New Mexico

After MLG signs radical recreational marijuana bill, liberals finally admit its meager economic impact

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

During a special 2021 legislative session called by embattled Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Democrats rammed through their extreme marijuana bill despite health, safety, and economic concerns raised by New Mexicans. One main argument against legalizing the contraband substance, which is still registered as a Schedule 1 narcotic federally, is that its economic impacts would be meager while increased law enforcement and administrative costs associated with implementation would make it financially useless. 

At the time, the Piñon Post made clear that this bill, if implemented, would not even be a drop in the bucket for the state budget, which the Governor desperately wants to be oil and gas-free. In March, we wrote, “Weed, no matter if it passes or not, won’t make the slightest difference in the state’s budget, but Gov. Lujan Grisham sure wants to make New Mexico dependent on drug money–either by 20% taxed dope through her plan–or on the streets through contraband merchants of the product.” 

We reported the following:

According to that leftist legal recreational pot plan’s fiscal impact report, New Mexico would take in at most $15.1 million in revenue after years of losses to implement the program. 

For context, the MOST such a revenue plan would generate in revenue wold be 0.204% of the needed funds to plug the gaping hole in Gov. Lujan Grisham’s budget. 

The oil and gas industry, in contrast, generated $2.8 billion directly to the state general fund in fiscal year 2020. That is approximately 37% of the state’s budget coming from oil and gas.

In states that have already legalized adult-use marijuana, the largest of them being California, the state only brought in a total of $1.5 billion since 2018. The state’s budget is approximately $202 billion.

Now, far-left publications, including the Santa Fe New Mexican, are finally agreeing with the cautionary assessment made by many before the passage of the radical bill. 

On Monday, the New Mexican quoted multiple people in the economic community who said much of the same. Marijuana “will not replace oil or gas,” Sarah Stith, an assistant professor of economics at the University of New Mexico told the paper.

“A lot of [recreational marijuana] revenue is dependent on tourism and consumers’ willingness to pay given the added cost of the tax,” Ismael Torres, senior economist for the Legislative Finance Committee, was quoted. Torres was speaking about the 12% tax on marijuana which the radical Governor’s bill will implement in combination with local taxes (such as in Santa Fe, which is 8.4375%, feeding the black market’s market share due to 20% taxed pot. 

The Legislative Finance Committee in a March fiscal impact report predicted the first full fiscal year of recreational marijuana sales starting in July 2022 would produce an estimated $19.1 million in net tax revenue for the state and $9.4 million for local governments. Fiscal year 2023-24 could see $30.1 million in net state tax revenue and $15.1 million for local governments.

“Legal, homegrown marijuana and continuing black market sales could take further bites from taxable sales, Stith added,” the report said.

“There could be a substantial impact to revenues if more medical-use licenses are sought to avoid the cost of taxes or if medical users begin to purchase cannabis recreationally as accessibility grows,” Torres added. “Shifts between recreational and medical cannabis is a big, unanswered question for us.”

“There will be a lot of supply, but will there be the demand?” James Wheeler, owner of Commercial Properties Inc. in Santa Fe said. “One of my clients said 90 percent of novices going into this are going to fail.”

But the Governor did not pay attention to the economically catastrophic results of marijuana implementation in New Mexico. She did whatever necessary to fulfill her campaign promise to her far-left supporters of “legal weed” — no matter the cost. She said that she would “not take no for an answer” and refused to wait until the next legislative session for a more digestible bill. 

Lujan Grisham took tens of thousands of dollars from the Big Pot lobby, including tens of thousands of dollars from Darren White of PurLife and others.  Many state legislators also took cash from the Big Pot lobby. 

https://pinonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Governor-Lujan-Grisham-has-a-message...-Read-the-full-story-at-The-Paper-AB...-1.mp4

Gov. Lujan Grisham killed 40% of New Mexico small businesses with her lockdowns

8 Comments / New Mexico, News / By

According to the “Economic Recovery Dashboard” on the New Mexico Tourism Department website, embattled Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s harsh lockdown during the pandemic resulted in an economic catastrophe, including the closure of 40% of New Mexico’s small businesses, a devastating figure.

The figures show that in the food service and accommodations industry, nearly 60% of small businesses in that sector have been killed by Lujan Grisham’s lockdowns. 

My industry means everything to me,” Kate Gerwin, the owner of the Nob Hill bar Happy Accidents in Albuquerque, told KRQE 13 News. “Knowing independent businesses are suffering kills us.”

But with the Governor’s slow reopening, even though she claims it is now at 100%, mask mandates are still in place and restrictions remain in certain areas.

During the pandemic, the Governor locked the state down completely, which crippled countless small businesses across the board. The few businesses and religious organizations that defied Lujan Grisham were plunged into even further financial ruin with fines of up to $60,000 and State Police ordered to shut businesses down.

While ruling during the pandemic, Lujan Grisham constantly bashed people across the state, even publicly shaming people in places like Española and Hobbs who she saw did not wear masks driving or eating at a restaurant.

During the holidays, Lujan Grisham forced New Mexicans to stand in cold breadlines to buy food and basic goods, with elderly, disabled, and children forced to face the cold while the Governor feasted on taxpayer-funded $200/lb Wagyu steaks and skirted her pandemic orders to buy luxury jewelry.

New Mexicans are now continuing to face the consequences of Lujan Grisham’s harsh orders, many paying with the destruction of their livelihoods, including the 40% of small businesses gone forever. 

Far-left columnist humiliates Ben Ray Luján over his desperate emails

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

At the Piñon Post, we have been longtime watchdogs of politicians in the state, including monitoring their, in many cases, desperate ploys for cash with fundraising asks. One of the most common offenders who likes to pull at New Mexicans’ heartstrings to raise campaign cash is Ben Ray Luján. 

During his race for U.S. Senate in 2020, Luján literally begged for donations, writing, “BEGGING you” in one email headline. Another email read, “I’ll beg if I have to. Please, I’m only 429 gifts short. Could you rush a lasting $10?” 

But it’s not just the Piñon Post exposing Luján’s “the sky is falling” email messages. Now, even far-left, GOP-hating columnist Milan Simonich of the Santa Fe New Mexican is jumping aboard to call out Luján’s outright desperation with his fundraising strategy, despite his term not ending until 2026.

“With Luján, everything is about money. His abiding interest is collecting cash for his campaigns,” writes Simonich.

He pointed out a specific email from Luján titled “dialing for dollars,” which read, “We have fallen behind on our fundraising goals for our upcoming FEC fundraising deadline. This is a real problem, which could endanger everything we’ve worked so hard to build over the last few years. Instead of pulling Ben Ray away from doing his job to fundraise, we hope to make up this shortfall with your help.”

Simonich went off on Luján, writing the following: 

What an admission. An ailing country is trying to recover from a pandemic, but Luján’s camp says the senator needs more of your money, or he might ignore the job he was elected to do.

Imagine the backlash if Republican Congresswoman Yvette Herrell announced she might spend her days soliciting campaign contributions instead of doing her job.

Herrell would take a public whipping. Critics all across New Mexico would call her greedy and pummel her for misguided priorities. Democrats might be incensed enough to find a candidate to run against Herrell, the only Republican in the state’s five-member congressional delegation.

Luján has been a senator for only six months. Yet he’s confident enough in the state’s double standard that he believes most people won’t care if a freshman Democrat puts fundraising ahead of work in the Senate.

The columnist noted how, unlike everyday New Mexicans who are not guaranteed a fat salary, Luján is sitting pretty in D.C. while New Mexicans still are forced to deal with the recovery from the economically devastating lockdowns from the pandemic.

Simonich wrote, “Many other members of Congress operate almost like Luján. They’re always asking for money, and they always claim the sky will fall if they don’t get it. The difference is not many others are brazen enough to announce they might ignore their job so they can solicit donations.” 

The roasting of Luján didn’t come without bashing of Republicans in the state, although it shared a rare glimpse into even far-left extremists like Simonich not buying Luján’s dramatic fundraising strategies. 

Whistleblowers file lawsuit against Gov. Lujan Grisham’s CYFD

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Friday, it was reported that Debra and Cliff Gilmore, two former high-ranking officials in embattled Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Children, Youth, and Families Department would be suing the state under whistleblower protection laws after they were fired following concerns over open records.

Their concerns while at the Department stemmed from the use of the “Signal” app, which automatically can delete messages, in direct conflict with the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) law.  

However, Lujan Grisham’s CYFD Secretary Brian Blalock disagrees, claiming that the messages count as “transitory” and can be deleted. According to the Associated Press, “He has said that the move to the free, encrypted app was a cheap and safe way to switch sensitive communications online when the pandemic hit.” 

According to Gilmore, “At one point Secretary Blalock (pictured) told a group of roughly 30 of us staff members at a ‘leadership’ meeting that people who regularly submit IPRA requests would eventually find out we were using Signal and that, because when an IPRA request came in we would have to retain everything from that moment, we should set our Signal apps to 24-hour auto-delete.”

Since the public’s outcry over the Department’s use of Signal, it dropped the use of the application.

“While CYFD appreciates the opportunity to clarify misinformation, CYFD cannot discuss personal personnel matters or threatened litigation,” said acting spokesman Charlie Moore-Pabst.

The lawsuit will put immediate pressure on Lujan Grisham’s administration, which has instituted automatic 24-hour message deletion across all departments through the Microsoft Teams app, which has also sparked controversy. 

According to documents obtained exclusively by the Piñon Post through an open records request, a state government employee asked the Department of Information Technology’s Renee Narvaiz “Have your oversight folks reviewed this for open government issues?” After asking the Department’s general counsel, Olga Serafimova, she replied to the government employee, writing, “Thank you for your question. The answer is yes, this was reviewed.” 

The 24-hour deletion policy via Teams appears to also violate New Mexico’s IPRA laws, since the supposed “transitory” communications may regard information that should be available for the public to obtain.

In desperate ploy, embattled Gov. Lujan Grisham lashes out at GOP challengers

13 Comments / New Mexico, News, Opinion, Politics / By

On Friday, embattled Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has been criticized far and wide for her scandal-ridden tenure full of crotch-grabbing settlements and mismanaging taxpayer funds, is now lashing out at the Republican candidates for governor who are working to fire her in 2022.

In an email to supporters asking for money titled “calling out far-right extremism,” Lujan Grisham, who previously called anti-MLG protesters “QAnon lizard people,” has once again devolved to name-calling and gaslighting. 

She wrote, “[A]ll our progress could be wiped away if Trump’s allies take control of the governorship.” 

Her email continued: 

I’ll be frank: The GOP candidates for Governor are a danger to our state’s progress. These candidates parrot Trump’s lies about the 2020 election and are hellbent on disenfranchising voters. Many of the GOP’s top picks also cater to far-right extremist groups – pushing hateful agendas to take away LGBTQ rights and reproductive freedom and threatening to roll back all of the progress we’ve made in the last two years.  

We’ve seen what divisive, radical agendas do to states and their economies. The GOP’s slate of candidates for Governor are out of touch with New Mexicans. If they are elected, it would be disastrous for the people of New Mexico and our state’s economic progress.

… Please, friend, donate $10 – or whatever you can spare – by midnight tonight to help me keep our state safe from far-right extremism:

The latest attacks by Lujan Grisham appear to grasp for straws, bashing Republican opponents as “extremists” for wanting to fight election fraud and trying to claim Republcians’ economic policies would cripple New Mexico, despite her very own policies plunging New Mexicans into poverty while Republican-led states, such as North Dakota and Florida that did not lock down their citizens during the pandemic have rebounded tremendously, outperforming New Mexico’s snail-like recovery. 

Three Republicans have announced their runs for governor, including business Karen Bedonie of Mexican Springs, Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block of Rio Rancho, and Albuquerque financier Greg Zanetti of Albuquerque.

After ACLU demand letter, Alamogordo school board cancels meeting on CRT, trans athletics

5 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) pressured the Alamogordo Public School (APS) Board of Education into submission with a letter that claimed sanctity of women’s and girls’ sports resolutions are “an act of violence,” writing that such policies violate state and federal law.

The letter was sent to Alamogordo Public Schools Board of Education President Angie Cadwallader, Alamogordo Schools Superintendent Jerrett Perry, Alamogordo Athletics Director, and Title IX Coordinator Johnnie Walker, as well as Republican Party of Otero County Chair Amy Barela and state Rep. Zach Cook, who represents the northern part of Otero County. 

The APS Board was originally set to consider President Angie Caldwaller’s proposal to protect girls by having boys’ and girls’ sports remain exclusive to the biological gender of the athlete. 

After the letter from the ACLU, the school board’s scheduled June 26 work session on the topic, as well as Critical Race Theory in social studies textbooks, was abruptly canceled.

The ACLU letter includes much rhetoric that goes beyond the scope of what the resolution does, claiming, “Beyond the potential legal consequences this proposed policy invites, it also generates an environment of fear that significantly and meaningfully impacts the lives of trans children that live in your district. Although your athletic director admits he is not aware of any trans athletes currently out in the district.”

In the ACLU letter, the group demanded the following:

1. Immediately pull this proposed resolution and make public that this has been done;

2. Make clear in a public form that the resolution was ill-advised and illegal;

3. Publish a document, signed by the School Board, clarifying that the district welcomes, supports, and affirms trans students of all kinds; and

4. Engage in trans-specific sensitivity training as a Board, and make this training available to district staff as well.

Supporters of Superintendent Jerrett Perry, who has been under fire from liberal members of the APS Board of Education, will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Juneau 25, 2021 in front of the flag pole at Alamogordo High School on 103 Cuba Ave. to pray for him as he fights to protect the children of Alamogordo. 

ACTION ALERT: Contact the Alamogordo Public Schools Board of Education and ask them to not be deterred by the ACLU’s threats and support the sanctity of girls’ sports.

President Angela M. Cadwallader (sponsor of the resolution for sanctity of sports): angela.cadwallader@alamogordoschools.org

Vice-President Ryan Sherwood: ryan.sherwood@alamogordoschools.org 

Secretary Carol Teweleit: carol.teweleit@alamogordoschools.org 

Member Judy Rabon: judy.rabon@alamogordoschools.org

Member Anthony Torres: anthony.torres@alamogordoschools.org

New Mexicans holding statewide #UnMaskNMKids protests, ‘LiZARD’ protest at Capitol Saturday

5 Comments / Action Alert, New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Saturday, New Mexicans will gather in cities across the state to protest embattled Gov. Lujan Grisham’s continued school mask mandate in schools, forcing young children to sit for hours in classrooms and at playgrounds while fully masked. 

According to a press release from the organizers, the New Mexico Freedoms Alliance, “Although over half the states in the USA have no school mask mandate, NM school children are still being forced to wear masks, even when playing outdoor sports in 100+ degree heat.” The group contends that unmasking athletes who have had the virus jab is not enough, and that “ALL students must be allowed to unmask, regardless of their vaccination status.” 

“Parents, it is up to us to free our kids from MLG’s sports and school mask mandates. Our Governor knows how damaging masks are to our kids but continues her own agenda vs. protecting them. No one is going to step in and save our kids. It’s up to us. This stops when we stop allowing it to happen. This protest is our chance to expose her abuse,” said Artesia organizer Stacey Turner of Concerned Citizens for Artesia.

Las Cruces organizer Piper Gibson said, “Wake up New Mexico! It’s time to unmask our kids and ourselves!! The rest of the US is open; people are mask-free and there is no social distancing. Here we are still forcing our kids to wear masks, even outdoors in 100-degree heat. Kids in NM are not at risk and according to studies most of us have antibodies from previous infections. It’s time to cut out the nonsense!”

Here’s a list of all the NM localities holding these anti-masking of children rallies. All protests begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 26, 2021, although the Raton rally will begin at 11:00 a.m.

  •     ARTESIA – @ corner of Main & 7th @ 10am
  •     LAS CRUCES – @ Albert Johnson Park on corner of main and Picacho
  •     CARLSBAD – @ Carlsbad Waterpark; area between Water park and gazebo
  •     ROSWELL @ Courthouse 4th and Main in Roswell
  •     FARMINGTON – Animas Valley Mall Lawn near Applebee’s
  •     ALBUQUERQUE – Target/Lowes on Paseo Del Norte and San Pedro
  •     SILVER CITY – @ Gough Park 1200 N Pope Street
  •     DEMING – @ DPS Emmett Shockley Building, 400 Cody Road
  •     RATON – @ Corner of 2nd and Tiger drive
  •     RIO RANCHO- @ Southern & 528

Another protest is happening on Saturday at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe, which is both a combination between an anti-masking of children protest and a protest against Gov. Lujan Grisham’s name-calling of New Mexicans as “QAnon lizard people.” 

A press release from Leanna Derrick of Call to Action New Mexico reads, “We are publicly assembling as LiZARD People to stand united against illegal monetary incentives, discrimination, and masking our kids in schools and sport activities. WE have a Constitutional Right to Peacefully Assemble without reprisal by the government.” 

New Mexicans are meeting for a caravan at 10:00 a.m. from the Bernalillo/Placitas Exit US and I-25 exit going to Santa Fe.

At 11:00 a.m., cars are set to meet at the Capitol for the pre-event at 11:30 a.m, and the gathering begins at 12:00 noon. At 1:00 p.m., there is set to be a prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, the singing of the National Anthem, and then the main protest event with speakers. 

Rep. Yvette Herrell: ‘It’s about time’ Kamala Harris visited the border

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Wednesday, it was reported that Kamala Harris plans to finally visit the southern border between the United States and Mexico after dodging a trip for months. A border crisis has begun on the border after migrants saw Joe Biden’s weak immigration laws as an opportunity to skirt U.S. law and come to America illegally.

According to the Daily Caller, “Border patrol apprehended 180,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in May, following 178,000 in April and 173,000 in March. Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported the fewest number of illegal immigrants in the agency’s history.” 

Border-district Congresswoman Yvette Herrell (R-NM-2), who has tried on multiple occasions to have Harris and a bipartisan delegation visit the border to assess the crisis, took to Twitter on Wednesday, writing, “It’s about time [Kamala Harris] visited the border. To understand the situation, she needs to bring a bipartisan delegation and listen to the ranchers, farmers, and residents who see the #BorderCrisis every day.” 

She said in a statement published later Wednesday:

It’s about time Kamala Harris visited the border. This should have happened three months ago when President Biden named her as his Border Czar.

More importantly though, her visit to the border needs to be more than just checking a box. To truly understand the crisis, she needs to hear from the ranchers, farmers, and residents who live with the effects of this administration’s open borders policy every day. I am more than willing to introduce her to my constituents so she can actually understand why this administration’s policies are not working.

On Tuesday, Herrell sent a letter to Harris telling her, “While I was disappointed you chose not to respond to me, I want to reiterate my offer for you to visit the border with me and hear directly from hardworking New Mexicans about how your border policies are harming them and threatening their families and livelihoods.” 

She added, “May I also suggest that you visit the border with… President Donald J. Trump and Governor Greg Abbott during their planned trip in late June. President Trump can provide you an in-depth briefing on the programs that led to the most secure border in decades.”

“Such a discussion with President Trump is even more pressing given the unprecedented crisis that your administration’s policies have created at our southern border,” Herrell concluded in her Tuesday letter.

Now, Harris will visit the border, but it is unclear if she will welcome Republicans like Herrell, who represent border districts, on the trip.

Gov. MLG’s Transportation Department appears to be injuring, killing bikers with road sealants

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Tuesday, state Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Bernalillo, Sandoval & Santa Fe) spoke out about embattled Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Department of Transportation (NMDOT) injuring and killing motorcyclists with the use of a “fog seal” placed on the road June 7. The use of the fog sealant started two years ago under Lujan Grisham.

Since its installation, multiple bikers have been either injured or killed because of the sealant. 

25-year-old Jessie “Jay” Baldonado was killed on the road, says friend Zantaysah Deleon. “He drove around a corner, and all of a sudden, he wasn’t in front of them no more,” Deleone said. “They turned around, and he was off the side of the mountain.”

Jessica Taylor, who is a local rider, described herself as a “walking bruise” with 17 stitches after crashing her bike on the same road earlier this month. She said she has been riding for a decade and wasn’t speeding. “I think it was the road for sure. … I don’t think that crash should have ever happened because I wasn’t doing anything wrong,” Taylor added.

Rep. Lord said, “I want a full investigation to make sure they looked to see if it was the road conditions and that sealant that caused that accident.” she continued, “I don’t want them to blow it off and say ‘oh, that was speeding or negligent.’ I want them to look into it.”

According to KRQE, the Department of Transportation claims “they inspected the road and determined there was no residual oil on the roadway and do not plan to place any signs.” the NMDOT also told the news outlet, “that Albuquerque Police Department uses that road to train their motorcycle unit and has trained since the fog seal was placed without any problems” 

However, a video posted by Rep. Lord paints a different picture, which appears to show the sticky sealant coming off with the touch of a finger. “Does this look safe?” she asked. According to Lord, there are at least five victims now. 

The state of Maine banned the use of fog sealants in 2019. 

BernCo Commission taps Democrat ballot harvester to fill Stansbury’s vacated seat

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On Tuesday, the Bernalillo County Commission, in a 4-0 vote, chose far-left Democrat Pamelya Herndon to serve the remainder of former state Rep. Melanie Stansbury’s term in the 28th House District following Stansbuy being elected to Congress.

As Piñon Post has exclusively reported, Herndon is a longtime Democrat political operative who was caught bragging in 2020 during a closed-door fundraising call for Ben Ray Luján and Xochitl Torres Small about ballot harvesting votes from senior citizens, a tactic that has contributed to voter fraud. 

She said on the call, “Go by and talk to your senior citizens. See if those ballots have been put in the mail, and if not, pick it up and take it to a polling location… you can take at least one absentee ballot for a member of your family to a polling location. We want every ballot counted, Congressman [Ben Ray Luján] because we want to see that you and Xochitl Torres Small and everybody on that ballot for the Democratic Party gets elected.”

New Mexico doesn’t require a “witness” when filling out an absentee ballot, which makes it just that much easier for fraud to sneak in. According to the Daily Signal, “Previously, New Mexico required the signature of a witness as well as the voter on an absentee ballot. However, in 1993, the state Legislature passed a law removing that requirement.”

Herndon also testified as an “expert witness” on extreme far-left bills during the 2021 Legislative Session, including one to harm small businesses by hiking the minimum wage to $15 per hour, a policy championed by socialists like U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

Out of the eight people who applied, including drag queen prostitute “Bunni Cruse,” conservative New Mexico activist Marcie May, and others, Herndon earned the support of the Democrat-dominated Bernalillo County Commission.Following Herndon’s appointment, far-left groups and politicians celebrated, including the George Soros-tied ProgressNow New Mexico, which wrote, “Congratulations to Pamelya Herndon, newly appointed to serve as state Representative for District 28.”

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