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NM school board trainer on hot mic: ‘Parental rights end’ in public school

28 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A new undercover audio recording released by Freedom Families United, a group that specializes in exposing educators and systems pushing “woke” policies, appears to show a New Mexico School Boards Association trainer, Andrew Sanchez, teaching school board members anti-parent policies.

“We’re going to start basic, really basic, power of the board. You… shall have the following power: to develop educational policy for the school district,” Sanchez says. 

“So guess what? You are potential targets with regards to any understandings of parental rights and/or subjects of curriculum.”

He told the school board members in training, “Remember, your most powerful governing tool is the power of the pocketbook. The school district doesn’t do anything unless you’re going to fund it, right? These are very fine points of why you’re so valuable and so important with regards to public education.” 

“Parental rights are developed by the common law. The idea of the common law was that only parents had the ability to tell… to say what was important for their child. Religious freedom: What basically the argument that has been happening now is people are arguing that the religious beliefs trump and allow them to discriminate against others.” 

He continued in the leaked audio, “In other words, now they are saying that the constitutional rights have precedence over each other. So you’re going to see a lot more everything based on that religious freedom-type argument.” 

“There are reasons why when you send your kid to school, you’ve given up some of that constitutional right. So, they can make decisions with regards to their [kids] without limitations on the custody and care… but when you send them to school, and by requiring school attendance, you don’t have that fundamental right anymore. In other words, the fundamental right of parents with regards to education is you get to pick the school [the child] goes to. You do not have the fundamental right to tell the school district how to teach your child. Your choice is if you don’t like it, you can go to a private school that was more aligned with your political or your religious beliefs” (emphasis added).  

Sanchez said, “So, this all boils down to parental rights being: They have the right to pick the system they want their kid to enter, but once they enter it, they cannot tell a public school how to teach their child or what to teach your child. You have the fundamental right, but once you’ve entered the public school system, the public school system prevails. Again, parental rights end when you send your kids to public school” (emphasis added).

He also went on to bash free states like Florida, erroneously claiming that the state “doesn’t even teach the Civil War anymore,” which is false. 

He said, “What you teach this generation that will soon be voting — the kids that are graduating next year turn 18 and vote in ‘24 — are instrumental to the future of us as a democracy and as society goes forward,” leaving out that the United States is a constitutional republic, not a democracy.” 

The Piñon Post contacted the New Mexico School Boards Association for comment but has not received a response as of publication. If the Association does respond, its comments will be updated in this article.

Watch the full video here:

Watch a snippet of the longer video here:

New ABQ abortion facility has ‘starting goal’ of killing 75 babies weekly

32 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Thursday, “Whole Woman’s Health,” an abortion facility formerly located in Texas, opened a new location in Albuquerque. It is located at 718 Lomas Boulevard Northwest.

The abortion company, which has been active for around 20 years, had abortion mills in Austin, McAllen, Fort Worth, and McKinney, Texas, before the state passed life-affirming laws protecting the rights of children in the womb from abortions.

Axios noted that the new Albuquerque abortion center “will serve New Mexico residents, plus folks from other states, like Texas and Oklahoma,” touting its abortion tourism in the Land of Enchantment. The facility has disclosed that 21 patients from Texas and three from Louisiana have already booked appointments at the Duke City abortion mill to kill their children over opening weekend.

The facility will perform first and second-trimester abortions up to 18 weeks of the child’s gestational age. It plans on expanding those services to late-term abortions “up to 24 weeks in the near future.” Also offered at Whole Woman’s Health are abortion pills at up to 11 weeks while setting a “starting goal” of killing up to 75 babies per week.

Axios reported, “Whole Woman’s Health chose Albuquerque because it’s in a ‘safe state’ and is easy to fly into,” meaning abortion is legal up to the moment of birth in New Mexico with absolutely no safety requirements for mothers, babies, or medical professionals.

The abortion company’s president and CEO, Amy Hagstrom Miller, said, “she chose a city over a small border town so patients and staff could be in a more populated area where they could blend in.”

The news comes after late-term abortionist Curtis Boyd, who is responsible for more infant deaths than any other abortionist in American history, has stopped offering abortions later in pregnancy in his Albuquerque center, Southwestern Women’s Options, which also previously had a location in Dallas, Texas before shuttering. 

Smugglers hire through WhatsApp, Craigslist to sneak illegals into NM

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A recent report from KXAN News Austin has documented multiple recent altercations Border Patrol units have had with smugglers, mostly Americans, transferring illegal aliens into New Mexico through the southern border. 

In one case reported by the outlet, a black Mazda CX-5 was stopped by agents in Hidalgo County after failing to stop for a speeding violation on March 14. The vehicle, manned by U.S. citizen Francisco Perez Mercado, sped onto Interstate 10 until crashing into another car in Lordsburg. 

Perez Mercado’s companion Christina Lynn James-Blake and two of the illegal aliens being smuggled were airlifted to the hospital.

“James-Blake allegedly told Homeland Security investigators that she availed her vehicle to the smugglers for $1,000. She said she and Perez picked up Mexican and Guatemalan migrants at a Douglas, Arizona, motel and were to drive them to Phoenix, taking a detour through Southwestern New Mexico to avoid highway checkpoints…. Migrant apprehensions remain steady along Southwest border One of the migrants told investigators smugglers charged him $8,000 to get him across the border and past highway checkpoints,” reported KXAN.

On February 28, an agent stationed at the Arizona-New Mexico border spotted a passenger inside a blue Hyundai duck, which led to the questioning of the driver, U.S. citizen Gabriel Scott. He sped up amid being questioned and was later apprehended with a tire-deflation device.

“Scott allegedly volunteered that he picked up the migrants in Nogales, Arizona, and hid two of them in the trunk for more than three hours. Scott said he was recruited by smugglers through an ad on Craigslist for an undisclosed amount of money, court records show,” the outlet reported.

On the morning of March 16, a Las Cruces-area Border Patrol agent spotted a dark Dodge Challenger following a gold Jeep with its lights off. As the caravan approached a Border Patrol checkpoint, the Challenger revved past traffic and was later apprehended on New Mexico Highway 185 after two miles of pursuit. The gold Jeep has not yet been located, but the driver of the Challenger, Jorge Luis Freyre, told investigators he belonged to the Chuco Tango gang.

Another caravan situation happened near New Mexico’s Antelope Wells point of entry, where a white Chevrolet Silverado and a 2006 Honda Pilot refused to yield and were later stopped by tire-deflation devices. 

Seven illegal migrants were apprehended wearing camouflage clothing in the Silverado and three in the Pilot.

“The vehicles eventually stopped, and border agents apprehended seven migrants wearing camouflage clothing inside the Silverado and three inside the Honda Pilot. All were from Mexico. One driver, Marco Garcia Acevedo, allegedly said he was hired through WhatsApp to transport migrants; driver Carlos Eduardo Cruz Guzman said he is an Arizona resident who entered the United States illegally, court documents show.” 

On February 27, Matthew Paul Anderson of Phoenix was apprehended driving his SUV on New Mexico Highway 80, where he surrendered, revealing his contract to smuggle three illegal aliens from Mexico via one of his contacts. He allegedly said to the Border Patrol agent, “You got me, man.”

U.S. Border Patrol said in a statement, “Arrested smugglers intercepted in recent smuggling schemes have been primarily from Mexico and the United States. However, they have also come from other countries such as Venezuela, Honduras and Cuba.” 

NM taxpayers’ return on investment revealed in new report

7 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A new report published by WalletHub revealed the states with the best and worst returns on investments of taxpayer money, with New Mexico ranking low on the list.

WalletHub wrote, “Different states have dramatically different tax burdens. This begs the question of whether people in high-tax states receive superior government services. Likewise, are low-tax states more efficient or do they receive low-quality services? In short, where do taxpayers get the most and least bang for their buck?”

According to the analysis, taxpayers in New Hampshire, Florida, Alaska, South Dakota, and Texas took the top five spots, respectively.  

California ranked 50th as the lowest state, with Hawaii coming in 49th and New Mexico ranking slightly better at 48.

While New Mexico ranked 49th for overall government services, residents paid the 24th-best tax rate in the nation.

Following the 2023 Legislative Session, New Mexico might be ranked below Hawaii or California due to a new Democrat-led tax package that raises alcohol taxes by 20 percent and cigar taxes to a full 25% of the price, among other measures that will increase taxes to the tune of around $100 million annually.

Commenting on the legislative session, the Rio Grande Foundation wrote, “Overall, the session, even with a $3.6 billion surplus, offered no fundamental approach to economic development or anything else.”

Other numbers from WalletHub show New Mexico ranks 49th in education ahead of only Alaska, 34th in health, 48th in safety, 49th economically, and 30th regarding infrastructure and pollution.

Source: WalletHub
Source: WalletHub

NM GOP calls for probe into MLG following Trump arrest rumors

15 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Tuesday, the Republican Party of New Mexico (RPNM) demanded an investigation into Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham over claims by a former staffer, James Hallinan, that the then-candidate for governor groped him.

The calls from RPNM come amid Manhattan, New York’s district attorney Alvin Braggs trying to indict President Donald Trump for “allegedly falsifying documents as ‘legal expenses’ concerning hush money paid to Stormy Daniels and potentially breaking New York campaign finance law” as the party put it in a news release.

The Party continued: 

These seven-year-old accusations resurface after Stormy’s hush money case was previously dismissed by a federal judge who ruled the suit “irrelevant.” Stormy also filed a defamation case against Trump and lost, also losing a subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court. Daniels’ lawyer has since been found guilty of extortion and fraud.

The return of these accusations against Trump shows the signs of another political witch hunt. Even those critical of Trump have blasted the district attorney’s potential indictment. One such critic, lawyer and former Harvard law professor, Alan Dershowitz, highlighted the political agenda surrounding this case saying, “This is 100% political. 

There is no basis for this prosecution, but with the judiciary in New York, you never know.” These claims are especially cogent when district attorney Braggs has recently vowed he would not prosecute numerous non-violent crimes.

While the investigations into former President Trump have turned up fruitless, there are almost identical charges against Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham that New Mexico prosecutors refuse to investigate.

RPNM Chairman Steve Pearce, a former congressman from New Mexico’s Second Congressional District, wrote, “Instead of harping on finding fault in Trump, who, after years of probing investigation, is continually vindicated, the left should begin an investigation into the eerily similar charges against our Governor.”

Ahead of the 2022 gubernatorial election, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s campaign paid out $150,000 in alleged hush money to her former campaign staffer, who accused her of grabbing his genitals and making sexually demeaning comments to him. The Lujan Grisham campaign then refused to explain an additional $87,500 payment, labeled “legal expenses,” to the law firm believed to have represented the Governor in her sexual harassment case.

“This is a perfect example of the left’s hypocrisy. While the media continues an uproar over weak accusations against Trump, no investigation has been made into the substantial accusations against Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham,” wrote Pearce. 

RPNM continued in the press release, “We call for New Mexico prosecutors to investigate the accusations against Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. RPNM believes nobody is above the law and that truth, not politics, should determine justice.”

Photo rendering of the proposed Holtec consolidated interim storage facility courtesy of Holtec International.

Law trying to ban Holtec project faces imminent court challenge

14 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

During the 2023 Legislative Session, Democrats rammed through the extreme S.B. 53 despite bipartisan opposition. 

Sens. Moe Maestas (D-Bernalillo) and Jerry Ortiz y Pino (D-Bernalillo), as well as Reps. Ambrose Castellano (D-Ribera), Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos), Meredith Dixon (D-Bernalillo), Patricia Lundstrom (D-Gallup), and Joseph Sanchez (D-Alcalde), joined all Republicans in opposition to the unconstitutional bill.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-Doña Ana) and Rep. Matthew McQueen (D-Santa Fe), aims to preempt the company Holtec International from being able to safely store used nuclear fuel rods in a temporary facility in Eddy and Lea Counties. Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham quickly signed it.

These safe fuel rods, housed in secure casks, would be transported by rail to the facility on train shipments specifically for storage. The project would account for over 350 new jobs. 

The casks are immune to hurricanes, floods, tornados, earthquakes, and even the impact of a plane crash. There would be no adverse effect on wildlife nor on groundwater, no radiological consequences in the event of a fire, and an inconspicuous design. 

The project, which already has gotten a positive environmental impact statement from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), is set to be approved within the next few weeks following the statement’s positive recommendation.

Despite the safe and secure record of nuclear production and storage from Holtec International, Democrats weaponized anti-nuclear propaganda during the committee process and on the House and Senate floors to claim the safe facility would turn New Mexico into a dumping ground — despite the facility not being permanent. The spent fuel would be stored at the Holtec site “until the Federal Government provides a repository for permanent storage or other permanent disposition as required by law,” according to Holtec. 

New Mexico is ideal for such a facility due to its “typography, arid climate, [the] sparse population at the site’s location, and proximity to transportation infrastructure,” Holtec wrote.

Now, Holtec is signaling a legal challenge against the unconstitutional. Holtec spokesman Patrick O’Brien wrote, “Passing a bill that is pre-empted by federal law and will be adjudicated accordingly in the courts is a counterproductive action that inhibits the state’s growth in the area of clean energy,” adding, “The project is safe, secure and does not impact the environment negatively and does not interfere with oil and gas production.”

Even former Attorney General Hector Balderas, a Democrat, wrote that the state has no jurisdiction to ban nuclear fuel storage in New Mexico.

He wrote in 2018, referencing case law, “Taken together, both Bullcreek and Nielson clearly establish two principles: first, that the NRC has the statutory authority to license and regulate consolidated interim nuclear waste storage facilities, and secondly, that the comprehensiveness of that federal regulatory scheme preempts virtually any state involvement.” 

Balderas further wrote in the opinion, “While there are a large number of factors that are considered by the NRC in evaluating a license application, state approval is not among them.” 

Even the Joe Biden administration has recognized the need for nuclear fuel, writing that it “made a commitment to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the energy industry by 2035. Nuclear energy is a part of that solution.” 

Despite all sides coming together in support of nuclear energy being a viable solution to our nation’s energy needs, Democrats continue to harp on decades-old fear tactics to keep investment, namely the multi-billion-dollar Holtec project, from investing in New Mexico’s future. However, the court challenge to the unconstitutional law is imminent.

Photo rendering of the proposed Holtec consolidated interim storage facility courtesy of Holtec International.

Haaland cancels Native American village’s Trump-era land agreement

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Joe Biden’s U.S. Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland, a former Democrat congresswoman from New Mexico, canceled the Alaskan ​​Agdaagux Tribe of King Cove’s 2019 land agreement between the tribe and the Interior Department.

“The land exchange would have allowed a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge that lies between the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska,” reported Native News Online (NNO).

Haaland’s office claimed the 2019 land agreement, signed by President Donald Trump’s former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, “contained several procedural flaws and was not consistent with Departmental policy” in defense of the cancellation of the tribe’s land deal.

“Tuesday’s announcement kills plans for a road to King Cove, Alaska, where almost 1,000 residents live, without access by a road. Currently, residents must travel by air or boat to get to more populated areas of Alaska,” NNO further reported. 

Haaland said following the announcement, “The debate around approving the construction of a road to connect the people of King Cove to life-saving resources has created a false choice, seeded over many years, between valuing conservation and wildlife or upholding our commitments to Indigenous communities. I reject that binary choice. I am a lifelong conservationist, and I believe deeply in the need to protect our lands and waters and honor our obligations to Tribal Nations. Respecting Tribal sovereignty means ensuring that we are listening – really listening – to Tribal communities.”

Suzanne Downing of Must Read Alaska wrote after the announcement: 

When Haaland was pressured to approve the ConocoPhillips Willow Project, a modest oil field in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, she did so against her will.

Haaland choked up while speaking with a room of Alaska Natives from the radical side of the spectrum who oppose the drilling permit, as she explained her agency had “difficult choices to make,” according to those present at the meeting.

…

​​Now, however, Haaland is in a dark mood. She lost face among Nuiqsut village leaders when she was forced to announce the Willow record of decision, and she was out for blood. She took her revenge on the people of King Cove, about half of which are Alaska Natives, by unilaterally taking back the land the department had already traded.

Haaland’s actions are inconsistent with her stated support for the Natives of Alaska. She denied a life-saving road for the purpose of face saving, virtue signaling and score settling in a corner of the world that the Biden Administration continues to treat as a colony.

Haaland has once again gone against tribal interests to instead side with radical left-wing “climate change” activists who would rather see these nations fail than give the Agdaagux Tribe autonomy.

Lujan Grisham signs bill giving life-sentenced minors chance of parole

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On Friday, the day before the 2023 Legislative Session adjourned, Democrat New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed S.B. 64 by Rep. Gail Chasey and Sen. Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez (D-Bernalillo), which would give inmates sentenced as juveniles the opportunity for parole after 15 years in some cases.

The bill would even give school shooters, rapists, and other criminals sentenced from age 14 to 17 the opportunity for a parole hearing. This would include if the then-juvenile was tried and convicted as an adult. 

On the House floor Monday, Republicans unsuccessfully tried to add amendments to the bill.

Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park) wrote on Twitter following her amendment being tabled, “Bad bills are usually heard after midnight — right on cue, Dems presented a bill to allow early parole of 20 years for minors who willfully and deliberately premediate a murder.  I presented an amendment to exclude those that RAPE and murder a child, Dems said no.” 

Another amendment offered by Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo) would have exempted mass shooters from being eligible for parole. That amendment also died. 

“Late last night and early this morning (11:16 pm yesterday to 2:16 am today), we debated SB64 letting mass shooters/rapists/other life-sentenced criminals convicted as minors get parole hearings. Dems passed it and killed my amendment excluding mass shooters,” wrote Block.

Rep. Andrea Reeb (R-Clovis) offered an amendment extending the parole deadlines in the bill. Democrats killed that amendment.

The bill allows the inmate to get a parole hearing every four years, which Republicans noted would “revictimize” the families of those harmed or victims themselves. 

Another measure, S.B. 29 by Sen. Bill O’Neill (D-Bernalillo), “allows early parole for anyone over 55 with an ‘age-related disease,’ which, according to WHO, includes hearing loss, cataracts, back/neck pain, osteoarthritis, diabetes, depression, etc.,” according to Rep. Lord.  

Lord offered an amendment to O’Neill’s bill that would exempt pedophiles from being eligible for early parole, but “Dems said no,” she wrote. 

Despite a massive crime wave plaguing New Mexico, especially Albuquerque, Democrats failed to pass much meaningful crime legislation targeting criminals. They instead opted to reward criminals with early parole and target law-abiding gun owners in bills such as H.B. 9, which passed and was signed by Gov. Lujan Grisham.

During the 2023 Legislative Session, over 200 bills passed. It is unclear how many the governor will sign. She has until April 7, 2023, to act upon the passed legislation, or else it will be “pocket vetoed,” meaning it will be discarded due to inaction.

NM legislature adjourns with only one anti-gun bill reaching governor’s desk

14 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Saturday at noon, the New Mexico House and Senate adjourned from the 2023 Legislative Session. The adjournment meant the death of many anti-gun proposals that would have restricted citizens’ constitutional rights. Only one bill, H.B. 9, mandating the lockup of firearms, passed and was signed by Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The dead gun-grabbing legislation includes S.B. 44 banning citizens from carrying a firearm within 100 feet of a polling place during an election, S.B. 428 targeting firearm retailers and manufacturers with frivolous lawsuits, H.B. 100 banning most firearms over 10-round capacity, and H.B. 101 mandating a 14-day waiting period before firearm purchases.

S.B. 427, which is similar to H.B. 101 banning magazine capacity, died, while S.B. 116, mandating a person must be 21 to purchase a firearm, did not make it across the finish line.

Other bad bills, such as H.B. 426 to create a “clean fuel standard” (resulting in increased gas prices), along with H.J.R. 4 to install the “Green Amendment,” died in their first chamber. 

Other extreme legislation, such as H.B. 399 to attack counties’ sovereignty, died, while a proposal, H.J. R. 8, to pay legislators salaries fizzled in the Senate. 

H.B. 25 to raise the minimum wage to over $16.00 per hour, S.B. 77 mandating electric vehicle charging stations be put in all new homes, H.B. 263 to create taxpayer-funded drug dens for addicts to shoot up, and H.B. 230 to astronomically increase the cost of alcohol, all died. 

A tax package that will increase taxes overall by around $100 million did pass, although it is unclear if it will be signed into law by Gov. Lujan Grisham. That package included a minor additional tax on alcohol. 

Following the end of the session, the Republican Party of New Mexico wrote, “We knew progressives would take advantage of their majority in the legislature to push through their radical agenda this session. However, despite being in the minority, Republicans successfully passed beneficial legislation and halted other unconstitutional bills from becoming law.”

Dem lawmakers ram through bad bills ahead of Saturday adjournment

14 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Friday, New Mexico legislative Democrats rammed through many extreme bills during the last full day of the 2023 Legislative Session.

Some of these bills included: 

S.B. 53: Trying to preempt Holtec from building a nuclear storage facility in southeastern New Mexico. Democrats, including sponsor Rep. Matthew McQueen (D-Santa Fe, Sandoval), erroneously claimed the company would make the state the “dumping ground” of spent nuclear fuel but failed to talk about how safe the facility is or the vast economic opportunities its location in the Land of Enchantment would be. It passed on a mostly party-line 35-28 vote. It was quickly signed by Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

S.B. 13: The chamber endorsed the radical bill that would censor pro-life speech and ban extradition of criminal abortionists who break the law in other states passed the House despite bipartisan opposition and a lengthy three-hour debate. It passed 38-30, with six Democrats joining all Republicans in opposition. 

S.B. 468: The bill declaring a state holiday for the radical far-left labor activist Dolores Huerta passed the House by a vote of 50-10.

S.B. 426: The bill creates a new civil rights division in the Attorney General’s Office that will cost New Mexicans millions over the next three-year period. Its creation was because of the state’s Civil Rights Act which attacks local government and police departments by opening the door to floodgates of frivolous lawsuits.

All anti-gun bills other than H.B. 9, which would mandate the locking up of firearms, appear to be dead as both houses of the legislature speed ahead toward a 12:00 noon adjournment on Saturday.

One key item of legislation, H.B. 547, a tax package that could raise taxes by over $114 million annually, is still up in the air due to the House and Senate not agreeing on the bill’s provisions. It could pass on Saturday if both chambers agree with changes made in a conference committee.  

There have been rumors Gov. Lujan Grisham is thinking about a special session, but news of such a move would likely only be known following the end of the current session.

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