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After year-long assault on people of faith, Gov. MLG lets churches reopen at full capacity

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

On Friday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was forced to rescind her previous orders setting capacity limits on church gatherings after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that capacity limits on places of worship cannot be more restrictive than other places, such as schools. 

In a seemingly strategic move to not want to cause any more controversy in her embattled administration, where she was accused and settled $62,500 over sexual assault, she begrudgingly lifted the order, according to Nora Sackett, the governor’s mouthpiece. 

“The state, of course, is always concerned about the risk of viral spread anywhere people are gathered,” Nora Meyers Sackett wrote. “Nonetheless, the case law from the Supreme Court is clear.”

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Sackett “denied political pressure to fully open churches” was a factor leading to the decision, although many have doubted the validity of that argument.

Despite the health order allowing 100% capacity, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe is directing its parishes to “limit capacity according to the color-coding for indoor services — and to not allow 100 percent attendance,” the New Mexican writes. 

The move by Archbishop John C. Wester is typical, as he previously championed the closure of Santuario de Chimayó sacred site for two consecutive years, citing COVID-19 as the reason for the closure. Wester also made a public service announcement for Gov, Lujan Grisham pushing masks.

The news comes after a long list of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s hostility toward the faithful, despite claiming to belong to the Roman Catholic faith. 

Here’s an overview: 

  • On Holy Saturday 2020, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made a proclamation that all in-person Easter church services of five or greater were banned, effectively stopping New Mexicans from attending church on Easter Sunday. She said she wanted to make “absolutely clear that mass gatherings of any type are not permitted in houses of worship.” 
  • Abortion facilities were allowed to stay wide open while churches were shuttered.
  • On Easter 2020, the Governor made a “proclamation” from the Governor’s mansion, writing on Twitter, “This Easter, home is the holy place. I expect all New Mexicans to stay safe by staying home to celebrate, not gathering with friends and family.”
  • On Mother’s Day 2020, Gov. Lujan Grisham sent out her State Police to serve a cease and desist order to Truth or Consequences pastor, Dr. Caleb Cooper.
  • Pastor Jeff Carr of Mesa Baptist Church in Rio Rancho was told by the Governor’s Office that while in-person services were prohibited, he could still hold “online services, drive-in services where people remain in the car with their windows rolled up… or listen to a radio service, honk their horns for ‘Amen!’ and so on.”
  • Legacy Church in Albuquerque fought back against the Governor and sued the state and remained under scrutiny by the Governor and the liberal media for living out their faith through fellowship in their church. The Governor’s Democrat-controlled NM Supreme Court struck down the church’s lawsuit. After a Christmas Eve service, Lujan Grisham issued a $10,000 fine to the church.
  • Other churches caved to Grisham’s edicts:
  • Las Cruces Bishop Peter Baldacchin instructed his diocese that “While it is true that we need to take every reasonable precaution to reduce the spread of Coronavirus, it is equally true that we offer the greatest ‘essential service’ to our people. The past few weeks have brought to light many unintended consequences of the ‘stay-at-home’ order.” 
  • On Easter 2020, Gov. Lujan Grisham instructed New Mexicans to “celebrate safely” while important traditions such as the pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó were prohibited. 

Now, with the small olive branch the Governor has conceded, this should be no means an occasion to celebrate. For over a year, New Mexicans’ rights have been infringed by Gov. Lujan Grisham, especially the ever-important right to worship at church. No person of faith should be celebrating an oppressive governess ripping away their rights and then giving them back to us months later, making it sound like a favor.

After year-long assault on people of faith, Gov. MLG lets churches reopen at full capacity Read More »

Earth Day: MLG bashes America, claims U.S. has ‘worst record on greenhouse gas emissions’

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Thursday, embattled Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was accused and later settled $62,500 for sexual assault, addressed Joe Biden’s “Leaders Summit on Climate” hosted by EPA administrator Michael S. Regan, where she spoke of her extreme actions to cripple the oil and gas industry and set “ambitious” emissions standards for the sake of “climate change.” 

She spoke of her unilateral executive orders to force through extreme environmental rulemaking through a “climate task force,” her work for New Mexico to join in Paris Climate Accord, which the United Nations admitted was a “fraud,” and her ambitions to “look forward” to “this administration’s work on infrastructure,” which could be a signal that Lujan Grisham sees federal dollars coming New Mexico’s way for extreme eco-leftist policies if Biden’s trillion-dollar infrastructure bill becomes law.

But Lujan Grisham specifically took time to bash the United States, claiming, “the U.S.–in the context of this panel–has the worst record on greenhouse gas emissions for every country represented on this panel.” However, the United States has the tenth-cleanest air quality in the world according to the World Health Organization, so it is unclear how Lujan Grisham has arrived at her anti-American stance on the “climate.” 

Other participants at the Climate Summit included leaders from pollutant-heavy nations, such as President Xi Jinping of the communist People’s Republic of China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, among other polluting nations on the top of the list for the most pollutant nations.

Throughout her time as governor, Lujan Grisham has pushed rabidly anti-energy policies, including the “Green New Deal,” also known as the “Energy Transition Act,” supported extreme emissions standards for oil and gas producers, tapped far-left enviro-Marxists to work in her administration, and has supported harmful 20+ cent gas taxes on the poor, which have luckily failed in the Legislature thus far. 

Read her full remarks in front of the panel below:

Like the… Biden administration, one of my first actions was to execute an executive order that established a framework for three critical components. One, we joined the Paris agreement and we set our greenhouse gas emissions reductions based on that agreement’s targets. 

So, we were very clear about what we wanted to accomplish and we had a climate task force that included every bit of the stakeholders that you identified in your question. So, the industry, consumers, utilities, environmental groups, scientists, other experts, every single economic stakeholder you could think of to make sure we could really move on those targets and we joined the U.S. Climate Alliance.

And I really want to put into perspective that the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan group of governors that represent more than half the U.S. total population, 60% of the U.S. GDP, and we collectively are responsible for 40% of emissions. And to put that into context, the U.S.–in the context of this panel–has the worst record on greenhouse gas emissions for every country represented on this panel. 

So, we have a long way to go. So we set an ambitious target, and as you know, we now have the leading methane rules in the country that eliminates venting and flaring by the gas industry, and by 2026, requires that we are recapturing 98% of methane emissions and we are on our way to set the very same targets for ozone rules. 

We didn’t let the pandemic interrupt that rulemaking process and our efforts to really bring the industry together with us. And I’ll tell you why that’s really important, although it gets criticized: because if you’re just choosing accountability, then you are chasing that effort all of the time without getting your entire state in a leadership fashion all on the same page, and it becomes politically cyclical. And what we want to establish in both our own state work, given that we’re a leading oil and gas producer in this country, is that we can show innovation, we can set incredibly ambitious standards, we can require accountability, and leadership in making sure that we are addressing climate change in a comprehensive fashion by making sure it’s not just government versus the industry, where the industry with government on one topic, which greenhouse gas emissions are methane, but it’s every single stakeholder and every single policymaker in the state, including the entire cabinet working together to achieve those results.

And I will add one last thing which is given that you’re building that, you’re using young people, everyone is at the table, we also have one of the country’s most ambitious renewable portfolio standards investments, and as we move towards investing in a rescue plan and look forward to this administration’s work on infrastructure, we’re gonna be ready to have a robust platform, as the mayor… in Louisiana talked about… that those infrastructure investments will also allow you to not only meet your current targets but to exceed them as we work as a coalition to address climate change across the globe. 

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

Earth Day: MLG bashes America, claims U.S. has ‘worst record on greenhouse gas emissions’ Read More »

Heinrich ‘mourns’ death of woman who attacked two with knife, disobeyed police

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On Wednesday in an apparent attempt at “solidarity” with those angered over the death of the late eight-time convicted drug addict George Floyd, Sen. Martin Heinrich sent out an email to his fundraising list titled “justice and reform.”

The email touched on the George Floyd trial and the conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin. He wrote, “Yesterday, Chauvin was found guilty on all charges in the murder of George Floyd. The jury saw what we all knew — that George Floyd was cruelly and needlessly murdered. This verdict can’t bring him back, but I hope that it can grant a measure of comfort to his loved ones and set our nation on a path of reform.” 

“We mourn George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Antonio Valenzuela, Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo, Ma’Khia Bryant, and all of the other Black, Latino, and Native American men, women, and children whose lives have been cut short. For too long, we received no answers, no justice, and no accountability,” he added.

Interestingly, Heinrich included the name of Ma’Khia Bryant of Columbus Ohio, who experts state explicitly was not a victim of police violence. Bryant, who was shot dead, charged at two individuals with a large knife after repeatedly being told by the officer to stop before shooting her as she lunged at another woman with the knife.

According to Philip Stinson, a Bowling Green State University professor who has compiled nationwide statistics on fatal shootings that have led to criminal charges against officers, “from looking at the video, it appears to me that a reasonable police officer would have had a reasonable apprehension of an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death being imposed against an officer or someone else. That’s the legal standard.” 

Others, including basketball player LeBron James have been blasted for trying to politicize the justified killing of Bryant to advance a political agenda. James posted a tweet featuring the police officer involved in the shooting. His tweet read, “YOU’RE NEXT,” which many interpreted as a threat on the officer’s life.

It is unclear if Heinrich stands by James’ statement, but his use of Bryant to further a political agenda should be noted, for the evidence is still coming out, showing the policeman who shot Bryant was, indeed, acting within the bounds of his training and the law. Heinrich also used the opportunity to promote the newly signed New Mexico anti-police bill, H.B. 4, but he said he wants national reform on policing. Heinrich wrote:

Earlier this month, New Mexico took an important step forward by enacting important reforms in our criminal justice system. It’s time to take up similar reforms on the national level, beginning with the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

Heinrich ‘mourns’ death of woman who attacked two with knife, disobeyed police Read More »

Gov. MLG’s longtime senior policy advisor resigns amid governor’s groping scandal

3 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Wednesday, it was reported that Michelle Lujan Grisham’s senior policy advisor Dominic Gabello had resigned from the administration, making him the latest top-level official to leave her office amid her sexual assault scandal where she paid off a former staffer $62,500 with campaign funds who alleged she groped his crotch. 

Gabello will not abandon the Governor entirely but will cash in on his work for Lujan Grisham by “starting his own business and continuing to serve as a political consultant to the governor on the campaign side,” according to Nora Sackett, the Governor’s press secretary. 

Sackett says Gabello’s last official day will be April 30, telling the New Mexican that Gabello “was out of the office and unavailable for comment Wednesday.” 

“Dominic Gabello is a veteran political adviser, who has been a major part of Gov. Lujan Grisham’s team for near a decade and managed her congressional and gubernatorial campaigns,” campaign spokesman Jared Leopold said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have his help on Gov. Lujan Grisham’s campaign.”

While working in the administration, Gabello was getting $143,769 per year as senior policy adviser, which is comparable to other staffers’ salaries in the well-paid Lujan Grisham office. 

The resignation comes after Department of Workforce Solutions cabinet secretary Bill McCamley quit unexpectedly, John Bingaman, the Governor’s former chief of staff, left the administration to manage a private investment firm, and in January, Victor Reyes, the governor’s legislative director, stepped down. 

Last year, Department of Finance and Administration secretary Olivia Padilla-Jackson, Department of Health secretary Kathy Kunkel, and state epidemiologist Dr. Michael Landen all resigned, among others.

Gabello was front and center in the Governor’s groping controversy, where James Hallinan, the victim, claimed Gabello tried to talk him out of reporting the incident.   


Gabello was also central in organizing a meeting with communist Chinese officials in New Mexico, where Lujan Grisham and Chinese Consul General Zhang Ping discussed possibly making New Mexico a sister-state with the hostile nation. 

Gov. MLG’s longtime senior policy advisor resigns amid governor’s groping scandal Read More »

Congressional Hispanic Caucus demands Biden tap failed ex-Rep. Torres Small for Ag Dept. post

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On Tuesday, Axios reported that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is demanding that the Joe Biden regime nominate failed ex-House members defeated in 2020 to positions in his administration.

Among the names the caucus reportedly floated was that of Democrat ex-Rep. Xochitl Torres Small who was soundly defeated in 2020 by Republican Congresswoman Yvette Herrell after Torres Small “won” the Second District in 2018 by a handful of absentee Democrat ballots miraculously discovered the next day after the election.

Axios writes, “CHC members… pushed former Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) for undersecretary of rural development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a job for which she is already said to be a candidate.” 

The news comes after Torres Small joined a political action committee called “Shield PAC” with other defeated 2020 Democrats to “inoculate their most vulnerable incumbents from the type of attacks that proved so effective in 2020, when they lost seats in the House.” 

According to the PAC website, it claims that if these Democrats don’t keep their seats, “the seditionist, Trump-loving GOP will take over the House.” These extreme attacks from a supposed “moderate” Democrat PAC show that these calls for moderation appear to be merely smoke and mirrors. 

In Congress, Torres Small supported socialist taxpayer-funded “free” college, amnesty for criminal aliens, New Mexico’s “mini” Green New Deal, and bills that would put men in women’s bathrooms. When asked directly to address her refusal to support a bill giving basic medical care for babies born alive after botched abortions, she stood by her infanticide stance. Torres Small also voted to impeach President Donald J. Trump, which likely was the final nail in her coffin. 

Now, it appears Torres Small is gunning for a cabinet position while the Democrat Hispanic Caucus is doing everything it can to promote her for possibly another run in 2022. 

The move comes after the Caucus, including New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger de Fernandez and Ben Ray Luján met with Joe Biden to discuss immigration. Torres Small previously refused to endorse Biden until she was pressed to say she would during a candidate debate.

Congressional Hispanic Caucus demands Biden tap failed ex-Rep. Torres Small for Ag Dept. post Read More »

‘Offensive’: Leftists target Georgia O’Keeffe after NM Tourism Dept. unveils ad featuring artist

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World-renowned artist Georgia O’Keeffe is one of New Mexico’s most celebrated artists for her paintings of landscapes, flowers, bones, churches, and other breathtaking visuals while she resided in the Land of Enchantment. 

O’Keeffe is now being featured in an advertisement from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s newly revamped Tourism Department, with visuals of New Mexico and the following quote from the artist: 

“When I got to New Mexico that was mine. As soon as I saw it that was my country. I’d never seen anything like it before, but it fitted to me exactly. It’s something that’s in the air – it’s different. The sky is different, the wind is different.”

Despite the seemingly innocent use of the quote to paint a picture of New Mexico’s beauty, the far-left extremist group “Three Sisters Collective,” which helped fuel the fire in the toppling of the Santa Fe Plaza obelisk, is taking exception to the advertisement, claiming the ad is “romantic settler voyeurism.” 

“It’s literally an erasure of indigenous people of this area,” said Dr. Christina M. Castro with the Three Sisters Collective. “We will no longer be dehumanized this way. We are living, thriving cultures and we are here in New Mexico and we expect better from our Tourism Department.”

The Three Sisters Collective applauded the vandalism of the Plaza obelisk before it was completely toppled by radicalized domestic terrorists. The group wrote on Facebook, “With regard to the graffiti written on the obelisk, although uncomfortable for some, the vandalism of this object pales in comparison to hate crimes against Indigenous, Black and Brown people.” However, the monument was erected to commemorate New Mexico’s role in fighting the Confederacy — the very opposite of support for racism or hatred for Black and Brown people.

Then the Santa Fe-based Georgia O’Keeffe Museum itself, which is supposedly supportive of O’Keeffe and her work, branded the ad and the quote from the artist as “colonialist.” 

The statement reads as follows:

“The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum does not support the use of Georgia O’Keeffe quotes describing the New Mexico landscape as ‘her country’ or claiming ‘that was mine’. While these quotes are from the artist, it is now clear that this is the language of possession, colonization, and erasure. Such language is offensive, insulting and insensitive. We strongly discourage the use of these problematic phrases, as well as ‘O’Keeffe Country’ to promote tourism or represent Northern New Mexico. The O’Keeffe Museum recognizes the importance of tourism to the state economy. However, we are advocates for informed tourism that is inclusive of all of our stories and educates visitors on the nuances of our past and the richness of our multicultural present. The O’Keeffe is in open conversation with the NM Department of Tourism to encourage dialogue that supports informed tourism and economic opportunity for all of our communities.”

According to the far-left Santa Fe Reporter, “The messaging within this campaign is representative of a broader effort to overwrite Indigenous connections to place, which is a function of the ongoing colonial project,” says Felicia Garcia (Chumash), co-host of the Exhibiting Kinship podcast and a Santa Fe-based museum professional. “Colonial ideologies related to land and land ownership—such as manifest destiny, terra nullius and Western notions of private property—continue to harm Indigenous people. Indigenous place names, landmarks, stories, boundaries or lack thereof have been overwritten by romanticized US mythologies like this one.”

The far-out local criticisms of O’Keeffe mimic others from left-wing East Coasters, including Dr. Sascha Scott of Syracuse University in New York, who claimed O’Keeffe’s paintings for Dole Food Company in Hawaii during her time visiting the islands are “colonialist.”

She says that O’Keeffe’s paintings from the trip “were structured by colonialism, and Dole advertisements that feature her paintings served to justify and naturalize U.S. conquest. To understand O’Keeffe’s work as participating in the highly racialized project of colonialism is to disrupt dominant histories that, often unwittingly, contribute to the ongoing disenfranchisement of Indigenous peoples. Doing so is an important step toward ‘decolonizing’ the history of American modernism.”

However, the Texas-based public relations firm Giant Noise, which handles state tourism PR, told the Reporter in a statement that “This video is not in market; it was an example to premier the brand refresh. Creative pieces are still in production.”

The ad has been effectively scrubbed from the internet, but snippets from it can be seen in KRQE’s report below:

‘Offensive’: Leftists target Georgia O’Keeffe after NM Tourism Dept. unveils ad featuring artist Read More »

MLG fundraises off of her newly signed recreational pot bill

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On Tuesday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sent out a fundraising email lauding her signing of the Democrats’ extreme recreational marijuana bill, despite concerns from law enforcement about public safety.

Lujan Grisham relished in the bill’s signing, writing, “I was deeply proud to sign this bill into law because I know it will open up so many opportunities for New Mexico. Opportunities for workers and entrepreneurs to build prosperous careers. Opportunities to generate more revenue for state and local governments. And opportunities to mend the harm done by the failed war on drugs – which has taken a disproportionate toll on communities of color.” 

She claimed the bill is just what she was “dreaming of” when she introduced her extreme proposals before the legislative session, many of which she got, including abortion up to birth, assisted suicide legalization, raiding the permanent fund for free daycare, among other extreme measures.

“This is the kind of change I’m dreaming of when I talk about building a brighter future for New Mexico – a win-win that allows both individuals and communities to thrive. Together, we’ll keep fighting to make our bold agenda a reality. This session, we’ve proven that it’s possible.” 

Then she made an appeal for cash, writing that she wanted to hit a $10,000 fundraising goal, asking, “If you supported legalizing cannabis in New Mexico, will you donate $15 or more right now to keep our state blue?” 

It is unclear if Lujan Grisham’s appeal to her far-left supporters will yield success, but Democrats did everything they could to ram through the bill but failed in epic proportions by not getting it through the regular session. The initial failure resulted in the Governor calling a hurried special session to ram the bill through in record time and signing the proposal as fast as she could. 

MLG fundraises off of her newly signed recreational pot bill Read More »

Congresswoman Herrell promotes energy independence with the ‘POWER’ Act

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On Tuesday, Republican U.S. House Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) released a video featuring Congresswoman Yvette Herrell of New Mexico’s Second District where she spoke about the bill she is sponsoring, the Protecting our Wealth of Energy Resources (POWER) Act of 2021, which aims to put America back on the road to energy independence.

The bill comes after Joe Biden’s administration killed at least 12,000 jobs with his disassembly of the Keystone XL Pipeline and a ban on oil drilling leases on federal land, among other extreme proposals.

“More than half the oil and more than two-thirds of the natural gas produced in New Mexico is on federal lands,” said Herrell. “A moratorium on new leases will devastate our state’s economy, destroying more than 60,000 jobs by 2022, and decimate our state’s budget,” she said.

In the video, Herrell said, “We know what it’s like to have energy independence in our country, and we’ve got to keep it going that way. In fact, we’re seeing production levels higher than ever, but our emissions lower.” 

She added, “When we work together with science, technology, and our industry partners, we can produce better energy–more affordable energy–for all of America.” 

“We can protect our federal lands, we can protect drilling on federal lands, and we can ensure that our American households have good clean affordable energy,” she concluded.

WATCH her message below and read more about her bill here. 

Herrell’s message comes after the Piñon Post reported on State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard appeared to support Joe Biden’s anti-energy ban on federal land drilling, in response to a letter from Herrell requesting support for New Mexico’s energy independence.

Congresswoman Herrell promotes energy independence with the ‘POWER’ Act Read More »

ABQ police union grabs national headlines after officer resignations from APD rapid response team

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On Monday, Albuquerque Police Officers’ Association president  Shaun Willoughby appeared on Fox News to talk about the recent resignations of Albuquerque Police officers from the “Emergency Response Team” following an arrest at a recent Albuquerque protest, which the Piñon Post covered last week. 

Willoughby said on Fox & Friends that officers don’t feel supported and ‘don’t trust their leaders.” He stressed that Albuquerque officers are “tired of being managed by politics.” 

The outrage from the police union followed nineteen officers quitting the team over Seventeen officers, one lieutenant, and two sergeants resigned from the team after “an armed man who was taunting demonstrators was detained by field officers during the protest and at the time of his arrest, the man was not charged.”

“We have an individual that’s being removed from this counter-protest for doing absolutely nothing wrong,” Willoughby said. “He didn’t violate any laws. He was exercising his constitutional rights within the city of Albuquerque and we had a sergeant taken off of his job, gun and badge removed.”

Willoughby noted how the Emergency Response Team is “an extracurricular activity” and that he doubts APD “will get anybody to replace these jobs.”

“Who wants to take on that professional liability … [of] being involved in these protests that just are never-ending?” he asked.

Previously, Willoughby said, “We are seeing a dramatic increase of Albuquerque police officers applying to go to other departments,” He added, “Morale, let’s not even talk about it because it doesn’t exist. There is no morale. Your Albuquerque police officers are absolutely miserable at work— nobody’s happy.”

According to Willoughby, over 20 APD officers have quit the force altogether within the last two months, following an all-out assault on law enforcement during the legislative session earlier this year and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller having social workers respond to some calls instead of officers. There have also been many proposals from the Albuquerque City Council to “defund” parts of APD.  

WATCH:

ABQ police union grabs national headlines after officer resignations from APD rapid response team Read More »

Dem NM Land Commissioner Garcia Richard appears to support Biden’s federal oil leasing ban

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Republican Congresswoman Yvette Herrell of New Mexico’s Second Congressional District sent a letter on March 30 to New Mexico State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard regarding concerns of oil producers in the district who are concerned over the Joe Biden regime’s new oil and gas leasing ban, which will negatively affect New Mexico.

“As you know, one of the first actions of the Biden administration was to implement a ban on new oil and gas leases on federal lands. On its own, this will have an extremely detrimental impact on our state’s economy and general fund, but I fear these implications will be exacerbated by additional impacts on leases on lands under the management of your department,” wrote Congresswoman Herrell.

“I have had several constituents reach out to me concerned that access to their state leases, day to day operations on and the development of those leases will become increasingly difficult if the leasing moratorium on federal lands continues,” she continued.

“I would also call on you to join me and use all the power at your disposal as State Land Commissioner to oppose the federal leasing ban imposed by the Biden administration. Oil and gas production employs over 100,000 people in our state and contributes revenues that make up nearly forty percent of our general fund. 94% of the earnings from the state trust lands, under your management, goes directly to support education. An attack on the oil and gas industry is an attack on the future economic sustainability of our state and the future of our children,” concluded Herrell.

Even Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham previously said she was concerned over the extreme ban by Biden on all federal oil leases, saying to the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce last month, “I’m clearly concerned that right out of the gate with very little guidance, we have an announcement to stall … a moratorium on lease applications, and the reality is: a lot of oil and gas … in the Permian [Basin] is on private land in Texas.”

But Garcia Richard said in an April 12 response to Herrell, exclusively obtained by the Piñon Post, that she has had no contact with the Biden administration over the leasing ban, which will negatively affect New Mexico’s bottom line. She also touted the State Land Office raising $1 billion annually. 

“The Department of the Interior has not consulted with the State Land Office during the implementation of new executive orders, rules, and regulations for activity on federal land. We hope to be involved in future discussions related to easing the potential impacts of these orders on the state,” wrote Gracia Richard.

“I appreciate your concern regarding the checkerboard nature of lands across our state and the West and how this plays into the Biden administration’s pause on federal leasing. Knowing this fact, you will also understand that our state’s and other states’ reliance on oil and gas is a shortsighted budgeting mechanism, because it is a finite resource. Long-term solutions and diversification are necessary.” 

She then added that knowing nearly 40% of New Mexico’s general funding keeps her “up at night,” following up on ways she has done her part to dismantle the oil and gas industry in New Mexico, saying she is using “every tool at our disposal to hold the oil and gas industry accountable for the clean-up of state trust land that they use to make profits. In just the last six months, we have forced the plugging of 16 abandoned wells, fully reclaimed 12 contaminated sites, and sued 15 companies when they would not cooperate with our clean-up efforts.”

Garcia Richard said she hoped Herrell would join in with the far-left Democrats in New Mexico’s congressional delegation to push forward legislation to “plug” wells.  She also said that she hopes Herrell will join her for “when the wells run dry, New Mexico has revenue streams from industries like film, science and technology, aerospace, hemp, and agriculture–truly every option available–to ensure that we can continue funding our state’s needs.” 

However, Garcia Richards’ hollow concerns over wells “running dry” is not a concern. According to Forbes, the inventory of drilled but uncompleted (DUC) “suggests that Permian Basin production still has a lot of room to run.” The Forbes report notes that “ If all drilling suddenly ceased in the Permian, there is nearly a year’s worth of drilled inventory that still needs to be completed. That’s a lot of oil waiting to be extracted.” 

In Garcia Richard’s letter, she said she had concern over the amount of land at her disposal to lease, however, she has leased land to unsustainable wind power companies, which are a hazard to wildlife (specifically birds and bats) and the wind turbines cannot be recycled. They also need oil to run, while being heavily subsidized by the state. 

In response to Garcia Richard’s letter, which appeared to support the Biden regime’s oil leasing ban, Larry Behrens of the pro-energy group Power The Future said, “The response from Commissioner Garcia Richard shows she is extremely out-of-touch. The federal order is months old now and Garcia Richard admits her office has not reached out at all to get any clarification from the Interior Department. Considering… Biden’s terrible orders, Congresswoman Herrell is reaching out to save New Mexico jobs and Commissioner Garcia Richard’s response proves she’s done nothing but appease radical environmentalists.” 

Department of the Interior secretary Deb Haaland recently announced even more anti-energy policies and the enactment of a new “climate task force” to enact what she calls “environmental justice.” Garcia Richard and Haaland, who is a proponent of the Green New Deal, have supported each other in the past. 

Read more about Haaland’s new anti-energy edicts. 

Dem NM Land Commissioner Garcia Richard appears to support Biden’s federal oil leasing ban Read More »

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