Last week’s NFL losses were a calendar fluke. Eagles, fear the Cowboys next time
Blame the calendar for loss
Many of the losses across the NFL on Sunday can be attributed to the schedule. Several elite teams succumbed to defeat.
The Eagles had played the Lions, Vikings, Commanders, Jaguars and Cardinals — all of whom except the Vikings have losing records — before the Cowboys, and now they have a bye week. In the game before the bye, they can put it all out there. The Eagles have also played at home every other weekend.
The Cowboys had played three Super Bowl contenders before the Eagles game, and it was their second consecutive road game. They’ve played at a different start time each game this season.
Teams are so closely matched that the NFL scheduler can work for you or against you. So, I think you’ll see a different outcome when the Eagles play at Dallas later this year.
- Harold Mantooth, Fort Worth
Count this independent out
Nicole Russell’s analysis of the Democrats in her Oct. 18 column “Democrats show how they’re out of touch with voters” was dead on. (9A) I consider myself an independent, voting mostly for Democrats in the past. But with the progressive takeover, the Democratic Party has lost me.
Today, it’s more who and what I’m voting against than who or what I’m voting for.
- Jim Westbrook, Fort Worth
‘Obsessed’ with democracy’s end?
Nicole Russell wrote that Democratic leaders are “obsessed” with the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack instead of concentrating on the concerns of working-class voters. The Capitol attack hearings have been conducted in the overriding hope of preventing another coup attempt.
If there is another effort to overthrow our government and it’s successful, Russell will have worries that will make the price of plane tickets, inflation and other working-class concerns seem trivial.
- Kathleen Meiser, Fort Worth
Biden misusing oil reserve
The headline in Thursday’s Star-Telegram, “Biden releasing oil from reserves in effort to lower price,” (7A) shows why that president’s action goes against the purpose of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The reserve was intended to be used in times of national emergencies, not as a tool to reduce gasoline prices.
The U.S. uses more than 19 million barrels of oil per day. An extra 15 million barrels from the reserve won’t make much of a dent in prices. Biden is obviously releasing it before the midterm elections in an attempt to persuade as many people as possible that he’s doing something to help the economy. He’s not.
Reserve levels are about 50% of what they should be. Let’s hope we don’t have a real need in the near future.
- Steve Himes, Fort Worth
New apartments steal character
Star-Telegram readers must see that the dramatic proliferation of cookie-cutter apartment projects throughout Fort Worth endangers our quality of life and the fragile character of our city. (Oct. 16, 12A, “Montgomery Plaza apartments move ahead despite neighbors’ traffic concerns”) Two prime misguided examples are those in the West Seventh Street commercial neighborhood and the beautifully revitalized Stockyards.
Having migrated from a Texas city all but choked by growth, traffic problems and mind-numbing aesthetic sameness, I implore our planning and zoning commissioners, City Council members and others in leadership roles to seriously review their charges.
We must all take hard long-range looks at the impact of wholesale growth, then commit to sensitive, place-enhancing development.
Once Fort Worth’s character is destroyed, it cannot be restored.
- Michael Mullins, Fort Worth
Contrast between the parties
If you are a woman, remember who took your rights away. If you are concerned about the economy, remember who gave huge tax cuts to the wealthy but a paltry cut for the middle and lower classes. If you are diabetic, remember who voted not to lower the cost of insulin.
All this came from Republicans.
The Republican Party has never been for the average citizen. It always favors big business and wealthy citizens.
- Cecelia Gilbreath, Fort Worth