Speak Out

I would like to begin by thanking all the citizens of this area who had the courtesy and respect to stop for my grandfather’s funeral procession down U.S. 78 West last Friday. I just wish everyone who did not have the courtesy to stop would have had the proper upbringing to know that it is a custom to pause for a moment out of respect.

I felt great joy for the people who did stop, but it just broke my heart when I saw several vehicles not even slow down. I hope in the future if you see a funeral procession you will take just a few moments to stop and give the dead a last moment of respect. I promise if it is ever your family member, I will be stopping for them.

Thomas Kandziorski
Oxford

Wrong on many counts

I was flabbergasted to read Col. Pete Eschrig’s letter calling the Abu Ghraib incident “neither torture nor an atrocity. It was the kind of thing that frat boys, sorority girls and academy cadets do to newcomers.”

Eschrig is wrong on so many counts I don’t even know where to begin. First of all, it has been well established that what happened at Abu Ghraib was a clear violation of international law. And although I can’t speak on behalf of the military academies, any fraternity or sorority activity that even remotely resembled the events at Abu Ghraib would result in criminal prosecution and the fraternity or sorority being expelled from campus. To attain the rank of colonel in the U.S. military is a tremendous achievement requiring an astounding amount of discipline. Therefore, I can’t reconcile Eschrig’s tolerance of activities that are anything but disciplined.

Aaron Hilbun
Jacksonville