Lay off the Cowboys and CeeDee Lamb, would you, Mac Engel?

Engel got it wrong on Cowboys’ draft

Mac Engel is the only person on the planet who has criticized the Cowboys’ selection of CeeDee Lamb in the first round of the NFL draft. (April 26, 1C, “Cowboys ignore top needs in drafting WR Lamb”) He wrote that they ignored needs, but they addressed defense in later rounds.

Lamb shouldn’t have been available, but he was. After all, reporters still hound owner Jerry Jones for not drafting Randy Moss more than 20 years later.

- Randy Weeks, Roanoke

Bars, restaurants must reopen

A suggestion to Bud Kennedy after he told bars and other businesses to stay closed: (April 26, 1B, “From Fort Worth Stockyards bars to Colleyville, y’all help”) Stop taking a paycheck, freeze all your assets and shelter in your house. After a couple of months, let us know how you’re doing and whether you’re ready to go back to work.

- Hendley J. Kessinger, North Richland Hills

Really think this is for fun?

What is wrong with our vice president and president? It seems they are in total denial. Vice President Mike Pence toured the Mayo Clinic without a mask, even though the clinic says everyone must wear one. And President Donald Trump said he will not be wearing a mask. Do they think COVID-19 is fake news or will go away in 15 days or so?

Do protesters tired of stay-at-home orders or rules on wearing masks think it is a fun-and-games thing? Will these protesters have to lie in bed, hooked to respirators, or see their loved ones hauled out in body bags? Folks, this is serious stuff.

- Carolyn Sawyer, Fort Worth

It will take community spirit

Testing everybody for coronavirus will not stop the pandemic if people do not follow commonsense practices. When in public, keep a distance from others. Wear a mask to avoid spreading the virus in case you have it without symptoms and to keep you from touching your nose and mouth. And wash your hands often, especially when returning home. If you feel sick, stay home, except to get tested.

If everybody observed these steps, community spread would quickly fade, even with open businesses and worship services.

- Paul Park, Fort Worth

Politicians are taking our rights

Most of you have heard about the Dallas salon owner who opened her business because she could no longer pay her bills and needed the income. The city gave her a citation to force her to close.

What’s happening here is a complete travesty.

How can the government come in and destroy what people have worked their whole lives to build without compensation? Our constitutional rights have been suspended by power-hungry politicians. Actions like this are more detrimental to society than the virus itself.

- Robert Moon, Fort Worth

Bar crawl not good for business

The upcoming Friday night Stockyards bar crawl “hosted” by Chris Putnam is a far cry from being constitutionally guaranteed under the right to peacefully assemble, but I’m all for it. (April 29, 1A, “Bar crawl planned in Stockyards to spite shutdown orders”)

Wait for the first lawsuit filed by someone who catches COVID-19 in an establishment that shouldn’t have been open. When the owner is ordered to cover all medical costs for treatment, businesses will think through the consequences a little better.

- Mark Metroka, Fort Worth