On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on a deal between Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to avert a default on the country’s debts, to the chagrin of many Republicans and Democrats.
Conservatives made the case that the deal doesn’t scratch the surface of the spending that needs to be cut, while Democrats were angered over the lack of supposed “climate” provisions, among other reasons.
The bill passed by a vote of 314-117. 149 Republicans voted for the bill, 71 voted against it, 165 Democrats voted for it, and 46 voted against it.
This is how New Mexico’s three-member U.S. House delegation voted on the bill:
Russia is banning more Americans from its soil amid its armed conflict with Ukraine started in February 2022. According to Russian state media, TASS, the total number of U.S. citizens banned from the country has reached 963.
“Russia seeks no confrontation and remains open to honest, mutually respectful dialogue, distinguishing the American people, who invariably enjoy our respect, from the US authorities, who foment Russophobia, and those who serve them. It is these individuals who are put on Russia’s ‘blacklist,’” the Russians wrote.
Here are all the New Mexicans who are banned from entry into Russia:
Another Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham administration official is leaving, this time State Police Chief Tim Johnson, who announced his retirement Tuesday after heading the force for four years.
The governor has appointed W. Troy Weisler to take Johnson’s place. Weisler is currently the deputy chief for strategic development, special projects, communications, and recruiting.
“I am grateful to the governor and to the people of New Mexico for entrusting me with this great responsibility,” said Deputy Chief Weisler. “Society is changing, technology is rapidly evolving, and the need for public safety and honorable men and women to serve has never been greater. State Police now has access to unprecedented resources, and I am looking forward to quickly deploying them to address the most pressing needs of law enforcement and the people of New Mexico.”
NM State Police Deputy Chief Weisler
“I admire Deputy Chief Weisler’s dependability, calm disposition, and laser focus on the task at hand,’ said Chief Johnson. “His leadership and experience have greatly assisted me during the last four years and he is perfectly suited to take command of NMSP. I have no doubt the department will move forward in a manner which will serve our communities well.”
New Mexico State Police Chief Tim Johnson
The move by Johnson comes after a particularly violent few weeks for the department, including a Saturday biker gang shootout in Red River that left three dead and many injured.
The latest departure from the Lujan Grisham administration is not surprising, as her entire reign has been marred with a lack of continuity in any department, with short-tenured cabinet secretaries and appointees leaving for various reasons from her scandal-plagued regime.
Following a Saturday shootout in Red River between two biker gangs, at least three people are dead, and five are injured. The shooting happened on Red River’s Main Street during the town’s 41st annual Red River Memorial Day Motorcycle Rally.
State Police say the violence happened after an altercation between the Bandidos and the Water Dogs motorcycle gangs. The Banditos, originally from Texas, started in the 1960s and operates as an outlaw motorcycle gang, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to the Water Dogs’ now-deactivated Facebook page, the group “is dedicated to developing a Fraternal Brotherhood of men with loyalty, discipline, and character.”
Jorgen Hendriksen via Unsplash.
The three deceased have been identified as Anthony Silva, 26 years old from Los Lunas, who was a member of the Bandidos motorcycle gang; Randy Sanchez, 46 years old from Albuquerque, a member of the Water Dogs motorcycle gang; and Damien Breaux, 46 years old from Socorro, a member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Gang.
Zeality | Wiki Commons.
According to State Police Chief Tim Johnson, “For everyone, there will be zero tolerance from this point forward,” adding, “That is traffic violations for 1 mile an hour over, seat belts, jaywalking. We are going to stop and talk to everyone if they violate any law — traffic or criminal.”
“Anybody with warrants or anybody who can be arrested will be arrested,” concluding, “I’ll apologize initially to the law-abiding citizens that came to Red River to have a good Memorial Day weekend, not the gangbangers that are ruining it for all of them.”
The Red River mayor has also implored businesses to close up shop if they can over the holiday weekend following the deadly shootout.
Three have been charged so far. Jacob Castillo of the Waterdogs was charged with murder, Matthew Jackson of the Bandidos Motorcycle Gang has been charged with unlawful carrying of a firearm in a liquor establishment, and Christopher Garcia of the Bandidos Motorcycle Gang has been charged with possession of cocaine.
The “intelligence” community was desperate to smear the Hunter Biden laptop story that was proven true, and media outlets were forced to issue retractions. But those now admitting their faults do not include the 51 “intelligence” experts who co-signed a letter attempting to discredit the story as “Russian” disinformation.
Hunter and Ashley Biden, children of Joe Biden, attend the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II).
The 51 wrote that “this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election, and we believe strongly that Americans need to be aware of this,” adding, “There are a number of factors that make us suspicious of Russian involvement.”
Among the detractors are at least two University of New Mexico faculty members.
Doug Wise, former Defense Intelligence Agency deputy director, and former senior CIA operations officer, teaches at the University of New Mexico. The New York Post contacted him for comment on the now-debunked Russian disinformation hoax he propped up in the letter, but he did not respond.
In 2019, he spoke at length about a lecture regarding Afghanistan, saying he doesn’t consider himself an “expert” on relations with the country, but apparently, he finds himself to be an expert on Joe Biden’s son’s laptop full of disgraceful information that has lead to criminal charges.
Doug Wise official CIA portrait.
He later said in 2023, “All of us figured that a significant portion of that content had to be real to make any Russian disinformation credible.”
Wise claims that critics, “whether they‘re members of the conservative journalist community, conservative politicians or just ultra-right wing extremists, they haven’t paid attention to the content.”
“I don’t regret signing it because the context is important,” he added. “Remember [former Mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy] Giuliani had just been in Ukraine trying to dig up evidence on the Bidens and he met with a known Russian intelligence official” — an apparent reference to pro-Moscow Ukrainian politician Andriy Derkach.
Another faculty member who signed the now-discredited letter is Emile Nakhleh, the former director of CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program and former CIA senior intelligence analyst. He is now a research professor and director of National Security Programs at the University of New Mexico.
Emile Nakhleh speaking in 2013. Screenshot via C-SPAN.
He has doubled down on his support for the misinformation written in the letter, telling the New York Post, “I have not seen any information since then that would alter the decision behind signing the letter. That’s all I can go into. The whole issue was highly politicized and I don’t want to deal with that. I still stand by that letter.”
With recent “supercell” storms in the extreme eastern corner of New Mexico, primarily in Curry and Quay counties, the region has received almost half of its annual rainfall average in just 12 hours.
“On the thunderstorm spectrum, supercells are the least common type of thunderstorm, but they have a high propensity to produce severe weather, including damaging winds, very large hail, and sometimes weak to violent tornadoes,” the National Weather Service noted. Tornado activity was spotted near Grady, New Mexico.
Meteorologist Corbin Voges of Storm Search 7wrote Friday, “MAJOR RAIN for parts of Quay and northern Curry county last night. Some areas have received nearly 8″ of rain over the last 12 hours. That is almost half of this region’s annual rainfall average!”
“Strong to severe storms developed just before dark Thursday, May 25th 2023 in eastern New Mexico before training over the same locations through the entire night. These storms produced up to baseball size hail and blanketed areas in white with up to 2″ of hail accumulation on the ground in Lesbia, New Mexico in Quay county,” reported ABC 7 News.
“This is a major event for this geographical region. To put this into perspective, Tucumcari, New Mexico receives an average of 17 inches of rain per year. This has caused widespread flash flooding in the canyons, streams, creeks and low-lying areas. Tucumcari escaped the heaviest rainfall but still encountered significant flooding in town.”
Some views of the remarkable recent storms have been shared via social media:
Last nights supercell in New Mexico absolutely exceeded everyone's expectations. We had a relaxing day in Clovis and as we headed north towards the storm we had no idea what to expect. As the sunset, the storm got better and better with amazing structure and beautiful non stop… pic.twitter.com/yoHstLN0SF
— Nicholas Isabella (@NycStormChaser) May 26, 2023
Amazing storm structure last night in New Mexico. We are in Roswell in preparation for todays storm event. https://t.co/mzBHdMNBQ5
Awesome structure on this nocturnal supercell tonight east of Clovis, New Mexico. Got the Grady/Wheatland tornado earlier as well – first New Mexico T for us both. Late night storm structure stole the show as always! #NMwx#TXwxpic.twitter.com/SRZmFfj6Ly
On Thursday, Democrat New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sidestepped the state Legislature to unilaterally create an “Office of Special Education” within her New Mexico Public Education Department.
“The governor — who sidestepped the legislative process in creating the agency through an executive order — joined educators, families and top state education officials at Lowell Elementary School in Albuquerque to announce the effort, framing it as an opportunity to create streamlined services that stretch from birth through college,” reported the Santa Fe New Mexican.
A bill to do just this died in the 2023 Legislative Session amid concerns over local control of such programs in the state. The bill never got a vote in the state House of Representatives.
“I’m not waiting one more minute to get the services and the supports and the education that every student in New Mexico needs,” the governor said, echoing previous remarks she made when she forced through a special session to legalize recreational marijuana in 2021.
At the time, she screamed during a virtual meeting with a group of supporters, “We’re gonna have a special session in a week or so, and we’re gonna get cannabis because I am not gonna wait another year. We’re gonna win it, and it’s gonna have the social justice aspects that we know have to be in a package!”
“This is an elevation of special education,” Lujan Grisham said of her new executive order-sanctioned office, despite New Mexico children being woefully underserved by the failing governmental departments already in place to supposedly protect them, such as the PED and the Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD).
Now, the state will have a new bureaucratic office to likely mismanage disability issues in schools. Currently, the state ranks last out of every other state in the nation in education.
It is currently unclear what portion of the PED budget would be allocated to the office since the Department did not get funding in the 2023 Legislative Session for the then-nonexistent office. The latest move by the governor not only usurps the Legislature’s powers to create the office but also its appropriation power.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s rule that regulates waterways in a unanimous 9-0 decision.
The Court’s decision on Sackett v. EPA narrows Waters of the United States (WOTUS), instructing the government to define a waterway as a “continuous surface connection” to major water bodies.
The New Mexico-based eco-left group bemoaned the decision on Twitter, writing, “Everyone should be troubled by this Supreme Court ruling on #SackettvEPA. The #SCOTUS decision puts polluters over people, resulting in extreme consequences for the @EPA’s ability to protect our nation’s waters.”
Everyone should be troubled by this Supreme Court ruling on #SackettvEPA. The #SCOTUS decision puts polluters over people, resulting in extreme consequences for the @EPA’s ability to protect our nation’s waters.
Another leftist group in the state, Amigos Bravos, wrote, “The Supreme Court just issued a ruling that severely weakens the Clean Water Act in Sackett v. EPA, putting New Mexico’s communities, public health, and local ecosystems at risk – especially those most vulnerable to pollution and intensifying climate disasters.”
BREAKING: The Supreme Court just issued a ruling that severely weakens the Clean Water Act in Sackett v. EPA, putting New Mexico’s communities, public health, and local ecosystems at risk – especially those most vulnerable to pollution and intensifying climate disasters. #WOTUS
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer angrily wrote in a statement, “This MAGA Supreme Court is continuing to erode our country’s environmental laws,” adding, “Make no mistake – this ruling will mean more polluted water, and more destruction of wetlands.”
Apparently, Schumer is unaware that every SCOTUS judge voted for the decision — including the three leftist justices Sonya Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Joe Biden’s White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also blasted the decision, saying Thursday, “It will jeopardize the sources of clean drinking water for farmers, businesses, and millions of Americans.”
UPDATE: Democrat New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham bemoaned the decision in a statement via Twitter:
I have directed my administration to immediately begin identifying any regulatory gaps that we can fill at the state level, working together across agencies, the Legislature, communities and with other partners to make sure our water and our public health remain protected.
— Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) May 26, 2023
New footage shot by war correspondents Michael Yon and Chuck Holton shows tons of materials meant for the construction of the United States’ southern border wall with Mexico wasting away in New Mexico.
President Donald Trump worked to fulfill his campaign promise of building the wall during his term in office, getting hundreds of miles built to protect the country’s wide-open border.
Unfortunately, when Joe Biden came to power in 2021, he nixed the finishing of the border barrier, thus leaving the materials to rot while leaving massive gaping holes in the wall — emboldening illegal immigration.
Yon wrote, “Unused Border Wall in New Mexico last week,” noting, “Millions of dollars of border wall sitting unused as America is invaded by millions, and we pour buckets of billions into Ukraine.”
Unused Border Wall in New Mexico last week. @rangerholton and I came to this same spot days after Puppet Biden was installed into office, and I just returned. Millions of dollars of border wall sitting unused as America is invaded by millions, and we pour buckets of billions… pic.twitter.com/nUY0sGuRK4
New Mexico currently has over 53 miles of border that are not protected whatsoever with any wall built by pre-Trump administrations or under the 45th president’s administration. There have been scourges of illegal border crossings, especially near Antelope Wells, Santa Teresa, and El Paso ports of entry.
According to recent figures, about six million illegal immigrants have been smuggled by cartel members or came by themselves illegally on their journey into the United States. With the recent expiration of the pandemic-era Title 42, it has emboldened illegal border crossers.
Santa Fe Magistrate Judge Dev Atma Khalsa will resign amid an ethics probe that would have had him forcibly thrown off the bench.
The investigation came after Khalsa was stopped for a DWI in February off of I-25 when he crashed his car.
The arresting officer could smell alcohol on Khalsa’s breath and noticed slurred speech from the disgraced soon-to-be former judge.
Mugshot of Judge Khalsa.
The crash happened on I-25 at the Saint Francis Drive exit in Santa Fe.
According to KOB 4, “If he is convicted, he faces 90 days in jail, a $999 fine, and one year of probation.”
“Officers arrested Khalsa and charged him with reckless driving and driving without a license. After the crash, the state Supreme Court initially suspended him with pay, then without pay last month.” The judge’s license expired two days before the arrest.
Khalsa’s brief stint on the bench, being elected only in November, included a handful of DWI cases, some revolving around revoked licenses.
The Democrat previously won a crowded three-way primary and faced no GOP opponent in the general election.
Once the New Mexico Supreme Court accepts the resignation agreement between the judge and the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission, then his successor can be appointed to the bench by Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
