New Mexico

Another top Lujan Grisham official leaves administration

15 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

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.

Heinrich desecrates Memorial Day, uses holiday to promote abortion

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

On Memorial Day, most public officials used the somber holiday to honor and remember the fallen U.S. soldiers who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country’s freedoms. 

However, that did not stop New Mexico’s far-left Democrat U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich from politicizing the day to promote his radical abortion stance.

“Service members and their families are stationed according to need. That means 40% of active-duty servicewomen live in states that have banned or restricted abortion,” he wrote on Twitter.

“We have a bill that will make sure they have access to reproductive care, regardless of where they live.” 

New Mexicans responded as expected, with Ronnie Lucero of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly writing in reply, “It’s Memorial Day and this guy is talking about killing babies.” 

Another wrote, “You are disgusting. Speaking about abortion rights on Memorial Day. I don’t think the unborn fought and died for our freedom. DISGUSTING!” 

“When you think @MartinHeinrich couldn’t sink any lower on a day of remembering the ones that served and sacrificed. He [somehow] sabotages this day. By mixing abortion into this day of remembrance,” wrote another New Mexican.

One person opined, “Never miss an opportunity even if it’s disgusting.  Then again you are what you tweet!!!”

Heinrich supports unrestricted abortion up to the date of birth. He is running for a third term in his seat amid rumblings he is trying to position himself for the governorship in 2026, as incumbent abortion up-to-birth Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, is term-limited. 

Man charged with murder after Red River biker gang shootout

7 Comments / New Mexico, News / By

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.

UNM faculty among spies who falsely called Hunter Biden story Russian disinfo

10 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

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.”

Tornado caught on video in eastern NM Friday, ‘extreme’ hail, flooding spotted

1 Comment / New Mexico, News / By

Severe storms, including supercells, continue to hit eastern New Mexico with massive rain, hail, and tornadoes. Recent footage was captured Friday of the tornado that hit ground in Encino.

WATCH: 

Other videos show large hail raining down in Encino: 

Large hail was photographed following the storms: 

Parts of New Mexico have also been hit with massive hail, including Moriarty and Edgewood, which saw “extreme” hail falling down in the last few days: 

Flooding was also seen in places such as Tucumcari, which got eight inches of rain in 12 hours — almost half of its annual rainfall in the short amount of time.

Feds allege ‘pirate’ station hiding at Spaceport America

5 Comments / New Mexico, News / By

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau alleges that pirate frequencies are operating out of FAA-licensed Spaceport America in Sierra County near Truth or Consequences. 

“An Agent from the Denver Office confirmed that unauthorized radio signals were transmitted on frequencies 95.3 MHzx and 96.3 MHz from the Spaceport America property located between Las Cruces and Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, between June 21 and June 25, 2022 during the Spaceport America Cup 2022 event,” the FCC wrote on May 24, 2023.

Land Rover MENA via Wikimedia Commons.

“Enabled with new powers by Congress under the industry-friendly PIRATE Act, the FCC has recently been dispatching a sheaf of enforcement letters like this, targeting a station catering to New York City Ecuadorians and another pirate radio station allegedly transmitting from a church,” reported 5mag.net. 

Federal Communications Commission via Wikimedia Commons.

“The letter — typically the first notice of an open investigation and warning prior to enforcement — states that continued broadcasting from the site may result in a fine in excess of $2 million.” 

RadioInk.com adds, “FCC agents have determined that exceptions for low-powered devices do not apply in this case, potentially constituting a violation of the Communications Act of 1934.” 

The Spaceport opened in 2011 and is owned and operated by the New Mexico State Land Office, but it does not have an FCC license to broadcast on either alleged frequency.

NM region gets almost half of its annual rainfall in 12 hours from supercell storm

2 Comments / New Mexico, News / By

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 7 wrote 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:

Storm chasers capture videos of tornado hitting ground near Grady, New Mexico

ABQ Public Schools spends insane amount per pupil as enrollment drops

11 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

According to figures compiled by the Rio Grande Foundation (RGF), Albuquerque Public Schools is spending an insane amount of taxpayer dollars per student while enrollment in the school declines.

“Albuquerque Public Schools, the State’s largest district unveiled its FY 2024 budget (next school year) and it’s a doozy. As noted on the APS website, total district spending for the upcoming fiscal year will be $2.16 billion,” wrote the group.

RGF noted, “According to the just-passed budget (which we obtained) the District’s enrollment will have dropped (again) to 68,902. So, dividing the $2.16 billion budget by 68,902 students gets you a mind-blowing spending number of $31,349 PER STUDENT!”

“That’s an increase of almost 69% since 2020 PER STUDENT. Will APS or any of New Mexico’s other school districts be able to move the needle on student outcomes or is the State just pouring good money after bad?” 

On average, education systems nationwide spend $15,120 per pupil in K-12 public education annually, according to figures from the Education Data Initiative. That means APS delves out more money than double the national average per student.

Despite the high spending, the school district has only a three percent higher graduation rate than the state at 80 percent versus the state average of 77 percent. 

“Public Schools in Albuquerque Public Schools School District have an average math proficiency score of 52% (versus the New Mexico public school average of 25%), and reading proficiency score of 75% (versus the 58% statewide average),” according to Public School Review. 

In latest power grab, MLG sidesteps Legislature, unilaterally forms new office

25 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

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.

Eco-left rages after U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rules against Biden’s EPA

6 Comments / National, New Mexico, News, Politics / By

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.” 

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.”

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:

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