John Block

Rep. Herrell becomes ranking member of U.S. House panel

On Friday, it was reported that Congresswoman Yvette Herrell of New Mexico’s Second Congressional District ascended to the role of ranking member of the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Environment Subcommittee.

POLITICO reports that Herrell “succeeds Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) in the spot. She would likely become the subcommittee chair if Republicans take the House majority in this year’s elections and the party keeps the current subcommittee structure.” 

The position now gives Herrell the opportunity to be a “top critic” of Joe Biden’s radical anti-oil and gas agenda, which has created five-dollar gas prices and economic failures across the board.

The full committee’s ranking member, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), said, “As a lifelong New Mexican, Representative Herrell understands the importance of preserving our environment for all to enjoy and ensuring Americans’ access to affordable, clean energy to power their homes and fuel their cars.” 

“The Biden Administration has waged war on domestic energy production, and Representative Herrell is fighting to protect the Americans whose jobs and livelihoods rely on this industry,” he continued, “ adding, “Herrell is fighting to protect the Americans whose jobs and livelihoods rely on this industry. We look forward to Representative Herrell leading our oversight of the Biden Administration’s radical Green New Deal policies that are harming Americans nationwide.”

“I am honored to be appointed the Ranking Member of the Environment Subcommittee by my friend, Ranking Member Comer,” said Representative Herrell. 

“I am excited for the opportunity to stand up for my constituents who have been railroaded by reckless, one-size-fits-all executive actions by this administration. I will work to provide oversight over executive actions that have increased energy prices, harmed American agriculture, and ignored the expertise of local families and businesses. I am proud to champion New Mexico’s legacy of environmental stewardship and lead Republican members on the Environment Subcommittee.”

MLG claims to be anti-gerrymandering despite signing extreme gerrymandered maps

Far-left Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has once again spoken out of both sides of her mouth — this time about gerrymandering. For those unaware of the term, in essence, it means manipulating the political boundaries of districts to favor one party or class. 

Lujan Grisham signed into law the most partisan, extremist gerrymandered maps imaginable earlier this year. The maps approved for Congress, state House and state Senate were drawn by the dark money Center for Civic Policy, which skewed district lines for political gain.

These changes created snake-like figures in district maps, probably most notably in the congressional district boundaries, which chopped up many communities, such as Hobbs and Roswell, into two or even three districts, while pairing people in the extreme southeast corner of the state with communities that have nothing in common, such as with Santa Fe and the extreme northwest side of the state.

But despite this partisan gamesmanship, Lujan Grisham now claims to be on a “mission to end gerrymandering,” touting an endorsement with the far-left Eric Holder-affiliated “National Democratic Redistricting Committee,” which actually advocates for drawing districts to benefit Democrats.

The partisan group wrote, “We’re thrilled to endorse Gov.@Michelle4NM! Throughout her tenure, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishman has acted as a fierce #DemocracyDefender who signed #FairMaps into law – making her re-election pivotal to New Mexico and our nation.” 

Despite once claiming to support fair districts, leftist members of the state “Citizens Redistricting Committee” pushed through partisan choices for maps. Here is what they originally said

Board Member Curtis said, “It seems like a radical change to any of the districts — since we’re not an elected body — … the public would have to say ‘we want a radical change.’” Member Curtis said, “there would have to be overwhelming support for a radical change from the current districts” and “We are imposing something on people if we’re doing radical change without the public jumping up and saying ‘this is what we want.’” 

Board Member Rhatigan added, “…unless there’s overwhelming public consensus to change the general composition of our three congressional districts, I’m inclined to draw districts that we have one [representative] in Albuquerque and we have one northern district and a southern district.”

As we previously reported

​​The maps were not the work of the state’s Citizen Redistricting Committee. Rather, the work of dark money operatives apparently seeking a left-wing political advantage. 

During the closed-door special session in which Democrats rammed through the extreme proposals, public comment was cut off or not accepted at all and no notice was given to the public to addend critical committee hearings on the proposed maps.

Even the left-wing Albuquerque Journal decried the partisanship in the drawing of maps. In a recent editorial, the paper wrote that the maps were drawn for “naked political gain.” 

“So much for keeping like-minded communities together, prioritizing communities of interest, protecting marginalized groups, avoiding court intervention, and not favoring anyone, specifically political parties or incumbents.”

But for everyone who was involved in the redistricting process in New Mexico, it is clear that Democrats shamelessly drew political maps to benefit themselves while doing everything possible to skew the board in their favor through gerrymandering.

Woke local TV station devotes entire segment to ‘proper pronoun usage’

On Wednesday, KOB 4 TV devoted an entire segment on its broadcast to discussing “proper pronoun usage” with a supposed “HR expert,” Heather Talamante of “Tell Us About Yourself Inc.”

The host, Colton Shone, brought up what he called “DEI,” which stands for “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” asking Talamante, “How do you go about the discussion of pronouns?”

Talamante said, “So, essentially, the employee will reach out and say, ‘Hey, this is my preferred pronoun, this is how I would like to be addressed. In the workplace, how we go about it is by respecting their request, Right? So you want to make sure when they say, ‘This is what I’d like to be referred to,’ we address it, and we honor that. And we moving forward, use that term, whether it’s he/she, they/them/their, whatever they would like to be used.”

Shone asked, “Is it appropriate to ask what someone’s preferred pronoun usages are?”

“You probably wouldn’t want to ask. That person would ask you,” Talamante replied. “So, um, if they haven’t fully made the decision on what pronoun they would like to use, let them come around to that decision and then ask. If they haven’t asked yet, it’s not safe to assume. We don’t want to make any assumptions.”

Talamante added, “If you are the employee that is asking for a new preferred pronoun or a pronoun that’s not necessarily natural for individuals yet, just be patient as they learn to use the new pronoun, or to address you by that pronoun.”

“What if someone is refusing to use someone’s preferred pronouns?” asked Shone. 

Talamante responded, “And this will happen. I will be very honest. In the workplace, this will happen. We have feelings about the pronoun, we don’t agree with it, so we don’t know why we have to use it. So it’s important if you don’t agree, to still just use their first name. This isn’t something that would rise to the occasion of getting written up if you refuse to use it, but this could rise to the occasion of bullying. That person may be repeatedly asking you, ‘This is how I would like to be referred. Please stop, you know, calling me he when I would like to be called she,’ and this person just refuses to do it, and that person just has this like tone about it. So just manage it as you can. As the employee, if somebody is refusing, just reach out to your manager or HR, and we will kind of come in and mediate the conversation and make it more comfortable for you.”

Talamante also said when addressing large groups to stray away from gender-heavy terms and stick to saying things like, “Hey everybody,” “hey folks,” and “hey friends.”

The video of the clip posted by the popular “Libs of TikTok” account has already had over 337,500 views as of Thursday morning.

“Navigating proper pronoun usage in the workplace can be tricky but being aware of it can be essential to maintaining respect between you and your co-workers,” wrote KOB 4 in a tweet.

Pro-life pregnancy center to open next to new Las Cruces abortion facility

On Tuesday, pro-lifers from across southern New Mexico gathered at Hillrise Drive in Las Cruces to rally for the protection of human life as a new abortion mill is set to open up in the neighborhood. 

The former Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which was involved in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned the pro-abortion Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey decisions, closed down its location in Mississippi and will reopen later this month as “Las Cruces Women’s Health Organization” (LCWHO) in Las Cruces.

Mark Cavaliere, the CEO of the Southwest Coalition for Life, announced at the rally that his organization has leased a building in front of the new surgical abortion center, so the presence there will help save lives from being taken at LCWHO. 

“There is gonna be a lot of work that needs to be done, and we’re gonna need your help,” said Cavaliere.

During the rally, many prominent pro-life speakers from New Mexico and around the country rallied the crowd of hundreds in the parking lot next to the abortion center. 

“We need to do more than we have ever done before, and we need to press forward in this work until no more women cry and no more children die,” said David Bereit, the Founder of 40 Days for Life.

Other speakers included Mike Seibel, an attorney with the group Abortion on Trial, Terri Herring, the president of Choose Life in Jackson, Mississippi, state Sen. David Gallegos (R-Eunice), Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral rector Fr. Alejandro Reyes, Leah Jacobson of the National Guiding Star Project, Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn founder Mark Lee Dickson, and Dominique Davis, the executive director of the Albuquerque-based Project Defending Life.

“There will be 20 to 30,000 abortions in this state,” following Roe v. Wade’s reversal, said Seibel, referencing that around 5,000 abortions happened in New Mexico in 2020 — a number that is growing. “That is the stinky, dirty legacy that we are going to have. We are going to have the abortion villains from all across this country,” to New Mexico. “It’s our job to say ‘no more to this legacy.’” 

The crowd garnered hundreds of attendees, while a tiny handful of scornful anti-life protesters screamed and yelled but were drowned out by the clapping and booming voices of the pro-life speakers. One male pro-abort yelled things like “hands off my body” but was drowned out and ignored after pro-lifers stood in front of him with signs.

Watch a recorded live stream of the rally here: 

KOB 4 poll shows most New Mexicans don’t want more anti-gun laws

On Monday, KOB 4 ran a poll asking New Mexicans if they believed there should be more gun restrictions in the wake of recent mass shootings. 

New Mexicans spoke, and a large majority of respondents gave an emphatic “no,” with 58% saying there is no need for increased firearm restrictions.

41% of respondents said there should be harsher restrictions, while only 1% of New Mexicans were unsure. 

On KOB 4’s Twitter, many New Mexicans commented about the poll, including one person who wrote, “No, we need more guns,” while another wrote, “Common sense dictates that ‘gun control’ only benefits bad people because they head straight to the areas of ‘gun control.’”

In recent years, far-left Democrats in the Legislature have attempted to snatch New Mexicans’ gun rights through extreme measures, including a recent bill signed into law implementing “red flag” laws that go against state and federal constitutional rights.

Other measures have been stricken down, such as one proposal from state Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-Bernalillo), who attempted to make felons of parents who teach their children how to shoot a gun. That measure died for two years in a row.

However, in the Democrats’ 2022 state budget, those who voted for it passed $300,000 for a far-left “Office of Gun Violence Prevention” to work to erode New Mexicans’ Second Amendment rights.

LA Times: MLG is in for a ‘walloping,’ defeat will be her own doing

In a recent Los Angeles Times article written by columnist Mark Z. Barabak, he chides Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham over her failures in office and gives insight from an outsider into why Republicans have a shot at winning back the New Mexico Governor’s Mansion. 

In the article, Barabak notes how abortion has become a hot-button issue in New Mexico but how Republican Mark Ronchetti has attempted to put Lujan Grisham on the defense due to her support for abortion up to birth policies.

He writes, “Some of the difficulty is Grisham’s doing, a result of scandals involving her personal use of public funds and a sexual harassment settlement she paid to a former staffer. But much of her vulnerability arises from issues like crime, the economy and Biden’s drag on Democrats across the country.”

According to his column, when trying to get the far-left governor on the record for what restrictions she supports on abortion, he noted, “Asked if the governor favored any limits, a campaign spokeswoman responded with generalities about Grisham’s defense of abortion rights.”

But we know Lujan Grisham’s position is for unlimited abortions for any cases up to the second of birth. She affirmed this by signing a 2021 bill that stripped all abortion limits and protections for mothers, babies, and medical professionals.

She reaffirmed this position when pressed by CNN’s Jake Tapper. She responded to his question of what limits New Mexico has despite national polls showing most Americans back abortion limits, with a defense of her policy.

She said to Tapper, “There are no restrictions. given that we interpret and I agree that, again, per this new Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, is this is a privacy right and a personal decision between a woman and her doctor. and to interfere in any of these medical decisions creates, and it has, unknown, untold reductions in civil liberties for any number of individuals.”

These extreme positions adopted by Lujan Grisham, among other issues, such as the economy, are likely to be her downfall, Barabak predicts.

He concluded his column by writing, “Then Democrats are probably in for the walloping they’re desperate to avoid.”

Toulouse Oliver touts support from dark money enviro-Marxist groups

Last week, far-left Democrat Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver announced to her campaign donors that she had snagged the endorsements of the enviro-Marxist groups, the Rio Grande Chapter of Sierra Club, and Conservation Voters of New Mexico(CVNM).

Toulouse Oliver argued in her fundraising plea that if Democrats reelect her as secretary of state, then that will help “climate change” alarmist Democrats win elections in the state. 

“The people of New Mexico are proud of our environmental heritage, and we want to make sure our politicians reflect those values. From record-breaking temperatures to bigger and stronger wildfires – we are seeing the effects of the climate crisis on our doorstep. We need to be able to rely on our elections to be safe, transparent, and accessible in order to elect representatives who will take action on the issues that matter to us,” her team wrote. 

“That’s why we’re proud to be endorsed by the Rio Grande Chapter of Sierra Club and Conservation Voters of New Mexico!” 

CVNM is the state affiliate of the Soros-funded League of Conservation Voters, which has been a big player in state races across the country. The group’s affiliated political action committee (PAC), Verde Voters Fund, spent big in the 2018 midterms, as well as in 2020. The dark money “social justice” group, like others Toulouse Oliver has been funded by, launders its dark money through its 501(c)4 organization and then donates to the PAC, thereby washing the money clean of its origins from public view. According to the New Mexico Campaign Finance System, the Verde Voters Fund has $117,629.56 cash on hand. 

The Sierra Club is a dark money fringe group funded by many sources, including billionaires George Soros and Mike Bloomberg, as well as a Tom Steyer-affiliated PAC, Next Gen Climate Action. 

As we previously reported about Toulouse Oliver taking money from dark money-funded PACs:

On her donation pages, Toulouse Oliver constantly writes, “Maggie Toulouse Oliver serves the state of New Mexico as Secretary of State, where she is dedicated to fighting for clean and fair elections devoid of dark money and outside influence.”

She also writes on the official New Mexico Secretary of State website, “I’ll keep working to shine a light on dark money wherever possible.”

However, her latest campaign filing proves that her supposed “fight” against “dark money” is a big lie. In the fourth primary report she filed with her office on July 7th, the Secretary of State listed a $5,200 donation from “Open Democracy PAC.”

The organization is almost exclusively a front group that is funded by a dark money 501(c)(4) organization, “Sixteen Thirty Fund,” or sometimes written as “1630 Fund,” according to filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

According to POLITICO, “The Open Society Foundations, founded by liberal mega-donor George Soros, also lists nearly $17 million in 2020 grants to the Sixteen Thirty Fund on its website.” 

Now, it appears Toulouse Oliver is doubling down on getting support from dark money sources despite claiming to be “fighting” against dark money in New Mexico politics.

MLG, who promotes socialist policies, claims Republican Ronchetti is a socialist

This week, Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham bashed her Republican opponent, GOP nominee Mark Ronchetti as a “socialist” for his plan to give New Mexicans back part of the proceeds of energy produced in New Mexico — a plan adopted by conservative Alaska.

According to a press release from the Ronchetti campaign:

When the oil and gas industry does well in New Mexico, taxes from the industry go into the black hole of the state government budget. This dynamic also creates an unpredictable pattern of budgeting — when oil prices are high, government spending massively increases, creating shortfalls when oil prices fall. This fiscally irresponsible approach leads to either painful budget cuts, or higher taxes when the price of oil inevitably falls.

By rebating a portion of the tax revenues generated by the oil and gas industry back to the people of New Mexico, hardworking taxpayers will benefit directly from a healthy, strong energy industry, while simultaneously making our state budgeting process more fiscally responsible.

Lujan Grisham claimed in a statement on KOAT 7 that the plan was a “fiscally irresponsible socialist scheme.”

This is coming from the same governor who approved robbing the Land Grant Permanent Fund of billions to pay for socialist “free” daycare, approved $75 million annually for socialist “free” college (including for illegal aliens), and has promoted full-blown socialist policies, such as the state’s “Energy Transition Act,” also known as the Green New Deal to implement the socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-style policy.

Ronchetti responded to Lujan Grisham on Twitter, writing, “Michelle Lujan Grisham calls our plan to give oil and gas rebates to New Mexico families ‘socialism.’ She’s more worried about her bloated government budget than she is about your family budget. MLG has already grown state government 40% since taking office and if she gets her… way again, she will nearly DOUBLE state government. My approach is to take surplus oil and gas revenues and give New Mexico families a rebate. It’s your money to begin with.” 

The scandal-ridden Democrat Governor is polling within single digits of Ronchetti and is in a vulnerable position going into the November election. Lujan Grisham has been under heavy scrutiny for wasting taxpayer money, settling a $150,000 groping allegation, and for killing 40% of small businesses with her COVID-19 lockdown. 

The attack on the Republican nominee appears to be in an attempt to crush his credibility despite other Republican states adopting policies to return oil and gas revenues back to the taxpayers. Also running for governor is Libertarian Karen Bedonie, a former Republican.

Pelosi shills for Teresa Leger Fernandez as Hispanics continue to flee Dem Party

While U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has a massive 49% unfavorability rating, according to Statista, that’s not stopping her from supporting vulnerable Democrat Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico’s Third Congressional District in her bid to keep her seat in November.

Pelosi recently tweeted out, “#DefendOurDemocracy: Re-elect Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, Democrat in #NM03.”

In a June 25 fundraising email on behalf of Leger Fernandez, Pelosi wrote, “So… I’m asking you to step up in this moment of crisis” by donating money to the New Mexico Democrat.

She then pled to Democrat donors to help raise funds to reelect Leger Fernandez so far-left congressional Democrats can “codify” the pro-abortion Roe v. Wade decision into law.

According to Catholic Vote, both Pelosi and Leger Fernandez, who claim to be members of the Roman Catholic faith, have an “F” grade on the Catholic organization’s rankings.

Now with Pelosi shilling for Leger Fernandez, it appears the House Speaker is desperately trying to hold onto hard-to-win seats.

In the latest round of redistricting, Leger Fernandez’s seat was changed from a D+14 partisan swing to a mere D+5 after New Mexico House and Senate Democrats gerrymandered the Second Congressional District more Republican for partisan political gain.

The vulnerable Democrat now faces a rematch between Republican Alexis Martinez Johnson, who has recently been getting national headlines as Hispanics continue leaving the Democrat Party. This exodus was further exacerbated this week when Jill Biden compared Hispanic and Latino Americans to tacos.

Lujan Grisham caught on tape lying about using taxpayer funds for baby shower

According to official receipts from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s discretionary fund, the Democrat used more taxpayer funds to buy party supplies for a baby shower. The receipts obtained by Breitbart News show that the Governor spent $112.70 in January 2020 to “buy pink baby shower decorations, such as pacifier charms and pink safety pin charms.” 

When confronted by a bystander on July 7, 2022, on why she used taxpayer funds for the party, she rudely said, “I didn’t use state funds to pay for a baby shower. Maybe you should do your facts better,” adding, “Nope. None.”

After another bystander chimed in to defend Lujan Grisham by saying to ignore what the man asked, the Governor added, “Oh, I know. Well, he should do better fact-checking his own self.”

According to Breitbart News:

When asked to comment on these revelations, the governor’s office asked to see the video and so Breitbart News provided it and the receipts to the governor’s spokeswoman.

The spokeswoman eventually stated that the receipts for $43.79 indicated on the original copy that it was reimbursed and claimed the “funds were fully reimbursed” and that “no state funds ultimately went to this expense.” However, the spokeswoman did not respond about the video or the other receipt for $68.91.

But this is far from the first time Lujan Grisham has been caught wasting taxpayer funds on illicit spending, including purchasing expensive Wagyu beef, alcohol, and other personal expenses, such as dry cleaning and dog supplies.

Republican groups, including the Republican Governors Association, have been blasting the Democrat for her lavish spending while New Mexicans were locked down during the pandemic.

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