Meme about private border detention facilities

This is a meme

I've seen this posted by several friends (presumably "friends of friends of friends" of the OP.)  Long, but worth a read.

NOTE - Some people have had trouble sharing this post, so if you want to do that, you may need to copy/paste rather than ‘share’.

"So a friend decided to do a little research into the $750/day figure he’d heard a private company was charging the US government per each detained migrant child. He wanted to, with his own eyes and brain, 1. verify this figure was accurate; 2. verify it was indeed a private company instead of a non-profit charging this, if true, as both have managed these detention centers (not that it really matters, ultimately, but stay with me); 3. try to figure out where this per diem sum — more than my monthly mortgage — was going, if not to even buy these tortured children toothbrushes and soap, which are about the cheapest basic necessities on the market, and which no individual has to replace every day.

$750/person A DAY should cover a lot of necessities, right? Right. So where the hell is all this money going? This can’t be true...

Well here’s what I found:

1. Yes, it’s a private company called Comprehensive Health Services (a subsidiary of Caliburn International). CHS operates the largest child migrant detention center, which is in FL and was already getting horrible press — especially from local FL papers — last year. But that didn’t matter, because CHS recently opened up a few more child prisons in TX, as it snagged a new government contract, despite many documented concerns about conditions there.

2. $750/day per child is an accurate sum of CHS’s CLAIMED operating costs, and what our federal tax dollars are paying for. A sum that was agreed to upon award of the contract. In fact, it was actually on the record as $775 last summer.

3. So where is this money going, you wonder, if not to soap and toothbrushes? Yeah, I did too, and it was quite easy to dig up. CHS, via Caliburn, is controlled by the private equity firm DC Capital Partners. For those of you who don’t know how private equity firms work, look it up, or ask me in the comments.

4. While I would not be able to find out vested shareholders in the DCCP portfolio, we do not have to assume they’re making some nice returns on these CHS operations and government contracts that line their pockets instead of covering even basic human needs for children. That’s clear, because why would a private company keep their costs down so low that they completely disregard humanity, even though they say they’re experts in “healthcare?”

PROFIT. FOR THEIR PRIVATE INVESTORS.

5. While I can’t name for you the private investors getting rich off of this humanitarian crisis, I can name for you members of the advisory board of DCCP, which approves everything in the portfolio.

First up: Trump’s former Chief of Staff, John Kelly, who was named to the board LAST MONTH, and photographed riding a golf cart into a CHS child prison. So with his own eyes, he saw the conditions there. And he was cool with it all, because hey, there’s money to be made for his rich investor friends, and maybe even himself! Who knows! Can’t say for sure, so feel free to reasonably assume what you wish. I’m just stating facts here.

Coincidentally, prior to joining Trump in the WH, he was also a paid lobbyist for DCCP. Hmmmm...

6. So next up on the DCCP board: Richard L. Armitage, former U.S. deputy secretary of state; Michael Corbin; former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates; Michael V. Hayden, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and of the National Security Agency; Donald M. Kerr Jr., former deputy director of science and technology at the CIA; Anthony C. Zinni, former commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command and former U.S. Envoy to the Middle East; and Stephen F. Loftus, former director of the Office of the Budget for the United States Navy.

Are y’all seeing any patterns here?

7. Michael Hayden, last June, said on the record he sees “commonality” between Nazi Germany’s separation of children at concentration camps and the Trump administration policy that is forcing children to be separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"I know we’re not Nazi Germany, alright. But there is a commonality there, and a fear on my part ... We have standards we have to live up to,” Hayden told CNN’s “New Day.”

It appears he left those standards at the boardroom door, along with many other individuals that dance with greed and corruption on the line of the private and public sectors COMPLETELY UNCHECKED.

8. Last month, the same month Kelly got his new gig, the government awarded CHS a brand new, hush-hush contract worth $341 million, even though there had been tons of pressure to close it due to its conditions.

THERE WAS NO COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR THE CONTRACT, and it happened under the radar.

9. Just two months before this, in March, CHS/Caliburn cancelled its IPO after registering with the SEC to sell $100m public shares. The CEO cited “market forces,” yet made it clear the company was thriving and growing.

——————

I’ll leave you to come to your own conclusions about all of this, or do more research. And I’ll post a ton of sources in the comments for those who actually think this administration is “draining the swamp,” or who want to debate the semantics of whether these ”centers” can reasonably be called child concentration camps or not without offending some non-brown people.

And for those of you who think children don’t deserve the most basic human rights because they’re not American: There’s a special place in hell for you, and I imagine hell to be a whole lot like this situation.

For those of you who are cool lining the pockets of private citizens in DC with YOUR tax dollars while dirty, hungry, sick children live imprisoned and stacked in cages without even a dime of your money going to pay for soap and toothbrushes for these kids like it was supposed to: I’m ashamed to share this country with you as legal citizens, and I think you’re disgustingly dumb. We failed you, too, but at least you got to go to school when you were a kid, and didn’t spend childhood dying in a cage.

America, NONE OF THIS IS OK. WAKE UP.

——————

FRIDAY NIGHT UPDATE (!!)

1. As mentioned upon writing this, I originally posted my sources at the beginning of the comments thread at time of publishing -- before it became a large discussion. For your convenience and further reading, I am now moving my sources here + some extra homework for everyone to do (no particular order):

https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/CLBR:US

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article229744049.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-kelly-joins-board-of-caliburn-international-company-operating-largest-unaccompanied-migrant-children-shelter/

https://news.littlesis.org/2019/02/13/wall-street-banks-former-defense-officials-looking-to-cash-in-on-child-detentions/

https://thehill.com/latino/392727-hayden-sees-commonality-between-zero-tolerance-border-policy-and-nazi-germany

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/13/694175061/florida-shelter-is-scrutinized-for-the-way-it-handles-migrant-children

https://www.nytimes.com/…/migrant-shelters-border-crossing.…

https://heavy.com/news/2019/05/caliburn-international/

https://www.thedailybeast.com/doj-is-investigating-whether-…

https://thebaffler.com/latest/retirement-brought-to-you-by-prisons-inc

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2018/07/06/protest-comprehensive-health-services-cape-canaveral/752465002/

https://www.chsmedical.com/compliance

The people have spoken, so hope that helps you all wrap your minds around this in a more complete and credible way. Thank you to all who have participated in civil dialogue and shared this post. Let's keep it constructive, as we do not need to be even more destructive than the current situation.

2. THE POST IS ALREADY PUBLIC + SHAREABLE. Please do not ask me if you can share it -- I made it public, which is why you can see it. You should be able to share the original version. If you can't, refresh your app, run your updates or make sure you aren't still viewing a friend's protected share of the original itself. There is no possible way I can instruct all individuals on how to share it -- but I appreciate all of you who are moved by these words, and want to raise awareness about this distressing situation.

3. Your concern has given me hope. Do your homework. Look into your group investment portfolios, pensions, etc. Know where your money is invested. Call your legislators. Do anything but freak out to the point of being unproductive and histrionic. DO ANYTHING BUT BE AWFUL TO EACH OTHER.

Thank you. We are in this together.

Ken Wojtak Sr."

ETA from Sally:  I have fixed most of the broken links above.  For those I was unable to locate (as well as for some that I did), if you go the home pages of the websites that you CAN see (before the "...") and use the search facilities on those sites with either keywords you see in the partial links or just words like "migrants" you will find additional relevant articles.

blurbs #dvpit #ya #f #own -- see blog 4 blurbs

I noticed a bunch of novel blurbs on my timeline recently.  I guess I got them because I followed a whole bunch of literary agents.  I was moved to write some blurbs for my "Elves in Detroit" novel.

I realize I should have done this long ago. 

Elves in Detroit Book One

Laurielle Fleetfoot, a mildly autistic white elf, feels uncomfortable with her own people. She settles in Detroit, where she hopes to help homeless, black children.  Will her attempted generosity help the struggling city? Or destroy it?


Elves in Detroit Book Two

Billy Cartwright has been cast out of fairyland, because of his psychopathic behavior -- and turned back into a mortal boy.  Will he languish as a maladjusted human, or will he manage to change back into an elf before he reaches puberty -- when it would be too late? And if he gets back, will he kill everyone he knows?


Elves in Detroit Book Three

Mousky, a long slumbering goddess, awakens to find horrifying environmental damage.  Her violent response quickly draws her into battle with the US military.  Will she wipe out the USA or will the Detroit police and their local elf friends find a solution?

Elves in Detroit Book Four (draft)

Newly freed from her fatal, magical attraction to Officer Tom Flanagan, Laurielle Fleetfoot needs to get married before she becomes inappropriately bonded again.  Will she marry the dangerous pixie/ogre Smack who wants her? Will he succeed in decimating the great library of Illinor, which she loves and he hates? 

The goddess Mousky inadvertently frees the long buried mass murderer, Abysnow, who is eager to get revenge.  Will Laurielle, Billy, Lucy, Tom, Tanisha, Smack and the Detroit police succeed in defeating him?

The goblin, Biter, curiously befriended by the elf, Laurielle Fleetfoot, and installed in the sewers in Detroit, is finding his way into a successful business amongst humans, when the demon Marautnam seeks to enslave him.  Will he remain free? Will he succeed in his ambition to found his own hoard -- with his wife Smiter -- and become a celebrity musician?

Changeling, Lucy Cartwright, has acquired incredible god-like powers. Will her strange powers help those she loves -- or break the mulitverse to bits?

Changeling, Billy Cartwright, has fallen desperately in love with the goddess, Mousky, and she seems to feel the same way about him -- but he's afraid of her, and his history makes him fear love. Is it safe to be in love with a goddess who is carelessly deadly?  Can he reconcile his new nature as a loving adult with his longstanding friendships with a host of humanoid devouring monsters?

[Yeah, ok. This draft book has more than one story line]

Noiseless Scream

This was a poem that I wrote when I first learned of the fire. Fortunately, it wasn't as serious as feared, but I still have the poem.
I was there when I was an exchange student in France. It was a very emotional, mystical experience for me, actually the whole island there.

Answer to How can I survive mainstream high school with ASD?

I decided to post my answer to another question on quora here.

I took a course at my local community college about what makes for greatest success for students with a disability. The number one thing was self-advocacy.

No one can accommodate you, if they don’t know what your needs are.

Things that my kids needed:

• speech pragmatics — this should be huge priority, as it will help you in social situations throughout life,
• homework accommodations — They just couldn’t do the amount demanded, because school was just too draining for them and they have low energy levels. They needed down time at home. They understood the material, because they were gifted, as demonstrated by their test scores, but the teachers insisted on giving huge amounts of paperwork that was very taxing for people with the executive function issues common with ASDs.
• adaptive PE — the older one had floppy joints, which impaired his ability to participate in normal PE
• protection from bullying — the school needs to be very proactive about this. You shouldn’t have to tolerate abuse.
• counseling — learning how to cope with social situations, which will be stressful and baffling
• OT & PT The younger one needed OT for dysgraphia. The older one needed PT for torso weakness and floppy joints
• mentor — this was something that my school district wouldn’t do, but Tony Attwood recommends it, and I think it makes a huge amount of sense. This is a neurotypical kid who volunteers to accompany you and help you navigate social situations. I feel that this is particularly important at lunch.

My kids also benefited from a 12–1–1 class, but if you want to be mainstreamed, that should be your choice. Unfortunately, the 12–1–1 classes do tend to have lower academic standards, which is bad for a gifted kid.

features of autism

So -- if you ever noticed me -- which you probably didn't -- you might have noticed that I write novels with characters on the autism spectrum.  I got into this after my kids and I were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.  I concluded that everyone in my nuclear and my ex's extended families had autistic features.

I've been on Quora a lot recently answering questions about autism.  I was looking at my answers there and liked this one, so I thought I'd copy it here.  The question was about what a person with Aspergers is like.

You're going to find a lot of diversity amongst us. We're not all the same.

Some clues as to differences you might notice, though:

• Flat affect (few facial expressions)
• Poor prosody (melody of speech)
• Hyper and hypo sensitivities to sensory simulation (noises, tastes, textures, colors, lights)
• Lack of eye contact
• Trivia obsessions
• Digestive problems
• Sleep issues
• Difficulty with transitions
• Preferences for routine or ritual
• Self stimming
• Melt downs
• Talking too much or too little
• Doesn't understand why you're offended

See Also

https://qr.ae/TWrhu5

On letting kids be kids

This is a response that I wrote on quora, but I wanted to reproduce it here, because I think it is very important

I personally attribute my work ethic to having started working at a very young age. Is it unethical to have your children begin working lightly such as mowing lawns, painting fences, etc. before they are legally allowed to (i.e. under 14)?

Annalisse Mayer, Author Specializing in Autism Themed Novels at Novels (2001-present)

Answered just now

It is hard to answer as to what is legal without knowing where you are. This is going to vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

In the USA, the rule of thumb is that kids can be made to do chores at home and can work in family run businesses.

As to what they can do beyond that, it can get complex. Please be sure that — if your kid is working for money outside the home — you are not taking the money. That is a crime.

I think I have pretty good work ethic. My parents felt that — before I graduated from high school — my job was school. They wanted me to focus on that. They didn’t want me distracted with other jobs. I ended up with excellent grades and getting into a top college.

I think this actually is very good work ethic: to try to focus on quality in your primary job and not over-extend yourself. Multi-tasking makes you mediocre at everything.

There is a lot of ongoing research into what helps kids develop into highly functioning adults — and on what activities improve brain health. Here is a hint of what is going on:

• Kids do need to play and socialize more than adults, in order to develop neurologically and intellectually. Scientists Say Child's Play Helps Build A Better Brain
• Study of the arts is actually critical to development of intelligence and creativity for instance Creativity in Early Brain Development
• Exercise is important at all ages for healthy brain Regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory, thinking skills - Harvard Health Blog
• Silence is important to brain health as well Why Silence Is So Good For Your Brain

If you focus a child on adult-like tasks too early, you will stunt their development and reduce their long term potential. You may feel that this was good for you as a child, but was it really? Might you have been smarter, gotten into better schools, and achieved more as an adult, if you had been allowed to focus more of your energy on developmentally appropriate tasks, i.e. on being a kid?

This being said, my dad was on the graduate admissions committee for the physics department of our local state university. He found that kids who grew up on family farms were the best experimental physicists, because they knew how to do things. At home, they were expected to know how to build and repair equipment, for instance. But kids who grow up on farms, also get lots of aerobic exercise and play outdoors.

Meme re equal time for Democrats

This is copied from FB

For anyone inclined to add your voice on the matter, here's some info that I borrowed from another post.

#CallToAction

Joint @SpeakerPelosi/@SenSchumer Statement:

"Now that the television networks have decided to air the President’s address, which if his past statements are any indication will be full of malice and misinformation, Democrats must immediately be given equal airtime."

Numbers to call to so request:
CNN: (404) 827-1500
ABC: (800) 230-0229
NBC: (212) 664-4444
FOX: (888) 369-4762
CBS: (212) 975-3247
PBS: (703) 739-5000