COVID-19 Archives - Page 3 of 9

New Mexico detention center officer files first case in U.S. against mandatory vaccination

2 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Wednesday, it was reported that Doña Ana County Detention Center officer, Isaac Legaretta, sued Doña Ana County Manager Fernando Macias and his supervisor on Sunday, claiming they threatened he would be fired if he did not take the COVID-19 vaccine.

“The complaint claims the county manager and supervisor violated his rights by making the vaccine a condition of employment for first responders unless reasonable accommodation has been approved,” according to The Hill

According to a memo from the county manager, “It is required that, if you have not already started your vaccinations, that you be vaccinated with your first dose on one of those days, or contact Human Resources for accommodation…. Being vaccinated is a requirement and a condition of on-going employment with the County due to the significant health and safety risks posed by contracting or spreading COVID-19.”

Macias first announced the vaccine mandate on January 29 for all first responders–including police officers, detention center workers, and anyone in contact with detainees.

“You can’t be forced to be a human guinea pig when a product is experimental,” said Ana Garner, the officer’s attorney. “We have the right to bodily integrity.”

“Garner said Legaretta wasn’t told about the vaccine’s known benefits and risks, or that he had the opportunity to refuse,” according to another report.

The county attorney has reportedly disputed the allegations and argued that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) assert that employers can mandate vaccinations.

However, in March 2020, the EEOC said an employer covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII can’t compel all of its employees to take a vaccine. ADA and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would allow for employee vaccination exemptions under certain health and religious reasons.

New Mexico detention center officer files first case in U.S. against mandatory vaccination Read More »

MLG says ‘minorities’ get COVID-19 vaccine first, ‘absolute mask mandates’ not going away

13 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Monday, Gov. Lujan Grisham had an interview with the Washington Post where she was candid about her COVID-19 pandemic protocols and who gets priority to the vaccine. During the interview, she announced there would be an “absolute mask mandate” even if a county reaches “green” status, despite neighboring states removing COVID-19 restrictions.

She said, “Here’s what won’t change: absolute mask mandates, mandates for social distancing, making sure that businesses go through a safe certified [sic], which also requires each business sector to have very strong COVID-safe practices that we approve as the state and then we do random checks and we also have a complaint hotline.”

While asked about the vaccine, Lujan Grisham claimed the federal government under President Donald Trump sent Moderna COVID-19 shots to CVS and Walgreens for distribution. She then threw CVS and Walgreens under the bus, saying, “They really stumbled out of the gate. Most states are still struggling with them. We brought them all in, and I made it really clear ‘you will be held accountable to the highest standards, you will do these clinics, you will communicate directly with us, you will report directly to us, and if you don’t do it, there are fines and other accountability measures.”

Lujan Grisham noted how her vaccine priority system was “equitable,” meaning racial minorities get first grabs at the shots.

She lamented that “unfortunately, far too high a percentage of health care workers are non-minorities,” saying there is a “lack of representation” in getting vaccines out.

“We can get much more granular at the zip code level to really make sure that we’re reaching high-risk minorit[ies] so you’ve got an equity distribution population,” she said, adding, “We’re actually going to use Census data as we go granular, so we have a vulnerability index factor that looks at everything from socio-economic status to your minority or racial status and household circumstances. That means we’re going to take a certain percentage of vaccine off the top. As long as this amount of vaccine—and now with Johnson and Johnson—continues to increase and come to the states, including us, we think that we can do 25% off the top will go to this vulnerability index system.”

When asked about her COVID-19 restrictions and her message to critics of her strict mandates that shuttered businesses, she said,

“Let’s own that businesses were lost, livelihoods were lost and diminished, and the financial insecurity for far too many New Mexicans and far too many Americans is real.”

Lujan Grisham then claimed she foresaw the pandemic in March when she signed a bloated $7.6 billion budget, claiming she vetoed a “$200 million appropriations bill” to boost state reserves. The appropriations would have funded roads and capital outlay requests.

She also touted Democrats’ work to ram through millions of dollars “to businesses” in a special session, bashing the federal government under President Trump for the Paycheck Protection Program. However, the only reason she was able to send out funds at all was because of the federal CARES Act signed by President Trump.

She added, “We recognize this is a cruel hardship that didn’t invite a pandemic into their (businesses’) doors.”

This is one of Gov. Lujan Grisham’s first interviews since it was discovered she used her discretionary budget to indulge in $200/pound Wagyu beef steaks, alcohol, and expenses for her dog. Conveniently, the Washington Post did not ask her about this.

MLG says ‘minorities’ get COVID-19 vaccine first, ‘absolute mask mandates’ not going away Read More »

WATCH: New ad mercilessly rips Gov. MLG to shreds for pandemic hypocrisy

13 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Monday, the Republican Governors Association released a hard-hitting new ad targeting Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for her hypocrisy during the pandemic.

The ad, featuring local liberal news clips, highlights the Governor forcing New Mexicans to stand in freezing cold breadlines while she pampered herself in the Governor’s mansion, buying booze, Wagyu beef. The ad also went after her expensive shopping trip for jewelry at a shuttered Albuquerque jewelry store. Gov. Lujan Grisham also spent big taxpayer bucks on her dog, with $800 expenses to clean carpets and even purchase a new doggy door–all at New Mexicans’ expense.

At one point in the ad, a narrator says, “You stepped up and made hard sacrifices when asked, but what about Michelle Lujan Grisham?”

The Governor is likely not going to take too kindly to the truth-filled ad, which directly calls her out for her pandemic hypocrisy of living the high life (off the taxpayers) while New Mexicans starve.

“Families are in serious need, the state coffers are bare, and people have sacrificed their freedoms as the pandemic rolls on,” Will Reinert, a spokesman for the Republican Governors Association wrote in a statement. “However, nothing is stopping Lujan Grisham from using state funds to fuel her lavish lifestyle or from making exceptions to the rules for herself. Wagyu beef, Crown Royal, taxpayer money, lockdown carveouts, just add Governor Lujan Grisham, and you have a recipe for terrible leadership.”

WATCH:

WATCH: New ad mercilessly rips Gov. MLG to shreds for pandemic hypocrisy Read More »

Committee to hear bill punishing businesses with ‘presumed liability’ for COVID-positive employees

3 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Tuesday, the House Labor, Veterans’ and Military Affairs Committee is set to consider a bill, H.B. 268, which will enact “presumed liability” on businesses for employees’ contraction of COVID-19. The bill is sponsored by Reps. Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D-Bernalillo) and Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, and Santa Fe).

According to the New Mexico Business Coalition, “the employee would not be required to prove that they were actually exposed to Covid-19 at work.”

The bill reads, “If an essential employee is diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 caused by the novel coronavirus, and the essential employee has established that the employer has not strictly complied with the then existent public health orders related to the coronavirus disease 2019, the condition is presumed to be: (1) an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of employment; (2) reasonably incident to and proximately caused by employment; and (3) a disability that is a natural and direct result of the accident.”

The business would be forced to go to court to dispute the claim that the essential employee contracted COVID-19 during work. The bill reads, “The presumptions created in Subsection B of this section may be rebutted by a preponderance of evidence in a court of competent jurisdiction establishing that the employee engaged in conduct or activities outside of employment that substantially violated the then existent public health orders related to the coronavirus disease 2019.”

The New Mexico Business Coalition urges members of the public to reach out to legislators on the committee and urge them to vote “NO” on the measure “because it is unfair and injurious to businesses that have been working to keep the economy going during forced shutdowns.”

Members of the Committee can be reached by clicking here.

UPDATE: On February 18, the House Labor, Veterans’ and Military Affairs Committee passed the bill on a partisan vote of 5-3. It now moves forward to its next committee.

Committee to hear bill punishing businesses with ‘presumed liability’ for COVID-positive employees Read More »

Rogue NM Rep. Anderson votes against pro-life bill for COVID-19 safety standards at abortion facilities

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Wednesday, the House Health and Human Services Committee met to consider H.B. 160, a commonsense proposal to protect women during COVID-19 by implementing safety protocols at abortion clinics during the pandemic.

The proposal, sponsored by state Reps. Rebecca Dow (R-Grant, Hidalgo & Sierra), Rod Montoya (R-San Juan), James Strickler (R-San Juan), and Rep. Luis Terrazas (R-Doña Ana, Grant & Sierra) would require the New Mexico Department of Health to “establish and require specific health and safety protocols to be used at facilities at which abortions are performed to prevent the spread” of COVID-19 by July 1, 2021.

The bill states, “The requirements shall include requirements for the use of personal protective equipment, capacity restrictions, enhanced screening procedures and self-isolation and self-quarantine for persons traveling into New Mexico from high-risk areas and low-risk areas.”

“The requirements shall remain in effect as long as any public health order is in effect pursuant to the Public Health Act for the purpose of controlling or abating the coronavirus disease 2019.”

However, Republican-turned “Declined to State” Rep. Phelps Anderson of Roswell voted with the seven radical Democrat members to kill the pro-life bill, making this the second anti-life vote he has made in the committee this legislative session. The final vote was 8-2, with pro-life Rep. Luis Terrazas (R-Doña Ana, Grant & Sierra) being excused for the vote.

Rep. Anderson previously voted for an abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill peddled by pro-abortion groups Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, among other dark money organizations.

The Piñon Post has launched a petition calling for the resignation of Rep. Anderson for betraying his constituents. Sign the petition here.

Rogue NM Rep. Anderson votes against pro-life bill for COVID-19 safety standards at abortion facilities Read More »

GOP bill seeks to require health and safety protocols at abortion facilities during pandemic

2 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

One bill that has not gotten much attention in the media is H.B. 160, a commonsense measure aimed at protecting New Mexico women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The requirements shall remain in effect as long as any public health order is in effect pursuant to the Public Health Act for the purpose of controlling or abating the coronavirus disease 2019.”

The bill appears to be an attempt to protect women while the COVID-19 pandemic continues. As leftist teachers unions and school districts have been complaining about going back to school over health concerns and Democrats have been vigorously working to ram through an abortion up-to-birth bill that would strip protections for multiple groups, this bill looks to set up protections for patients during the pandemic.

On Thursday, Rep. Dow shared her pro-life story on Twitter after another pro-life Representative, T. Ryan Lane (R-San Juan) shared his.

“I’m state Representative Rebecca Dow and choose life. I was nineteen years old–my sophomore year of college–when I learned that I was pregnant. I had about twenty dollars in the bank, and I was attending college on a scholarship. Choosing life was the most challenging and the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. It changed the trajectory of my life, made me learn a lot faster than I would have had to. Today. My daughter is 27 years old. She has a degree in social work, and her emphasis is working with families and babies who have been going through hard times. I’m so glad I chose life.”

.@reprebeccadow shares her personal story about why she is pro-life. pic.twitter.com/XDL3GDZY2R
— NM House Republicans (@NMHouseGOP) February 4, 2021

H.B. 160 has been referred to the House Health and Human Services Committee and the Judiciary Committee.

GOP bill seeks to require health and safety protocols at abortion facilities during pandemic Read More »

MLG warns New Mexicans not to protest Inauguration: ‘Do that from your living room’

3 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Thursday, Gov. Lujan Grisham held a COVID-19 briefing for the first time in a month, going over her plans for increased testing and administering the COVID-19 vaccine. She also was asked about the upcoming Inauguration and her decision to declare a state of emergency while erecting a massive fence around the state Capitol

“We’re seeing a drop-off in appetite for testing and we can’t have that,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham, who appeared to want to boost testing numbers. She also said the following regarding her preparations for security ahead of the presidential Inauguration on January 20th:

We’ve taken seriously all of the intel, which is not public even to some governors, right? There’s some very secure information that the FBI and others have. But they are certainly alerting us that being prepared is prudent–that there are calls to action to domestic terrorism groups all across the country and that those groups might try to travel into your state, some members of your state may be part of those groups, and I take that incredibly seriously.
So, the safety of every single New Mexican during this next week and and beyond is first and foremost on my mind, and I believe, to date, that we have taken effective precautions for everyone.
…
Earnestly, there isn’t a governor in the country, including me, who doesn’t wish that we weren’t having to take these precautions and to do this preparedness and planning. My message to New Mexicans is… stay safe, and stay home. This is a week where if you’re celebrating the Inauguration, you can do that from your living room. If you’re displeased, then you do that from your living room. That we watch a peaceful transition of power, which is what this country is built on.
And my last message is I ask for people to really work hard to keep everyone safe because no violence–domestic terrorism will not be tolerated here–and everyone who participates, if they participate, in any of those efforts in this state–they will be held swiftly and firmly accountable. And we will use the full extent of the law to do just that. But we are preparing every day.

Earlier in the day, the Governor issued a melodramatic emergency declaration order due to the “threat of riots of insurrection.” It should be noted that the Inauguration of Joe Biden as president on January 20th is allegedly illegitimate due to widespread voter fraud across the United States.

It should be noted that during the summer, violent Black Lives Matter and Antifa protests erupted, resulting in the Governor giving these individuals a free pass to loot and riot in the streets, saying, “This is a violation of the mass gatherings, no doubt, but we’re just going to take a leap of faith in protecting protesters who have no other way, quite frankly. Right? There’s no other way to be seen, to be heard, to be respected, and to be clear about your message.”

Later in the presser, Gov. Lujan Grisham shoved local sheriffs and officials under the bus for not following her COVID-19 guidelines. She said the following:

I am still disappointed. I don’t think that we’re getting enough cooperation from local law enforcement on any of the public health orders, and you know, we recently received a complaint about a local mayor who continues to show up without a mask and engage in violations against the public health order. And we have an opportunity, and we have a court action that we have against this particular mayor to make sure this mayor is held accountable.
I think this movement where people are confused that states are somehow using public health orders to thwart elected independence. It’s just frankly shortsighted and nonsense. Nobody wants a public health emergency. Everyone is required to do their part. Governors, in different fashions, absolutely have the power to declare emergencies and to work cohesively to do it. So I remain disappointed. That doesn’t mean that I don’t keep trying to do two things: engage more law enforcement personnel, including duly elected sheriffs, to work with us, not against us. Two, to make sure that they know that they don’t get to pick and choose which laws to enforce and not to enforce, and three to make all of our lawmakers clear that we have to be on the same page.
…
I do hope as this nation heals and figures out ways to have a better platform to debate and disagree and be professional and work through that, I hope that also roots itself in law enforcement, all elected officials all across the country. This is just not how we ought to be working together. And again, it’s a violation of their oath. We pay attention. We see that blatant facebook and other posts or statement, and we give them to the Attorney General and others, and I expect folks to do all of their jobs statewide, but I remain a little frustrated that that’s where we still are a year later.

MLG warns New Mexicans not to protest Inauguration: ‘Do that from your living room’ Read More »

MLG’s comms. director says resistance to Governor just exists in ‘angsty corners of social media’

18 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Monday, the Santa Fe New Mexican released an interview with one-term Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, which included an interview trying to downplay her COVID-19 response, which has decimated countless New Mexico businesses and livelihoods.

During the interview, Lujan Grisham admitted how her strict mandates would hurt her at the polls, with the New Mexican writing that “there will be parents of school-age children who may never vote for her again because of classroom closures.”

“ ‘Be mad at the pandemic,’ is what I tell everyone,” said Lujan Grisham, adding that “it’s not political.”

She reflected on her decisions during the pandemic and said, “The very first important decision on March 11 is that we’re going to ask businesses to shutter and people to stay home, and we’re going to get ready to close schools.”

However, her only regret she said is that she wasn’t able to influence Republican members in the National Governor’s Association to shut down their states as she did. “That’s something I really pride myself on, that I can bring people of different parties and different perspectives together, and I couldn’t do it at the federal level,” she added.

She also bemoaned her inability to convince Tribal governments to also follow her economy-killing mandates, saying “And I still have, you know, moments where I just feel poorly that I was unable to get other policymakers on the same page.”

Tripp Stelnicki, the Governor’s communications director who has repeatedly been an enemy of the common New Mexican, said that he feels confident about the “internal polling” done on the governor’s performance, saying she gets “high marks” from New Mexicans.

“That might run counter to the perception you get from angsty corners of social media, but I think New Mexicans overwhelmingly recognize that a crisis calls for decisive leadership and a willingness to make tough and sometimes unpopular decisions,” he said. He added, “You can’t make assumptions in politics, but we feel pretty good about public support.”

It appears the Governor’s spokesman has just downplayed the countless New Mexicans who have been decimated by the Governor’s lockdown as simply living in “angsty corners of social media.” He previously downplayed the hours-long breadlines at stores due to the Governor’s lockdown as a “minor inconvenience” while claiming Republicans who oppose Lujan Grisham’s dictates are members of a “death cult.” He also belittled a local television news reporter for asking basic questions.

Now, the Governor is trying to gin up support as the state remains in lockdown, comparing the state’s current position to that of the Great Recession of 2008. Lujan Grisham said, “I don’t want anyone … to assume that we are in the same productive economic position that we were in at the end of ’19. But I think New Mexicans should not expect New Mexico to languish like we did in the last recession.”

However, the Governor’s disdain for New Mexicans during her weekly press conferences doesn’t appear to merely be stemming from “angsty corners of social media.” Here are some of her worst:

Gov. Lujan Grisham mask shames Españolans at press conference: “by I didn’t see a single mask, not one. Not in a parking lot, not in a grocery store that we passed, not at a convenience store, not at a gas station, not by someone in a car, not hanging on a rearview mirror…”

.@GovMLG presser reel 2/3: MLG claims she supports “independence and authority of judges” despite having NM Supreme Court overrule local judge MLG claims State Police will cite Sheriffs and local Law Enforcers MLG says militant mask enforcement increases mask-wearing

.@GovMLG presser reel 3/3: MLG goes on a rant against New Mexicans leaving the state, citing her tracking of peoples’ phones to know where they are coming from and going to.

.⁦@GovMLG
⁩ shames New Mexicans for attending a loved one’s funeral, tells them to say goodbye to them over FaceTime

MLG’s comms. director says resistance to Governor just exists in ‘angsty corners of social media’ Read More »

In rare move, mainstream media finally reports on sick, disabled waiting in MLG’s freezing breadlines

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Wednesday, in a rare move, New Mexico’s liberal mainstream media finally reported on New Mexicans waiting in freezing temperatures outside of grocery stores and big-box stores to retrieve food and other basic needs.

The move by KOAT 7 News came after the governor finally lifted the arbitrary 75-person-per-store limit, which inflicted pain upon New Mexicans for months, as temperatures dropped and the holidays arrived. Now, the order allows for 25% occupancy, which may still result in long lines, however, possibly shortened.

KOAT & reported, “Even with some of those restrictions lifted, a lot of you have contacted KOAT saying older people and those with physical disabilities are often waiting in long lines for food and other supplies, in freezing temperatures.”

The news station interviewed a doctor, Dr. Tracie Collins, who told them, “That is a concern with the cold weather, and, you know, honestly, we need to identify solutions where maybe we can have groceries delivered during this deep freeze that we’re in currently, which won’t last forever but we need to provide some other option for the elderly and those who are at risk.”

Instead of apologizing for the health order which has compromised the population, especially the elderly, disabled, and those medically fragile, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office told the news station, “High-risk New Mexicans are encouraged to take every precaution by utilizing grocery pick-up services. The state is continually exploring additional options to support New Mexicans as we continue to get through the pandemic together.”

After the Piñon Post’s multiple reports on the hours-long breadlines, national news, including the Washington Examiner covered the story. Following our report on protests that were scheduled to take place this Saturday in opposition to the Governor’s strict public health orders, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham finally lifted the strict mandates.

The Governor’s press office repeatedly downplayed New Mexicans’ suffering due to her edict, with the Governor’s communications director claiming the breadlines were simply a “minor inconvenience,” while another statement from her office said the breadlines were just a “Republican talking point.”

In rare move, mainstream media finally reports on sick, disabled waiting in MLG’s freezing breadlines Read More »

‘Breadline volunteers’ to hold statewide ‘service protest’ against MLG’s grocery store capacity limits

5 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Saturday, December 19, New Mexicans across the state will hold a “service protest” to oppose Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s COVID-19 grocery store capacity restrictions letting no more than 75 people, including staff, into each store at one time.

According to the organizers, “The governor’s restriction equates to roughly 40-feet of social distancing in a store the size of Wal-Mart, amounting to a whole house worth of space for each person in the store. However, the unintended consequence of this restriction is that those in the line are in much closer proximity to each other for a far longer period of time than they would be if the store was simply allowed to operate at 25% capacity.”

The service protest will feature “easily identifiable” “breadline volunteers” holding signs while they wait in-line in the place of “mothers with children, the elderly, those on [a] fixed income, and persons with disabilities at NM’s hardest hit grocery stores.”

“The 75-person restriction is harming New Mexicans, who often have to wait outside in the cold for over an hour just to enter a store to buy food. As a result, panic buying has occurred. Basic necessities such as milk, eggs, meat, and toilet paper are often no longer on the shelves when those that have waited in lines finally get inside,” write the organizers.

The Piñon Post has exclusively reported on the long lines at grocery stores, which Gov. Lujan Grisham’s office claims are merely “Republican talking points.” Tripp Stelnicki, the Governor’s communications director, claimed the long lines are simply a “minor inconvenience.”

The protest will happen from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in 12 cities across the state, including at the Albuquerque Costco on 1420 N Renaissance Blvd NE, the Las Cruces: Wal-Mart at 1550 S. Valley Dr., and at other locations in Santa Fe, Portales, Clovis, Edgewood, Roswell, Farmington, Alamogordo, Ruidoso, Grants, and Carlsbad.

To participate in this protest, please contact Sarah Smith at ConcernedforNM@gmail.com for more information.

‘Breadline volunteers’ to hold statewide ‘service protest’ against MLG’s grocery store capacity limits Read More »