Ellington

The presumptive Republican candidate for president, John McCain, commenting on the Russian invasion of the country of Georgia, said: "In the 21st century, nations don't invade other nations."

Lame duck President George Bush on the same subject: "The United States stands with the democratically elected government of Georgia and insists that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected."

United Nations Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said: "We want to make sure our Russian colleagues understand that the days of overthrowing leaders by military means in Europe, those days are gone. Ŕ

And finally, Secretary Of State Condoleezza Rice said: "This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia where Russia can threaten a neighbor, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it. Things have changed."

Is anyone noticing a theme here? These moral high-road quotes might just carry a little weight if they were not made by the so-called leaders, wannabes and government officials of an administration that—on false pretenses—promoted and backed the invasion of Iraq, started a preemptive war and is currently occupying a sovereign nation halfway around the world that was of no threat.

Can you spell "hypocrites"? Heckuva job, Georgie.

Brian Essex
Jackson

'Why Are You Crying Now?'
In response to the articles "Will a Bodyguard Plead?" and "Getting a Grip on Crime," it seems that when Mayor Frank Melton was doing his night rides, the city of Jackson was not having all of these nonsense crimes going on.* But the public, the FBI and the press subdued him.

His tactics may seem unorthodox, but look at the difference. Now that you have handcuffed him, watch as uncivilized youths have gotten out of control, adults and unsupervised dogs murder children, young men with potential die, and rampant burglaries hurt businesses and the middle class.

What did you expect? Why are you crying now? Your boo-hooing got you what you really wanted: nothing. We are afraid of change and the betterment of mankind!

James Coleman
Jackson

*Editor's note: JPD records show that Jackson crime from January to April 2006, during a period of frequent "night rides" by Melton, rose 16.4 percent over the same period in 2005, when he was not yet in office. Auto burglary rose 27.6 percent, carjackings rose 123.5 percent, grand larceny also increased 37.3 percent, property crime grew by 16.1 percent, and violent crime grew 18.5 percent. There were nine murders during that period in 2006 over eight in 2005.