Hey, Jerry Jones: Here’s a big upgrade for AT&T Stadium to benefit all of Fort Worth

Put that energy into football

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has announced plans for extensive upgrades to AT&T Stadium. (Dec. 16, 1B, “NFL to finance Cowboys plan for $295M AT&T Stadium upgrades”) He should enter the 21st century and place solar panels on the roof. It would certainly help lower the electricity costs and help keep Arlington taxpayers from experiencing blackouts during extreme weather conditions.

Recall that in 2011, when the stadium hosted the Super Bowl, it was exempt from rolling power outages that residents experienced.

Come on, Mr. Jones: Show some concern for the people of Arlington who helped build your stadium.

- J.W. Sullivan, Arlington

Don’t think we’re the exception

Have you heard the expression “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”? That’s how I feel about social decisions influenced by religious precepts. When it comes to our stances on issues such as abortion, book banning or courses taught in schools, our opinions are almost always linked to our religious beliefs.

The tenets of a democracy should protect everyone from forced compliance with religious concepts they do not hold. We are not a theocracy. Afghanistan is, and females have been banned from universities.

Think it can’t happen here? Abortions have been banned in some states, and that suddenly drops women into second-class status.

- Ann J. Clarkson, Wichita Falls

Learn from history’s lessons

Injustice breeds indignation and instability, which often lead to insurrection. Demonstrations in Iran against dictatorial rule mirror our own revolution and similar uprisings such as the Irish Easter Rebellion and the Palestinian intifadas.

Rarely do people acquiesce to tyranny or foreign domination. As our recent experience in Iraq showed, the dilemma is how to support homegrown rebellions or democratic movements, such as the nascent women’s movement in Afghanistan, without getting directly involved. In Iraq, we went from being liberators to occupiers because — in contrast to earlier military incursions in the Dominican Republic, Grenada and Panama — we overstayed our welcome.

- George Aldridge, Arlington

MLB, NBA should follow NFL’s lead

A lot of people won’t know or remember that about 40 years ago, the NFL blacked out local broadcasts of home games in their markets if tickets weren’t sold out. But Cowboys President Tex Schramm and NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle figured out that not letting local fans see their team on TV was bad for the league and the team. Football is now by far the most popular professional sport in the United States.

MLB and the NBA are allowing Bally Sports to keep free baseball and basketball broadcasts away from many fans. The company’s greed drives it to deny local fans a chance to watch local games.

The NFL has been visionary in seeking global audiences. Baseball looks for rule changes to get a bigger fan base while this lesson goes ignored.

- Randy L. Weeks, Roanoke

Washington set the standard

I wonder if new Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare will read the Dec. 23 commentary “Washington didn’t label America a ‘Christian nation’” by Jennifer Rubin. (15A) And if so, will he understand it? My guess is he may do the former as due diligence, but not the latter — because the core of his most fervent supporters are as certain of their superiority as they are unlikely to question their own core assumptions that support their presumed righteousness.

In that way, they are uncomfortably similar to the woke, credentialed liberals. God, help us help ourselves.

- Bill Lanford, Haltom City

Fix Tarrant County jail

District Attorney-elect Phil Sorrell recently said that we have 266 murder cases and 40,000 criminal cases overall pending in Tarrant County. (Dec. 14, 3A, “Incoming Tarrant DA told to wait on adding positions”) How did we get there, and who is responsible? The DA and the criminal judges would appear to be the prime suspects.

The result is an a full and overflowing jail that is holding innocent people. In the United States, until a person has his or her day in court, he or she is presumed innocent. Give them a trial or release them.

We need to build more courts, hire more judges — and perhaps even develop a system to rate the productivity of judges, and then publish the data it produces before elections.

- John Patrick Nolan, Arlington