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

24 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

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.

$3 million winning lottery ticket sold in New Mexico

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News / By Piñon Post

Friday’s winning $3 million Mega Millions lottery ticket was sold in New Mexico.

NorthJersey.com reported, “One ticket sold in New Mexico matched all five white balls and had the Megaplier to win $3 million.”

The winning numbers for Friday’s drawing are 18 – 38 – 53 – 62 – 64 and Megaball 20. The Megaplier was 3x.

“The odds of matching all five numbers and the Mega number are 1 in 302,575,350, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association. The overall chance of winning a prize is 1 in 24,” reported City News Service.

In New Mexico, the lottery winner has 90 days from the date of the announcement to claim the prize.

The next Mega Millions drawing is Tuesday. The drawings occur every Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

In New Mexico, the lottery winner cannot remain anonymous. A bill sponsored in the 2023 Legislative Session, S.B. 198, by Sen. Pat Woods (R-Broadview), proposed letting lottery winners remain anonymous to claim their prize.

It read that the New Mexico Tax and Revenue Department “shall not disclose a connection between a winner of a lottery game and information about the winner the department is required to reveal.”

The bill passed unanimously in the state Senate but did not reach the finish line in the New Mexico House due to running out of time for consideration during the 60-day session.

Currently, 13 states allow some form of anonymity for lottery winners, with Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and Wyoming allowing total anonymity regardless of the size of the prize, according to Lotto America.

The usual suspects emerge to oppose NM pro-life sanctuary cities

3 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

Like clockwork, outside dark money groups, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains are seeking to get involved in attacking pro-life sanctuary cities.

The groups, which are bankrolled by hundreds of millions in donations from billionaires, such as George Soros, are planning on submitting briefs in a state Supreme Court case filed by pro-abortion Democrat Attorney General Raúl Torrez attempting to strike down six pro-life sanctuaries in Clovis, Hobbs, Eunice and Edgewood and Lea and Roosevelt counties.

The Albuquerque Journal reported, “The ACLU and Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains both alerted the state Supreme Court this week they plan to file briefs in the case, which was brought by Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s office and has emerged as a key test to local governments’ ability to restrict access to abortion services.”

The ACLU’s attorney, Ellie Rushforth, said the stakes “could not be higher” in the case and said abortionists would “leave for fear of litigation and civil and criminal penalties.”

“Meanwhile, attorneys for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains said in their notice of intent that other groups would join them in filing a so-called amicus brief with the court. Those groups include the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a Washington D.C.-based professional membership group, and Bold Futures New Mexico, which has advocated for access to abortion services.”

The pro-abortion groups have for years threatened localities with litigation over pro-life stances, from resolutions to ordinances. Last year when the City of Alamogordo passed a pro-life resolution, the ACLU sent a hostage letter, threatening litigation if the City was to enforce it. Despite the threats, the City passed it, and it remains intact after a failed referendum attempt that fell short.

The ordinances passed by the six localities all are based upon the federal Comstock Act, which supersedes state statutes far-left Democrats have passed, such as 2023’s H.B. 7, attempting to circumvent local control of abortion.

The New Mexico Supreme Court is set to rule on the matter in May.

MLG, AG Torrez furious after Edgewood passes pro-life sanctuary ordinance

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

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

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.

New Mexico’s 4/20 pot sales grew like a weed

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Renato Costa

On April 20, marijuana smokers, dispensaries, and advocates celebrated the “420” holiday that praises the consumption of pot. In New Mexico, the formerly contraband drug was legalized beginning on April 1, 2022.

In 2022, New Mexico pot sales on the unofficial stoner holiday hit $1.12 million, according to Albuquerque Business First. However, in 2023, those numbers grew exponentially.

New Mexico sales of marijuana on April 20, 2023, rose 86 percent from last year to hit $2.82 million.

“This year’s 4/20 average transaction total was $50.28, up from the March average of $44.60. Hobbs recorded the highest average transaction size at $94.96,” reported the outlet.

The sales increase may also have something to do with the jump in dispensaries in the state, with 1,421 retail licenses in 69 towns in 2023 versus 681 stores operating in 37 towns in 2023.

The massive jump in sales also meant a 124.72 percent jump in transactions from last year to now, with 22,402 transactions in 2022 versus 50,342 transactions in 2023.

Software company Akerna noted that nationwide, 420 pot sales ballooned to $154.4 million in 2022, with that number rising to over $192 million in 2023, according to Cova.

KOB poll on financial literacy delivers shocking results

11 Comments / New Mexico, News / By Piñon Post

A poll run by KOB 4 asked viewers, “Should NM schools require students to take financial literacy classes?” as its question of the day.

As of 3:54 p.m. on Thursday, the poll showed that a shocking 96 percent of respondents support mandatory financial literacy classes in schools, with only four percent opposing it.

Screenshot via KOB 4 of financial literacy poll taken 3:45 p.m. on April 27, 2023.

The massive level of support from across the spectrum is another affirmation of financial literacy’s necessity in New Mexico classrooms.

During the 2023 Legislative Session, Republican and Democrat legislators in both the New Mexico House of Representatives and Senate unsuccessfully proposed mandatory financial literacy classes in state K-12 schools.

H.B. 279 from Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R-Carlsbad) would have required financial literacy to be a prerequisite for high school graduation. S.B. 341 from Sen. Moe Maestas (D-Albuquerque) stated that “[p]ersonal finance shall be offered as an elective.” However, those bills did not make it through.

According to the latest scientific nationwide poll done by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) in late 2022 found that only 44 percent of adult Americans “feel confident making financial decisions because they had prior knowledge. In addition, 40% of adults feel confident because they had made and learned from a similar decision in the past.”

The low confidence number nationwide is alarming and calls on the need for mandatory financial literacy since the same poll also found that 88 percent of respondents say their state should require a semester or year-long financial education course for graduation.

“Some states already require students to take a financial education course, and some states are in the process of instituting this curriculum. Americans overwhelmingly agree that learning money skills at an early age is important. In fact, 80% of American adults wish they had been required to take a semester- or year-long financial education class in high school,” said Billy Hensley, Ph.D., president and CEO of NEFE. “This polling reinforces the national support for personal finance to be a part of learning in all schools.”

In future legislative sessions, the strong support for financial literacy in New Mexico and nationwide may drive a renewed push for legislation to ensure this is a requirement of New Mexico public school graduates.

MLG, AG Torrez furious after Edgewood passes pro-life sanctuary ordinance

27 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Renato Costa

After the Town of Edgewood passed its pro-life sanctuary city ordinance early Wednesday morning, pro-abortion Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Attorney General Raúl Torrez responded with furious statements, obviously triggered by the move to protect human life in the womb.

Even more angering to them is the ordinance is based on a federal law, the Comstock Act, which supersedes state statutes far-left Democrats have passed, such as 2023’s H.B. 7, attempting to circumvent local control of abortion.

Lujan Grisham’s office told the Albuquerque Journal, “Abortion remains legal and accessible to every New Mexican. The governor recently signed into law HB 7, which prohibits local governments from enacting abortion bans.”

“It is clear the Town of Edgewood’s ordinance will be unenforceable in light of the passage of HB 7. We will take whatever action is needed to ensure that the laws of New Mexico are upheld in every community, including those seeking to strip women of their reproductive rights,” she concluded.

Torrez said, “The ordinance passed [Wednesday] in Edgewood is yet another example of Texas based lawyers misleading local communities and enlisting them in their effort to bring about a national abortion ban. The New Mexico Constitution and state statutes prohibit local communities from regulating access to healthcare or infringing on a woman’s fundamental right to make the most personal decision regarding her body and her future. Attorney General Torrez is closely monitoring these unlawful actions and looks forward to resolving these important issues in the action currently pending in the New Mexico Supreme Court.”

Interestingly, Torrez references Texas, despite the locality passing the pro-life ordinance on its own accord, whereas he and Lujan Grisham have worked hard to woo Texas women to New Mexico to get their abortions on the state line. Recently, the governor rammed through $10 million to construct a new abortion facility in Las Cruces to service Texas women.

Edgewood is just the latest locality to pass the pro-life ordinance. Places such as Eunice, Clovis, and Hobbs have passed similar pro-life ordinances protecting life in the womb and ensuring women are not maimed or killed by the deadly abortion drugs used in chemical abortions.

Edgewood passes pro-life ordinance, dealing blow to pro-abortion leftists

Rio Rancho parents seek to get porn out of taxpayer-funded libraries

12 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

On Thursday, Rio Rancho parents and community leaders will urge the removal of pornography from Rio Rancho taxpayer-funded public libraries.

Some of these titles include “This Book is Gay” by James Dawson, which activists from New Mexico Mass Resistance describe as a “how-to” book for “depraved, unsafe sexual perversions.”

Another book sought to be removed is “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, featuring “Very explicit drawings of teens having homosexual sex with each other, including a boy sucking on another boy’s penis… [A main character is a girl trying to be a boy, so it’s transgender propaganda as well].”

More information about this book targeting children can be found here.

“Flamer” by Mike Curato, another book being opposed, is described as “Some boys were at scout camp and they were all in a tent and with their pants pulled down. Another boy comes in and they hand him a bottle. They tell him that they’ve all masturbated into that bottle, and if he can’t do it right now in front of them, then he has to drink it.”

The group writes, “All of the books listed above (and hundreds of similar books) can be checked out by children (defined as age 18 and below) from the Rio Rancho Public Library. The purchase of the books has been funded by ‘Quality of Life’ General Obligation Bonds approved by Sandoval County voters. These books should not be allowed in our library. This is NOT a First Amendment Freedom of Speech issue or ‘Book Banning.’ According to New Mexico Statues Chapter 30-37-2 Sexual exploitation of children, possession of this obscene

material is a fourth degree Felony.”

The meeting will take place Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at Rio Rancho City Hall. The address is 3200 Civic Center Circle NE in Rio Rancho and attendees are urged to get there early, with instructions to “[a]rrive no later than 5:30PM and sign-in at the City Clerk’s table.”

The group urges, “Do not make homophobic statements! We are intent on protecting our children from … transgenderism.”

New Mexico Mass Resistance writes that the Rio Rancho City Council canceled its April 10, 2023 meeting, with questions of what is the governing board hiding. “We don’t care if this material is available elsewhere, just as long as it is NOT in OUR library,” the group added.

More information for attending the meeting is below:

This meeting will be conducted in-person and virtually, as well as, streamed live on the City of Rio Rancho website at: https://rrnm.gov/2303/Watch-and-Download-City-Meetings
Individuals wishing to present public comment may do so in-person or remotely via Zoom meeting software with the access information below:
Join by Computer: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85302353741?pwd=bWp1QXliSGJoeHhJaGVOczF4MDN0UT09
Meeting ID: 853 0235 3741
Passcode: 789419
Join by Phone: Dial 1-720-707-2699 US then enter the Meeting ID and Passcode above

Former New Mexico governor declared deceased

16 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

On Wednesday, it was reported that former New Mexico Gov. Jerry Apodaca, 88, had passed away.

Apodaca was elected in 1974 and went on to serve on Democrat former President Jimmy Carter’s Council on Physical Fitness after leaving office in 1979.

Apodaca’s son, Jeff Apodaca, a former 2018 candidate for governor, told the Santa Fe New Mexican that the former governor “may have suffered a stroke at his home.”

He said, “His legacy is not that he was the first Latino governor elected,” adding, “His legacy was that he opened doors for minorities, Hispanics, women in the state and around the country.”

Governor Jerry Apodaca in 2002. Screenshot via C-SPAN.

Apodaca was elected to the New Mexico Senate in 1965 and defeated Republican Congressman Joe Skeen in the gubernatorial election.

In the 1970s, governors could only run for one four-year non-consecutive term, so the former governor only served one term. Once leaving office, Apodaca served on the University of New Mexico Board of Regents. The New Mexico Public Education Department building in Santa Fe is named in his honor.

In 2018, Apodaca, a Democrat, supported Republican Congressman Steve Pearce for governor over far-left Democrat then-Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is currently serving her second term as governor.

Heinrich to kick off reelection bid for Senate with governorship in his sights

16 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By Piñon Post

According to a report by the Santa Fe New Mexican, far-left Democrat U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich is kicking off his 2024 U.S. Senate reelection bid to hold onto the office until he potentially makes a run for governor in 2026.

“Democratic U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich plans to kick off his 2024 reelection campaign Friday with a fundraiser in a private home. Senate terms last six years, but Heinrich might try to cut short his stay by running for governor in 2026,” the report notes.

The news comes as Heinrich was just elevated to chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) for the 118th Congress, of which he previously served as vice chair and ranking member.

Heinrich said of the elevated role, “Too many people in Washington, D.C. think that if the stock market is going up, the economy is in good shape. But that’s not true for working families in New Mexico or across the country. The way we should measure the success of the economy is if parents can afford to send their kids to college, entrepreneurs can start new businesses, our children are educated and healthy, and workers are able to retire with peace of mind,” adding, “As we continue our economic recovery, ensuring access to quality education, well-paying jobs, affordable healthcare, and clean energy are essential to our collective prosperity.”

Some may take the rhetoric, of which is rare from Heinrich, as a move to position himself in a place of power as he eyes New Mexico’s chief executive office.

“As his campaign begins, Heinrich will have to deal with uncomfortable questions until he supplies answers. Voters need to know if he pledges to complete another term in the Senate, or if he’s going to run for governor,” opined the New Mexican.

The report notes that the “favorite” in the Democrat primary to take over the governorship following incumbent Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham would be U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, writing, “Deb Haaland would beat him if she wants the job. And Haaland, secretary of the interior, could depart her appointed position more easily than Heinrich could abandon his elective office.”