Posted on 10/26/2003 9:27:35 AM PST by gunnyg
From: JPageSpann@aol.com | Add to Address Book Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 11:14:36 EST Subject: #187 Richard Keech Open Letter to Arnold Schwartzenegger To:
#187 Newsletter October 26, 2003 ©copyright 2003 by Richard Keech
Editor's Note: Richard has been dubbed the "Mark Twain" of the California Prison Empire by some of his readers who enjoy his down to earth, occasionally 'tongue-in-cheek' style of writing about his travels and life before his imprisonment and his stories about prison life and management. His tour of Japan saga will resume next Sunday.
DON'T LISTEN TO THE EXPERTS
To Arnold Swartzenegger.
I am breaking a rule in writing you, a rule I have imposed on my friends for a number of years. That rule, never write the Governor on behalf of a man in prison. (I am an 84 year old prisoner and have been for 6 years.) I explain to them that the Governor is surrounded by political experts who can prove to him that no political benefit can be gained by reading or responding to such a letter.
Prisoners don't vote, they will tell him, and they come from dysfunctional families who also don't vote. This has been standard political wisdom for many years. I ask my friends not to write because I like them and don't want them to receive that routine "brush off" letter that someone in the Governor's staff will write.
So, why am I writing you? The fact is I like what I read about you. I want you to do well in your new job. I know you will be surrounded by experts too. Experts who will claim they can give you time tested advice that always works. (Don't believe them, Don't buy it! It's the same advice they gave Gray Davis.)
And now we've come to the point of my letter. You do need to know one reason the voters were so angry with Gray Davis. And you aren't going to hear this from any of your handsome, well-dressed political aides. Passing out such info can be "career limiting". But, it won't hurt my career. So, let me tell you. The voters were angry with him because he took a catchy campaign slogan, "I promise to get tough on crime" and built it into a program that put over a 100,000 young men in prison. Not because they were criminals, but because there was political money to be made in the building and staffing of new prisons. (shades of Adolph Hitler) This alone should have been enough to make the voters mad. What really made them mad in the end was his awarding his overpaid prison guards another pay increase at a time when all other State services had been seriously cut back for lack of money. The knowledge that there's a prison guard for every four prisoners and he gets an absurd $70,000 a year to keep an eye on them wasn't lost on the voters. The thought that this could justify another raise is what did it. It made them mad.
The governor foolishly added fuel to this fire. He was quoted as saying that it wasn't his fault. He was simply giving the voters the "Tough on Crime" program they had asked for. If that was a problem the blame must fall on their shoulders. (A traditional political spin. When you're in trouble, blame the victim.) These were words to be expected from a politician, but not from a leader. The voters were looking for a leader.
There you have it Arnold. May I wish you well in your new venture. You have picked a good time to step in. The voters are tired of glib politicians. They want a leader. You will do well in this capacity. Should you find anything I have written usesful, you will probably have to explain to your friends why you think a prisoner could speak for the voters.
May I give you a brief "Bio" to help answer that? I fought in WW2 as a Marine in the Philippines. I was a POW in Japan for 3 years, came back from the war, graduated from the University, married and got a job as a Purchasing agent for an Aerospace company. My four children are all successful college graduate professionals.
After 31 years I retired so that my wife and I could travel. (We are still happily married) So, why am I here in prison? Well, at the age of 76 I had to break a law. To save a daughters life, I shot and killed an abusive ex spouse who was stalking her. I traded a few years in prison at the end of my life for a young woman's priceless life. A bargain I have never regretted. I see myself now as a traveler and an observer in the vast but fascinating California Prison Empire. Hence my interest in my prison friends and their families. Contrary to the outdated political wisdom of the staff of the current governor these extended families are quite functional.... and they all vote.
Richard Keech semper fi
www.Richard-Keech.org
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