Ducey defends Betsy Ross, but is he defending state he leads?

Excuse me for laughing aloud at Gov. Doug Ducey’s claim that Nike was bowing to political correctness by pulling its “Betsy Ross” shoes.

Ducey, of all people, is the master of political correctness when it comes to his personal political agenda.

If it furthers his own politics, he will endorse it even if it isn’t in the best interests of Arizona. If the president wants it, the good governor of our state supports it. He supported the threat to close the southern border. He supported the threat to impose tariffs on Mexico.

Both, if carried out, would have irreparably harmed the citizens and economy of Arizona.

The governor now has threatened to withdraw all financial incentive dollars to Nike because the company determined the “Betsy Ross” shoe is offensive to some who view it as a reminder of days of slavery.

The governor’s claim that “American businesses should be proud of our country’s history,” indicates a lack of appreciation of how others might perceive our history.

And because of his political correctness, the governor has jeopardized future jobs and revenues that would be generated from Nike opening a plant in Goodyear next year.

Arizona First?

Let people — not Kaepernick — decide if they want to buy shoe

Gov. Doug Ducey is doing the unthinkable. In the world of pop culture, politically correct progressivism and revisionist scrutiny, Arizona’s leader is picking Betsy Ross over Colin Kaepernick.

Is Betsy Ross now considered a racist because she stitched the original starsand-stripes flag, depicting the 13 stripes and a circular cluster of 13 stars, that has become synonymous with the American Revolution? A flag, Kaepernick claims, flew over the original states that included some slave states.

Who died and made Kaepernick king? And why does Nike put up with him when there are plenty of other spokespeople better suited to tout the products of that company?

I challenge Nike to put the “Betsy Shoe” out in the marketplace and see who buys them. Let the people decide. Isn’t that what the flag is all about?

Our obligation to resist corporate interests and repair the planet

Robert Robb has it wrong! (“Can we stop ‘mission creep’ by state utility regulators?” Sunday). The Arizona Corporation Commission is just now crawling out from under APS’s dark money to assert moral agency and claim a mission consistent with face.

For too long our legislative bodies have abdicated responsibility for policies that promote the interests of powerful corporations at the expense of clean air and a promising future for our children.

Now young people are demanding climate justice. In “Our Children’s Trust” (Juliana vs. USA), District Judge Ann Aiken affirms, “The right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life is fundamental to a free and ordered society.”

The evidence is overwhelming. Our government has known for over 50 years that our climate is warming as a direct result of burning fossil fuels. It’s time for elected representatives, including the ACC, to do what is just.

Robb’s argument may be constitutionally sound, but, in light of killer the climate crisis we storms, frequent floods and forest fires, rising temperatures, and people dying when they can’t pay APS, his reasoning is morally bankrupt. Our Children’s Trust has it right!

In a word, some of you motorists on the freeway need to r-e-l-a-x

To Mesa resident Patricia Abraham and a host of others:

You do not own the HOV lane. You share it. Furthermore, these lanes are HOVs only during clearly posted designated hours. It is essentially an express lane at all other times.

Please exercise wisdom, common rules of the road, courtesies and simply settle down and relax while navigating the high-volume freeways of the nation’s fifth largest metropolis.