John Block

Feds, enviro-Marxists bully NM cattle ranchers over battle to protect ‘fragile’ field mouse

The federal government and extreme enviro-Marxist groups are threatening New Mexico cattle growers’ livelihoods over the protection of the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse, an endangered species.

The far-left Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity claims the federal government isn’t adequately defending the mouse and its environment from cattle ranching and has told the government it intends to sue over the mouse’s protection this summer. The group’s co-founder Robin Silver claims the “fragile” species is not being adequately protected by the federal government. 

Far-left groups in New Mexico, such as Defenders of Wildlife in Santa Fe agree. Bryan Bird, a program director of the group, said, “I would agree with the Center for Biological Diversity that the feds are just not doing enough to turn that situation around.”

“The two go together, the species and the habitat,” said Teresa Seamster, Northern New Mexico conservation chairwoman for the far-left dark money lobbying group, the Sierra Club. “It’s all connected.”

According to a statement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the Santa Fe New Mexican, “The Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are committed to the protection of the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse. Using the best available science, we are working together to conserve [threatened and endangered] listed species and also provide for traditional forest uses.”

The tug of war between the federal government and the radical environmentalists is putting cattle ranchers in the crosshairs. “We’re the ones that are becoming extinct,” said Randell Major, president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association. “It’s getting harder and harder to make a living in New Mexico.”

The field mouse was listed as an endangered species seven years ago under the Barack H. Obama administration. The mouse lives near creeks and riverbeds and uses long grasses for food and “protection.” 

The New Mexican report says that “Cattle, elk and deer trample the grasses and make them uninhabitable for the mice.” 

Kelly and Spike Goss, cattle ranchers from Weed in the Lincoln National Forest, say they have fought the federal government for cattle grazing rights for years in multiple battles based on “endangered” species.

“They break you mentally, physically and financially,” Spike Gross said of the federal government. The family fought the federal government in the 1990s over logging rights and protection of the Mexican spotted owl. The enviro-Marxists and the federal government fighting over the protection of the mouse is the latest battle the Gross family is being involved in. 

“They just keep taking and taking our most valuable water and forage,” Kelly Goss said. 

20 years ago, the family grazed 550 heads of cattle on the property, but now they graze 410. The New Mexican reports, “The Gosses said they are willing to settle for a price, perhaps $12 million, with the government and give up.”

Kelly Gross said, “This is our culture, but at this point, we’re just spent.” The family says they would not pass on the headaches of fighting the federal government onto their next generation.

“They would have the environmentalists attacking the Forest Service from one side, and they would have the ranchers attacking them from the other side,” said Manuel Lucero, the head of a group of ranchers in the Jemez Springs area. 

While enviro-Marxist groups battle with the feds over endangered species, such as mice, wolves, and owls, ranchers and farmers who must use these lands to provide for their families are being pushed smack-dab in the middle of this battle, which threatens to destroy their very existence.  

Hispanic group’s lawsuit over obelisk puts Santa Fe mayor on notice

On Thursday, Union Protectíva de Santa Fé, one of the oldest Hispanic fraternal organizations in the United States, announced it was suing Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber and the City of Santa Fe “for calling for and allowing the destruction of the Soldier’s Monument, which was erected in 1868 to honor Hispanic veterans for their service, and desecrating the Plaza” 

According to a press release from the group, “The complaint explains how Mayor Webber violated the law by spending, and attempting to spend, taxpayer funds to alter the historic Santa Fe Plaza. The lawsuit seeks remedies such as halting Mayor Webber’s plans to remove and alter the Obelisk, and to force him to comply with the law by restoring the Santa Fe Plaza and Soldier’s Monument to their pre-vandalism states.” 

The suit would cripple Webber’s plans to have an independent commission make a decision on the statue’s fate. 

“Mayor Webber has greatly harmed every veteran, every Hispanic, every New Mexican, and all tourists with his blatant disrespect of the law that protects the Soldier’s Monument and Santa Fe Plaza,” said Virgil Vigil, President of Union Protectíva de Santa Fé. “We are asking the courts to stop this racial injustice toward all Hispanic people and northern New Mexicans, and to return honor to all of our veterans who served and sacrificed for this nation by restoring the Monument.”

For Vigil, a Vietnam War veteran and helicopter pilot, honoring the veterans is a must.

“This is respecting our soldiers that gave their lives to maintain the freedom that we have and to end slavery,” he said in an interview Monday, near the grey wooden box that covers the remnants of the obelisk.

“Mayor Webber violated New Mexico law when he disregarded the clear legal protections for the Soldier’s Monument and Santa Fe Plaza,” said Attorney Ken Stalter. “We want not only justice for those harmed by Mayor Webber’s actions but also a strong precedent protecting the thousands of historic sites that honor all races, creeds, and religions across New Mexico.”

Previously, the group has gone after Webber for allowing the destruction of the monument, including a shouting match between the mayor and members of Union Protectíva. Webber got triggered after the group took out a large ad in the Santa Fe Reporter blasting the mayor for caving to Marxist groups to tear down the age-old obelisk. 

As latest corrupt NM politician convicted, citizens await justice for other crooks

On Friday, former Taxation and Revenue chief Demesia Padilla, 61, was found guilty of embezzling $20,000 and computer access with intent to defraud or embezzle over $20,000 following a trial in 13th Judicial District Court.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, “Authorities say that, between 2011 and 2013, Padilla stole more than $25,000 from a Bernalillo business, Harold’s Grading and Trucking, while she was Cabinet secretary. To do so, Padilla linked her personal credit card to the business’ checking account.” 

The corrupt former cabinet secretary under Gov. Susana Martinez will be sentenced at a later date. She faces up to nine years on each of the counts.

Padilla’s conviction is just the latest in a revolving door of corruption in New Mexico politics, from small-town mayors and state senators to public regulation commissioners, secretaries of state, and beyond.

In Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s regime, tens of thousands of dollars have been misappropriated by the governor to pay off sexual accusers and her own daughter for hair and makeup.

At the Department of Workforce Solutions, staffers “misplaced” over $250 million, while at the Public Education Department, $35 million is gone. At Lujan Grisham’s Children, Youth, and Families Department has been instructed by the Governor to delete public records, a grave violation of state law through the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA). 

During the Legislative Session, multiple politicians, including House Speaker Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe) and Sen. Katy Duhigg (D-Bernalillo), sponsored bills they would directly profit from, including a proposal to deny peace officers qualified immunity rights, which Egolf’s firm would benefit from and a bill to legalize recreational marijuan, directly benefiting Duhigg with a new marijuana law venture.

New Mexicans are still awaiting action from state auditor Brian Colón, who is running for attorney general on million-dollar hush-money payments made by former Gov. Susana Martinez, which he dubbed “abuse of power.” New Mexicans are still waiting for action on all these cases, and with each passing day, public trust erodes.

Lujan Grisham plans July 1 to finally end lockdown, blames unvaxxed citizens for slow reopening

On Friday. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that she plans to “retire [the] color-coded, county-by-county system and all COVID-19 health restrictions on commercial and day-to-day activity in two weeks, allowing for the thousands of vaccinations administered this week as part of a statewide public health push to take full effect.”

According to a news release, “Beginning July 1, all pandemic-related occupancy restrictions on all forms of commercial activity will be lifted. All businesses across the state may once again operate at 100 percent of maximum capacity.”

The release added, “Businesses may still adopt and require additional precautions for employees and/or patrons, at their discretion, and are still advised to enact whatever social distancing and facemasking measures may be appropriate to ensure the health and safety of customers and staff, in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.” 

But the Governor’s mask mandate remains in effect. “The state will continue to follow CDC guidance with respect to face-coverings: Masks will remain required for unvaccinated individuals, and businesses, workplaces and tribes may continue to require masks for employees, customers or visitors on the premises, regardless of vaccination status, at their discretion,“ the release said.

Despite New Mexico barely meeting the 60% threshold (getting 59.4% with $100 bribes and a $10 million lottery ploy) for vaccinated individuals which she has arbitrarily instituted, the governor is caving to the people and planning to reopen.

She made sure to shame New Mexicans though, saying, “Frankly, we need to be better than 60 percent fully vaccinated.

“The variants across the globe and in the U.S. present very serious risks to unvaccinated people, even young people. We all, each of us, have the power to stop the serious illnesses and deaths: Get your shot. It’s safe. It works. It’s that simple. Don’t wait for COVID to infect you or someone you love and wish you’d decided differently,” she added.

Then she blamed New Mexicans, not herself, for her slow-moving reopening plan, which is being beaten by even the far-left metropolises of New York and California.

“I know some will say this day is late in coming. I sure wish we’d gotten here sooner. I said all along: Vaccines are the way out, getting shots gets us there quicker. We were always going to put health and safety first. All along we have taken the approach that will protect the most New Mexicans, knowing the unique health risks of our population, understanding and respecting how dangerous this virus is. I believe, on the whole, New Mexicans made the right public health decisions in their day-to-day lives, following the science and helping us get to this point quickly and, more importantly, as safely as we possibly could.”

“We will continue to work with vaccine providers in and outside of New Mexico to be sure that every single vaccination is counted,” said Human Services Secretary David Scrase, M.D. “We are grateful to all New Mexicans who have stepped up to receive their shots and who have called us to provide their data. We believe our level of immunity is in fact greater than 60 percent, including the immunity of those in our state who have had COVID-19 and have not been vaccinated, and those who have had a mild infection as well. For all practical purposes, we have met the governor’s 60 percent goal, and we need to keep up our efforts to increase vaccinations and enhance good public health practices throughout the summer.”

“We are learning that just receiving the first of two vaccines in a series is not enough to protect you against some of the highly infectious variants,” said Health Secretary Tracie Collins, M.D. “So if you have had only one Pfizer or Moderna vaccination, please, schedule your booster shot today. And help us keep moving forward, and keep your family and your neighbors safe.”

After Lujan Grisham’s year-long lockdown, which decimated countless businesses and drove thousands of New Mexicans into poverty, she now is asking New Mexicans to send her to the Governor’s mansion for another term.

Her controversy-driven tenure as governor has been marked with scandal after scandal after scandal. From forcing through the most far-left extreme bills through the Legislature to paying off sexual accusers and her own daughter with campaign cash, and then “misplacing” $250 million in Workforce Solutions money, she has weakened her chance of reelection day after day. 

She repeatedly skirted her pandemic rules to buy luxury jewelry, used taxpayer funds for fine wine and $200/lb Wagyu beef steaksberated local communities for not following her edicts, forced New Mexicans to stand in cold bread lines to get food and basic goods, fined churches and businesses tens of thousands of dollars for alleged non-compliance, removed the National Guard from the border and denied an immigration crisis, fired and hired cabinet secretaries on a dime, gave her staff hefty raises while New Mexicans lost everything, paid her daughter $6,000 from her campaign coffers for hair and makeup, and now is giving away $10 million of New Mexicans’ dollars through a “lottery” to bribe people to take the experimental virus inoculation.

It should be noted that Lujan Grisham announced this not by a press conference or a public forum where journalists could ask questions, but in a press release.

Biden to nominate failed ex-Rep. Torres Small for role at Department of Agriculture

Failed ex-Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, who was soundly defeated in 2020 by Congresswoman Yvette Herrell of the Second District, is reportedly being nominated on Friday for a role in the Joe Biden regime at the Department of Agriculture. The role will require U.S. Senate approval.

The White House is planning to announce on Friday that Biden will nominate former Rep. XOCHITL TORRES SMALL (D-N.M.) to be undersecretary of rural development at the Department of Agriculture, according to two sources familiar with the plans.

Torres Small is the second lawmaker who lost reelection last year whom Biden has moved to add to the administration, along with former Rep. GIL CISNEROS (D-Calif.), whom he nominated in April to be under secretary of Defense for personnel and readiness. The White House declined to comment (POLITICO).

After the Politico report, far-left Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), a resident of Maryland, applauded the decision, writing on Facebook, “…Biden could not have found a better suited person to lead his administration’s rural economic development work than Xochitl Torres Small.” 

He added, “I can’t wait to support her nomination and work with her once again to advance key investments in rural economies including universal broadband deployment, affordable housing, clean water and clean energy infrastructure, and assistance for small business owners.” 

But after Heinrich’s statement, constituents roasted him in the comments. Here are some of the most brutal:

“Seriously. You are so disconnected from the State you are a Senator for. How ignorant.” 

“As someone who voted for her, I ended up unconvinced that there were circumstances in which she would prioritize doing the right thing over not rocking the boat.” 

“Never mind that she represented Texas in one of their many fights over water with New Mexico…but yeah sure, she’s good for government…good like a virus or fungus.” 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) applauded Torres Small’s nomination, writing,

“Thrilled to hear @POTUS has nominated @xochnm to serve as USDA U-S of Rural Development. In her home of Las Cruces & in Congress, Xochitl has dedicated years to advancing opportunity & prosperity, esp for our rural communities, so that all can share in the American Dream.“

Torres Small was a far-left extremist while serving in Congress, backing New Mexico’s Green New Deal, “free“ college initiatives, abortion up-to-birth and infanticide, among other radical proposals championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the socialist Squad. She accepted campaign donations from anti-Semitic Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).

‘Psychological torture’: Unvaccinated Springer inmates threatened with transfer

According to a release from New Mexico Freedoms Alliance (NMFA), the Springer Correctional Center for women in Colfax County is reportedly threatening inmates with transfer to the Grants NM Women’s Correctional Facility if they decline to be vaccinated.

The group writes, “On Tuesday, there were ~30 women who had chosen not to take the shot. Now, about half of them have already taken the shot under these threats. It is immoral that people who are incarcerated are having their bodily rights and dignity taken away from them under threat of what amounts to psychological torture.” 

The group is urging New Mexicans to contact the facility to oppose the policy. “If you want to speak to the Warden, she is Marianna Vigil. If you have contacted local news (see below), let her know,” writes the group.

The contact information is below:

 Springer Correctional Center

(575) 483-3108

(575) 483-3100

Marianna.Vigil@state.nm.us

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article said that inmates were threatened with solitary confinement if they did not take the vaccine. However, NMFA has learned that Springer does not have solitary confinement in the facility. This article has been updated to reflect the most current information.

Assisted suicide via lethal drugs, abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bills take effect Friday

Friday is a solemn day for many New Mexicans as two bills rammed through the 2021 Legislature will take effect, including assisted suicide via lethal drug “cocktails” and abortion up-to-birth, widening the door to infanticide in the state and criminalizing health workers who object to abortion. 

The assisted suicide bill is opposed by multiple disability rights groups, the Navajo Nation, and many patients living with terminal conditions. The law seeks to further normalize a culture of death in New Mexico by letting medical professionals prescribe lethal drugs to patients who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness that could take their lives anytime up to six months.

The bill would legalize doctors to prescribe a “cocktail” of lethal drugs to patients suffering from terminal illnesses, which will save insurance companies money. The American Medical Association is against assisted suicide. 

During the bill’s hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sunday, the “expert witnesses,” law professor Robert Schwartz and physician Steven Kanig could not even list the drugs that would be prescribed to end an individual’s life and admitted that there is no set “cocktail” that is used. Schwartz claimed the concoction of harmful drugs “has been refined over the years” and that “these drugs do change.”

The abortion bill passed through the Legislature and signed by embattled Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who claims to be a Catholic, stripped away protections for women and their children in the womb and removed “conscientious objection” protections for physicians and medical professionals. 

The pro-abortion law allows sex traffickers and child abusers to take a pregnant minor in for an abortion without any parental knowledge or involvement–not to mention without any reporting criteria. 

With this law, a pregnant mother would be allowed to have an abortion at any pregnancy stage. It is a medical fact that the risk of death or serious injury to women increases to 76.6% in abortions after five months. 

Despite loud opposition on both of these bills, which were previously defeated in past legislative sessions, the public was cut off and limited to ten minutes of testimony on each side of the argument during “virtual” committee hearings while a fence was erected around the Capitol building to keep the people out of the People’s House.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, “In preparation for the [assisted suicide] bill’s effective date, a new nonprofit group has been created to give information to families with ailing loved ones, and raise awareness of the new law among hospitals, doctors and hospice care providers.”

The Piñon Post organized New Mexicans to oppose these bills, which infringe on Constitutional rights enshrined in our Country’s founding documents. Our editor, John Block, testified alongside other New Mexicans against the abortion up-to-birth bill and prepared testimony against the assisted suicide bill. Despite the Piñon Post’s efforts, the closed-off Roundhouse made it nearly impossible to reach members of the Legislature.

NM remains on lockdown while other Dem-run states fully reopen

Embattled Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and her advisors are still not ready to reopen New Mexico despite other Democrat-run states, such as California and New York are fully reopening.

The governor was absent from Wednesday’s COVID-19 briefing with New Mexico Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase and Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins. 

During the pandemic briefing, the two cabinet secretaries ran around in circles trying to justify why New Mexico was still locked down while all neightboring states had reopened. 

Scrase said in response to a question about the fully open state of Texas having the lowest seven-day positivity rating sinice the beginning of the pandemic, “I mentioned earlier, we have the highest social vulnerability index in America, poverty amongst older people, New Mexico is number one in America amongst all ages, we have a lot of social vulnerability.” 

“Since the very beginning we have used New Mexico data for cases, the modeling from Presbyterian that’s been essential. When making our decisions based on what we believe is really safest and best. There’s always going to be a state that’s more open and I can’t really speak to the accuracy of the data of Texas or I don’t believe that necessarily being reopen caused case rates to be low. We’re doing what’s best for New Mexicans, we’ve done that from day one, we’ll continue to do that, we think we’re doing the right thing.”

Matt Bieber, NMDOH Director of Communications characterized the state of the pandemic in a much more frantic way, claiming the unvaccinated people are contributing to deaths and “pain and suffering.” Bieber said, “The pandemic doesn’t end just because we’ve hit 60 percent. It’s a moment in where we feel it’s safe to open much of the economy and do away with many of the restrictions in place. But you know this is a deadly virus, it’s still out there, there’s still a lot of unvaccinated people unfortunately and it still has opportunities to spread and mutate, and cause pain and suffering and unfortunately death as well.”

Dr. Collins said, “We are diligently working to achieve that [60 percent vaccinated] goal and we can have more updates for you by the end of the week but we’re definitely working towards that.”

The Governor has been bribing New Mexicans with $100 each, including children, to take the virus inoculation, along with $10 million in lottery prizes for those who have taken the jab. None of the three jabs available, Moderna, Pfizer, or Johnson & Johnson, have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

WATCH: New ad savages MLG for ducking the press amid scandal-ridden tenure

On Wednesday, the Republican Governors Association released a blistering ad going after embattled Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for her public corruption, ducking the press, and many other scandals she has had during her short but disastrous governorship. 

The ad highlights Lujan Grisham’s blatant hypocrisy, such as when she ordered New Mexicans to “stay home,” but she had a shuttered business reopen specifically for her to buy jewelry.

The ad features news clips, with a reporter saying, “Non-essential businesses were closed, but one opened just for the governor to buy jewelry.” Another news clip noted how “the governor refused on-camera interviews” amid the scandal.

Another scandal highlighted in the ad was Lujan Grisham paying hush money to a sexual assault accuser, James Hallinan, who says the governor poured water on his crotch and then groped him. 

A news clip said, “He and other staffers had been sexually assaulted by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.” Another said, “What does the Governor have to say on all of this? So far, we haven’t heard directly from her.” 

The next scandal the group highlighted in the ad was her issuing over $500,050 in raises to her staffers while New Mexicans were unemployed. The featured news clip says, “While workers across New Mexico face major pay cuts, we’re learning Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham handed out hefty pay raises to her staff.” 

The ad featured other scandals the Governor was involved in while she ducked questions from the media.  

WATCH:

Far-left Dem ballot harvester seeks appointment to Stansbury’s vacated legislative seat

Far-left establishment Democrat operative Pamelya Herndon, who also serves as a caucus chair for the Democrat Party of New Mexico, is seeking appointment by the Bernalillo County Commission to be the next state representative to the New Mexico House District 28 seat vacated by Rep. Melanie Stansbury, who was sworn into Congress this week.

During a 2020 closed-door fundraising call for Ben Ray Luján and Xochitl Torres Small, Herndon revealed that she was organizing people to harvest absentee ballots from senior citizens, a tactic that has contributed to voter fraud. 

She said on the call, “Go by and talk to your senior citizens. See if those ballots have been put in the mail, and if not, pick it up and take it to a polling location… you can take at least one absentee ballot for a member of your family to a polling location. We want every ballot counted, Congressman [Ben Ray Luján] because we want to see that you and Xochitl Torres Small and everybody on that ballot for the Democratic Party gets elected.”

New Mexico doesn’t require a “witness” when filling out an absentee ballot, which makes it just that much easier for fraud to sneak in. According to the Daily Signal, “Previously, New Mexico required the signature of a witness as well as the voter on an absentee ballot. However, in 1993, the state Legislature passed a law removing that requirement.”

Herndon also testified as an “expert witness” on extreme far-left bills during the 2021 Legislative Session, including one to harm small businesses by hiking the minimum wage to $15 per hour, a policy championed by socialists like U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

Now, Herndon, who has also advocated for other far-left Democrat party-line policies, claims she is the best one for the job, while she is likely to try to hide her radicalism in the moderate district, which has traditionally gone to Republicans in the past. Her top priorities, according to her website, are “social justice” and “civil rights.”

Herndon will face Democrat competition from a prostitute and “jello shot girl” going by the name “Bunni Benton Cruse,” who is also seeking the spot. 

Cruse, who openly has a “conviction” for prostitution, would not be the first controversial figure to seek public office. State Rep. Roger Montoya (D-Colfax, Mora, Rio Arriba & San Miguel), who was endorsed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2020, was a porn actor before running for his state legislative seat. 

The Piñon Post will be reporting shortly on the Republicans entering this race.

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