John Block

AG Torrez attempts to halt Eunice’s lawsuit over pro-abortion state law

On Tuesday, it was reported that Democrat New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is attempting to halt Eunice’s lawsuit against the AG and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham over the passage of H.B. 7, a newly passed 2023 state law attempting to usurp authority from federal law upheld in the federal Comstock Act. 

KRQE News reports, “The idea behind the latest filing is to try to get the district court to put the lawsuit on hold while the state’s Supreme Court makes a decision on a similar case. At the heart of the debate is whether or not individual cities are allowed to set local ordinances that might contradict state laws.” 

“Eunice, New Mexico, is arguing that federal law trumps state law and makes it illegal to ship or receive abortion medication. The city has also pointed out that ‘the city’s ordinance does not outlaw or prohibit abortion.’” 

The AG, “The City of Eunice enacted an ordinance purporting to enforce a federal law governing the sending of abortion-related materials through the mail or by common carrier. In its Complaint, the City seeks a declaratory judgment that House Bill 7 is contrary to and preempted by federal law. The City also seeks a declaratory judgment on what constitutes “the medical standard of care” under House Bill 7 in relation to the federal law.” 

“In this case, the interests of justice favor staying the matter pending resolution of the petition for writ of mandamus in the Supreme Court. Indeed, in the context at hand, when a stay implicates the New Mexico Supreme Court’s primacy as the state court of last resort to rule on a novel issue impacting the whole state simultaneously pending in the lower courts, the imposition of a brief stay is warranted. Judicial economy also favors staying the matter,” he claims.

Michael J. Seibel, the attorney representing the City of Eunice, says the City opposes Torrez’s request.

“We don’t think that the Supreme Court is addressing the issue that we have raised in the Eunice lawsuit,” Seibel told KRQE News 13

Sebel told the Piñon Post, “The Attorney General is trying to avoid the Comstock Act decision,” adding, “The Comstock Act is the law of the land, and it preempts state law.” 

“If they don’t like the Comstock Act, then change it, but that’s the law right now. And until the law is changed, laws must be enforced.”

Former New Mexico state Senator Dow passes away

On Saturday, it was reported that former New Mexico Sen. R. Leo Dow, a Republican, passed away at the age of 96. 

According to his obituary, “Leo was born in 1926 in Chilili, New Mexico and worked hard his entire life. He started building barns and cuartito’s in his teens, and served in the U.S. Army, during WWII. He was very proud of his military service and that people everywhere thanked him for it until the day he passed. After the war ended, he returned home, purchased a truck and hauled wheat, beans, potatoes and vigas throughout the Southwest.”

“Certainly, a steadfast entrepreneur from 1950 to 1990, he was elected to public office by age 40 serving as NM State Senator from 1967-1976 for District 32 (became District 10).”

Dow introduced Pete V. Domenici “to every corner of New Mexico in the early 1970’s. Leo and Pete were good friends from early years of baseball and produce deliveries,” according to the write-up.

After serving two terms in the state Senate, Dow ran as former Congressman Joe Skeen’s lieutenant governor running mate, losing the race by one percent. 

He “proudly knew, met, or shook hands with seven U.S. Presidents, and summed a lot up with a handshake,” the obituary added. 

Celebration of Life services will be held on Friday, May 12, 2023, and are arranged through Gabaldon Mortuary at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church (1860 Griegos Rd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87107) with a public viewing at 10:00 a.m., Rosary at 10:30 a.m., Mass at 11:00 a.m., and internment at Mt. Calvary Cemetery (1900 Edith Blvd. NE, 87102) at 12:30 p.m.

Cycling governing body defends letting biological men compete against women

After backlash following Austin Killips becoming the first transgender athlete to win an official Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) race at the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico on Sunday, the cycling governing body doubled down on allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports. 

Former Olympian Inga Thompson said the decision to let Killips compete was “effectively killing off women’s cycling.” 

From left: Shayna Powless (DNA Pro Cycling), Austin Killips (Amy D Foundation), Nadia Gontova (Roxo Racing). Via Tour of the Gila: https://tourofthegila.com/2023-tour-of-the-gila-concludes-uci-women-press-release-stage-5/

Former British Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies told the Daily Mail, “This is beyond disappointing. Those in charge should hang their heads in shame. The UCI is not fit for purpose.”

Retired Canadian world champion cyclist Alison Sydor tweeted, “The current UCI rules that allow males to compete in female cycling events are not fair to female athletes.” 

‘Time for UCI to admit this current rule situation is unsustainable and leaving a black mark on cycling as a fair sport for females.’

In a statement Tuesday, the group wrote, “The UCI acknowledges that transgender athletes may wish to compete in accordance with their gender identity.”

“The UCI rules are based on the latest scientific knowledge and have been applied in a consistent manner. The UCI continues to follow the evolution of scientific findings and may change its rules in the future as scientific knowledge evolves.”

Last December, Killips faced criticism after he finished third at the USA’s National Cyclocross Championships, where he was also accused of pushing another competitor off course.

NM continues to hold record for third-highest poverty rate in U.S.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data, New Mexico has the third-highest poverty rate. The state has held this same abysmal record for three years in a row now.

“The figures were included in the March edition of the New Mexico Labor Market Review published by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. The state’s average of 18.4% in 2021, the latest year for which data were available, was better only than that of Louisiana (19.6%) and Mississippi (19.4%). The national poverty rate was 12.8%, while New Hampshire had the lowest rate in the country at 7.2%,” the Farmington Daily Times reported

As for children living in poverty, New Mexico had the third-highest poverty rate (23.9 percent) in the entire country for those younger than 18 years of age. 

“The state was third in 2020 with a poverty rate of 16.8%, third in 2019 with a rate of 18.2%, second in 2018 with a rate of 19.5% and tied for second in 2017 at 19.7%,” the report notes. 

For those 65 years of age and older, New Mexico also tops the nation, with a rate of 12.8 percent being bested only by Louisiana and Mississippi.

McKinley County has the highest poverty rate, at 30.3 percent. The second, third, and fourth-highest poverty rates were those of Luna (27.6%), Chavez (27.6%), and Sierra counties (26.7 percent).

Governor accuses schools of ‘exploiting’ funds as ‘free’ college program backfires

After incentivizing New Mexico public colleges to raise tuition rates by subsidizing taxpayer-funded “free” college to the tune of $146 million this year, Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration is now complaining about tuition hikes.

Last year, New Mexico State University announced an annual four percent increase in tuition, while the University of New Mexico hiked tuition rates by three percentage points. Western New Mexico University increased its tuition and fees by eight percent, while Eastern New Mexico University’s tuition remains flat. 

Lujan Grisham’s Higher Education Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez urged college regents and trustees “to keep tuition flat this year in the best interest of students and taxpayers. We are witnessing enrollment increases for the first time in over a decade and substantial investments in higher education compared to the rest of the country.” 

“These historic investments are meant to directly benefit students by funding their education and reducing the portion of operational costs passed along to students, not an opportunity to exploit state funding to increase college and university revenues through more tuition and fees.”

This year’s budget passed during the 2023 Legislative Session was a 94.7 percent increase from last year’s $75 million, essentially no strings attached, spending on “free” college programs. 

Gov. Lujan Grisham speaking at the Roundhouse about the Opportunity Scholarship (taxpayer-funded ‘free’ college).

The increases in tuition costs by state universities can be directly correlated to the increase in state funds they are getting through the so-called Opportunity Scholarship. The colleges are very much “exploiting” state funding, as Rodriguez claimed, because there are no safeguards in the Democrat legislation that would cap funding or subsidize only certain fields of study needed in the job market. 

Now, a New Mexico student could get their entire useless “gender studies” degree entirely paid for by the state’s taxpayers despite its ineffectuality.

If the state will pay for even more of the cost of tuition, then it is in the colleges’ best financial interest to raise rates since that would mean more money coming to the institutions on the backs of taxpayers. 

As the state continues its costly multi-million-dollar experiment to fully subsidize state college costs for all residents (without any income caps or requirements, students are in the country legally), the price of a New Mexico degree will be even higher. 

This comes as New Mexico graduates leave the state in droves, now along with their 100 percent taxpayer-funded degrees — another lost investment by the state’s taxpayers. 

New Mexico’s K-12 educational programs remain the lowest in the nation.

WATCH: GOP senator shuts Deb Haaland down after outrageous comment

On Tuesday, Biden’s U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, testified before the U.S. Senate Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where she was pressed on her decision to shutter a Minnesota critical mineral mine, claiming there are too many jobs available to justify closing it down.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said, “Your decision to trade off our energy security in favor of a radical climate change agenda is making us more and more dependent on China. And, at the same time, you are blocking permits for mines in this country.”

“The jobs for blue-collar workers in this nation are valuable resources. The livelihood and well-being of American families are valuable resources. The ability of America to have our own industry and not be dependent on China is a valuable resource. Why should those things for millions of Americans be sacrificed in favor of your agenda for radical climate change?”

Haaland then claimed there were more jobs than applicants, telling Hawley, “Senator, I know that there’s like 1.9 jobs for every American in the country right now. So, I know there’s a lot of jobs.”

Hawley clapped back, “Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. You’re telling me we’ve got too many jobs in the country?”

The Interior secretary responded, “Well, I’m saying that we don’t have enough people. That’s why we are having a hard time finding folks to work at our department.”

The U.S. Department of Labor shows that there are currently 9.6 million job openings in the United States.

Hawley concluded, “​They are blue-collar workers. And you’re sitting here and telling me that we have too many jobs in this country. Are you serious?” He added, “I want to take the strongest possible exception to that comment and that entire mentality which I think is very honest. I think it reflects the mentality of your administration, which is when it comes to blue-collar workers in this country, ‘you’re on your own. Good luck.’”

WATCH:

Hobbs woman who chucked newborn in dumpster receives sentence

On Monday, Alexis Avila, 19, of Hobbs, was sentenced after she was found guilty of abuse of a child relating to great bodily harm and attempted murder in the first degree after she chucked her newborn baby into a dumpster and left him to die in 2022.

Fortunately, three people dug through the dumpster to find him, and he was rushed to the hospital in Lubbock, Texas. Baby Saul is “happy and healthy today living with family,” according to reports. 

“Officers with the Hobbs Police Department were called to an alley way in the Broadmoor Shopping Center after three people who had been digging through a dumpster found the hours old boy in a trash bag, alive, and with his umbilical cord still attached but crudely cut,” according to YourBasin.com

“Medical staff testified that the newborn suffered from hypothermia, severe anemia, and kidney problem, among other issues after being abandoned and left in 40 degree temperatures for more than six hours.”

Once police found Avila, she admitted she gave birth at home and abandoned the child, claiming to be too young to take care of him.

Avila was sentenced to the maximum mandatory 18 years in prison, suspending two years of the punishment due to mental health concerns.

“You’ve given yourself a life sentence of knowing what you did with your child,” Judge William Shoobridge told Avila. “And you’ve also given your son that same life sentence, and that is probably something that is as hard to deal with as any length of time that you may have in prison.”

“New Mexico lawmakers in 2022 approved a bill to expand the state’s Safe Haven Program and provide funds to build one baby box for every county where an infant can be left. Española has a box and Hobbs will be celebrating the installation of a box in that community next week,” according to the Associated Press.

POLL: Did Avila get a tough enough sentence for throwing her baby in the dumpster?

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Pastor takes legal action after county commission blocks Nat’l Day of Prayer

Last Tuesday, the Doña Ana County Commission voted 4-1 to ban the National Day of Prayer from being held at the County Government Building. Commissioner Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez brought the motion forward.

After the move by the Commission, Pastor Gene Pettit filed a request for an injunction in the U.S. District Court for the District of Las Cruces against asserting that the Doña Ana County Commission had violated the Constitution of the United States by denying “the right of the people to peaceably assemble” and by restricting the free exercise of religion on public property.

It also claims the Doña Ana County Commission has violated the 11th Amendment by infringing on the people’s “sovereign immunity.”

According to the group, “The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance designated by the United States Congress. Since 1952, the President of the United States has been required by law to sign a yearly proclamation encouraging all Americans to pray on this day. The National Day of Prayer has been held at the Doña Ana County Government Building every year since 2015 (with the exception of 2 years during COVID).”

Pettit wrote regarding the injunction, “The County Commission is infringing on the rights of the people of Doña Ana County to peaceably assemble and to practice their religion. We have a right to assemble on taxpayer-funded County property for this observance. I filed this Injunction to assert the rights of the people of Doña Ana County. Our National Day of Prayer event will still happen just as it has for many years prior. As written in Hosea 4:6 – ‘My people perish for lack of knowledge.’”

The National Day of Prayer event is scheduled to proceed on May 4, 2023, from 10:00 am to noon at the Doña Ana County Government Building located at 845 N. Motel Blvd., Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Contact information for the commissioners who voted to disallow the event is as follows:

Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez – schaljohernandez@donaanacounty.org – (575) 525-5808  (This is the Commissioner who made the motion to amend the Proclamation to disallow this event on County property. He also is the ONLY one who voted against the National Day of Prayer Proclamation even once it was amended.)

Diana Murillo – dmurillo@donaanacounty.org – (575) 525-5804
Shannon Reynolds – sreynolds@donaanacounty.org – (575) 525-5807
Manuel Sanchez – msanchez@donaanacounty.org – (575) 525-5809

Chair Susana Chaparro was the one commissioner to oppose Schaljo-Hernandez’s motion.

Columnist calls Sanger a ‘hero’ despite her mission to decimate Black population

A Friday column by Milan Simonich that appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican praised racist Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, a supporter of eugenics, who called for the extermination of the Black population.

Simonich, in attacking the Edgewood Town Commission, which passed a pro-life ordinance on Tuesday based on the federal Comstock Act, praised Sanger as a “hero,” writing

The Comstock Act was weakened and then rendered toothless through a series of court rulings. The long fight had a hero.

Margaret Sanger, mother of three and a nurse in Brooklyn, opened the country’s first birth-control clinic in 1916. Sanger the next year served 30 days in jail for violating the Comstock Act.

Margaret Sanger’s arrest at Brownsville Clinic for violating the Comstock Act via Wikimedia Commons.

She said in a December 10, 1939 letter, “We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population.” 

Even Planned Parenthood rebuked Sanger, writing in 2021, “The difficult truth is that Margaret Sanger’s racist alliances and belief in eugenics have caused irreparable damage to the health and lives of Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, people with disabilities, immigrants, and many others. Her alignment with the eugenics movement, rooted in white supremacy, is in direct opposition to our mission and belief that all people should have the right to determine their own future and decide, without coercion or judgement, whether and when to have children.”

Alexis McGill Johnson, the president and chief executive of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, wrote in the New York Times, “Sanger spoke to the women’s auxiliary of the Ku Klux Klan at a rally in New Jersey to generate support for birth control. And even though she eventually distanced herself from the eugenics movement because of its hard turn to explicit racism, she endorsed the Supreme Court’s 1927 decision in Buck v. Bell, which allowed states to sterilize people deemed “unfit” without their consent and sometimes without their knowledge — a ruling that led to the sterilization of tens of thousands of people in the 20th century.” 

McGill Johnson concluded, “Margaret Sanger harmed generations with her beliefs.” 

However, Simonich is now propping up Sanger as a hero, despite her ties to the KKK, support for eugenics, and racism against Black people and those with disabilities.

Should the Santa Fe New Mexican punish Milan Simonich for embracing a racist white supremacist?

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‘Gruesome’ late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart dead

On Friday, it was revealed that late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart, who killed around 40,000 to 50,000 babies in abortions and killed women undergoing abortion procedures at his facility, had died.

The pro-life group Abortion On Trial wrote, “We have just confirmed that the well known late stage abortion provider Leroy Carhart has passed away,” adding, “While we do not wish loss on anyone and our condolences go out to his family, we can only hope Dr. Carhart’s work does not continue on with out him.”

Carhart had abortion centers in Germantown, Maryland; Bellevue, Nebraska; and Pueblo, Colorado. 

He is known for being on the losing end of the U.S. Supreme Court case Gonzales v. Carhart, which held in place a federal law banning partial-birth abortions, which he performed, also known as intact dilation and extraction. 

The Court wrote in the decision, “Congress determined that the abortion methods it proscribed had a “disturbing similarity to the killing of a newborn infant,” Congressional Findings (14)(L), in notes following 18 U. S. C. §1531 (2000 ed., Supp. IV), p. 769, and thus it was concerned with “draw[ing] a bright line that clearly distinguishes abortion and infanticide.” Congressional Findings (14)(G), ibid. The Court has in the past confirmed the validity of drawing boundaries to prevent certain practices that extinguish life and are close to actions that are condemned.”

In 2013, Carhart’s Maryland facility killed a 29-year-old New York woman, leading to widespread outrage. He is now referred to in the pro-life movement as a “gruesome” figure. 

He is known, alongside disgraced fallen abortionist Kermit Gosnell, for snipping children’s spines while still in their mothers’ wombs. 

In 2020, it was reported, “Carhart aborts unborn babies into the third trimester when they are viable outside the womb. Though he is almost 80 years old, he continues to abort unborn babies at his late-term abortion practice in Maryland.” 

This is a developing story…

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