MLG Grandstands While Girls Suffer

Over the top: Governor Lujan Grisham tweeted hysterics to shout her support for abortionists to expand operations in New Mexico — as well as considering possible financial incentives for abortion activities, as she signed an executive order prohibiting New Mexicans from cooperating with the enforcement of other states that that limit abortion.

Although last year Lujan Grisham signed a bill repealing a 1969 statute that outlawed most abortion procedures, New Mexico is a magnet for women from other states due to its extremely pro-abortion laws.

Real life consequences: According to a new CDC report girls are much more likely than boys to experience “persistent feelings of sadness and suicide” and the trend is rising due to the lockdown.

This appears to support other CDC findings on mental health and youth: emergency room visits sharply increased for mental health-related problems at the beginning of the pandemic “for both young children between the ages of 5 to 11 as well as older children who were teenagers. Girls, in particular, suffered.”

Elections matter: MLG’s reign of error has been widely downplayed by the New Mexico establishment media, so the polls — as low as they are for MLG — are not where they should be. It’s going to take individual citizens to organize themselves to talk to voters and let them know just how devastating the last four years have been.

Details: The “Healthy Workplaces Act” goes into effect in July and will make New Mexico one of only 16 states that force business owners to pay a certain amount of paid time off, ostensibly to deal with an illness or injury, for all employees, whether part-time, full-time or seasonal employees.

Why it matters: Ernie C’deBaca, president and CEO of the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, said the Healthy Workplaces Act “couldn’t come at a worse time” and will likely hurt small businesses and their workers more than it helps them.

“It’s just another expense to us…I just think let’s not put more on us until we kind of get our economy back, because it’s still not flourishing,” said Opal Stalls, owner of House of Soccer in Albuquerque since 1983. She said the lockdown nearly paralyzed her small retail business, with already razor thin profit margins and only six part-time employees.

The big picture: Already underfunded by nearly $160,000, it will likely cost Workforce Solutions at least nearly a million dollars to implement the new dictate. HR consultant Cristin Heyns-Bousliman said the 18-page Healthy Workplaces Act is tough for many businesses to navigate — especially mom and pop shops and others with limited resources.

Controversial DWS Secretary Ricky Serna said he has the authority to file civil actions against businesses that violate the new socialist law and has spent the last year crafting rules and requirements.

Hot air: State officials are claiming Pattern Energy’s development in three New Mexico counties would be the largest wind energy project in the Western Hemisphere, as the Public Land Commissioner signed eleven leases to build wind turbines across 230 square miles of state trust land.

By the numbers: While state officials also claim the project would bring in at least $196 million in taxes over the lifetime of the project, Pattern Energy outbid its competition by paying nearly $9.3 million for the parcels of state public trust land. The State Land Office, which oversees solar and wind energy leases, said it has received dozens of applications for new renewable energy leases.

Green scam: These leases will be part of the larger SunZia project, which will send New Mexico’s energy to Arizona and California. So much for replacing local oil and gas with local wind. Meanwhile, Democrat California gubernatorial candidate Michael Shellenberger tweeted out some news articles showing that “alternative” energy is no substitute for fossil fuels. At least not yet.

Details: Over the last year, far more people are switching to the GOP across suburban counties in nearly all states. Using state voter records and statistical modeling to determine party affiliation, political data firm, L2, estimates more than a million voters shifted to the GOP, nearly twice the rate for Democrats.

What they’re saying: “It’s more so a rejection of the left than embracing the right,” said Ben Smith of Colorado, after he increasingly became — like many Democrats these days — concerned about the Democrats’ calling for mandatory COVID-19 injections, Defund the Police policies fueling crime, and its obsession with racial identity politics.

“The party itself is no longer Democrat, it’s progressive socialism,” said 39-year-old homemaker Jessica Kroells, who used to be a loyal Democrat voter until 2016, saying she can no longer vote for a member of a party that left her behind.

When asked for a comment by the Associated Press about the recent surge in voters switching to the GOP, the DNC declined to comment.

The big picture: According to the American Farm Bureau, consumers in the U.S. will see an increase of 17% in the cost of their favorite Independence Day cookout foods, according to a new survey.

Details: American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist Roger Cryan explains:

Despite higher food prices, the supply chain disruptions and inflation have made farm supplies more expensive; like consumers, farmers are price-takers not price-makers. Bottom line, in many cases the higher prices farmers are being paid aren’t covering the increase in their farm expenses. The cost of fuel is up and fertilizer prices have tripled.

Ground beef saw the biggest increase in price, with a price increase of 36% over last year. Other cookout staples including boneless, skinless chicken breast, pork chops, and pork and beans also saw price increases of over 30% in one year.

The 17% increase in cost marks the biggest increase in the 4th of July holiday celebration since the American Farm Bureau began tracking data a decade ago.