Right-wing blogger Dave Thul posting partisan political commentary using official Army e-mail

[Minnesota Raindog]

A right-wing blogger named Dave Thul has been trying to smear Congressman Tim Walz' military record lately in a big way. Thul, who evidently is on active duty in some capacity, blogs at True North, posts on the usual wingnut sites and fancies himself a patriot of the first order. But the Liberal in the Land of Conservatives blog noticed that Thul's drivel was being posted from an official U.S. Army e-mail address and is wondering whether Thul has broken any laws in doing so. It's a great catch for LitLoC. Read and judge for yourself:

http://liberalinthelandofconservative.blogspot.com/2009/07/dave-thul-misuse-of-army-email.html

[CatholicEdHead]

1. Maybe

https://www.us.army.mil/suite/login/AKOTermsOfUse.pdf



http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/ar380-19/appendix_d.htm

2. USER RESPONSIBILITIES. Individuals using their personal or Army-sponsored accounts should use the same kind of discretion in their "electronic on-line relationships" that they would in any private telephone conversation or face-to-face meeting. Misuse of Army-sponsored accounts (chain mail, access for personal gain, etc.) is considered fraud, waste, and abuse, and may be chargeable under UCMJ, OPM regulation, or relevant U.S. Codes.

3. APPROPRIATE USES OF THE INTERNET. Army-sponsored accounts may be used for official unclassified U.S. Government business only. Users may not use their U.S. Government access to the Internet for personal purposes. Access to the Internet through Army accounts is subject to monitoring. Consequently, only Army-related business that may be publicly attributed to the Army may be conducted on Army-sponsored accounts. In addition to normal duties, appropriate uses of Army-sponsored accounts include (but is not limited to) the following:

a. Keeping up with the professional literature of a field; b. acquiring publicly-available information of value to the Army; c. conducting unclassified contract/Contract Officer Technical Representative (COTR)-related contact; and d. keeping current with unclassified office matters while on temporary duty.

[Minnesota Raindog]

2. The plot thickens--update here

http://liberalinthelandofconservative.blogspot.com/2009/07/update-on-dave-thul-his-military-email.html