How John Mc Cain Really Feels about his fellow Vets

From Shaun:

John McCain Snubs Mentally Ill Vietnam Veteran In Home State Of Arizona

Two years ago, presidential nominee John McCain started receiving pleas for help from Mike Hunter, a mentally ill Vietnam vet whose prison sentence was over but didn’t have the competency or the outside help of family and friends to facilitate his release from Tucson prison.

In 2007, Mike Hunter received a response from John McCain acknowledging his office was investigating the matter, requesting more information and pledging to do whatever he could for Mike Hunter. Mike Hunter showed me the letter. Mike was unusually cheerful that day and sure that John McCain, his fellow Vietnam veteran and a former prisoner of war, would cut through the red tape to facilitate his release.

Mike Hunter waited patiently but no help from John McCain ever arrived. Mike Hunter has now been in prison for almost 2½ years past his release date of April 12 2006. Here is the link to Mike Hunter’s information at the Arizona Department of Corrections showing his release eligibility:

http://test.azcorrections.gov/isearch/inmate_datasearch/results.aspx?InmateNumber=044273&LastName=HUNTER&FNMI=M&SearchType=SearchInet

Mike Hunter suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder (as a consequence of his military service in Vietnam) and schizophrenia. John McCain’s status as prisoner of war made news headlines, whereas the public is oblivious to the plight of Mike Hunter. With no family or resources to help facilitate his release, Mike Hunter epitomises the throwaway person trapped in the prison system. He risked his life in Vietnam out of love for America, and was honourably discharged. Back in America, he got in an altercation with his father-in-law who died. Up against the vast resources of the State of Arizona and railroaded by a promotion-hungry prosecutor, Mike didn’t stand a chance in court. He was convicted of 1^st Degree Murder and served twenty years for this crime in a prison system notorious for neglecting the needs of the mentally ill.

Staff at the Arizona Department of Corrections who were supposed to have prepared and processed Mike Hunter’s release package have failed to do so every year since 2006, showing not only their incompetence but also a complete disregard for Mike Hunter’s right to freedom.

Mike Hunter has paid his debt back to society, and it’s time for someone in society who cares more about the plight of Vietnam vets than John McCain apparently does to help him obtain the freedom that should have been his on April 12 2006.

Shame on you, John McCain.

If you are in a position to help Mike Hunter then please email me at the address below. If you know a person or organization that may be able to help Mike Hunter then please forward the link to this blog entry to them. There must be someone out there who can help correct this injustice.

Email writeinside@hotmail.com

Shaun P. Attwood

http://jonsjailjournal.blogspot.com/2008/10/07-oct-08-john-mccain-snubs-mentally.html

Sensory divestment.

This is a post from my prison pen pal friend Shannon, in Tucson, AZ. Shannon's life story is rife with tales of mental illness, abuse, incarceration, abandonment and disease. As is so sadly and inexcusable in the world's richest country (getting to be poorer for sure), instead of treatment and assistance, Shannon gets locked up. I have been pleased to watch his progress as a writer and a blogger, a link to his blog is in my links section to the right. This passage was especially moving and telling.

Sensory divestment.

Pixie's comment to my August 16, 2008 entry, about guys inside not having smelled a grill in over 20 years, reminds me of the secondary punishment that incarceration leads to.

Auditory. The sounds of birds chirping, water moving over rocks in a stream, soft relaxed voices, conversations without expletives, the crackling of burning wood, and most of all...Silence. Even in the middle of the night you won't find silence. Guys snoring, guards keys jingling, doors clanking, walkie-talkies squawking, etc.

Olfactory. BBQ grills, food cooking, perfumes, clean hair and skin of the opposite sex, campfires, flowers, and so many other scents many in society take for granted. *A little known fact I've noticed: Most guys locked up will smell their mail from female loved ones. I have with many letters from Pixie and Katrina. Often it's just an unconscious thing. The indescribable smells inside prisons and jails aren't found anywhere else together like this. It is like nothing I've experienced elsewhere.

Visual. The sight of wilderness, wildlife, human beings in casual clothes, genuine smiles, little kids playing, pets, and even automobiles driving down a highway. Mainly, prisoners see brown (guards), orange (prisoners), white (kitchen/medical staff) and grey (maintenance workers). Walls, buildings, etc., are grey or off-white. In ADOC, prisoners rarely see trees, plants, etc., and when we do, it is sparse and short-lived.

Taste. The sweetness of a fresh strawberry, the sourness of a fresh lemon, the flavor of a steak, or even that subtle taste of a lover's skin. In prison, the food has 3 levels: palatable, bad, and inedible. Taste has been repetitively assaulted for so long that most of us refer to flavors as colors now. Red (Fruit Punch), Pink (Lemonade), Brown (Tea), Red Death (okay, I'm not sure what that is). We don't even get gum or breath mints. I'd kill for some cinnamon breath strips.

Touch. Not only of a sexual nature, but in addition to...the feel of softness, warmth, coolness of linen and blankets. A soft shirt. The feel of a soft hand in your own. A hug. A kiss. Something so simple as a hand on your arm. Physical contact. I truly believe that many guys locked up roughhouse, shake hands, pat backs, etc., in camaraderie, subconsciously do so more than normal for intimate contact with another human. It's a guy thing. One that I've never gotten used to or appreciated. I am not a touchy person with guys or many women. I have personal space issues.

Yes, sensory divestment is an unavoidable punishment that goes with incarceration. Unintended for the most part, but no less a punishment.

Welcome Home Shaun!

Dang! I have been busy and a bit under the weather with a cough from HELL! Thus Pato News has been a bit dry lately.

I do have to publish this great, breaking news! My friend Shaun Attwood, aka "Jon" of Jon's Jail Journal is back home in the UK, arriving there sometime this AM US time.

He left me this wonderful comment that could be lost in the shuffle otherwise, so it is printed here:

"Dear Don, Thanks for all of your comments and kind words over the past few years.
With love and respect,
Shaun Attwood aka Jon"

Welcome home Shaun!

Forgiveness

If we were to judge the US by its penal policies, we would perceive a strange beast: a Christian society that believes in neither forgiveness nor redemption.

This is a quote from the British/Welsh social activist George Monbiot. Oh how US society fits that to a T. Persecutors (sic) get re-elected and get bonuses based on how many people's lives they ruin by tossing them in prison. Throw them all away, (most are poor, black, gay or lesbian, homeless and jobless; frequently in combination of the above, so it is not a great loss), make them suffer, deprive and warehouse them. Teach them nothing (except how to be better criminals), offer no programs. Once an offender, then mark them for life (to protect the children, who of course do not get healthcare but are free from perverts), if you need more space, build some more prisons, small towns love them. Send them out back to society, then restrict the jobs and places they can live, that makes sense, can't have these people too close to anyone. No wonder so many go back inside, they think life is easier there. No wonder crime is still an issue.

Our courts are a joke. The rich get off, the poor get little legal help from well intentioned but over burdened public defenders. Judges are idiots, just look at the fool-ass judge who got canned because he ordered his entire courtroom to jail because no one admitted to a ringing cell phone. This was a man trusted to pass judgment on people, making decisions that would impact many lives daily. He was not fit to run a car wash. Judges can, without impunity, make crazy decisions based on prejudice, fear and political pressure. Just look how many minorities are sentenced, just look how many people have gotten lighter sentences because their victims were gay and thus deserved to be beaten. I call it the Injustice System, populated by persecutors, sharks and martinets.

I happen to know several people currently or formerly in prison. Each one will tell you that they violated a law, got into drugs or, just as likely, could not afford to get the treatment they needed for mental illness. Each one will tell of the horror, humiliation, injustice and deprivation they or others endured. Few will say they learned anything valuable.

And what of this lack of "Christian attitude" towards those who commit a transgression? Well, "Christian attitude" has been perverted by the fundies into a condemning attitude. My local paper offers readers a chance to comment on stories and articles. If it involves a crime, the fundies and Repubs go off about saving the children by chopping hands, genitals, heads and other parts, brutally torturing the offender, throwing them in pits, etc. The Taliban is alive and well in suburban Kansas City.

"Faith based" prisons are proliferating, but at a price. The "religion" is primarily a controlled, fundamental Christian program and has been accused of "creaming" its success statistics, that is making sure the control group is composed of those most likely to succeed. With the world being shaken to its core over "my god is better than your god" I do not think faith is the answer.

Rehabilitation is the answer, a society that will help and welcome back those who have paid the price for their transgressions will go a long way to reducing crime. Making sure only the most violent and incorrigible are locked up for a long time. Making sensible sex offender laws, such as the recent court decision in Georgia that struck down all the laws where sex offenders can live, while allowing murderers, drug dealers and such to live freely, will ensure that they become productive citizens, not homeless derelicts.

The leaders of this country, both right and left, fall all over each other trying to be "religious" or "Christian". They forget the real lesson of Christ, forgiveness and redemption.

Do Yourself a Favor

Go to my friend Shaun's Blog "Jon's Jail Journal" and read his fellow inmate "Two Tonys'" rant on TV Mourners. I could not say it any better!

Two Tonys on TV Mourners

Be forewarned, He pulls no punches.

Persevering Prison Pages

I am being lazy, so here is another entry with a link to something interesting. This time it is my friend Shannon's blog. Shannon is an inmate at an Arizona Prison and was inspired by a fellow inmate to write a blog. I have enjoyed watching Shannon grow as a writer and finally realize he has something to offer to the world.

I won't go into it here, but Shannon has had a hell of a life, never had a break and has been mistreated by the injustice and health non-care system of this, the world's richest but most cruel country.

Give his blog a spin, he does not update frequently, but when he does, it is a fascinating glimpse inside the monster that is the Arizona Prison System.

Persevering Prison Pages

Speading a Little Cheer

It's a short message and not even real personal: "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from your friend Don. Take care!" It may not be much, but for the recipients, it is gold.

Sitting in their cold, stark, crowded and noisy cells the inmate will hear his or her name called for mail. They say nothing is as sweet as the sound of your own name. For those incarcerated their name called and a "you've got mail" is truly a magic moment.

"Someone cares, someone remembers, someone realizes despite my crimes I am still a human being with dignity", they think to themselves as they read the card. "I am someone who is lonely, someone who is in reality scared to death, humiliated beyond description, ruined, depressed, angry, despondent beyond words. I am someone who has to fight to live, endure incredible hardships, deprivation and humiliation. One day I was planning a night out with friends and making a note to get my car's oil changed. But in a whirlwind of calamity, I was handcuffed, stripped and given a number my freedom vanished. And now this stranger sends me a card and says he is a friend. "

"Maybe I can make it."

Get involved with Inmate penpals. Check out the link to Lost Vault on the links section of my blog. It is not for everyone, it demands a lot of time and patience. You may have to make the tough decision to stop writing someone because they are demanding, causing trouble or just not a good match. I have made at least 3 wonderful friends and look forward to their letters and cards.

If anyone would like to send a card to an inmate, contact me at donaldopato@gmail.com and I'll get a name and address out to you.

I may change a life....maybe even yours.

Inmate Drama

My inmate penpals are wearing on me. I know, thankfully not first hand, how miserable they must be, even when they put on the best of face. I know I have a couple who have little outside support. But the drama and now some games are wearing on me.

One pal is constant drama. I think he brings a lot of his troubles on himself Every letter is how everyone is out to get him and make him miserable and deny him everything. I just feel so helpless to intervene. I try to rationalize that just writing and listening can help. But the constant turmoil is hard on him and me.

Another pal, which Texas moved around from prison to prison and then back to his original assigned unit, now is asking for $$ every other letter or so. This last one was for $50 to send to another inmate's family so this inmate can get him in to a program in a leather shop. Not going there.... now instead of writing a friendly chat letter, I have to say no and wait to see if he decides not to write again. The letter before that was for some $ to get items that he lost in the moves. I tell all my pals, money will come at Christmas and on birthdays, anything else do not ask. This pal has gone quickly from me excited to get a letter to "what does he want now?"

I have not heard from two in a while, one of which is probably hacked that I would not pay for an online ad at another site after I placed a free one for him. The other one has a lot of support so I guess I am low on the list.

One is getting released in a year. He is great, but has tons of family and friend support. This his letters are nice but usually just a short page or so. At least he is not asking for something.

Sigh... I know it is not easy to be pals with an inmate. I think why bother? Then I remember why when one of them writes this in a recent letter:

"All friends, whether they know it or not, help me and all of us here just by being there, listening to us and loving us and sharing their lives with us. It gives me hope. It helps me remember that we are indeed human beings, loveable human beings, and not just thrown away, forgotten trash. The system and the guards want us to think that and treat us that way. Thank you, and thank all for loving and caring for me and for anyone in the system, thank you all for even caring about us. That means more than you'll ever know."

Thus I continue.

Jon's Jail Journal

Faithful readers and casual visitors: It has been a busy weekend and Monday will be no better. Look for an update and more rants from Pato on Tuesday. Meanwhile, I want to introduce you to my friend Jon's blog Jon's Jail Journal. A fascinating glimpse of life in Prison. Jon is very intelligent, honest and sometimes brutal in his description of life inside the Arizona State Prison in Tucson.

See you Tuesday ~ Pato

Letter to Shaun

My Inmate pen pal Shaun and I have some interesting conversations. We talk frequently about the US criminal INjustice system and where we as a nation are headed. Here is a good chunk of my latest letter to him:

We have to expose the hypocrisy and crimes of Bush and his gang. They keep getting away with more and more. You no doubt have heard of Cheney’s wayward gun shot. Good God, if that had been a Clinton or a Gore, the Republos would have begun impeachment already. They have a complete double standard that would rival any dictator regime or royal power of the past.

Electoral competition is key to democracy, and that is not happening here. So many say there is not a bit of difference in the candidates of either party. In 2004, only a couple of dozen of the 435 US House elections were competitive. 98.5 percent of incumbents won, typically by margins of 70 percent or more. Incumbents have placed a lock on the offices they hold. They get the money, are favorably redistricted whenever seats are reapportioned, and use their taxpayer-provided staffs to conduct round-the-clock reelection campaigns. I found a troubling statistic, of all the world's freely elected legislatures, the US House of Representatives has the lowest turnover rate.

Bush is a perfect example of the power of incumbency. He set the tone, set the agenda and had unlimited funds. Air Force One is a powerful symbol.

America's politicians have also managed to invent the most unappetizing campaigns imaginable. Attack ads have doubled in frequency since the 1970s and now account for a majority of the ads featured prominently in campaigns. Voter apathy is rampant. In a 2002, 81 percent believed "most political candidates will say almost anything to get themselves elected"; 75 percent agreed that "political candidates are more concerned with fighting each other than with solving the nation's problems.” I did find one source that said 6.4 million Californians are eligible but not registered to vote. That is just California mind you.

True leadership has become so rare that politicians may no longer even dream of stepping forward to say something other than what polls tell them is safe. And true leaders, if they emerge and differ with the powers that be, are quickly silenced. Write what you feel. I do in my blog, although few read it. It is my public record and my right that I express my disgust at the regime in power. As we always say to our friends in Nicaragua, “La Lucha Continua” (the fight goes on); our way of saying we will not give up.

I am leaving in a week for Nicaragua. I can not wait. Even though some events here and there have prevented me from fulfilling my dream of living there for now, I will love to be back in my little Nicaragua even for a couple of weeks. There the people thrive and persevere in the most dire of situations. There is life, there is joy in little things, and there is such a connection with the politics. No one is on the fence; in Nicaragua people even paint their houses in the red of the Partido Liberal Constitucionalista (PLC) or the red and black of the Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional (FSLN, or Sandanista) to show where they stand. 95% of the registered voters vote, sometimes walking for hours and miles to do so. Of course democracy is new there. I sometimes feel I am alive only 2 weeks out of the year, well really only 1 since part of the trip is spent in the Gringolandia of San Juan Del Sur, Miami south. The little Village of Mulukuku is where I am alive.

I will return suntanned and enriched from Nicaragua. Someday I’ll be there, if not tomorrow then the day after that, or the day after that, or the day after that….. (apologies to Fred Kander, from his play “Kiss of the Spider Woman”).

From Shaun

From one of my inmate pen friends. I hope this human and powerful posting from his blog Jon's Jail Journal will open some eyes to the fact that not all inmates are sub-human trash, infact the vast majority are not.

Shaun, he used the alias "Jon" for a while to escape the eyes of the prison system, writes his blog longhand and posts it to his folks in the UK. They maintain his blog, as inmates have no internet access.

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