What they're teaching in English class these days

According to this news article on the Web site of the student group Young America's Foundation, a freshman named Rebecca Beach sent an email to the faculty of her school, Warren County Community College in Washington, NJ, announcing a lecture by Lt. Col. Scott Rutter to discuss "American accomplishments in Iraq." One faculty member, English instructor John Daly, sent her a nastygram in reply.

Here is his response, unedited, as posted in the article. Forget the political content for the moment and note what I have highlighted. Remember when you are reading this that he's an English teacher who "enjoys teaching writing most of all":

I am asking my students to boycott your event. I am also going to ask others to boycott it. Your literature and signs in the entrance lobby look like fascist propaganda and is extremely offensive. Your main poster "Communism killed 100,000,000" is not only untrue, but ignores the fact that CAPITALISM has killed many more and the evidence for that can be seen in the daily news papers. The U.S. government can fly to dominate the people of Iraq in 12 hours, yet it took them five days to assist the people devastated by huricane Katrina. Racism and profits were key to their priorities. Exxon, by the way, made $9 Billion in profits this last quarter--their highest proft margin ever. Thanks to the students of WCCC and other poor and working class people who are recruited to fight and die for EXXON and other corporations who earning megaprofits from their imperialist plunders. If you want to count the number of deaths based on political systems, you can begin with the more than a million children who have died in Iraq from U.S.-imposed sanctions and war. Or the million African American people who died from lack of access to healthcare in the US over the last 10 years.

I will continue to expose your right-wing, anti-people politics until groups like your won't dare show their face on a college campus. Real freedom will come when soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors and fight for just causes and for people's needs--such freedom fighters can be counted throughout American history and they certainly will be counted again.

Prof. John Daly

Is he just naturally a poor writer, or have his personal politics deranged him to the point that he can't handle a keyboard properly? I don't know, but Prof. Daly has earned himself the DIM BULB du jour for spelling and grammar blunders that would have gotten my wrist slapped in grade 9. And that's just on formal grounds, let alone his unfocused, incoherent raving about every leftist pet peeve in the book.

I point out also, as an aside, that WCCC's main page has apparently been temporarily replaced with a splash disclaiming Prof. Daly's remarks, though not going as far as condemning sedition.

Postscript (Nov. 19): Edited to correct the spelling of "Washington, NJ." Don't tell me about the irony of the situation. I'm already aware of it.