John Block

‘This isn’t a debate’: MLG forces state employees to get vaccinated ‘or else’

5 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Thursday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced she will force all employees of the State of New Mexico to be vaccinated with the non-FDA approved COVID-19 inoculation, otherwise, they will be subjected to an unreasonable amount of testing, effective beginning August 2, 2021.

“Under the order, state employees who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 shall be required to demonstrate a negative COVID-19 test at least once every two weeks,” a press release from the Governor’s office read. 

“State employees who are not fully vaccinated, under the order, must wear a facemask when indoors during the course and scope of their employment — with minor exceptions for eating and drinking. (Pursuant to updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is recommended vaccinated individuals resume wearing facemasks indoors as well.)” 

The Governor also threatens termination of State employees if they refuse to be coerced into taking the vaccine or if they do not subject themselves to the extreme testing criteria. The press release reads, “Employees who do not comply may be subject to disciplinary action, including termination, in accordance with applicable law.” 

Lujan Grisham proclaimed, “Right now, it’s very simple: Get a vaccine, or else you will be tested.” She added, “There will be no quarter for this virus within state government offices. I will not tolerate any unnecessary risk within the workforce under my authority. And I strongly encourage other New Mexico government agencies and private sector employers to consider doing the same.”

“I have absolutely zero appetite for another unnecessary surge of infections, hospitalizations and death,” the Governor added. “This isn’t a debate. The vaccines are safe, and they work. Misinformation to the contrary will lead to illness and death — not to mention full hospitals and economic disruption.”

“If you are eligible to be vaccinated and choosing not to, you are giving the virus an opportunity to mutate and spread. Please do not jeopardize anyone’s life, anyone’s livelihood or our state’s economic recovery. Get vaccinated,” she demanded.

Following her order, the Republican Party of New Mexico blasted the order, with Chairman Steve Pearce writing, “This is the latest example of Gov. Lujan Grisham overstepping her authority and having government make personal choices for its citizens. Now she is threatening to fire any state employee if they don’t comply with her executive order.”

“Again, there is no rhyme or reason to her random decisions. The Governor has never had a logical or sensible plan to deal with the pandemic from day one, and this latest knee jerk reaction to deal with COVID is a slap in the face to hardworking state employees. No science, just politics. The Governor should be focused on what’s happening at our border as more and more people with COVID are crossing into New Mexico. They are coming here with no proper health checks, vaccinations or masks, posing great threats to the health and well-being of New Mexicans,” he added.

The sudden move by Lujan Grisham comes after months of fear-mongering over the supposed “Delta variant,” which she claims is more dangerous than COVID-19.

MLG’s Green New Deal resulting in likely brownouts by next summer

5 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

As warned by many pro-energy groups, including the most vocal Power the Future, which as foretold of brownouts due to Gov. Lujan Grisham’s Green New Deal, that stark reality is likely coming true, according to the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM). 

In August of 2020, a little over one year after New Mexico passed its “Energy Transition Act,” also known as the “Green New Deal,” Larry Behrens, western states director for Power the Future warned, “New Mexico’s families must continue to face the real consequences of pushing an agenda that doesn’t provide power when we need it most.” 

Behrens reacted to the news, writing, “Warnings of brownouts are just the latest in a list of failures brought on by this forced transition. Electric rates are also on the rise and New Mexicans are set to lose their jobs simply because this law was rushed through so quickly that supporters didn’t want to acknowledge the predictable consequences. New Mexico’s leaders need to listen to the warnings, put aside their special interests and plan to deliver reliable electricity before it’s too late.”

In northeast New Mexico, the Energy Transition Act has forced the closure of the San Juan Generating Station by PNM, leaving countless New Mexicans without jobs and only around 80 employees able to retire. “For the rest of the employees, though, they’re going to have to go find some other form of employment,” said plant manager Omni Warner. 

Even far-left enviro-Marxist groups have begged the Legislature to make changes to the Energy Transition Act before it completely wrecks the state.

But the pleas from the left and the right have fallen on deaf ears, and now the corrosive piece of legislation may force PNM to rely on a “brownout” next summer due to the “energy lost with the anticipated closure of the coal-fueled” San Juan Generating Station, reports the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Brownouts entail a drop in voltage in the electrical power supply system, which could mean dimmer lights and lower power levels for New Mexicans. According to PNM spokesman Ray Sandoval says that PNM “generally has a 2,000-megawatt system with about 500 megawatts provided by the San Juan Generating Station.” 

With the closure of the San Juan Generating Station, it has purged countless jobs, with only around 80 employees able to retire. “For the rest of the employees, though, they’re going to have to go find some other form of employment,” said plant manager Omni Warner. 

Now, as well as a loss of jobs, the closure of the San Juan Generating Station means a loss of 500 megawatts of energy to New Mexico. When asked what options PNM has, executive Tom Fallgren said, “We are looking at any and all options. … And we continue to beat the bushes, so to say, for other opportunities as well.”

As for the other effects of New Mexico’s Green New Deal, other than brownouts and lost jobs, electric utilities, including XCEL Energy, are asking to raise rates on their customers because of the Energy Transition Act, passing off large costs back to the consumers.

Left-wing environmentalists will claim that the massive uptick in unemployment rates is all related to the pandemic and not Lujan Grisham’s Green New Deal. However, New Mexico’s neighboring state of Texas has gained energy jobs every single month since last September, unlike New Mexico. 

New Mexico is bleeding cash by the day as the Governor’s assault on the energy industry worsens. New Mexicans are being laid off with no fallback other than the state’s flailing unemployment system run by Lujan Grisham’s cabinet appointees. 

Now, New Mexicans will be seeing brownouts in their future, and this is just the tip of the iceberg regarding New Mexico’s energy future.

READ NEXT: [FULL LIST: These sitting ‘GOP’ legislators voted for MLG’s ‘mini’ Green New Deal]

Reporter says Stapleton probe ‘perhaps the largest political corruption investigation I’ve reported on’

6 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Wednesday, in wake of the news that number two Democrat in the New Mexico House, majority leader Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D-Bernalillo), was under investigation for racketeering, money laundering, and illegal kickbacks, New Mexicans responded to the news.

One of the most shocked, and ironically so was Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who claimed to be “deeply troubled” by the reports, and that “public officials must always hold themselves to the highest possible standard of behavior.” 

Lujan Grisham is currently under investigation by the State Ethics Commission for misuse of campaign funds. She previously paid an ex-staffer $62,500 for allegedly pouring water on his crotch and then grabbing his penis.

KOB 4 reporter Chris Ramirez wrote on Twitter, “This is perhaps the largest political corruption investigation I’ve reported on.”

Dan McKay of the Albuquerque Journal wrote on Twitter that Speaker Brian Egolf (D-Bernalillo) and “other Democratic leaders” say they are “shocked and dismayed by the deeply troubling allegations against” Stapleton.

The Republican Party of New Mexico wrote that “If the allegations prove true, they are a disturbing violation of the sacred public trust.” 

Far-left state Sen. Jacob Candelaria weighed in on Twitter, writing, “Will she remain majority leader? And for how long??” 

According to Leader Stapleton’s latest financial disclosure, the only income she reported was from the Albuquerque Public Schools and land in Sandoval County.

PHOTO: Screenshot via KOB 4.

Alleged groper MLG amid Dem leader probe: Gov’t must be held to highest ‘standard of behavior’

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Wednesday, following news that Democrat majority leader Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D-Bernalillo) had been served search warrants by the Attorney General’s Office, scandal-ridden Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the following statement:

“I am deeply, deeply troubled by the reports this morning about a law enforcement investigation into Rep. Stapleton. People are innocent until proven otherwise, and I know investigators will follow the facts wherever they lead. I await more information like all New Mexicans. But I will say that public confidence in government is seriously damaged by even the appearance of impropriety, or illegal activity, which is why public officials must always hold themselves to the highest possible standard of behavior. New Mexicans expect and deserve elected officials who, regardless of party, will put the people before themselves. Anything less violates a sacred public trust and must be dealt with accordingly.”

The sentiments from the Governor ring hollow for many New Mexicans, as she previously spent millions in taxpayer dollars without the Legislature’s approval, had hundreds of millions of dollars go missing from the Department of Workforce Solutions, had paid off $62,500 to an ex-staffer who alleged she poured water on his genitals and grabbed his penis, and paid off her daughter $6,000+ for cosmetics with campaign funds. 

Now, her sudden urge to have public servants “always hold themselves to the highest possible standard of behavior” comes off as massive hypocrisy.

The Albuquerque Public Schools superintendent Scott Elder notified Attorney General Hector Balderas of Leader Stapleton’s relationship with a company, Robotics Management Learning Systems LLC, that has done more than $5 million in business with APS over the last 13 years.

Police execute search warrants at home of Democrat House Leader Sheryl Stapleton

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Wednesday, it was reported by Albuquerque Journal and confirmed by KOB 4 that law enforcement was executing search warrants at the home of Democrat House majority leader Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D-Bernalillo). 

“Investigators have been investigating Williams Stapleton’s links to a Washington D.C. based company, Robotics Management Learning Systems LLC, that has done more than $5 million in business with APS over the last 13 years,” reported the Journal.

“The investigation began at the request of APS Superintendent Scott Elder after the district’s procurement department began asking questions about the company and its relationship with Williams Stapleton in 2018.” 

The letter, signed April 19, 2021, reads as follows:

Ms. Williams Stapleton has for a period of years made requests for procurement from a software known as “Cyber Quest” which is purportedly developed by a Washington D.C. company called Robotics Management Learning System, LLC (“Robotics”). To the best of the APS Finance Department’s knowledge, these procurements occurred for several years without a proper request for proposal (“RFP”) and response. When the Procurement Officer caught this irregularity and issued an RFP, Robotics indicated in its response that no conflict of interest existed. However, the Finance Department noticed that despite being D.C.-based, Robotics requested checks be remitted to an Albuquerque, New Mexico P.O. Box. This P.O. Box had at one time belonged to a person named David Hendrickson, which is the same name as one of Ms. Williams Stapleton’s children. On his Facebook page, David Hendrickson lists his job is listed as a “coordinator” for Robotics. Also, the owner of Robotics, Joseph Jackson, appears to be both a personal friend and the president of the same non-profit Ms. Williams Stapleton works for as a director. 

Additionally, Ms. Williams Stapleton has also requested the procurement of the services from a company known as TriTech Enterprises, LLC (“TriTech”), which is owned by a man named Randolph Williams. TriTech purports to conduct teacher trainings on use of the software known as “Cyber Quest” and appears to have close ties to Robotics. Both Robotics and TriTech charge the exact same amount for the exact same trainings, but it is unclear why both organizations are paid for the same trainings. The frequency of the trainings is questionable and the quality of the software is suspect. 

By separate letter, APS will present to you additional information about Ms. Williams Stapleton and Robotics. Instead of waiting to provide you all the available information, I thought it best to notify you just as soon as I became aware of this situation. As we become aware of additional information, we will provide it to you by separate letter.

According to the report, “Search warrants were also served on businesses and charities connected to Wiliams Stapleton and her family.” 

KOB reports that Stapleton is under investigation for racketeering, money laundering, and receiving illegal kickbacks, according to the warrant.

The report continues:

According to the warrant, every invoice issued by Robotics to APS was for an even dollar amount, no cents, and in unchanging amounts over the years. Most were reportedly for $40,000. In all, APS paid Robotics more than $5.3 million. 

Rep. Williams Stapleton is also directly involved with four companies that received payments from Robotics: The Charlie Morrisey Center for Creative Assitance Inc., the Ujima Foundation, S. Williams and Associates, and local restaurant A Taste of The Caribbean.

Evidence suggests that she was eventual recipient of 60% of the APS money — $954,386. Investigators are looking into additional payments that were redirected into her personal bank accounts.

 Stapleton has served in the House since 1995 and has been known as a loud partisan voice pushing for the wills of teacher’s unions. She is the longest-serving Democratic member in the New Mexico House of Representatives. As majority leader, Stapleton is the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the House after Speaker Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe).

On her campaign website, Stapleton writes, “Some people are concerned about being important, we can all be important, but we cannot all serve the public.  I have chosen to be a public servant rather than be important.” New Mexicans will soon see if her words ring true or are just hollow rhetoric.

This is a developing story.

MLG wants citizens, even the fully vaccinated, to wear masks indoors in fear of ‘Delta variant’

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Tuesday, scandal-ridden Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was accused and later settled for sexual assault, announced that she had brought back her request for New Mexicans to wear masks indoors, even if they are fully inoculated. 

Her announcement came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) once again made a backflip in its guidelines, which previously said fully jabbed individuals could go without a mask indoors. Now, due to the “Delta variant” of the virus, it is recommending that “everyone in areas of substantial/high transmission should wear a mask, even if vaccinated.” 

Lujan Grisham, who has been fear-mongering over the Delta variant for some time now, previously said, “It’s a deadly virus, it’s not going to go away. This variant is serious.” 

Either she had some insider information on the CDC’s next move, or her wish came true because now she is reinstituting her pleas for citizens to follow the draconian mask guidelines.

On Twitter, she wrote, “Per the latest @CDCgov guidance, we recommend that all New Mexicans wear a mask indoors out of an abundance of caution as we work to suppress the Delta variant. Unvaccinated New Mexicans are urged to schedule their vaccination appointments immediately at http://VaccineNM.org.”

Joe Biden said, “The more we learn about this virus and the delta variation, the more we have to be worried and concerned. And there’s only one thing we know for sure — if those other 100 million people got vaccinated, we’d be in a very different world.”

Lujan Grisham has been pushing for New Mexicans to get the inoculation, even using $10+ million in taxpayers’ money to bribe New Mexicans via a lottery. She used the percentage of jabbed individuals as a benchmark to “reopen” the state, and coincidentally, all 33 counties turned “turquoise” (the best benchmark) right before her re-election launch.

As the school year comes around the corner, Lujan Grisham has instituted new guidelines forcing masks on kindergarteners, segregating children based on vaccination status, forcing students to carry around proof of vaccination status, and mandating unreasonable testing requirements on teachers and staff.

[READ NEXT: MLG’s new NMPED guidelines invoke punitive measures against the unvaccinated]

Legislators work to pay themselves salaries, ignoring concept of a ‘citizen legislature’

3 Comments / New Mexico, News, Opinion, Politics / By

In January, we ran an editorial titled “Ungrateful NM legislators complain about ‘not getting paid’ despite per diem, pensions” focusing on New Mexico’s inept political “leaders” whining about not being paid enough despite getting pensions and per diem for their time on the job.

But now, these same ungrateful legislators are renewing their calls to be paid more with the interim Courts, Corrections, and Justice Committee considering a joint resolution to pay themselves, a proposal that Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-Bernalillo) aims to sponsor in the 2022 30-day legislative session.

Ivey-Soto’s bill would amend the New Mexico Constitution via sending the voters a ballot measure to pay legislators via the State Ethics Commission, which would oversee salarying the legislative branch.

The Albuquerque senator claims, the Legislature is currently “comprised of the three R’s: the rich, the retired and the resourceful.” However, the Legislature was made to be a “citizen legislature,” meaning it was comprised of average citizens who work actual jobs while not in Santa Fe for the legislative session, letting them be closer to the people they serve. 

“We would have more time to devote to constituent services, oversight of state government, crafting legislation throughout the interim, and these crazy 60 and 30-day sessions wouldn’t be so crazy,” claimed Rep. Moe Maestas (D-Bernalillo), who would be happy to have a full-time legislature. And with Democrats in power in both the House, Senate, and Governor’s Mansion, it would be a field day for the far-left if they could ram through their extremist agenda year-round.

But far-left Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-Bernalillo) claims Ivey-Soto’s bill doesn’t go far enough. She claimed as well as the Legislature being salaried, she wants its structure to be changed “to make it have the ability to do its job.” She claims in its current form, it is an “extremely weak branch of the government,” which is likely what the framers’ of the New Mexico Constitution intended.

Previously, other members have whined about the lack of pay legislators get, despite them knowingly running for the job with full knowledge it didn’t have a salary. 

Sen. Bill Soules (D-Doña Ana), who has been in the New Mexico Senate since 2013, tweeted a picture of a dollar bill, writing, “#nmleg. ‘Another day another ………’. Oh wait.  That’s right.  The New Mexico Legislature is unpaid.  The only unpaid legislature in the country.” 

From our January editorial:

“Moderate” Rep. Alonzo Baldonado (R-Valencia), while defending Rep. Kelly Fajardo’s (R-Valencia) vote in favor of Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s “mini” Green New Deal, wrote, “For all of you out there that think making votes and not getting paid to do it is easy….I say you go do it.” In 2022, many conservative Republicans will do it, and hopefully, strong patriots who do not cower will run against Reps. Fajardo and Baldonado to bring true representation to the Legislature—actual servants of the people who will not complain about the job they knew full-well they were getting into. 

Rep. Angelica Rubio (D-Doña Ana) claimed in 2019 while sponsoring a bill to pay legislators a salary, that the current system has people “being left out of the system.” However, she somehow got elected to the Legislature. 

But despite all the misinformation from ungrateful supposed “public servants,” legislators in New Mexico do get reimbursed through a daily per diem for their work, which is $184 a day and 58 cents a mile. They also get a hefty pension for their service. After ten years, it amounts to $10,824.00. 

The point of New Mexico’s legislature is for it to work for New Mexicans—not the other way around. Just remember, senators and representatives in the U.S. Congress get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for not doing much at all. Having regular citizens who work jobs in the time they are not in the New Mexico Legislature (usually 10-11 months each year) serving as our representatives, brings them closer to the people they are supposed to represent and makes them more accountable to their constituents.

Now, time will tell if Republicans, other than extreme “moderates” like Alonzo Baldonado, join the herd of radical Democrats to try and pay themselves salaries, especially as New Mexico recovers from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s extreme lockdown that left 40% of small businesses closed and countless jobs lost.

MLG’s new NMPED guidelines invoke punitive measures against the unvaccinated

20 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Monday, the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) unveiled new guidelines for schools, which are set to start again in the next few weeks. According to the NMPED, masking will still be required in most schools.

“Teachers and staff in junior and high school settings will not be required to wear masks if they have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Proof of vaccination will be required,” KVIA reports.

KVIA also adds that “Masks will still be required for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, in elementary schools. Masks will also be required for anyone that is not vaccinated or refuses to show proof of vaccination in those secondary school settings,” according to the updated NMPED rules.

Students who refuse to wear masks will be sent home. “While waiting for pickup, such students will be supervised and quarantined from other students,” the report notes.

“Our priority is to keep children in school, and it’s great news that the CDC guidance shows that secondary students and staff who are vaccinated can safely attend school without masks,” said PED Secretary Ryan Stewart.

The teacher’s unions responded to the punitive school mask mandates with glee. American Federation of Teachers New Mexico president Whitney Holland said, “Today’s release of updated New Mexico Public Education Department guidelines for COVID-19 safety protocols correctly keeps a focus on proven strategies for combating the spread of coronavirus in our places of learning.”

“We appreciate Secretary Dr. Ryan Stewart and the NM PED team including educational stakeholders in this process and the development of today’s updated guidelines. These protocols correctly acknowledge this virus is still present in our communities and will continue to be present until all able New Mexicans have access to an approved vaccine. These guidelines are especially important for our youngest learners as they wait for an age-appropriate vaccine to be widely available,” Holland concluded. 

Despite the unions being happy with the new guidelines, the NMPED is treating unvaccinated individuals with punitive measures, such as, “Unvaccinated students should sit on only one side of a table and maintain the prescribed social distance.” 

Also, “[s]chools must maintain a voluntary student surveillance testing program with a new weekly goal of testing 25% of unvaccinated students participating in sports and other extra-curricular activities. The previous goal was 1% of the overall student population and 10% of students participating in sports and other extracurricular activities.” 

The testing levels have also increased for teachers, aides, custodians, and other administrators, with a mandatory 25% weekly testing requirement for unvaccinated staff members. Previously, only schools in red counties had to test at such a high level.

New Mexico is one of only seven states (CA, CT, DE, HI, NM, NY, WA) with mask requirements for students. All of New Mexico’s neighboring states are without these stringent reqirements.

New Mexicans will be protesting the Governor’s strict masking mandate Saturday, July 31, 2021, across the state. Find your protest location here.

UPDATED: New Mexicans holding July 31 statewide school mask protest

11 Comments / Action Alert, New Mexico, News, Politics / By

While a majority of states in the country have no school mask mandate, New Mexico’s schoolchildren are still being forced to wear masks, even when playing outdoor sports in 100+ degree heat, according to the group New Mexico Freedoms Alliance.

“It’s not healthy for children to breathe through masks because the reduced oxygen and increased carbon dioxide is dangerous,” the group contends, adding that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s “recent change to allow vaccinated athletes to be unmasked is not enough; ALL students must be allowed to unmask, regardless of their vaccination status.”

So, on Saturday, July 31, citizens are organizing protests against school mask policies statewide, from Albuquerque to Carlsbad. So far, seven cities are participating, but the list of areas joining in the effort is expected to grow.

  • ALAMOGORDO – 2pm – Corner of 10th Street and White Sands Blvd – Contact Ben at 575-921-5650 or contact@1name1banner.com
  • ALBUQUERQUE – 10am – 1005 Osuna, Vista del Norte Park – Contact Erin at Erinmg23@gmail.com or Karen at naturallyhealthykaren@fastmail.com
  • ARTESIA – 10am – Corner of Main & 7th – Contact Stacey at 575-343-1234• BELEN – 10am – Corner of Main and Reinken – Contact Regina at 505-550-0918• CARLSBAD – 1pm – Eddy County Courthouse Lawn – Contact Christy Bryant at 575-361-7779
  • CLOVIS – TUESDAY AUG 3 at 11:30am – Clovis Municipal School Central Office, 1009 N Main St – Contact unmaskclovis@gmail.com
  • DEMING – 10am – Deming Public Schools Emmett Shockley Building, 400 Cody Road
  • EDGEWOOD – 10am – Corner of Rout 66 and 344 – Contact Karisa at karicia55@hotmail.com
  • FARMINGTON – 10am – Main Street, Grassy Area in Front of Applebee’s, Near the Mall– Contact Lorna at 480-589-3856
  • LAS CRUCES – 10am – Albert Johnson Park on corner of Main and Picacho – Contact Daniel at freepeopleofthesouthwest@gmail.com
  • LOGAN – 10am – Cowboy Chuckwagon Parking Lot, 122 HWY 154 – Contact Tonya at 970-396-2222
  • LOS LUNAS – 10am – Corner of Los Cerritos and Main Street, in front of Applebee’s – Contact Valerie at 505-261-2209
  • MORIARTY – 10am – Crossly Park, at corner of Route 66 and HWY 41
  • PORTALES – 10am – Courthouse on the square – Contact Nicole at ntivis226@hotmail.com
  • RIO RANCHO – 10am – Corner of Southern and 528
  • ROSWELL – 10am – 912 N Main St, in front of Roswell Convention Center – Contact Daniel at 575-937-8476 or danieldictson@yahoo.com
  • RUIDOSO – 10am – School House Park, 501 Sudderth Drive – Contact Shane at 575-937-4948 or holdershane08@yahoo.com
  • SANTA FE – 10:30am – Salvador Perez Train Park at 601 Alta Vista – Contact Kristi at 505-204-8261 or kristi7issues@gmail.com
  • SILVER CITY – 10am – Gough Park, Corner of 12th St and Pope St
  • TUCUMCARI – 10am – Corner of First and Route 66 Blvd, next to the old Hardee’s – Contact Fran at 575-403-5758 or frantollett@yahoo.com

If your location is not on the list, the organization asks citizens to volunteer to lead a protest in their underrepresented area. “Select a high-visibility location, and then we will help spread the word, make a flyer for you to use, help with press/media outreach, etc. Please email Sarah at concernedfornm@gmail.com to get involved,” writes the Alliance.

The group has organized anti-forced school masking rallies previously across the state, with much success. But as the school year comes right around the corner, the added pressure on the governor is critical in stopping these mandates from continuing.

Democrat state rep. who sponsored abortion up-to-birth bill takes a jab at pro-life Catholic bishop

7 Comments / New Mexico, News, Opinion, Politics / By

On Sunday, in an op-ed published in the Las Cruces Sun-News, state Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena (D-Doña Ana) came to the defense of her colleague in the New Mexico Senate, Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana), who was denied Holy Communion because he voted for the radical abortion up-to-birth and infanticide S.B. 10. 

Cadena chastised the cleric, Bishop Peter Baldacchino, for withholding the Most Blessed Sacrament from Cervantes, despite giving Cervantes multiple unanswered warnings that he would not receive the Eucharist in his diocese if he voted to kill children in the womb with the passage of S.B. 10. 

“I’m still feeling the sting of what happened in deeply personal ways,” wrote Cadena, sponsored the extreme anti-life bill. “The cultural war being waged by overreaching American bishops couldn’t come at a worse time for women and pregnant people in our country.” 

Cadena appears to be claiming Bishop Baldacchino, who has the authority to withhold the Eucharist to those who are not in full communion with the faith, is “overreaching” despite hin having the authority and acting rightly according to Canon Law. 

The far-left state representative tried to brush over her and Cervantes’ longstanding support for the gruesome practice of abortion, claiming, “As a mama, Chicana and Catholic raised in this diocese, I know pregnancy is sacred.” If she thought of pregnancy as “sacred,” then she should not be in support of tearing children in the womb limb from limb with forceps, sucking children’s bodies out of the mother with a vacuum, or giving women unsafe drugs to forcibly expel their children from the womb, leaving the mother in agonizing pain. 

“And while select voices within the church hierarchy may think they can dictate what’s best for our families and chastise us if we fail to act according to their views, our faith also teaches us to care for our fellowship by caring for our communities,” she added.

However, the Bible directly says what the job of a pastor is. 1 Timothy 4:2-5 clearly states, “proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry.”

Baldacchino is standing up for not only what the Bible says, but for what the church teaches in practice. The bishop guided Cervantes in the right direction, with patience (such as his multiple letters of warning), and let Cervantes know the grave consequences of his actions. Despite if Cervantes listened to the truth or not, Baldacchino performed the work of an evangelist and did all he could to divert the senator from the myths and evil associated with abortion.

Cadena, despite all her rhetoric and titles she has bestowed upon herself as a “Chicana,” “Catholic,” and “mama,” she, as well as Cervantes disobey the faith of which they purport to belong by voting to destroy God’s most sacred creation in the womb. Chastising a bishop for doing his job will not fare well for Cadena or Cervantes come Judgement Day when they must answer for their crimes against God’s creation.

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