Comments from our readers:

FIRST TWO TEXAS border patrolmen were jailed (for years) for shooting an obvious border criminal. Now, a South Carolina trooper "used his patrol car to bump a running suspect," so a federal judge let him make a deal that will allow the trooper to "serve no prison time." Why was he tried in the first place? If he bumped a running-away suspect and saved all of us from one more criminal, he's still been punished. Our wacko courts are gonna continue with this nonsense until we won't be able to find any able public cops who will do the necessary jobs.

THE SWINE FLU is a plot by the right to kill off the poor, the old and anybody that doesn't fit their idea of a good American. Just watch out people, it is going to get worse.

RANT TO ALL the selfish and ignorant citizens of this great country. It's time to take responsibility for your own actions and health and stop relying on the government to help you. Get informed and use common sense and things will be OK.

THIS IS IN RESPONSE to the untipped server in this morning's column. My father taught me that if I cannot afford to leave a 15 percent tip I cannot afford to dine out. I normally leave about 20 percent unless the service is so bad that tipping would be inappropriate. (This happens more often in Augusta than the untipped server acknowledges.) Atlanta native.

OBAMA PROMISES to appoint to the U.S. Supreme Court someone with "an impeccable legal background." He also says he will appoint a justice with a "quality of sympathy." Obama knows better, i.e., if he learned anything at Harvard Law School. The sympathy comes from the voters and the elected officials who write the laws. But once they're laws, it's up to judges to apply them equally and correctly, never taking into account "sympathy." Otherwise, every crook who stole and claims it was to feed his family would be set free.

HOW MANY supposedly intelligent people and officials have fallen for the economic con that says to stabilize the economy, people must spend rather than save? That's backwards, of course. Apparently, somebody from the Richmond Board of Education fell for the lie because he says to help the economy we must get people employed so they'll "spend." Alas, as long as this lie prevails we're never gonna get out of the hole our lying leaders have led us into.

WE JUST GOT out of a three-year political campaign that should have lasted only three weeks and that ended up being based entirely on showbiz and not on substance. Now, the Chronicle is already stirring up a Georgia gubernatorial campaign that won't come for nearly two more years. Chronicle, stop encouraging early campaigning.

WARREN BUFFETT, the oracle of Obama, said that President Obama is doing the right things to head off a depression. The oracles of Augusta are denouncing every thing the president is doing.