Professor Daly: Real Freedom Will Come When American Soldiers Murder Superiors

College Professor to Student: Real Freedom Will Come When American Soldiers Murder Superiors (YAF)

Warren Community College English professor, John Daly, said that “Real freedom will come when soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors.†Rebecca Beach, a freshman at Warren Community College in Washington, New Jersey, received this unexpected reply to a recent email she sent the faculty at her school announcing the appearance of decorated Iraq war hero, Lt. Col. Scott Rutter, on Thursday, November 17 to discuss America’s accomplishments in Iraq.

In the email, Daly told Rebecca that he will ask students in his English and writing classes to boycott the event and also vowed “to expose [her] right-wing, anti-people politics until groups like [Rebecca’s] won’t dare show their face on a college campus.†Daly’s mean spirited and hateful comments were directed at Rebecca for organizing Lt. Col. Scott Rutter and for hanging up fliers contrasting the number of people killed under communism to those liberated under Ronald Reagan.

The alleged 13 November email:

Dear Rebecca:

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.

[…]

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.

Assuming this isn’t a forgery, this is a major breach of professional ethics on part of the professor. Accosting a student for her political views is outrageous. Advocating mass murder, too, is well beyond the bounds of reasoned discourse.

This is not a simple case of “academic freedom,” either. For one thing, the guy is an English professor and thus talking totally outside his area of expertise. More importantly, this is not a discussion of a controversial school of academic thought backed by research; it is merely uninformed ranting. I’ve defended the idiotic drivel of Ward Churchill and others with whom I’ve disagreed with in the past (see related posts below); this is beyond the pale, however.

Kevin McCullough has more.

Update (11/21): This would seem to be a legit story.

Professor defends position on ending the war in Iraq (The Express-Times)

A part-time professor at Warren County Community College stands by some controversial comments he e-mailed to a student there that have raised eyebrows around the country. John Daly, an adjunct English professor, said Thursday he believes the war in Iraq will end only when American soldiers turn their guns on their commanders. “The only possible end for the war is not going to be from our politicians, who represent corporations,” Daly said. “We’re going to stay in Iraq and occupy the Middle East as a profit source that will only change when the students at WCCC who are sent there to die for oil profits decide they’re not going to die there.”

[…]

Daly said he was a member of International ANSWER, an anti-war group. He e-mailed WCCC freshman Rebecca Beach on Sunday, responding to her request to tell his students about a campus visit by retired Lt. Col. Scott Rutter. Daly’s message eventually reached conservative broadcaster Sean Hannity, who read it Thursday during his nationally syndicated radio program.

Rutter, now a Fox News commentator, spoke Thursday about his experiences in Iraq as a battalion commander in the first and current wars in Iraq, and on the way the media report on Iraq.

Beach, a pre-law and political science major, founded the WCCC chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, a national conservative activist group. The group has about 15 members, Beach said. The group used $1,000 in student activities fees to bring Rutter to campus. The Young America’s Foundation, which brings conservative speakers to college campuses, co-sponsored Rutter’s talk.

“The administration at WCCC believes Rebecca Beach is an innocent student acting alone, but I recognized her literature right away as being part of a national right-wing movement,” Daly said. “Her group is an ultra right-wing, possibly fascist, group.”

Beach, who said she has never met Daly, said she invited Rutter to campus as part of her group’s celebration of Freedom Week, which commemorates Veterans Day and the toppling of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989. She said she was shocked by Daly’s message. “We were just celebrating and raising awareness,” Beach said. “We want free speech and tolerance, and they want it for themselves and not for others. That’s just utterly ridiculous.”

Yikes.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. ken says:

    James, with the source being YAF we can be almost 100% certain that this is a total fabrication or hoax. It would not be the first time this conservative group had lied about events of this sort.

    But, if the e-mail is accurate I must take issue with your charactorization of the proffessors action. He has the right of free speech, he has the right to oppose, in any lawful manner he sees fit, hateful groups like the YAF and KKK. I applaud him for standing up for American values.

  2. Dean says:

    Actually,I think she is going to be on Hannity tonight. I heard her interviewed on his show yesterday.

  3. LJD says:

    Status quo for the America-hating left. Just a matter of time before those who spew this hateful crap get their karmic bitch-slap.

  4. Herb says:

    If the E-Mail is factual and accurate, Then, the comment by Ken is not only totally out of line, but it is also just plain stupid and ignorant.

    Ken has this warped sense of what an American is but what America is all about. His comment is noubt, the most hateful comment I have ever seen on OTB. His ideas of what free speach is as as wrong as one can imagine and I seriously doubt that his stance to “Kill” people in the name of free speach, is lawful.

    I have been around for a lot of years, but I have never seen such a sick, sorrowful, sick mind as that of Ken.

    He is truly the kook of kooks and the most extreme of all left wing extremist liberals ever and would put the likes of Michael Moore, Jane Fonda, Kennedy, Kerry, and Dean, look like conservatives.

  5. Bithead says:

    My trackback is out at the moment, so, here’s from my own blog, in response:

    Alas, James, This is not as unusual as you make it. Call him what you will, but David Horowitz has done much to expose these frauds and with them, these trends. Far from being a unique situation, this kind of anti-American,Anti-Freedom, anti-truth, Pro-Communist nonsense has become part of the usual discourse with the left. And of course we’re told we’re steering away from rational discourse when we call them on it.

    If you want to see just how embedded this kind of crap is, just sit back and watch if John Daly sees any professional repercussions on this matter.

    Think, too, about the idea that someone so foaming at the mouth in this instance, did not arrive there overnight; there have been instances of this in the past, as yet unrecorded, and/or unknown by us at the moment. A web search on this guy may prove interesting, and as soon as this gets posted, I’m going hunting.

  6. Kent says:

    Assuming this isn’t a forgery, this is a major breach of professional ethics on part of the professor.

    Agreed. It’s so outrageous that I wonder if ken-with-no-T has inadvertently slipped a grain of truth into his post. While I would not put the likelihood of fabrication at “almost 100%”, it’s a distinct possibility, considering what another of Horowitz’ proteges tried to pull off some time back.

    Though I may agree with some of Horowitz’ present political opinions, I’m not confident he has shaken off all the Ministry of Truth habits he picked up back when he was a Red.

  7. Kent says:

    … And another thought that just occurred to me: ken-with-no-T’s rush to brand this a forgery suggests that he is aware how outrageous it is. Make of that what you will, particularly in light of his second paragraph defending the content.

    The analogy that comes to mind: “He is not gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

  8. Kent says:

    Whoops, I have confused YAF with SAF. While I believe what I said about Horowitz, it’s not applicable here. I don’t have a feeling for how reliable YAF is.

  9. Steven Plunk says:

    Freedom of speech does not mean freedom to bully undergrads. This bully is trying to scare a student and intimidate to the point of stifling her freedom of speech.

    All college professors and instructors have a right to voice their opinions but should use common sense about when and where they do it. It’s not that difficult to maintain a sense of decorum in the classroom and in the university or college. Of course there will always be a few who think nothing but what they say matters. I recall more than a few self centered pompous windbags in my college days and we didn’t have the political turmoil bringing emotional opinions into the mix.

    A simple reminder by the administration of the college should be sufficient to get this guy back in line. I would think it’s not much worse, at this point, than the typical sexual harassment that takes place between professors and student on a daily basis across America.

  10. Scott in CA says:

    College teachers have a right to their opinions. So do students. This student has every right to walk up to this turd and tell him to his face that he is an asshat, an idiot, stupid, unpatriotic, a clown, or anything else she wants. He is voicing an opinion on a subject outside his job duties. So is she. The moment he touches, removes, defaces, or alters her posters, his actions become a violation of her free speech. Unless the college has very specific limits on what students can post or distribute in the manner she did, he cannot touch them. She can sue him, the college, etc, for actions such as these. I am really sick to death of these idiot leftwing “teachers” thinking they can silence, intimidate, and threaten students. She should not back down. She should demand an apology until she gets it.

  11. Mark says:

    Ken says:

    I applaud him for standing up for American values.

    So I guess I am to conclude that Ken’s idea of “American values” is to have soldiers start killing their commanding officers over in Iraq. Oh yes, American values at it finest as defined by “ken.”

    And I find it ironic that this is the same “ken” who chides Joyner for pandering to the hatemongering right wing. No, we all know who the real hatemonger is now, don’t we “ken?”

  12. Argo says:

    To Ken: The e-mail is not a forgery. That you even consider it one shows that even you know how outrageous and beyond the pale it is. This professor is using his superior status at the college to intimidate a student — there is absolutely no getting around that. It is a flagrant ethical violation and the prof should at the very least be suspended for it.

    Another piece of evidence that the e-mail is not forged is that the professor has already given comments about the incident to the Express-Times (New Jersey newspaper) about the matter. Go to Google News and look it up for yourself.

    Further Googling shows John Peter Daly’s history as a rabid socialist activist while he was a linguistics student at Cal State Northridge in the 90s. He even ran for Congress in 1996 in California as a member of the Peace and Freedom Party, listing his occupation at that time as “AIDS Educator.”

    It’s perfectly logical to understand how such a person could pop off with hate mail like that.

    ———Argo

  13. Jack Ehrlich says:

    Ken, I have come to the realization that you are an idiot. Anything you don’t agree with is a fabrication. That you do agree with, not matter how outrageous, you deem to be factual and true. What is wrong with you Ken, were you educated in public schools? That college Prof. didn’t even deny it, you did. I say again, Ken, what is wrong with you?

  14. ken says:

    I suppose a less tolerant person than me would welcome hate groups like the YAF and KKK to their college campuses. I chose to stand with the good guys however and applaud the professor for his willingness to oppose these people in his defense of American values.

    That is not to say that the YAF and KKK doesn’t have the right to spew their hateful rhetoric, it is just that the good guys have every right to just as vigorously oppose them.

    Any American can understand that.

  15. Ralph says:

    Anyone seen “Doctor Zhivago?”

    BTW, “Professor Admits Radical Diatribe — Daly stood by his email to Rebecca.” Furthermore: “Warren Community College President William Austin said Prof. John Daly has “first amendment rights” to harass Rebecca. [Austin] said Rebecca, not Prof. John Daly, is ruining the college’s name by going on talk radio and television exposing Daly’s mean spirited email.”

    Seems President Austin is doing a good job of it all by hisself.

    Guess that’s one college where they don’t study that obscure French guy who said stuff like, ” I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

    In an interview with the Express-Times, a local New Jersey paper, Daly stood by his email to Rebecca. He told the paper that Rebecca’s conservative group is an “ultra right-wing, possibly fascist, group.”

    Wowee, talk about projection!

  16. Steve Verdon says:

    Just curious here to see how ken’s sordid mind works….

    How are the YAF (a group I know little about) and the KKK similar? Does the YAF openly advocate things like segregation, prohibitions on inter-racial marriages, and cross burning?

  17. Tim says:

    This John Peter Daly is an interesting guy. He’s obviously a true-believer in the Communist Manifesto. His rhetoric is pure mid-20th century Marxist-Leninism. And yes, he does have a right to free speech, and we have the right to call for his removal as a teacher in a publicly-funded school.

    I found a bio at the end of a scholarly article he wrote in “Inside English – Journal of the English Council of California Two-Year Colleges.” I won’t comment on the article. It seems intriguing, but I’m no linguist. He’s obviously an intelligent man in his chosen field of linguistics. The bio reads:

    “John Peter Daly received his masters in linguistics from CSU Northridge. He is a sociolinguist, whose interests lie in the role identity plays in language variation. Daly teaches grammar, basic writing and composition as an adjunct instructor at Orange Coast College. He also has a service learning project there that places students in the leadership to create awareness around hate crimes and bias on campus.”

    How IRONIC is that? This man, who believes that U.S. soldiers should murder their superiors, ran a project to help create awareness of hate crimes? Amazing!

  18. Lunacy says:

    “How are the YAF (a group I know little about) and the KKK similar?”

    I was wondering that very thing.

    Or is this just an attempt to besmirch YAF by association with KKK?

    Must we create a new rule, like Godwin’s Law, “Ken’s Rule”, regarding mention of the KKK?

    As to the Prof, it shouldn’t surprise is that he has backwards, upside down and inside out thinking. No doubt he worships at the altar of Noam, a man who also is perceived to be intelligent and talented…
    and wrong more often than not on the most pertinent questions of history.

    I used to be shocked and sickened by such stories.

    Lunacy

  19. KenNPhx says:

    John Daly is also on staff at Kean university, and this seems to be his primary gig. Here is the email address for the english department chair, Robert Cirasa: rc*****@ke**.edu. I wonder if this prof is also a bully at Kean.

    John Daly’s email address is: jp******@ya***.com

  20. AZiggen says:

    Well, my look into the YAF indicates that they were established to support Goldwater. Later they worked towards R. Reagan’s presidency.

    I can see how KKKen might in his moonbat fashion project Barry and Ron as KKK supporters…the wacko left seems to project greatness upon themselves…however we should be kind to the mentally addled…nice crochet Kenny…keep it up…hope the retard home keeps you busy.

  21. Mango says:

    Beyond the actual appalling content, I think the most alarming thing about this guy is that he’s an English prof and can’t get his verbs and his nouns to agree. If you’re going to be a moonbat professor, at least practice proper grammar.

    YAF are good kids. In my experience, they’re basically the College Republicans. Not fascists.

  22. dornumbafor says:

    About the selective reportage in the French (particularly) MSM, noted in the latest immolation:
    You may discover that the MSM in France is controlled by its UNIONS, which in France are COMMIES… a lot like many of our own unions in attitude, but perhaps a bit more traditional.

  23. pinky says:

    “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.”

    Isn’t this pretty near an admission that he is going to kick the girl out of school by either abusing his position, or using intimidation to stifle her free speech.

    “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.”

    Specific sources, please. You are supposed to be an English teacher.

    This sort of thing happens in many academic venues, but it is especially reprehensible in a publicly funded/subsidized one.

  24. RJN says:

    This creep should have a Zimbabwe Day, and a North Korea Day for his class to celebrate, and showcase, the freedom and material progress that Communism brings.

  25. Jim says:

    Ken is a piece of work. If the University administration wrote a email (making simular points from the perspective of the right) like Professor Daly’s to ‘Professor’ Daly then Ken would be livid over stifling of dissent. However, when it is the left-wing ‘professor’ acting in such a manner to one of his students it is “Standing up for American Values” Disgusting.

  26. Robison says:

    If this is true, I ask people to consider what the results would be if this professor called on white troops to kill their black officers. Or republican troops to kill democrat officers. Does that put the hidious nature of these comments into a perspective that blameocrats can understand?

  27. Tony Domenech says:

    I sent this to Mr. Daly before I knew you guys existed:

    Dear Mr. Daly:

    I’ve just read your diatribe directed towards a young student who apparently has set up an appearance for one LTC Scott Rutter and was stunned by its intensity and vindictiveness. While I have heard and watched others display the same vitriol, I am perplexed as to why, in your capacity as an educator, you would go so far to suppress the young lady’s right to present a side of an argument. If, after all, one cannot explore all sides of an issue in an educational setting, where, pray tell, is it possible?

    What you are espousing, whether you know it or not, is an incredibly totalitarian perspective. As a former educator, I implore you to remember who you are and please be aware of the relationship existing between student and teacher. You may not know it nor may you care but a relationship exists………I’d suggest yours MAY not a good one. Only you, in your position as the educator, have the power to determine what kind of a relationship or learning environment you will foster with your students.

    Finally, your letter to the student appears to have changed what I experienced in the 60’s when it was the students were rebelling against the system. Since you are a professor at the college, you seem to have reversed the protagonist and antagonist for you appear to represent a system in revolt against the very ideas on which it was built. I am greatly saddened by what and how you’ve said what you said. Furthermore, I feel sorry that the young lady, a student and freshman at that, must endure ‘adults’ such as you. What have you taught her?

    Sincerely,

    Tony Domenech, MAE
    Vietnam Veteran (’69)

  28. Wanda -- Army Mom of 4 says:

    Ken, you write:

    “James, with the source being YAF we can be almost 100% certain that this is a total fabrication or hoax. It would not be the first time this conservative group had lied about events of this sort.”

    Can you please provide some substance to your accusation?

    You also say:

    “But, if the e-mail is accurate I must take issue with your charactorization of the proffessors action. He has the right of free speech, he has the right to oppose, in any lawful manner he sees fit,”

    [I guess murdering officers in Iraq is considered “lawful” by you–does that include officers who are black, democrats and/or possibly gay? Or is it only ‘lawful’ to murder Republican American officers?]

    “hateful groups like the YAF and KKK.”

    Please explain to me, if you have the capacity for intellectual and reasonable debate, what about the YAF is hateful–I don’t recall ever hearing them call for the murder of any group of Americans. Also, can you please give me a good explanation or point-by-point comparison of the YAF and the KKK? I don’t ever recall hearing the YAF say that only whites are allowed, and I definitely don’t remember hearing any news reports of YAF hanging blacks or democrats from a tree limb. Hmmmm…maybe I’m just naive.

    “I applaud him for standing up for American values.”

    I didn’t know that silencing the minority on campus was an American value. Guess I’ll have to update my Bill of Rights. Also didn’t know that murdering soldiers who are ON OUR SIDE, SIGNED UP TO PROTECT OUR FREEDOMS was also an American value.

    Any other “Values” I’m missing? Oh, wait, I remember…murdering the unborn, taking money from hard-working Americans and giving it to the largest — and by that I mean obese — group of welfare recipients in the world, oh, and of course, name-calling, lodging false and unfounded accusations and misleading the American public. I guess that’s your definition of American “values”.

    Finally, I just have to ask, in what way are you “tolerant”?

    You wrote:

    “I suppose a less tolerant person than me would welcome hate groups like the YAF and KKK to their college campuses. I chose to stand with the good guys however and applaud the professor for his willingness to oppose these people in his defense of American values.

    That is not to say that the YAF and KKK doesn’t have the right to spew their hateful rhetoric, it is just that the good guys have every right to just as vigorously oppose them.

    Any American can understand that.”

    In summary, I guess it’s my “American Right” to say you must be stuck on stupid.

  29. Anti-Moonbat says:

    I assume since Daly quit (cut & run) his part-time job over this, we know he is aware that his communist ways are not appreciated. We also know everything said about him is true.

    He should not be allowed back in any classroom.

  30. RE Gold says:

    These leeches, sucking on the tit of the American good life, have the nerve to call their treasonous spoutings “American Values.” Our values would be better served by hanging these Traitors.