Opinion

Deb Haaland makes history: Becomes least qualified person to ever serve in cabinet

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On Monday, The U.S. Senate shamefully confirmed Rep. Deb Haaland to head the U.S. Department of the Interior, dealing a crippling blow to the integrity of the country’s public lands, which will now be under the control of the radical anti-energy “Green New Deal”-loving extremist.

You have to give it to the Democrats, though. They did, indeed, make history with her confirmation, making her the least qualified candidate to ever reach a presidential cabinet position, not only with the support of every single one of their members but with four Republicans in Name Only (RINOs) lining up to support her, like sheep to the slaughter.

Despite vast swaths of Alaska under the control of the Department of the Interior and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) calling out Haaland for singling out The Last Frontier, she and spineless RINO Dan Sullivan (R-AK) joined Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Linsey Graham (R-SC) in supporting Haaland. The final vote was 51-40 with nine senators not voting.

To be crystal clear, Haaland has no accomplishments whatsoever to speak of other than being a walking, talking, breathing embodiment of the Peter Principle. The Peter Principle is merely a management concept about competent employees in a low role being promoted into positions for which they are incompetent (Congress and Interior in Haaland’s case).

If you did not watch Haaland’s confirmation hearings in the Senate Energy Committee, you didn’t miss much other than hours of painful lines of questioning demonstrating Haaland’s lack of knowledge of the Department of Interior and a lack of awareness of the department’s resources, which she will now be tasked with overseeing. She also demonstrated the lack of a coherent train of thought, using the sounds “uh” and “um” to fill every other gap while Haaland attempted to form a sentence. This can be demonstrated by the below clip, which is particularly painful to watch:

But then again, we must remember that this nomination comes from an illegitimate non-president whose allies weaponized election fraud to steal the 2020 election. Biden also can barely form a sentence and was likely advised to pick Haaland so he could meet a racist diversity quota in his administration while also claiming a “history-making” nomination.

Haaland tried and failed on multiple occasions to pass the bar after law school, then somehow became the Democrat Party of New Mexico chair, and then ran for Congress in the First Congressional District while hilariously claiming to be “fierce” in the process.

Then once elected, she hid from constituents, and when election time rolled around, she ducked debates for months until she finally was compelled to show to “remote” debates where she stumbled on her words again and again. She consistently lied about multiple issues and could not defend her radical agenda.

During a candidate debate in October, Haaland misled on multiple issues. She claimed she worked in “a bipartisan way” while in Congress, despite voting with socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 95% of the time, she called a leftist Black Lives Matter/Antifa mob committing arson and vandalism in Lafayette Square near the White House “peaceful,” she claimed she did not support Antifa, despite calling them “peaceful protestors,” saying she has never “missed a vote,” despite missing several, and falsely claiming President Trump called COVID-19 a “Democrat hoax,” which liberal fact-checkers have even admitted is incorrect. 

Now, Haaland, the least accomplished and most embarrassing cabinet pick of any administration in history will go on to lead the Department of the Interior, overseeing 480 million acres of public land, 700 million acres of subsurface minerals, and 1.7 billion acres of the outer continental shelf. She also has pledged to ban fracking, which will cripple states like New Mexico who rely heavily on the critical industry. We can only hope her incompetence keeps her from getting anything done because the less she does, the easier people, especially those who rely on these public lands, can sleep at night. 

Assisted suicide via lethal drugs bill one step away from becoming law after passing Senate

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In a sad turn of events in New Mexico, the state Senate approved one of the most extreme assisted suicide via lethal drugs bills to the House of Representatives to concur with the amendments, then to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for her signature. The Governor promised to sign the radical anti-life bill that will jeopardize those living with terminal conditions.

The bill passed despite bipartisan opposition to the radical measure, with a final vote of 24-17. Democrats, Pete Campos of Las Vegas, George Muñoz of Gallup, and Benny Shendo Jr. of Jemez Pueblo joined Republicans in voting against the measure. Despite invoking his Catholic faith and saying he attended mass at the Cathedral, Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana) voted with anti-life Democrats to approve the bill.

During debate. Sen. Gregg Schmedes (R-Tijeras) said, “My concern is that when we legalize this practice, as we’ve seen in other states, the overall suicide rate goes up.” He added, “When I use the word ‘suicide,’ I don’t use it flippantly. Suicide’s the intentional taking of your life.”

The bill, which is opposed by multiple disability rights groups, the Navajo Nation, and many patients living with terminal conditions, 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. 

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.”

H.B. 47, which devalues human life and dangerously violates ethical codes in medicine, is sponsored by anti-life extremist Rep. Deborah Armstrong (D-Bernalillo) and a few other partisan Democrats in the Legislature. 

Gov. Lujan Grisham’s press secretary Nora Sackett said in a statement, “The governor has been a lifelong advocate for seniors and their independence, as well as for the importance of dignity and respect in making choices about one’s own health and treatment.” 

The American Medical Association (AMA) itself decries assisted suicide as an affront to the practice of medicine. According to the American Medical Association’s Code of Ethics Medical Opinion 5.7: 

“Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks.” 

“Instead of engaging in assisted suicide, physicians must aggressively respond to the needs of patients at the end of life. Physicians:

Should not abandon a patient once it is determined that cure is impossible.

Must respect patient autonomy.

Must provide good communication and emotional support.

Must provide appropriate comfort care and adequate pain control.

In Oregon and California–states that allow assisted suicide–patients have been denied payment for treatments to save their lives, but have been told that less-costly lethal drugs would be covered. Assisted suicide creates a strong economic incentive to deny treatment, which is the antithesis of the above medical ethics mandate from the AMA to provide appropriate comfort care and adequate pain control. 

According to official numbers from Oregon, suicide in the general population in the state is 40% above the national average during the 20 year period that Oregon has had legal assisted suicide. 

In July, it was reported that New Mexico’s suicide rate was the highest in the nation. This bill would further encourage suicide as a socially acceptable alternative to life–a dangerous mindset to place in the minds of people young and old living in our state. By embracing more death and treating people who have a terminal illness as expendable, New Mexico would be dehumanizing individuals and treating them as a burden. 

In Canada, where assisted suicide is legal for the ill and the elderly, they are now trying to force through assisted suicide for people who have disabilities, claiming it will save health care costs (as the country has a socialized medicine system). They are threatening patients, such as a man named Roger Foley, who has cerebellar ataxia, a degenerative neurological condition, giving him only two options: pay $1,800 per day to remain in a hospital after he was mistreated at a government-assigned agency home care center, or kill himself with life-ending drugs. The legalization of H.B. 47 would usher in Canada’s so-called “progressive” policies, ultimately leading to disabled people being included in future bills to kill themselves because they are given impossible choices such as the one Mr. Foley had.

Also, the unsafe life-ending drugs used in the killing of these terminally ill patients would force patients to agree to the below statement that they understand it could take longer than three hours of excruciating pain for them to finally be poisoned to death:

“I understand the full import of this request, and I expect to die if I self-administer the medical aid in dying medication prescribed. I further understand that although most deaths occur within three hours, my death may take longer.” 

As Charlie Camosy, a bioethics professor in the theology department of Fordham University in New York said, “A medical system that kills is no longer recognizable as healing and caring.”

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Deb Armstrong (D-Bernalillo) gleefully rejoiced the final Senate passage of the anti-life bill, writing on Twitter, “This is a tremendous win.”

The bill, which was amended on the Senate floor, now goes to the state House of Representatives. The House already has approved the bill, but will need to approve the amendments. Then it will go to the Governor’s desk for a signature, ushering an even more aggressive culture of death in New Mexico, following the passage of S.B. 10, a bill legalizing abortion up-to-birth and infanticide and stripping all protections for women, medical professionals, and babies in the womb.

Clovis library mass shooting survivor: State of New Mexico has turned its back on victims

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My name is Jessica Thron, and I am a survivor of the mass shooting that took place at Clovis-Carver Public Library. On August 28, 2017, a 16-year-old came into my workplace with a backpack containing two handguns and multiple magazines. He was angry with the world for being suspended from school and decided people needed to pay — with their lives. He overslept that day, so he didn’t get to exact his revenge at the high school like he originally intended. He settled on the local public library.

I suppose we were all soft targets: women, children, elderly, etc. He gave us no warning. Within six seconds, he unloaded 14 gunshots killing two people (very close friends of mine, Wanda and Krissie), injuring four (myself and a 10-year-old boy included), and traumatized countless others. He was eventually sentenced as an adult to two life sentences plus 40 years served concurrently with good time. Meaning, at the time of sentencing, he will be eligible for parole in 2051.

I remember thinking how shameful it was that a murderer of two wonderful women would only be required to give a little over 30 years of his life in exchange for the beautiful lives he callously took. Little did I know of the legislators in this state who would like to see juvenile murderers and rapists serve even less time.

New Mexico Senate Bill 247 (S.B. 247) will soon be heard before the House. If this bill is passed and made law, it will greatly impact victims who have suffered horrendous crimes as well as family members who have lost loved ones at the hands of juvenile offenders. SB247 mandates that criminals who committed crimes as juveniles and were sentenced as adults will be eligible for parole after serving 15 years. If denied parole, they will be allowed to go before the parole board every 5 years until they are released.

The nature of this proposed bill will take no account whatsoever of the severity of the offender’s crime. The parole board can consider it, but the law will require the murderer to be given a parole hearing. If passed, Nathaniel Jouett who shot and injured me along with three others and killed two women will possibly be released in a mere 11 ½ years. How is that justice? I remember when Nathaniel was sentenced thinking how I would be in my 60s when he would be eligible for parole. As much as I disagreed with the length of his sentence, I would have around 33 years to heal before facing him again. But, no… for some reason, certain legislators think it’s more important that these criminals who committed heinous acts deserve a life outside of prison as soon as possible.

They tout that these sentences are considered excessively long for children, even 15 years. Senator Sedillo Lopez (D-Bernalillo), the bill’s sponsor, argues that if a 15-year-old “child” has to serve 15 years until released, that sentence is over half of the individual’s life. She needs to understand that the average lifespan in the United States is 78.54 years. If a juvenile murderer lives to be that age, he/she will have only spent 19% of their life in prison, not half of their life… not even a quarter. Are the two lives of my murdered friends, who had many more years to live, that invaluable?

Moreover, S.B. 247 has flown through the committees with little discussion surrounding it regardless of its significant impact on society. I have been silenced and told that I can just put my head in the sand concerning the aftereffects of this bill if passed, thanks to Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-Bernalillo). Victims have not even been consulted in reference to this bill, although the sponsor is saying the opposite. I have witnessed the sponsor of this bill not have her documentation submitted in a timely manner and given allowances. Senator Ortiz y Pino told us we would have an opportunity to speak on the House floor, which was untrue. Elected legislators are put in place by the people to represent the people, but we are not being represented. In fact, I am being made to feel that I am the one who has done something wrong.  

I have lived and survived a trauma that no person should ever have to endure. I braved dark days after the shooting which included surgery, the funerals of my murdered friends, PTSD, and other obstacles. Finally, I was at a manageable place with my trauma. But now I feel as if the State of New Mexico, a place I have called home my whole life, has turned its back on me and other victims. My thoughts and concerns have been completely discarded by the legislature these past few weeks. This is not about vengeance. We are asking for time. We are asking to be heard. Please help us make New Mexico communities aware of what certain legislators are trying to do behind their backs. We deserve more from our elected officials.

Albuquerque Public Schools must empower parents and students

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My name is Michaela Chavez and I am a mother and wife in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Like many of you concerned parents, I have watched the situation in our schools since the COVID Crisis started in March 2020. And like you, I was not sure how to juggle the day-to-day demands of home, children, job, etc. When Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham decided to close all schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the new rules suddenly thrust into my life were daunting. 

Like all parents, I was concerned for my children’s safety, and I agreed that we should have “15 days to flatten the curve” while we learned more about the Novel Coronavirus to understand the severity of the situation. I wanted some consistency and leadership. In that respect, the Governor’s Office and the APS Board have utterly failed.  

In March of 2021, we are now one year after “15 Days to flatten the Curve.” We are still not sure how our children will weather this storm and get back to any semblance of normalcy. Unlike in March 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, we have one year of dedicated research, tireless efforts in fighting COVID-19, and multiple effective vaccines. 

Plainly stated, our kids—who are our greatest asset and resource—must be given the option to go back to the classroom. They want to go back and be with their friends and get back to the business of a normal life. The big takeaway from this year-long crisis is this: Our state and country need decisive leadership, and that starts here in Albuquerque and our beloved state of New Mexico. 

I believe that rather than listening to the teacher’s unions, Albuquerque Public Schools must empower parents and students with the option to attend in-person classes, with the option of virtual (online) classes for parents who believe their students will be most successful with at-home learning.  

I am seeking to become the Republican nominee for Congress in New Mexico’s First Congressional District in the Special Election to replace Deb Haaland because I believe in returning the power to New Mexico’s People. I can tell you this: if you choose me as your candidate for Congress, I will do everything I can do at the federal level to ensure our children get the money needed to broaden their education, follow-up at the local and state level, and most of all: not leave such an important duty in the hands of bureaucrats, special interests and other parties that only want to feather their own nests while denuding ours. It’s time for some “common sense” solutions and elected officials who will finally put the needs and concerns of New Mexicans first. 

Michaela Chavez is the current Bernalillo County GOP Ward 17 Chair and was the 2020 Republican Nominee for the New Mexico State Senate in District 13.

Opinions expressed by Piñon Post contributors do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the publication or its editorial staff. Submit an op-ed to the Piñon Post at news@pinonpost.com.

NM Senate’s resident drama queen ostracized by own party: Even Dem Leader tells him to ‘f**k off’

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New Mexico state Sen. Jacob Candelaria (D-Bernalillo) has been circling the drain with his desperate ploys for public attention for quite some time now, but this week, the Albuquerque-area legislator has outdone himself. 

On Monday, during consideration of S.B. 71, the Patients’ Debt Collection Protection Act, Candelaria forced a debate on the bill, which led Democrat Majority Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) to scold him on the floor of the Senate. 

“Why don’t you just [expletive] off and put an amendment on like the rest of us?” said Wirth. 

After the altercation, It was reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican that Candelaria started crying and claiming it was a “low day” for the New Mexico Senate: 

“I’m sort of heartbroken,” said Candelaria, who sat slouched in his chair in tears after the confrontation. “This is a low day for the New Mexico Senate.”

Candelaria then got into fights with multiple Democrats on Twitter, bashing Senate Judiciary Chairman Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana), accusing him of refusing to put Candelaria’s extreme bills on the agenda. 

Later, Candelaria got in a spat with the far-left fringe group, ProgressNow NM over his assertions about Cervantes. 

Then, he started begging for sympathy for having to work as a “citizen legislator” when “you’re not retired and not rich.”

Hilariously though, he previously bragged on Instagram about purchasing expensive French luxury products, writing, “Treat yo self. The road is long and the fights are hard—-celebrating your joy is a seditious act.” 

Read more about liberal Republicans and far-left Democrats complaining about not getting paid despite earning a per diem and a pension. 

James Hallinan, a former staffer to Gov. Lujan Grisham, who accused the governor of sexual assault, is now accusing Candelaria of sexual abuse while Hallinan worked for Speaker Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe) and Rep. Moe Maestas (D-Bernalillo). 

“Shocked you haven’t been removed from office 4 ur abuse of @NMStatePolice & gov’t resources while on ur benders. Not to mention when you sexually abused me @ the Bull Ring when I worked 4 Speaker @BrianEgolf & @RepMoe,” wrote Hallinan. 

“I assume you were high on coke at the time as well?” Candelaria clapped back, 

Hallinan replied, “NewMexico media please witness the most recent bender/meltdown of @SenCandelaria  & his delusions. When predators attacks their victims they just seal their own fates.”

Candelaria has made countless enemies on the Republican side of the aisle and now he’s increasingly becoming ostracized from his own party as Gov. Lujan Grisham won’t answer his phone calls, Democrat Majority Leader Peter Wirth is literally telling him to “f**k off,” and even far-left fringe group ProgressNowNM is telling him to go away. 

Candelaria, the Senate’s resident drama queen, is becoming weaker and weaker as a public official by each fleeting day, and Republicans should be looking for a strong candidate to take him out in 2024. Right now, the Albuquerque legislator has more enemies than friends, and 2024 is looking like a shiny opportunity for the right Republican to do away with him once and for all come the next election. 

Read more about Sen. Candelaria: Dem lawmaker flips out on police officers trying to help him with hate mail, now claims to have PTSD

Zoom committee hearings are a prime opportunity for leftist censorship: speak truth at your own risk

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This legislative session is one like no other. The supposed public servants who were elected to “represent” us hide away from us and have erected a giant fence to keep the public out of the People’s House. 

New Mexicans were told the Legislature would be “more accessible” to the public or that the process has been “opened” in a way “that has never happened before,” according to Sen. Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe). 

But the opposite has happened. Before, when members of the public were allowed in the physical committee hearings, they actually could speak face-to-face with legislators and make their case. 

Previously, there were long lines of people allowed to give testimony in front of the committee if they so chose. Elected leaders had to face their constituents face-to-face and explain to them exactly why they are voting for or against a specific bill.

Now, if one of these so-called “public servants” doesn’t like what you have to say or doesn’t want to hear the multitude of “virtual” attendees testify, they can just press the mute button on you and silence your voice—or cut off debate at “fifteen minutes for each side” while giving leftists more time to testify.

Yesterday, while I attempted to testify in the House Judiciary Committee, I was silenced for merely trying to testify against a duplicative bill, H.B. 156, that already is on the books barring law enforcers from sexual contact with a person in custody—consensual or not. This anti-police bill does nothing to change state law and is clearly just another jab at law enforcement officials.

But in a previous hearing, one of the bill’s “expert witnesses,” Alexandria Taylor, dubbed any law enforcer who opposes the useless bill as a “rapist.” 

In the testimony I attempted to give to the committee, I did not mention Taylor by name, only saying, “this is nothing but a smear bill aiming to build public opinion against law enforcement by maligning them as ‘predators’ and ‘rapists’ These are some of the words proponents of this bill have used about law enforcers in prior hearings.” 

However, the radical left chair of the committee, Rep. Gail Chasey (D-Bernalillo), couldn’t stand anyone actually opposing this anti-police smear bill, and so she cut me off, claiming I was going after the bill sponsor’s “motives,” which is nothing of the sort. Then when I respectfully unmuted to finish my testimony, I was cut off again. 

This same occurrence happened earlier in this committee when I testified against S.B. 10, a radical abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill. At that time, I merely wondered why the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Linda Lopez, refused to debate her bill on the Senate floor. This benign comment also apparently triggered Chasey, and she clapped back at me in that committee.

In a condescending response to another New Mexican concerned with Chasey’s censorship, she wrote back, “I do not allow anyone to attack the motives of the sponsors of bills or members of the committee, just as I would not allow any members of the committee or of the public to attack another individual, regardless of that person’s position. You have been misinformed.” Her supposed rule has never before been instituted.

Some argue that the “virtual” legislature has made the process. But I argue that it has made it even more opaque. Frivolously cutting off members of the public was not possible before when the public had a chance to testify in-person. But now, with the click of a mouse, power-hungry chairmen and chairwomen can mute the public and shut them up if they disagree with their viewpoints. Speak the truth, no matter how respectful it is, at your own peril.

This legislative session has been a complete disgrace, with Democrats ramming through extreme bills no matter what the public thinks, the rules be damned. We must strive for open government and refuse to back down or let them silence our voices. This is the opposite of transparency. Freedom of speech is a critical tenet of our republic, and if we do not fight for it now, we will lose it forever. 

As Gov. MLG signs abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill, she decries ‘dehumanization’

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On Friday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that she had signed the radical abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill, S.B. 10, which the House of Representatives passed last week stripping away all protections for women, babies in the womb, and medical professionals.

In a condescending quote, Lujan Grisham said, “A woman has the right to make decisions about her own body,” adding, “Anyone who seeks to violate bodily integrity, or to criminalize womanhood, is in the business of dehumanization. New Mexico is not in that business – not any more. Our state statutes now reflect this inviolable recognition of humanity and dignity. I am incredibly grateful to the tireless advocates and legislators who fought through relentless misinformation and fear-mongering to make this day a reality. Equality for all, equal justice and equal treatment – that’s the standard. And I’m proud to lead a state that today moved one step closer to that standard.” 

Notice she claims pro-lifers are “violat[ing] bodily autonomy” (wrong), “criminaliz[ing] womanhood” (wrong), and are “in the business of dehumanization.” 

The false and ironic rhetoric from the Governor comes as she just signed a bill allowing late-term abortionists to rip infants limb from limb just moments before birth, not to mention infanticide–killing infants AFTER birth, which is already occurring in New Mexico. 

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo), who refused to defend her bill on the Senate floor, said, “Thank you to Governor Lujan Grisham for signing this legislation, thank you to every one of my fellow bill sponsors and community advocates, and thank you to all of the voters of New Mexico who made your voices heard in the last election. Abortion is a personal health care decision. We can hold our own moral values on abortion and still trust individuals to make their own reproductive health care decisions.”

Previously, the 2019 version of the bill, H.B. 51 died in the New Mexico Senate after pro-life Democrats rejected the extreme bill. Out of spite, Lujan Grisham put her entire political machine into primary challengers to destroy these pro-life Democrats in the 2020 election. One of these pro-life Democrats, Sen. Carlos Cisneros passed away before the election.

Now, Democrats are looking to ram through another extreme anti-life bill, assisted suicide H.B. 47, which passed the House of Representatives with one Republican, Rep. Kelly Fajardo (R-Valencia), joining Democrats to help pass it through the chamber. Its next step is the Senate Judiciary Committee.

While we stood in breadlines, Gov. Lujan Grisham feasted on $200/lb Wagyu beef steaks and liquor

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Just a few short months ago, Democrat Gov. Lujan Grisham was forcing New Mexicans to stand in freezing cold breadlines to buy food and toilet paper. Little did we know, while New Mexicans were being treated like pond scum, Gov. Lujan Grisham was living the high life in her hilltop mansion, indulging herself and her staff in $200-per pound cuts of Wagyu beef, fine wine, and liquor–all on the backs of hardworking taxpayers. The same folks standing in the freezing cold over the holidays and not allowed to see their families due to Lujan Grisham’s health orders.

But to defend the indefensible, the Governor sent out her trusty misinformation jabberwocky, Tripp Stelnicki, to spin the story. He claimed, “There are still meetings with cabinet and staff that are distanced small groups,” Stelnicki said.  “They are sporadic, but they last a long time and so there’s food at those meetings often prepared.” According to Stelnicki, “they were fed gourmet meals” during these sessions. To remind you, meetings such as this are in stark violation of Lujan Grisham’s public health orders. The review of her finances was completed July 1st through December 31, “a time period when Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham restricted capacity of grocery stores, urged New Mexicans to limit time out of their homes and restricted business operations through a series of emergency public health orders.”

She previously demanded, “Do not mix up households–coming into contact with non-household members. It is high-risk,” telling people, “No hugging” when “mixing households” over the Thanksgiving holiday. 

According to KOB 4, “The receipts we reviewed show about $350 in alcohol purchase for beer, Crown Royal, an assortment of wines and tequila.  According to Stelnicki, these alcohol purchases were made over a period of time for a future staff party after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.” 

“The staff at the residence have, I think, been guilty of optimism, that with declining case numbers,” Stelnicki said.  “We might get to a place where there could be a safe gathering.  I think everyone has been guilty of that from time to time over the course of COVID. And so some of those purchases have been made, whether it’s planning for or hoping for a different kind of gathering with legislators or partners, whoever it might be. That hasn’t happened. So those purchases are sort of just there. And they’ll be used after COVID. Hopefully, soon.”

New Mexicans also footed the bill for the Governor’s dogs, who apparently are being treated better than New Mexicans who have been mistreated for months. Hundreds of dollars has been spent on cleaning up the dogs’ messes, according to the report.

The spending was reviled by Democrats and Republicans alike, with Democrat chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee saying, “My feeling about it is, is that there are certain things that should not be paid for by the taxpayer. I did say that I do not believe that alcohol expenses are one of those things unless it’s an official event.” 

Gov. Lujan Grisham has repeatedly lied to New Mexicans, violated her public health orders to buy luxury jewelry, belittled New Mexicans from Hobbs to Española, gave her staff raises while New Mexicans lost their businesses and starved, and now, the details of her extravagant lifestyle paid for by the hard-working taxpayer doesn’t even seem to be a surprise anymore.

KOB 4 tried to give Lujan Grisham a break by contrasting her spending to that of her predecessor, Gov. Susana Martinez, who did indeed spend the taxpayers’ money irresponsibly and used her position to indulge herself while harassing State Police officers. But passing the buck to the past administration is weak and shows a hollow and tired argument. It is of my opinion that the New Mexico governor’s “allowance” should be bare-bones and minimal, allowing only for costs of survival and that’s it. New Mexicans should not be forced to pay for a slush fund for anyone, much less the Governor so she feast while we starve.

Will Lujan Grisham reimburse New Mexicans for her lavish lifestyle? Unfortunately, the answer is likely no. 

Read more on Lujan Grisham’s hypocrisy from the Piñon Post: 

Gov. MLG once again tells New Mexicans, ‘Let them eat cake!’

BernCo Deputy Sheriffs Assoc. President: Can New Mexico Survive?

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New Mexico was once a great state where family values and the safety of the community took precedence. It pains me to say those days are long gone. In the past several years, we have seen increasingly higher crime rates and homicide rates that are unprecedented in our communities. One can’t help but ask, “why is this happening?”

Most of it can be attributed to the neutering of law enforcement by “knee jerk” policies that serve as an inspiration to criminals everywhere. Most of these policies are based on events that didn’t even occur in New Mexico. In essence, creating a problem where there wasn’t one. Criminals and their advocates quickly learned that it was easy to manipulate the public with “social justice” rhetoric and cries for reform. Now, these reforms have come to collect, and the price is our communities’ safety.  

As a native New Mexican and 14-year veteran of law enforcement, I have seen the effect of these soft on crime policies that have devastated our communities first hand. They were small at first. Refusal by the courts to prosecute property crimes, which gradually progressed into a catch and release program for more severe crimes. These weak policies have created a safe haven for criminals and a living hell for the law-abiding, good citizens of this state. 

Now before our more liberal friends cry “racist,” let me say that I am a Hispanic cop who spent 11 years patrolling a predominantly Hispanic area. I volunteered for this assignment time and time again because I felt it was where I could best serve my community. I saw the effects these policies have on the Hispanic community or, more accurately, the good people that suffered as a result of them.

Any of these politicians who advocate for these policies on behalf of their criminal constituents should speak with the guy working two jobs to make ends meet for his family and just had his vehicle stolen for the second time this year. The single mom who comes home only to find it burglarized… again. Or the family torn apart by drugs because the neighborhood dealer is released from custody before the ink is dry on the officer’s report. What about these victims? Where are the politicians advocating for them? 

When these officials say they are implementing these policies for the good of the community, I have to ask what community? It seems they cater to a small criminal element while ignoring the rights and circumstances of the majority of the community. The honest, hard working and law abiding citizen. 

The current slew of anti-law enforcement legislation introduced by “social justice” activists disguised as legislators and funded by private interest groups will make our crime problem much worse. One doesn’t have to look far to see that these anti-police, soft on crime policies are an abject failure. Look at cities like Portland, Chicago, Baltimore, or our very own Albuquerque, and you’ll have all the proof you need. 

I hope the good citizens of this state are willing to fight to protect the law enforcement officers that fight to protect them. Support your police and support your communities. Without your support, New Mexico won’t survive.  

Contact your legislators and tell them to vote No on H.B. 4, H.B. 254, H.B. 263, S.B. 105, S.B .119, S.B. 192, S.B. 220, S.B. 227, S.B. 375, and S.B. 376. 

Text #SupportOfficers to 52886

Aaron Velarde is the president of the Bernalillo County Deputy Sheriff’s Association. Follow the association on Facebook here.

Gov. MLG once again tells New Mexicans, ‘Let them eat cake!’

8 Comments / Editorial / By

Throughout the brief but destructive governorship of Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico families have been devastated by ruthless lockdowns, destructive anti-energy policies destroying jobs each day, condescension from the governor and her staff, and most of all: hypocrisy.

Gov. Lujan Grisham has perfectly embodied what it means not to represent one’s constituents. At every turn, the Governor has either belittled New Mexicans or has made them suffer one way or another.

Before she was elected as governor, then-U.S. Rep. Lujan Grisham already foreshadowed her loathing for rural New Mexicans—namely ones who live in the beautiful rural town of Deming, New Mexico. While at a Santa Fe fundraiser, she said, “I met a woman in Deming. Her name is Gladys. So she’s not—she wasn’t born in New Mexico. But she chose New Mexico, and she chose Deming! I know… I didn’t mean that to be…” 

But despite the many calls warning of Lujan Grisham’s radicalism on everything from energy policy to abortion, she was sent to Santa Fe to serve as governor, leading New Mexico into one of the darkest ages our state has ever encountered. 

In her first few months, Lujan Grisham inflicted as much damage as possible during the 2019 Legislative Session, ramming through a radical universal background check bill for firearms, belittling New Mexico’s sheriffs, trying to pass an abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill, passing the Energy Transition Act—New Mexico’s “Green New Deal,” the creation of a new free daycare department, abolishing the “Right to Work,” raising the minimum wage, and much more.

Throughout her destructive reign, New Mexicans have received nothing but rancor from the Governor, as she and her staff have repeatedly branded New Mexicans as stupid, belittled our people across the state from Hobbs to Española, broken her COVID-19 mandates to buy luxury jewelry while New Mexicans starve, forced New Mexicans to stand in hours-long freezing bread lines over the holidays, among countless other cruel actions.

While New Mexicans were standing out in the cold, her office claimed they were just “Republican talking points,” adding that “The state is not forcing anyone to stand in a crowded line, as you suggest.” That was not true.

The Governor singled out multiple small businesses across New Mexico, dealing $60,000 fines for alleged non-compliance with her orders. Lujan Grisham also went after larger businesses, including two O’Reilly Auto Parts stores she claimed were not complying, and slapping them with $80,000 and $250,000 fines. She even went after the Republican Party of New Mexico, slapping them with an order. But big box stores like Walmart (that gave her plenty of campaign cash) were allowed to stay open.

Now, the Governor’s already high-paid staff, including communications director Tripp Stelnicki who belittled a KOB 4 News reporter, got extravagant raises during the pandemic, where New Mexicans are losing their jobs and livelihoods. The governor’s office is not only unaffected by the Governor’s cruel shutdown—they are now celebrating from their ivory towers with raises upwards of $10,000 each. Over half of the Governor’s staff already make well over $100,000 annually, while the most entry-level position in her office, “Student Intern,” was budgeted for $36,000—which is $17,000+ more than someone making minimum wage in New Mexico. 

Here’s the breakdown of raises, per KOB 4:

Comm. Director Tripp Stelnicki ($18,600), Director of Boards and Commissions Melissa Salazar ($12,000), Chief of Staff Teresa Casados ($10,800), Chief of Staff Matt Garcia ($10,600), Cabinet Director Dominic Gabello ($10,600), Policy Advisor Diego Arencon ($10,000), Director of Cabinet Affairs Caroline Buerkle ($10,000) and Director of Legislative Affairs Victor Reyes ($7,500).

But the raises didn’t come without a thick layer of condescension from the ivory towers of the Governor’s Office. Press secretary Nora Sackett said, “Governor’s office staff play a critical role in the operation of the state’s executive branch and the governance of the state – all of which is amplified during a yearlong crisis.” This is just another “let the meat cake” sentiment to once again kick New Mexicans while they’re down.

Gov. Lujan Grisham’s continual hatred for everyday New Mexicans highlights the desperate need our state has for leaders who TRULY represent the people. For years, people like Lujan Grisham and many in the Legislature have sat around and enriched themselves while New Mexicans suffer. In 2022, if we ever are going to rid New Mexico of “the Grish” and her minions in the Legislature, we need new blood in the resistance to fight back against these swampy politicians’ disregard for New Mexico values and our people’s livelihoods. Keep up the fight and never relent! 

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