Dear Editor. Bill Quick over at the Daily Pundit likes to feature letters to the editor from his local newspapers that are written by leftists who achieve a higher order of whine. Since he hails from the San Francisco area, there's no shortage of quality material. Around here, we only have a weekly newspaper and while it's filled with down home goodness and an occasional local controversy, it doesn't offer much blogfodder (TM) unless you are interested in what happened when the visiting bank robbers thought it would be slick to try robbing a bank next door to the town police station. But I digress.

I like the idea, but being thus deprived, I have decided to occasionally feature some letters from papers around the country. Today's comes from the Raleigh (NC) News and Observer:

Planning a war crime?

The writer of the July 4 People's Forum letter headlined "A danger to travel" stated that his human rights are endangered by the recently empowered International Criminal Court, a body which the Bush administration deplorably rejects.

The writer should know that he has nothing to fear from the international tribunal unless in his travel to the European Union, for example, he engages in programs of genocide, the overthrow of governments or other equally egregious transgressions.

On the other hand, perhaps the writer ought to stay put right here in Raleigh so that he will not contribute to the already well established opinion in Europe of the Stupid American.

Maria G. Rouphail, Ph.D.

Raleigh

A little research shows that Maria G. Rouphail, Ph.D is employed by the state at NC State University in Raleigh where she is

Visiting Lecturer in English (Ph.D. Ohio State University), teaches courses in the Western literary canon from antiquity to the early Renaissance and the modern period. Her interests include nineteenth-century American literature, Latin American literature, the poetry of Dante, and the literature of Western mysticism. She is Executive Director of the Summer Institute in World Literature, and she maintains the World Literature web site.

She is apparently a "twofer" with her husband, Nagui, who is a native of Egypt and holds a real job as an NCSU Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Institute for Transportation Research and Education.

You'd think with all that book learning in the family, Maria would recognize that the problem with the ICC is that bogus accusations of "war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide" are a dime a dozen, particularly from people with "refined sensibilities" like the knuckle dragging left, the Euroweenies, and the Islamofascist brigade. Engaging "in programs of genocide, the overthrow of governments or other equally egregious transgressions" is what these folks immediately claim if you do anything to defend yourself or your country. Somehow I suspect Maria knew all that and her naivete is a pretense. Whatever the reason, Maria should consider renting a clue so that she will not contribute to the already well established opinion in the USA of an effete, America-hating, left wing academic elite.

And so she won't continue to look as stupid as a bag of hammers.