Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers around the world:

Journal Star, Peoria, Illinois, on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation (September 21):

In a speech dripping with unintentional irony, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales bid Washington, D.C., adieu last Friday. "Over the past two-and-a-half years, I have seen tyranny, dishonesty, corruption and depravity of types I never thought possible," Gonzales said of his tenure.

Pardon those who found that remark self-referential. This is a man, after all, who supported warrantless wiretapping of US citizens, who deemed torture an appropriate interrogation tactic, who could not recall why several US attorneys were fired in President Bush's second term or what his role in those dismissals was. Not sad to see him go.

Nor to turn our attention to his potential successor, retired federal judge Michael B. Mukasey. As a Reagan appointee, Mukasey served 18 years at the US District Court in New York, six as chief.

On Monday, Bush said the Yale law alum "knows what it takes to fight" terrorism and "how to do it in a manner that is consistent with our laws and our Constitution".

Sceptics may note the president made similar claims about the outgoing prosecutor. The senators charged with vetting Mukasey, 66, should make sure he's not Gonzales II. To what degree would he march in lockstep with a White House whose constitutional radar has too often been turned off? ...

The Jackson (Tennessee) Sun, on the 50th anniversary of the integration of Central High School (September 25):

Monday marked the 50th anniversary of the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. It was a historic moment in the civil rights movement, and the nine brave students who helped integrate the school should be honoured for helping break the color barrier.

But simply remembering what happened at Central High School a half century ago isn't enough. Now is the time to look at where we are, remember where we've been and reflect on the lessons that difficult time has taught us.

Unfortunately, not all vestiges of racism have died out. Consider the case of the "Jena Six," a group of young black males in Louisiana charged with the beating of a white classmate. That incident has resulted in protests and has inflamed racial tensions in that rural community.

Clearly, time has not cooled the fires of hatred for some people. So how should we best honour the legacy of the Little Rock Nine and those who fought so hard to guarantee equality? By doing our best to end the scourge of racism.

That effort begins with parents, who should teach their children to judge others based on character, not skin colour. That message should be taught early, and reinforced often.

It begins with parents and schools exposing children to others of different races and different backgrounds so they can get used to differences and learn not to fear them.

We have come a long way in 50 years, but we still have a long way to go.

Grand Forks (North Dakota) Herald, on Columbia University hosting Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (September 25):

... Columbia University says "no" all the time. It says "no" in its admissions decisions, hiring decisions, tenure decisions — and, more to the point, its decisions on who'll be invited to speak.

It should have said no to inviting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, too. Because like studying at Columbia or teaching at the university, speaking in front of a university assembly is a valuable and prestigious thing.

Ahmadinejad is president of a regime that took over the American embassy in Iran, held Americans hostage there for more than a year, poses a direct threat to Israel's existence and is arming America's enemies in Iraq. He didn't deserve the platform. And the university should not have extended it.

Columbia dressed up its invitation in high-minded talk about dialogue, the academic community and free speech. But again, the college is very selective when it uses that rhetoric and when it does not. For example, Columbia Law School won't let employers on campus to recruit – read, "speak" – unless they conform to the school's nondiscrimination policy, which bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.