[…] Via Tattered Coat. Fuck, I need to hit somebody.   […]

Thanks for bringing more attention to this situation. If we let this be overlooked who’s next? I’m state-side but I’ve still been warned about newspaper interviews I’ve given, just because I acknowledged I was in the military.

[…] Matt, another military blogger silenced. Go read. Permalink| […]

Daniel Goetz: A soldier silenced

Via The Editors at The Poorman, this post at The Tattered Coat is a must read….Daniel has been silenced, against his will. And not only has he been silenced — he has been forced to publicly declare himself “a supporter of the administration and o…

I’m glad you posted about this, Matt. If you’re inclined, send Daniel an email of support. I’m sure he’d appreciate it right now.

I thought of sending Daniel an e-mail but if you read his last post…he may not be able to read it for quite some time. I wonder why?? If anyone has any idea where we could send a care package…I would send one in a heartbeat.

Night Bird, give the email a try. I suspect he’ll get it.

Daniel recently moved to a new FOB. He’s always kept his address private, too, so if you’re serious about sending him something you might want to ask him directly or follow the navigation link to “Holly” on my blogroll. Holly is Daniel’s fiancee.

Daniel works with other stop-lossed linguists who have blogs, including Zach and Mike and Ben. There are links on Daniel’s blog to these, or you can get to them from my blogroll. Ben at Doce Meses blogged about censorship just a few weeks ago.

I hope they are allowed to keep writing. I know for myself that my blog has been cathartic at times, and certainly writing about my frustrations has helped me through the worst of this year. I imagine the same is true for them.

I’m glad people have discovered Daniel’s excellent blog, I’m just sorry it happened after it was shut down. He’s been writing excellent essays this whole year. If you have a chance, go back and read them. You won’t regret it!!

I wish that ALL milbloggers could say anything they wanted to say (that didn’t violate OPSEC) –they have certainly earned the right over any of us to do so.

That being said, I also wish that I would have seen posts like this one on left-leaning blogs standing up for those milbloggers that DID support the war when their blogs were also shut down (There have been many).

To only champion this now makes it seem disingenuous (not by you Matt -I know you have delved into this subject before…but by others) TONS of milblogs have been shut down…ones whose authors were pissed at Bush and many who championed him. This is a military issue, and an aiding the enemy from a war zone issue, and a “you signed on the dotted line and agreed to all this even if you didn’t read it when you did” issue –not a political one.

ALa, I can only think you’ve never read a military contract or an order for that matter. If you had, you’d know that they are nonsensical and that it is completely reasonable for a soldier to think it was okay when it wasn’t, just as he or she would expect to be out of the military when his contract expired. My husband’s no dope, and he has been stop-lossed, and he’s pissed. Go figure.

Wow. It really is a surprise that Matt is only blogging about a “liberal” soldier (and who said Daniel is) whose blog has been shut down and hasn’t blogged about the “right-wing” (are any of you actually conservative?) soldier blogs that have been shut down in the past. Perhaps you haven’t noticed that Matt’s blog is a “liberal” blog. His post is, therefore, not disingenuous at all.

My good God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee …

This is the public confession, entitled Double Plus Ungood and wedged into the final blog entry of All the King’s Horses:For the record, I am officially a supporter of the administration and of her policies. I am a proponent for

ALa, I can only think you’ve never served, and if so, its not to late. . . . and DISINGENUOUS !!! As disingenuous as, say, a war with shifting pretexts or Democracy at the barrel of a gun? Is it disengenuous that I’m concerned that I may be next?

Daniel is a ’stop lossed’ soldier serving for his

UPDATE: Matt at The Tattered Coat has a good article Another Military Blogger Silenced. Broken Windows posted All Shut Down. Navyswan penned Silencing the Truth.

Hi Matt,

Here’s my post on the subject as Haloscan trackback is being difficult today:

http://cernigsnewshog.blogspot.com/2005/10/daniel-and-lions.html

Daniel’s equally outspoken platoon-mate Zachary Scott-Singley is still actively blogging at A Soldier’s Thoughts. How about we all give him some traffic and include comments wishing Daniel all the best? It may be the easiest way to reach him at the moment.

Regards, Cernig @ Newshog

THe next blog revolution may be the exposés publuished by US soldiers when they finally get home

Can I just give everyone a piece of advice here? I think it’s great that you all are concerned with the demise of Daniel’s blog. But I know if I were him I wouldn’t want to be another liberal blog martyr. I’d want to be appreciated for my writing. Daniel is a damn fine writer. Read his blog. Comment on what he’s written. Email him about his stories and be specific. I’d hate it if he stopped writing all together because of this. We’d all lose out. He’s got a book in him, and that book will be a good one, not like the bullshit daily journal books so many soldiers have published this year. Daniel is a bona fide writer, y’all. He’s not just a soldier.

And you know what? That goes for Zach too. They’re not political tools. They’re men and they’re fine writers. They just happen to be soldiers.

Peace out –

[…] Read now. […]

I’m a vietnam-era veteran, married to a retired USAF Col. who served for 26 years as a fighter pilot. It’s true that military swear an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. And, isn’t it ironic that their Constitution contains the same First Amendment we are all free to uphold? Silencing dissent is just the first step to fascism, and the US is now a fascist state, without a doubt. Lewis H. Lapham writes an essay in Harper’s this month–Oct. 2005 edition–titled, “We Are Now Living In a Fascist State.” My prayers and thoughts are with Goetz; but he shouldn’t have capitulated and sworn an allegiance to war criminals. It’s better to be in jail than dead in an illegal war.

Thank you for this post. Now, as the milblogs are shut down, how are we going to find out what is really going on over there? No wonder so many people have forgotten that we’re still over there!

Double Plus Ungood - A Soldier’s Story

I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time waxing philosophical about my time in the service - it was (most times) pedestrian, at least compared to the folks who are serving in Iraq. But I am going…

Another voice silenced

For any of you who wonder why I get so vexed around issues of my voice please see this about military blogger Daniel Goetz via Sivacracy. It is too late because Daniel has been silenced, against his will. And not only has he been silenced — he has be…

all the king’s silenced men

matt has a good post publicizing the silencing of daniel goetz, a soldier who blogged at all the king’s horses…

Dwight D. Eisenhower, a good soldier, warned us about the military industrial complex. Welcome to the nightmare. Cross the corporation, you get fired. Cross the military, you get muzzled. Either way, you belong to the machine. I salute all the brave men & women who continue to assert their right to their voice, to their own ideas, to their own opinions. Where else is the battle for democratic principles won, but in the mind?

Can the people that make someone retract everything they have said or written and force a statement on them, really think that ANYONE believes it? It must be just a show of force. All it makes me think , is how revolting our military and government have become.

Kate:

I don’t think that people are using Daniel as a political tool, or making him into a “liberal blog martyr.” (anyone who wants to should read this post, in which he discusses Casey and Cindy Sheehan, first). What’s happening is that people are reading his work, quoting his words, and reacting to what he wrote.

It’s completely natural for people to react strongly after reading his strong words. No one is holding him up as a martyr — people are just saying, “HEY — why isn’t this guy being allowed to talk?”

What I’m hearing from you sounds like a protective urge — you don’t want someone you’ve come to know to be mistreated.

But it’s inevitable that some misguided people will misread, misconstrue, or misunderstand what Daniel wrote. That’s one of the unfortunate by-products of fame and publicity, when one’s identity becomes part of the larger public conversation. But it’s the trade-off you make when you enter the public sphere.

In the end, many more people will read and think about Daniel’s words than have ever read or thought about them before. And that’s something most writers would welcome.

How could it be proved (in, say, a court of law or military tribunal — neither of which, by the way, Daniel is facing — this is a purely hypothetical question) that one means precisely the opposite of what one’s words, on the surface, say?

That is a very good question, and let us all hope that he doesn’t have to find out the hard way what the answer is. And that he returns home safe and sound to continue his writing.

Thanks again Matt for your work on this situation, and much more that you do here.

[…] This is some creepy shit in reference to milblogger (military-blogger for those who don’t know nerd slang). […]

Matt, if everyone blogging about Daniel’s blog was actually reading his blog, that would be cool. But from what I’m seeing, they’re not. Some commenters on other blogs didn’t even know he was a satirist. If they’re reading him, it’s the final blurb. That’s what they’re posting, for the most part.

Yes, I think that it’s great that he has more readers, especially those who are actually reading his work. Too bad this attention has come after his blog has been shut down.

Kate,

I think your fears about Daniel’s writing quality may be somewhat unfounded. For example, I didn’t get as much time as I would have liked as his site today, so I bookmarked it and plan to go back tomorrow and read at leisure.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who did this … the story is spreading like wildfire.

And while he might be silenced now, who knows what the future holds? In a worst case scenario, he’ll write when he returns to civilian life and will have a wider reputation to build on.

Have faith. Writing of that quality and talent that original will win out.

[…] From The Tattered Coat: A stop-lossed soldier angry that he is still serving in Iraq, seven months beyond his original enlistment agreement, Daniel is no longer free to post on his blog. Though he had taken care to adhere to the code of conduct to which he is bound, it is likely that a post of his on the Operation Truth website brought his views to the attention of military officials. Daniel’s final post is heart-breaking; the single most chilling thing about it, if you know your Orwell, is its title: Double Plus Ungood. […]

[…] I always understood that there are certain freedoms one surrenders when entering the U.S. Military, but it’s still a bit chilling to learn of the censoring of All the King’s Horses. (Via The Tattered Coat) […]

Kate,

I appreciate your concern, and understand why you don’t just want Daniel’s blog to become another partisan cause celebre. That said, it seems like the more blogs reference his, even if they’re taking the “martyr” angle, the more exposure his fine writing will get. So please don’t fret.

I have in the past written on my blog about the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. It is my opinion that the American people have been blindsided by this war and honourable men like Daniel need not be silenced but instead given microphones to shout to the world the injustices happening to both the soldiers who are merely doing their jobs and the innocent people in these two countries.

Why should ANY U.S. service person male or female, worry or be forced to “stand” by an oath? Our wondrous president, vice president, cabinet members, and members of Congress DO NOT adhere to their oaths. All supposedly taken to “uphold and defend” our Constitution. Bush lied this nation into his ridiculous and genocidal war of preemptive aggression on the sovereign nation of Iraq. The Bush administration is waging secret war on Syria as this is written. Shades of Vietnam and Cambodia. The free and democratic looking glass world of the United States of America is a dying and rotting reflection of what America used to be. It’s true and it is hideously sad. Welcome to the new Soviet United State of America.

This is expected, and typical. Since the 1800s, the US has been marching towards fascism and totalitarianism, and none have stood and fought it… and survived the character assassination.

All that remains now is to invent communications that cannot be declared “blasphemous” to the ruling elite… much as Daniel’s last post does… It is deeply critical, while being utterly impossible for anyone to declare as “politically incorrect.”

[…] Picked this up from Buzzflash - a link to the site “The Tattered Coat” “It is too late because Daniel has been silenced, against his will. And not only has he been silenced — he has been forced to publicly declare himself “a supporter of the administration and of her policies. […]

It’s a shame that he’s not allowed to speak his mind. Being in the service should not prevent one from having and voicing their opinion. But … as we see here, it does. Sad.

Back in the Vietnam war when troops came home and wanted to speak out, the same thing was happening. It escalated into major fragging numbers over there. Here on the stateside? We organized an outfit of bikini klad beautiful women from the beach cities to go to Travis Air Force Base and pick up soldiers and drive them ANYWHERE for FREE. Anywhere they wanted to go.

The returning guys really appreciated the rides.
Oh yes, they were NOT prostitutes. They were just beautiful women;
good people who wanted to provide a smile to the guys.

There doesn’t seem to be anything like this out there this time. Just “families” and family values homecoming scenes. I am sure soldiers would rather meet with young women than visit their mommies when they come home.

What has gone wrong with our nation? Even the guys in WWII who came home partied with women and didn’t run home to their families.

I am sure the media is painting this picture of “family values” for propaganda purposes.

It all looks too complacent.

“I swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States and obey the officers appointed over me; I didn’t swear to uphold the officeholders appointed or elected over me.”

This may be splitting hairs, but since the Constitution of the United States specifically includes Commander in Chief as one of the duties of the President isn’t election a type of appointment for this particular officer? Such a denunciation would probably work for cabinet members, however.

Don’t get me wrong, I support neither the war in Iraq nor the actions being carried out for the purported purposes of promoting democracy.

I also agree with other posters that, barring potential security breaches that might further endanger others, the soldiers should be permitted to state their minds.

Anyone who works for a larger corporation these days may also be familiar with the concept of having their ability to speak out being squelched — it usually happens when there is an element of truth in the statements that would be uncomfortable to the company if it were well-known.

About six soldiers on LiveJournal have been ordered to pull their blogs so far. Several others have been warned, or have felt pressured to make their journals friends only.

Recently, a LJ career soldier and officer called john_of_arabia, whose positions were also usually pro-government, was called before his superior officers and disciplined for his journal, supposedly for being critical of his officer’s decisions. He was ordered not only to not post to LiveJournal anymore. He complied and took down his journal, only to be further disciplined later simply for reading the site on his own time and visiting other weblogs.

He received a permanent black mark on his record that basically ended his career. As a result, instead of reenlisting in the military, he appears to have decided to retire and finally spend time with his young boys, who he’s been forced to be away from for so much of their lives.

[…] Fellow Philly Blogger Matt reports on the inflicted silence at All the King’s Horses, the blog of a stop-lossed soldier in Iraq. […]

I’m tired of hearing everybody complaining and not doing anything. Do you guys want this to change? Or do you want it to get worse. It will only get worse if you guys don’t stand up for what you belive this country should be. Stand up. Make America free again.

Thank The Lord for Google’s Cache!
See the cache of “All The King’s Horses” - HERE -

I hope someone got screenshots. I really wish I had.

I hope the press shines a very bright light on him. I shudder to think what Bush’s people might do to him if folks look away.

Overheard at the DOD Monday morning staff meeting

Donald Rumsfeld: “Golly, it sure is a super fantastic morning.” Rest of the Table: “…” Donald Rumsfeld: “I said good morning staff” Rest of the Table: “… Good morning Secretary Rumsfeld.” Donald Rumsfeld: “That is much better.” General Pe…

Holly backed up all of Daniel’s writing. You can find it here:
http://imissdaniel.blogspot.com/2005/08/all-kings-horses-by-daniel.html

[…] We’ve had a number of discussions here about whether or not the Bush government, the various (Right)WingNuts, and the pro-war/pro-Bush hard right are, or are not, attempting to stifle debate - and to what degree they may be succeeding? Offered as more food for thought, via The Canadian Lemming, the story of Daniel Goetz, and his blog All the King’s Horses [ The Tattered Coat | In Search of the Truth | Night Bird’s Fountain ] I thank all of you who have been so supportive recently. I have never before received so much positive feedback, and it was very heart-warming to know that so many people out there care. Having said that, it breaks my heart to say that this will be my last post on this blog. I wish I could just stop there, but I can not. The following also needs to be said: […]

[…] Link The Second: Apparently America doesn’t want its soldiers telling you the truth on their blogs. You know what, Mr. Bush? If I was the political head of an expansionist empire that happened to possess the world’s largest army, I’d probably be careful about ticking them off. I seem to recall certain ancient Emperors in your position being assassinated by their own Praetorian Guard. […]

[…] Of course, get these before they go. A recent OPSEC (”operational security”) guideline was pushed down the chain in response to some of the very open blogging and photos coming out of Iraq, and the results have been rather chilling. Several milbloggers have shut down on their own accord, out of deference to security. Others however, are being shut down due to dissenting opinions. […]

[…] another military blogger silenced: discussing all the king’s horses blog and CBFTW [blog] […]

I can’t wait to read Buzzell’s book. I’ve followed his blog for a while now. It had to be good with that picture of Picasso’s Guernica on top! How completely cool. I suspect a number of soldiers will come back to write books.

I think you do a great job Kate. Thanks