Even when the lege is on vacation, their efforts against the public interest continue

Corporate profits must be protected at all costs...especially when those costs are borne by others.

From Arizona Capitol Times, written by Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, dated 5/14/2025 -

State Republicans want to block Biden national monument

Key Points:

• Arizona Republicans are pushing to void a newly designated national monument

• Opponents of the monument argue the designation harms Arizona’s economy

• The monument sits on large uranium and water reserves

Rebuffed by a federal judge, Republican state legislative leaders want an appellate court to give them a chance to void the decision by former President Biden to designate nearly a million acres in northern Arizona as a national monument.

In new filings on May 14, attorney Justin Smith is arguing that U.S. District Court Judge Stephen McNamee got it wrong in January when he concluded that House Speaker Steve Montenegro and Senate President Warren Petersen have no legal standing to challenge creation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.

Guessing that AZ taxpayers are picking up the tab for Montenegro's and Petersen's litigation and the continuation of it.

Steve Montenegro goes on TV and tells a whopper, but never get called on it by the reporter

I was watching (OK, it was on for background noise :) ) AZFamily's Politics Unplugged, when Republican House Speaker Steve Montenegro said something that absolutely gobsmacked me with its craven falseness.

He said that the people have spoken about their support for school vouchers and that Republican legislators are just doing their will when the lege expands the budget-busting ESA program (no quotes because I can't cite his exact statement, but I can say unequivocally that he didn't use the phrase "budget busting."  Though he should have, if he was interested in being honest.)

One part of what he said WAS true - the people have spoken.

One problem, though - in 2018, the legislature was unequivocally told NOT to expand ESAs.

From the Arizona Secretary of State's final canvass of election results from that year - 

64.8% voted "no" while 35.2 voted "yes." 

That seems rather unequivocal.

Gotta love taxpayer-funded propaganda sessions

Even though the Arizona Legislature is on vacation until next month, there will still be scads of BS spewed at the state capitol next week.

This time, it will be about spewing anti-Covid response BS.

On Thursday and Friday next week, an informal committee will meet, with infamous pandemic deniers such as state legislators Rep. Janae Shamp, Sen. TJ Shope, and Rep. Steve Montenegro and Congresscritters Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, and Eli Crane on it.

The committee will go by the (relatively) innocuous-sounding name of "Novel Coronavirus Southwestern Intergovernmental Committee."

The spewers-in-chief will listen to "testimony" from a veritable rogues' gallery.

First up (at least, he's first on the agenda):

Dr. Peter McCullough.  When I Googled his name, this came up (emphasis added by me) -

Next up: Dr. Lionel Lee, a Kari Lake supporter, and Dr. George Fareed, someone who's testified to the US Senate in support of giving Hydroxychloroquine to Covid patients.

Then:  Aaron Siri, an anti-mask lawyer.

Closing the first day's "testimony": Kurtis Bay, someone who blames (behind a paywall) the FDA for his wife's death from Covid.

The second day starts off with McCullough again.

Next up: Dr. Richard Urso, someone who has notably lied about Covid boosters.

Then: Dr. Pierre Kory, known for promoting Ivermectin as a treatment for Covid.

Next to speak: Dr. Lela Lewis, a religiously devout doctor who is the head of an anti-Covid vaccine group.

Last up: Anne Teixeira.  Can't find much about her.  I'm not sure, but she seems to be a Phoenix-area speech-language pathologist, which wouldn't qualify her to pontificate on Covid

Except in front of a committee like this one.