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MLG flaunts opulence with $368 per plate catered meals at the gov’s mansion

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

Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is at it again with lavish spending on catering at the governor’s mansion.

According to a report from the Santa Fe New Mexican, Lujan Grisham blew $7,336 in taxpayer money on food, labor, bar supplies, and glass rentals provided by the Santa Fe-based Adobo Catering for a January 18 legislative event, which was one of the less-extravagant gatherings she hosted, presumed for the 112 legislators and one of their guests (coming out to $32.75 per plate if 224 people attended). However, some legislators did not attend, many being Republicans.

A catered event for seven people in January with Sandia Pueblo Gov. Stuart Paisano cost a whopping $2,582, coming out to $368.85 per plate.

Three other dinners, some with former staffers, her Public Safety Secretary Jason Bowie, and state Sen. Michael Padilla (D-Albuquerque) cost a combined $2,200.

A February breakfast for freshman legislators cost $1,679, totaling $104.93 per plate, if all 16 legislators attended (or were invited). One Republican freshman legislator told the Piñon Post they never recalled receiving an invitation, so it may have only been for the Democrat freshmen. In that case, the cost of the nine freshmen, including appointed Rep. Art De La Cruz (D-Albuquerque) and returning Rep. Joseph Sanchez (D-Alcalde), would be $167.90 per plate, including the governor.

“While there were a few purchases of wine, none of the expenses is likely to ignite any outrage,” the report noted. Alcohol purchases with taxpayer dollars are prohibited.

Lujan Grisham’s spokeswoman Maddy Hayden defended the opulent spending, claiming, “The governor does not take her duty as a steward of taxpayer funding lightly.”

The governor previously came under fire for wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars used for $200-per-pound Wagyu beef steaks, ahi tuna, and expensive wines and liquors, all totaling up to around $13,500. This all happened while New Mexicans were forced to stand in long breadlines at grocery stores due to Gov. Lujan Grisham’s restrictive public health orders.

As we exclusively reported in December 2021:

According to the documents obtained in the IPRA, the taxpayers paid Abobo Catering $1,057.27 for a party, totaling over $150 for each person’s expensive meal.

The menu included “[s]ous vide and butter-basted beef tenderloin with roasted vegetable Napoleon and rosemary red wine demiglace.” Dessert included a “chocolate pear tartlet with hazelnut crisp.” According to the memo, the bar, bar supplies, and “dinner wine” were provided by the “client,” i.e., possibly the taxpayers in another form.

MLG flaunts opulence with $368 per plate catered meals at the gov’s mansion Read More »

Dem legislator threatened Edgewood funding over pro-life ordinance

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

On Wednesday morning, the Town of Edgewood passed an ordinance to ensure compliance with the federal Comstock Act, which prohibits the illicit transport of “abortion pills” or “abortion-related paraphernalia.”

During a meeting, state Rep. Matthew McQueen (D-Galisteo) threatened to yank funding from the Town of Edgewood if it passed the pro-life ordinance, according to attendees present and members of the public.

“I’m just going to have to reconsider how I allocate my capital outlay,” said McQueen, referring to funds legislators have for projects in their districts. In 2023, each legislator got $2,510,000 to spend.

Edgewood Commissioner Ken Brennan of District One clapped back at the lawmaker, “Is that a threat?”

McQueen responded, “Well if you want to take it that way.”

The Democrat lawmaker is also reported to have said, “I have 30,000 constituents, and Edgewood is insignificant.”

Present at the meeting were Mayor Audrey Jaramillo, Commissioners Jerry Powers, Filandro R. Anaya, Ken Brennan, Sterling Donner, state Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park), and others.

Among McQueen’s capital outlay requests for 2023 were four projects in Edgewood, with one project funded $500,000. That project was to revamp recreational facilities at Venus Park.

During the consideration of the ordinance, Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) testified in opposition to its passage, while pro-life Reps. Lord and John Block (R-Alamogordo) and Sen. David Gallegos (R-Eunice) testified in support. McQueen left the meeting before public comment.

The Town Commission passed the ordinance early Wednesday morning by a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Anaya being the only vote against it. Edgewood’s move comes after other pro-life localities, including the Cities of Eunice, Hobbs, and Clovis, also passed similar ordinances.

Because the ordinance is based on federal laws and not state laws, it supersedes recent legislation, including H.B. 7, attempting to ban localities from regulating abortion.

In New Mexico, abortion is legal up to the date of birth without exceptions.

Rep. McQueen did not respond to a Friday request for comment. We afforded him the entire weekend to respond, but he has not yet since reached out to comment on the matter.

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

Dem legislator threatened Edgewood funding over pro-life ordinance Read More »

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.

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

$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.

$3 million winning lottery ticket sold in New Mexico Read More »

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

KOB poll on financial literacy delivers shocking results Read More »

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

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

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