take a toll on both vehicles and individuals. Moreover, the highway stretches across long distances between towns and gas stations, increasing the risk of running out of fuel or encountering mechanical issues without immediate assistance.”

Gunther Mitsubishi added, “US Route 285 – The stretch between Vaughn and Roswell can be desolate, with long distances between towns and limited services available.” 

Route 285 is followed by California’s Death Valley Road (S.R.-190), Texas’ U.S. Route 90, Hawaii’s Saddle Road (Hawaii Route 200), Nevada’s U.S. Route 50 (Loneliest Road in America), Kentucky’s Mountain Parkway (K.Y.-9002), and South Dakota’s U.S. Route 14A (Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway).

Jamie Street via Unsplash.

“Road trips are a cherished American tradition. The freedom of the open road, discovering new destinations, and sharing laughter with loved ones make road trips truly exhilarating experiences. However, amidst the excitement, it is crucial to recognize the importance of being prepared for any unforeseen circumstances,” said Gunther Mitsubishi’s Joseph Gunther IV. 

He added, “While breakdowns may be rare, they can dampen the spirit of the journey if not properly anticipated. So, embrace the thrill of the road trip, but remember, the best adventures are built on a foundation of preparedness, enabling you to tackle any challenges and keep the joy of the journey alive.”

The survey was conducted in Junee 2023 with a sample of 3,000. See the full list of the 50 most feared road trips here.

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Chevron, largest acreage owner in the Permian, selling its NM, TX land

16 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

According to a Reuters report, Chevron is selling its Texas and New Mexico properties in the Permian Basin up for sale as it attempts to divest from the region.

The outlet wrote, “This month, it launched an auction for a parcel covering 2,134 net acres in New Mexico and a second covering 29,901 acres in the New Mexico and Texas, according to listings on the EnergyNet online auction site.”

“The combined value is about $100 million, according to a source familiar with shale asset values. Both bids are due on July 27, according to marketing brochures.”

Reuters noted, “Production at the larger parcel on offer was estimated at about 770,000 barrels of oil and gas net and the smaller parcel was estimated to be about 1,818 barrels of oil and gas equivalent (boe) per day, according to the documents.”

Last month, Chevron agreed to buy PDC Energy Inc. in a stock and debt deal worth $7.6 billion. It also recently acquired Noble Energy to boost its international holdings and U.S. shale positions.

Zacks Investment Research, which currently has the Chevron stock (CVX) as a “hold,” adds, “The dealmaking is presumably a move to sell lower-valued assets in the area and choose high-performance assets. This strategy is perfectly in line with Chevron’s long-term goals.”

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MLG-appointed DA Bregman running for election after claiming he wouldn’t 

7 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman has announced his candidacy for election in a campaign launch video released on Friday.

However, this announcement directly contradicts statements Bregman made about six months ago. In a previous interview, he expressed his satisfaction with not worrying about politics or campaign preparations, stating that he could solely focus on accomplishing tasks. Furthermore, in January, he declared that he would not seek election to the seat in his own right.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed Bregman as the Bernalillo County district attorney after Raúl Torrez’s successful election as attorney general last November. The governor’s news release at the time also mentioned that Bregman “will not run for re-election to the office.”

Bregman (far-left) at a press conference with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Democrat anti-gun lawmakers, and anti-gun activists.

However, during a recent news conference, Bregman clarified his change of heart, stating that he now intends to run for district attorney. He claimed that his initial decision was sincere, but the supposed positive impact he believes he has made in his current position motivated him to continue working towards making a difference.

“I will be running for district attorney. When I got into this office, I was sincere in the sense that I didn’t think I would. But we have put things in place that I believe are starting to make a difference,” Bregman claimed.

Bregman has advocated for far-left policies as district attorney, including support for anti-gun legislation and weak-on-crime bills that would reward bad actors for breaking the law.

Bregman’s campaign website and Twitter account were established in May, and he has already begun accepting donations. The New Mexico Secretary of State’s website confirms that he registered his campaign on June 1, 2023.

Lujan Grisham’s office told KOAT 7, “Gov. Lujan Grisham wanted to make sure that whomever she appointed as Bernalillo County DA would be squarely focused on the work of the office, and not a re-election bid. In his first six months in office, DA Bregman has illustrated his commitment to fighting crime, resulting in a safer New Mexico. Our expectation is that he will continue that focus moving forward.”

No other individuals have declared their candidacy for the Second Judicial District Attorney position.

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New Mexico is one of the top ten states feeling the pain of inflation

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Inflation is taking a toll on New Mexicans, despite the supposed low unemployment rate in the state, being touted repeatedly by Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

USA Today writes, “Despite decades-low unemployment levels, adults across the country report feeling unnerved about their finances. The culprit? Inflation…. When prices skyrocketed last year, the annual inflation rate climbed to a mountainous 9.1% in June 2022 before moderating down to 4.9% now. This is still well above the Federal Reserve’s preferred level of 2%. Gas prices, for instance, are down $1.34 a gallon from this time last year, but are still $0.51 higher than two years ago.”

The news network’s analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau Pulse Survey statistics found that New Mexicans are among the top ten states hurting from inflation, with 50 percent of residents “very stressed out by price increases” while 27 percent are “moderately” stressed out by it — that’s 77 percent!

All of New Mexico’s U.S. House delegation voted against a measure that would fight inflation by promoting American energy over that of Saudi Arabia, Russia, and other foreign nations.

The National Republican Congressional Committee’s spokeswoman Delanie Bomar wrote regarding U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez’s vote against the measure, “New Mexico families are hurting and hold extreme politician Gabe Vasquez responsible for their financial stress. Vasquez clearly doesn’t understand everyday people’s struggle.”

Younger people are having outsized effects of inflation felt under the Joe Biden administration, with the report noting, “Most people aged between 25 and 54 felt very stressed by price increases (the largest group being 53% of those aged between 40 and 54). And well over half, 80%, of both age groups were either ‘very’ or ‘moderately stressed.’”

Regarding inflation stress and educational demographics, those without a high school diploma felt the most stress, with 63 percent very stressed and 19 percent moderately stressed.

Those who have children at home were 11 percent more stressed than those without, according to USA Today’s analysis.

The outlet noted, “USA Today Blueprint analyzed data from the United States Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey to determine the number of people in each state and city who reported feeling various levels of stress due to rising prices.”

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U.S. Census Bureau report sounds the alarm on NM’s long-term poverty

9 Comments / New Mexico, News / By

A newly published report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows where New Mexico stands regarding long-term poverty. 

The report “incorporates poverty estimates from the 1990 and 2000 Censuses, the 2005–2009 American Community Survey (ACS), 5-year estimates, and the 2015–2019 ACS, 5-year estimates.”

“While most previous studies used three datapoints, this report uses four datapoints to more accurately count persistent poverty areas and to use roughly equal periods between readings,” it noted.

It revealed that New Mexico has 21.3 percent of the population (434,600 people) suffering from persistent poverty since 1985, with nine of the state’s 33 counties with long-term poverty.

The persistently impoverished counties include Cibola, Doña Ana, Luna, McKinley, Rio Arriba, San Miguel, Roosevelt, and Socorro.

New Mexico was only beaten by Mississippi, which had a 24.4 percent poverty rate. 

The Census Bureau noted, “For the 1989 to 2015–2019 period, 8,238 census tracts (11.3 percent) were persistently in poverty. There were 28.5 million people living within these tracts, which is 9.0 percent of the total population for whom poverty status could be determined in 2019.”

That means New Mexico’s poverty level is 236.6 percent of the national average — an abysmally high number for the state.

According to the World Population Review, 21,317 out of every 100,000 New Mexicans is on welfare, approximately 21.3 percent. 

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Legendary author Cormac McCarthy, 89, passes away in New Mexico

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News / By

Legendary author of “Blood Meridian,” “The Road” and “All the Pretty Horses,” Cormac McCarthy, passed away on Tuesday at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the age of 89.

The famed American author died of natural causes, according to his publisher, Penguin Random House. 

“Cormac McCarthy changed the course of literature,” Nihar Malaviya, the CEO of Penguin Random House, said in a statement.

“For sixty years, he demonstrated an unwavering dedication to his craft, and to exploring the infinite possibilities and power of the written word,” Malaviya said. “Millions of readers around the world embraced his characters, his mythic themes, and the intimate emotional truths he laid bare on every page, in brilliant novels that will remain both timely and timeless, for generations to come.”

McCarthy won a Pulitzer Prize for “The Road,” as well as the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

“McCarthy’s style and thematic preoccupations drew from disparate influences, ranging from the haunting Southern Gothic prose of William Faulkner to the lyrical intricacy of James Joyce and the fire-and-brimstone intensity of Scripture,” wrote NBC News.

His 1985 masterpiece “Blood Meridian,” which is a horrifically violent epic about bloodthirsty bounty hunters, is considered by many to be his crowning achievement.

Other books he wrote, such as “No Country for Old Men,” 2005, gained acclaim after its initial release.

The film adaptation of the book directed by the Cohen Brothers won four Academy Awards, including best picture. 
“Death is the major issue in the world. For you, for me, for all of us,” he said during an interview with Vanity Fair. “It just is. To not be able to talk about it is very odd.”

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ABQ Target caught in the middle of ‘LGBT’ product scandal

22 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

In recent weeks, Americans have been massively boycotting Target after it was caught pushing the LGBT agenda on kids as young as toddler age by selling inappropriate products targeted toward children.

According to The Daily Mail, “This year’s collection features a range of clothes and home goods, including lime green adult romper suits with the word ‘gay’ on the back; a ‘Live Laugh Lesbian’ t-shirt; and a mug emblazoned with the words: ‘Gender Fluid.’” 

“The Minneapolis-based company is selling T-shirts for children with the slogan: ‘Trans People Will Always Exist!’ It is offering rainbow-striped tutus for toddlers for $13, and $10 baby gros which read: ‘Bien Proud.’” 

Now, an Albuquerque Uptown Target store finds itself in the midst of the woke controversy.

According to a report from KRQE 13 News, “A woman says an Albuquerque Target refused to sell her a pride shirt for her granddaughter, even though it was out on display. Jessica Corley headed to Target in Uptown to buy shirts for her family to wear to Albuquerque’s Pride Parade. She found matching shirts for herself and her three-year-old granddaughter that said ‘Bien Proud.’ When she got up to the register, the kids’ shirt wouldn’t ring up.”

“She called the manager, the manager came over, and he scanned the item. The same message came up: ‘Do not sell.’ And he said I’m sorry, I can’t sell this to you,” Corley said.

Apparently, Corley began “shaking and burst into tears,” telling the outlet, “It was just an astounding experience and not one that I would expect to be coming from our community.”

“It’s about, you know, my right to purchase an item of clothing for myself or my loved ones that has (sic) a message that I believe in, which is to be proud of myself and to be proud of who I am and to spread that message of inclusivity,” Corley added.
Since launching the woke LGBT clothes and then subsequently pulling them from many stores, Target has lost billions in market share.

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Wagyu beef and cocaine hot dogs

15 Comments / Opinion / By

Over the past few months, New Mexico has been getting quite a lot of media attention for unfortunate reasons, including a recent biker gang shootout in Red River over Memorial Day weekend, a Sonic hot dog found with a bag of cocaine in it, and Democrats’ extremist abortion up-to-birth policies, to name a few. 

Jeffrey David Salazar, 54, of Española, faces felony charges after he “lost” his bag of cocaine during his shift at Sonic, where a woman found the drug bag in her hot dog.

“(Salazar) stops cooking and appears to be frantically searching the area as if he lost something,” a detective wrote in the affidavit.

This made national news. 

Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s move to try and ban localities from halting abortions in their communities and pushing “gender-affirming care” on children via H.B. 7 recently made national news also – further enshrining New Mexico as the abortion capital of the United States. This sad record was affirmed by another bill that will harbor criminal abortionists in New Mexico who are wanted in other states.

A biker gang’s recent shootout in Red River, killing three and injuring at least five, made national news also, with Democrats almost in unison, using the dispute to push for extreme anti-gun laws. It splashed the headlines of national news outlets for days.

These are just national headlines from the past few weeks — not counting the other horrible things New Mexico is now known for under far-left, failed leadership that has failed to prevent such tragic stories.

We also make national headlines about our most prolific export — box-checking Washington, D.C. bureaucrats like Deb Haaland, who can’t even form a coherent sentence in a U.S. House or Senate hearing, much less run a federal agency. More national shame and embarrassing headlines.

Instead of helping quell the illegal drug trade in New Mexico, Democrats have repeatedly refused to increase sentences for drug possession and trafficking, even fentanyl — leading to “COCAINE HOT DOG” being plastered across even international headlines as far-reaching as India

Democrats couldn’t stand not having any protections whatsoever for babies, women, or doctors, as passed in a 2021 law legalizing abortion up to birth. They wanted to push abortions and transgender surgeries/hormone blockers on children also. Now, New Mexico is Texas’ back-alley abortion mill.

And instead of New Mexico legislators passing laws preventing crime by punishing thugs who break the law, three are now dead due to the recent Red River shootout. 

In recent years, New Mexico has grabbed national headlines for things such as Democrats working to weaken the state’s election laws to open the floodgates to fraud, Albuquerque Police officers fleeing the state amid anti-police policies, as well as the governor’s lavish spending on booze and Wagyu beef, not to mention her $150,000 crotch grab payout to a former campaign staffer. 

Other headlines focus on New Mexico’s worst education system in the entire country, the state’s wide-open southern border, deadly crime statistics, and the worst state for drug use in the entire country.

By electing the same people and the same failed weak-on-crime, anti-moral “leaders,” New Mexico will remain in the same sad place, with headlines focusing on our failures instead of our successes, which are few.

People need to start waking up, or else we will remain in the cadaver state (for all the children we kill via abortion, not to mention those being slaughtered through assisted suicide), biker gang shootouts, taxpayer-funded Wagyu beef steaks, and, embarrassingly, cocaine hot dogs. 

We can do many things to start fixing New Mexico, including signing a referendum petition to help stop the extremist laws recently passed in the 2023 Legislature, making sure not to stay home during ANY election, staying informed by reading what is happening in New Mexico in places like the Piñon Post, and by seizing upon every opportunity to take action in the state. 

It can be as simple as sending an email to a lawmaker or more involved, such as knocking on doors to support your local anti-Critical Race Theory school board candidate. It’s not that hard. We need to fight even harder to reclaim this state because it is a very achievable goal. We love New Mexico. Now, let’s fight for it.

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First cases of tragic syndrome plaguing bats detected in New Mexico

3 Comments / New Mexico, News / By

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced Monday a tragic development in the deadly white-nose bat syndrome, revealing the first cases of the deadly bat disease in New Mexico.

Since 2006, the fungal disease has slaughtered millions of North American bats with a white fungus growing on their skin, leading to irritation of the little creatures. The irritation forces hibernating bats to wake up early from hibernation, which exhausts fat stores needed for winter survival. These events lead to the bats’ tragic deaths. 

“Samples from two live bats and two deceased bats were collected in late April from BLM-managed caves in Lincoln and De Baca counties.” wrote the BLM.

“The two dead bats were confirmed with WNS, one a fringed myotis in Lincoln County, the other a cave myotis in De Baca County.  Additionally, wing biopsies from two live cave myotis at the same Lincoln Co. site revealed microscopic lesions consistent with WNS. WNS is caused by an invasive fungal pathogen named Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). Although Pd was previously detected in New Mexico in 2021, evidence of the disease had not been confirmed in the state until now.”

“With the collaboration of a great team of partners, BLM New Mexico has been monitoring its most significant winter bat caves for evidence of Pd since 2011,” said BLM New Mexico’s Threatened and Endangered Species Program Lead Marikay Ramsey. “We will continue to coordinate with our state, federal, tribal and non-governmental partners to test and implement prevention measures such as restricted access to affected caves to minimize the spread of the disease in New Mexico.”

“Of the almost 30 species of bats known to occur in New Mexico, more than half are known or suspected to hibernate in the state during the winter,” said James Stuart, non-game mammal specialist with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. “All these hibernating species are potentially vulnerable to WNS when they spend the winter in caves or mines where the Pd fungus has become established. We don’t yet know to what extent WNS will impact our New Mexico bat populations, but we will continue to support monitoring of bat populations and caves throughout New Mexico for the presence of WNS and Pd.”

The fungus and disease do not affect humans or pets, but human activity in caves is said to lead to the fungus that kills the bats. At Carlsbad Caverns National Park, for example, guests entering the bat cave must disinfect their shoes to prevent the syndrome from entering.

Bats are critical for a balanced ecosystem, being avid pollinators that eat pests such as mosquitoes, moths, beetles, crickets, leafhoppers, and chinch bugs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

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New video proves the dire need for completion of the border wall

3 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A recently posted video from Muckraker.com shows how easy it is for the cartel to smuggle illegal migrants and contraband items into the United States through gaps in the border wall left unfinished by Joe Biden.

The outlet posted a video of a major gap in the wall in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, first constructed under President George W. Bush, which had major flaws, such as huge squares being able to be chiseled out of the mesh fence along with gaps between the sides of each panel of the barrier. 

The video shows the current system’s failures, with reporters from Muckracker.com being able to easly slip from the U.S. side into Mexico, which those on the Mexico side of the barrier can do just as easily. 

When President Donald Trump left office, and Joe Biden took over, one of the 80-year-old Democrat’s first acts was to cease construction of the border wall started by the 45th President, leaving millions of dollars of supplies to rot, instead of using the materials to finish construction of the border.

Biden’s weak immigration policies have encouraged illegal border crossers, including cartels, which have been smuggling people, drugs, guns, and other unmentionables into the United States, including in New Mexico, which has at least 53 miles of open border wall and many ineffective Bush-era barriers. 

Shocking video report shows cartel smugglers ravaging NM’s southern border

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