Piñon Post

Treaty broken: Navajo Nation unleashes on Haaland after Chaco Canyon ban

16 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Friday, Joe Biden’s U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a former Democrat congresswoman from New Mexico, released her decision to ban permitting of any type of natural mineral extraction within ten miles of Chaco Canyon, resulting in fury from the Navajo Nation, which opposed the measure after unsuccessfully trying to work with the administration on a compromise.

“Despite the Navajo Nation’s position, Secretary Haaland proceeded to issue this decision one day after the Navajo Nation commemorated our Treaty Day, which recognizes the Treaty of 1868 and the start of the government-to-government relationship between the Navajo Nation and the United States. The Secretary’s action undermines our sovereignty and self-determination,” Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said. 

“Despite my concerns and denunciation, the Department of Interior has moved forward, which is highly disappointing. Secretary Haaland’s decision impacts Navajo allottees but also disregards the tribe’s choice to lease lands for economic development. Ultimately, this decision jeopardizes future economic opportunities while at the same time placing some 5600 Navajo allottees in dire financial constraints,” said President Nygren.

“The Navajo Nation strongly disagrees with the new public land order and the Department of the Interior’s assertion that there was significant consultation with tribal nations prior to today’s announcement. The current resolution and position of the Navajo Nation supports no land withdrawal. In the past, the Navajo Nation attempted to compromise by proposing a five-mile buffer as opposed to the 10-mile. The Biden Administration has undermined the position of the Navajo Nation with today’s action and impacted the livelihood of thousands of Navajo allotment owners and their families. While we explore our options, we remain open to discussing a path toward compromise,” said Speaker Crystalyne Curley.

The Navajo Nation wrote in a press release, “President Nygren and Speaker Curley urge President Joe Biden and Secretary Haaland to reconsider this decision as it is a breach of trust between the Department of the Interior, the federal government, and the Navajo Nation; the decision is unjust and may violate individual landowner rights (Navajo allottees). President Nygren respectfully requests the Biden Administration work towards a solution that respects the rights and dignity of the Navajo people due to the long-lasting consequences to the Navajo People.” 

The decision ignored opposition from the Navajo Nation through various statements and resolutions by the current and past tribal administrations and conflicts of interest with her own daughter, Somah Haaland, lobbying Congress in support of the ban.

Haaland slaps Navajo Nation in the face with Chaco Canyon decision

New Mexico judge temporarily halts Eunice’s abortion lawsuit

2 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

This week, Fifth Judicial District Judge Lee A. Kirksey temporarily halted a lawsuit filed by the City of Eunice regarding the state’s newly passed H.B. 7, which attempts to usurp authority from local governments to enforce federal laws pertaining to abortion. The judge paused proceedings at least until the state Supreme Court rules on a case regarding local ordinances.

The City of Eunice argued that the federal Comstock Act makes it illegal to ship or receive abortion medication, which contradicts the new law set to go into effect in June. 

Six New Mexico cities and counties have passed pro-life ordinances that would enforce the Comstock Act. Other localities, such as Gallup and Artesia, are considering passing similar legislation. 

“We applaud Judge Kirksey’s decision to stay the lawsuit filed by the city of Eunice,” Democrat state Attorney General Raúl Torrez, who filed the motion for a stay, said, adding he looks “forward to definitively resolving this question in the proper forum — the New Mexico Supreme Court.”

Michael Seibel, who represents the City of Eunice in the case, said the judge’s action was not necessarily unexpected, telling the Albuquerque Journal, “This case is not going to be won at the District Court level.”

“We are just trying to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens from an overwhelming of Texas women coming in to have abortions,” Seibel told the Piñon Post. 

Far-left dark money groups, including the ACLU and Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, have filed briefs in the case supporting Torrez’s attempt to subvert the federal statute. 

Haaland slaps Navajo Nation in the face with Chaco Canyon decision

13 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Friday, Joe Biden’s U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a former Democrat congresswoman from New Mexico, released her decision regarding banning drilling near Chaco Canyon. 

Haaland declared that she would issue the withdrawal of federal lands within a 10-mile radius of Chaco Canyon from new oil and natural gas leasing for the next 20 years.

The decision ignored opposition from the Navajo Nation and conflicts of interest with her own daughter, Somah Haaland, lobbying Congress in support of the ban. 

“Despite her conflicts of interest, Secretary Haaland announced a withdrawal of land around Chaco that threatens the livelihoods of 5,500 Navajos near the park. She completely ignored the democratic resolutions of the sovereign Navajo Nation whose lands surround the park to put the interests of her tribe, based a hundred miles away, and obstructionist groups first,” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of Western Energy Alliance (WEA). 

“The decision prevents Navajo property owners from accessing the oil and natural gas resources they own which provide them with their sustenance. Secretary Haaland didn’t even consider the Navajo compromise proposal when conducting the NEPA analysis necessary to support this decision, which leaves her and the Interior Department legally vulnerable.”

In May, the Navajo Nation voted to reject any buffer around Chaco Canyon. In its resolution, the 25th Navajo Nation Council stated, “If the buffer zone is adopted, the Navajo allottees who rely on the income realized from oil and natural gas royalties will be pushed into greater poverty.” 

“The economic costs of Interior’s land withdrawal and prohibition of oil and natural gas leasing will cost Navajo members an estimated $194 million over the next 20 years. Exposing the secretary’s fallacy that it will not impact Navajo lands, the Council noted that the withdrawal will cause Navajo lands to be landlocked and inaccessible to development,” noted WEA. 

The group noted, “Sec. Haaland has several conflicts of interest related to Chaco as the Alliance pointed out in a recent letter to the House Committee on Natural Resources. The secretary’s conflicts involve her daughter’s ties to the climate group Pueblo Action Alliance (PAA). While ignoring the Navajos during the review process, Sec. Haaland granted PAA special access to her office to further her daughter’s lobbying activities.”

In a November 2021 letter to Sec. Haaland, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, and Vice President Myron Lizer wrote, “By simply bypassing true and inclusive tribal consultation with the Navajo Nation and our Individual Indian Allottees, the Biden-Harris Administration is markedly undermining the trust responsibility they owe to the Navajo Nation and the 22,000 Individual Indian Allottees impacted by this decision.”

Despite the pushback from tribal stakeholders, Haaland flatly ignored the Nation’s input to instead push forward her daughter’s lobbying efforts on behalf of eco-left dark money organizations. 

See how New Mexico’s U.S. reps. voted on the Biden-McCarthy budget deal

6 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on a deal between Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to avert a default on the country’s debts, to the chagrin of many Republicans and Democrats.

Conservatives made the case that the deal doesn’t scratch the surface of the spending that needs to be cut, while Democrats were angered over the lack of supposed “climate” provisions, among other reasons. 

The bill passed by a vote of 314-117. 149 Republicans voted for the bill, 71 voted against it, 165 Democrats voted for it, and 46 voted against it.

This is how New Mexico’s three-member U.S. House delegation voted on the bill:

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All the New Mexico politicians on Russia’s ‘blacklist’

5 Comments / New Mexico, Politics / By

Russia is banning more Americans from its soil amid its armed conflict with Ukraine started in February 2022. According to Russian state media, TASS, the total number of U.S. citizens banned from the country has reached 963. 

“Russia seeks no confrontation and remains open to honest, mutually respectful dialogue, distinguishing the American people, who invariably enjoy our respect, from the US authorities, who foment Russophobia, and those who serve them. It is these individuals who are put on Russia’s ‘blacklist,’” the Russians wrote.

Here are all the New Mexicans who are banned from entry into Russia:

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Another top Lujan Grisham official leaves administration

15 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Another Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham administration official is leaving, this time State Police Chief Tim Johnson, who announced his retirement Tuesday after heading the force for four years.

The governor has appointed W. Troy Weisler to take Johnson’s place. Weisler is currently the deputy chief for strategic development, special projects, communications, and recruiting.

“I am grateful to the governor and to the people of New Mexico for entrusting me with this great responsibility,” said Deputy Chief Weisler. “Society is changing, technology is rapidly evolving, and the need for public safety and honorable men and women to serve has never been greater. State Police now has access to unprecedented resources, and I am looking forward to quickly deploying them to address the most pressing needs of law enforcement and the people of New Mexico.”

NM State Police Deputy Chief Weisler

“I admire Deputy Chief Weisler’s dependability, calm disposition, and laser focus on the task at hand,’ said Chief Johnson. “His leadership and experience have greatly assisted me during the last four years and he is perfectly suited to take command of NMSP. I have no doubt the department will move forward in a manner which will serve our communities well.”

New Mexico State Police Chief Tim Johnson

The move by Johnson comes after a particularly violent few weeks for the department, including a Saturday biker gang shootout in Red River that left three dead and many injured. 

The latest departure from the Lujan Grisham administration is not surprising, as her entire reign has been marred with a lack of continuity in any department, with short-tenured cabinet secretaries and appointees leaving for various reasons from her scandal-plagued regime.

Man charged with murder after Red River biker gang shootout

7 Comments / New Mexico, News / By

Following a Saturday shootout in Red River between two biker gangs, at least three people are dead, and five are injured. The shooting happened on Red River’s Main Street during the town’s 41st annual Red River Memorial Day Motorcycle Rally.

State Police say the violence happened after an altercation between the Bandidos and the Water Dogs motorcycle gangs. The Banditos, originally from Texas, started in the 1960s and operates as an outlaw motorcycle gang, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

According to the Water Dogs’ now-deactivated Facebook page, the group “is dedicated to developing a Fraternal Brotherhood of men with loyalty, discipline, and character.”

Jorgen Hendriksen via Unsplash.

The three deceased have been identified as Anthony Silva, 26 years old from Los Lunas, who was a member of the Bandidos motorcycle gang; Randy Sanchez, 46 years old from Albuquerque, a member of the Water Dogs motorcycle gang; and Damien Breaux, 46 years old from Socorro, a member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Gang. 

Zeality | Wiki Commons.

According to State Police Chief Tim Johnson, “For everyone, there will be zero tolerance from this point forward,” adding, “That is traffic violations for 1 mile an hour over, seat belts, jaywalking. We are going to stop and talk to everyone if they violate any law — traffic or criminal.”

“Anybody with warrants or anybody who can be arrested will be arrested,” concluding, “I’ll apologize initially to the law-abiding citizens that came to Red River to have a good Memorial Day weekend, not the gangbangers that are ruining it for all of them.”

The Red River mayor has also implored businesses to close up shop if they can over the holiday weekend following the deadly shootout. 

Three have been charged so far. Jacob Castillo of the Waterdogs was charged with murder, Matthew Jackson of the Bandidos Motorcycle Gang has been charged with unlawful carrying of a firearm in a liquor establishment, and Christopher Garcia of the Bandidos Motorcycle Gang has been charged with possession of cocaine.

UNM faculty among spies who falsely called Hunter Biden story Russian disinfo

10 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

The “intelligence” community was desperate to smear the Hunter Biden laptop story that was proven true, and media outlets were forced to issue retractions. But those now admitting their faults do not include the 51 “intelligence” experts who co-signed a letter attempting to discredit the story as “Russian” disinformation.

Hunter and Ashley Biden, children of Joe Biden, attend the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II).

The 51 wrote that “this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election, and we believe strongly that Americans need to be aware of this,” adding, “There are a number of factors that make us suspicious of Russian involvement.”

Among the detractors are at least two University of New Mexico faculty members. 

 Doug Wise, former Defense Intelligence Agency deputy director, and former senior CIA operations officer, teaches at the University of New Mexico. The New York Post contacted him for comment on the now-debunked Russian disinformation hoax he propped up in the letter, but he did not respond. 

In 2019, he spoke at length about a lecture regarding Afghanistan, saying he doesn’t consider himself an “expert” on relations with the country, but apparently, he finds himself to be an expert on Joe Biden’s son’s laptop full of disgraceful information that has lead to criminal charges. 

Doug Wise official CIA portrait.

He later said in 2023, “All of us figured that a significant portion of that content had to be real to make any Russian disinformation credible.” 

Wise claims that critics, “whether they‘re members of the conservative journalist community, conservative politicians or just ultra-right wing extremists, they haven’t paid attention to the content.”

“I don’t regret signing it because the context is important,” he added. “Remember [former Mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy] Giuliani had just been in Ukraine trying to dig up evidence on the Bidens and he met with a known Russian intelligence official” — an apparent reference to pro-Moscow Ukrainian politician Andriy Derkach.

Another faculty member who signed the now-discredited letter is Emile Nakhleh, the former director of CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program and former CIA senior intelligence analyst. He is now a research professor and director of National Security Programs at the University of New Mexico.

Emile Nakhleh speaking in 2013. Screenshot via C-SPAN.

He has doubled down on his support for the misinformation written in the letter, telling the New York Post, “I have not seen any information since then that would alter the decision behind signing the letter. That’s all I can go into. The whole issue was highly politicized and I don’t want to deal with that. I still stand by that letter.”

NM region gets almost half of its annual rainfall in 12 hours from supercell storm

2 Comments / New Mexico, News / By

With recent “supercell” storms in the extreme eastern corner of New Mexico, primarily in Curry and Quay counties, the region has received almost half of its annual rainfall average in just 12 hours. 

“On the thunderstorm spectrum, supercells are the least common type of thunderstorm, but they have a high propensity to produce severe weather, including damaging winds, very large hail, and sometimes weak to violent tornadoes,” the National Weather Service noted. Tornado activity was spotted near Grady, New Mexico. 

Meteorologist Corbin Voges of Storm Search 7 wrote Friday, “MAJOR RAIN for parts of Quay and northern Curry county last night. Some areas have received nearly 8″ of rain over the last 12 hours. That is almost half of this region’s annual rainfall average!” 

“Strong to severe storms developed just before dark Thursday, May 25th 2023 in eastern New Mexico before training over the same locations through the entire night. These storms produced up to baseball size hail and blanketed areas in white with up to 2″ of hail accumulation on the ground in Lesbia, New Mexico in Quay county,” reported ABC 7 News. 

“This is a major event for this geographical region. To put this into perspective, Tucumcari, New Mexico receives an average of 17 inches of rain per year. This has caused widespread flash flooding in the canyons, streams, creeks and low-lying areas. Tucumcari escaped the heaviest rainfall but still encountered significant flooding in town.”

Some views of the remarkable recent storms have been shared via social media:

Storm chasers capture videos of tornado hitting ground near Grady, New Mexico

In latest power grab, MLG sidesteps Legislature, unilaterally forms new office

25 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Thursday, Democrat New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sidestepped the state Legislature to unilaterally create an “Office of Special Education” within her New Mexico Public Education Department.

“The governor — who sidestepped the legislative process in creating the agency through an executive order — joined educators, families and top state education officials at Lowell Elementary School in Albuquerque to announce the effort, framing it as an opportunity to create streamlined services that stretch from birth through college,” reported the Santa Fe New Mexican.

A bill to do just this died in the 2023 Legislative Session amid concerns over local control of such programs in the state. The bill never got a vote in the state House of Representatives.

“I’m not waiting one more minute to get the services and the supports and the education that every student in New Mexico needs,” the governor said, echoing previous remarks she made when she forced through a special session to legalize recreational marijuana in 2021.

At the time, she screamed during a virtual meeting with a group of supporters, “We’re gonna have a special session in a week or so, and we’re gonna get cannabis because I am not gonna wait another year. We’re gonna win it, and it’s gonna have the social justice aspects that we know have to be in a package!”

“This is an elevation of special education,” Lujan Grisham said of her new executive order-sanctioned office, despite New Mexico children being woefully underserved by the failing governmental departments already in place to supposedly protect them, such as the PED and the Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD). 

Now, the state will have a new bureaucratic office to likely mismanage disability issues in schools. Currently, the state ranks last out of every other state in the nation in education. 

It is currently unclear what portion of the PED budget would be allocated to the office since the Department did not get funding in the 2023 Legislative Session for the then-nonexistent office. The latest move by the governor not only usurps the Legislature’s powers to create the office but also its appropriation power.

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