Empathy Deficit Disorder - New Pandemic?
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DoD Abortion Leave Policy Revisited
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) drew bipartisan criticism last year for single-handedly stalling hundreds of military promotions, including friends of mine, in an unsuccessful bid to pressure the Pentagon into rescinding its travel policy. Tuberville ended the nearly 10-month standoff last December.
That policy allows service members to be reimbursed for travel if they or a family member have to go out of state for reproductive health care — including abortions. The policy was used just 12 times from June to December last year, the Pentagon said Tuesday. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin instituted the policy after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 to ensure that troops who were assigned to states where abortions or other types of health care such as IVF treatment were no longer provided could still access those services
TWELVE TIMES FROM JUNE THROUGH DECEMBER OF 2023.
You can govern or you can stonewall - not both.
Mifepristone and the FDA On Trial at the Supreme Court
The “false” case against the FDA and Mifepristone, one of the pair of abortion medications used in 63% of all abortions in the US was argued this past Tuesday at the Supreme Court. I call it a false case because in my opinion, none of the doctors, one of whom had only a masters degree and wasn’t a doctor and some who were dentists, brought the lawsuit were actually harmed. Also, there were studies upon which they based their “evidence” that were false. Those studies were retracted because they lacked scientific rigor - you can read that as cherry picking data to get the result you want. The court seems to want to take the easy way out and deny the case based on the standing issue, without addressing the more important point. Can a judge anywhere determine that the FDA scientists and doctors are unqualified to make decisions regarding the safety and efficacy of any medication.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito had a clear question at Tuesday’s arguments over the abortion pill mifepristone: If the doctors who brought that case can’t sue the FDA over a drug’s label, who can? And when?. Stay tuned. However they rule I am sure this won’t be the end of attacks on federal agencies.
Healthcare and Cybersecurity
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday offered up to $10 million for information on the "Blackcat" ransomware gang who hit the UnitedHealth Group's tech unit and snarled insurance payments across America. "The ALPHV Blackcat ransomware-as-a-service group compromised computer networks of critical infrastructure sectors in the United States and worldwide," the department said in a statement announcing the reward offer. Claim your reward here.
Empathy Deficit Disorder (EDD)
One of our subscribers, posted a comment that described Empathy Deficit Disorder. This was in response to my description of those who favor medical eugenics. That is, if you aren’t rich enough or smart enough to manage your health care, then death is a suitable response and will make a better human gene pool. I decided to start reading about EDD.
People with empathy deficit disorder can’t understand the pain of others.
People with empathy deficit disorder:
Tend to focus on their own needs and neglect other people’s emotions, even those of close friends and family.
Struggle to build and maintain emotional connections.
Can be overly judgemental of others and underestimate what others are going through.
Don’t usually show appreciation or gratitude.
Struggle to understand people from a different cultural, political, or religious background.
Empathy deficit disorder can be a symptom of bipolar disorder. It’s also more common in antisocial and narcissistic personality types and people who are on the autism spectrum as well as those with psychopathic disorders. It is also widely spread in America today.
A landmark study in 2010 found that Americans were less empathetic than their counterparts 30 years earlier: The authors examined the responses of nearly 14,000 students who had completed a questionnaire measuring different types of empathy. The results show that the average level of “empathic concern,” meaning people’s feelings of sympathy for the misfortunes of others, declined by 48 percent between 1979 and 2009 and it was a particularly steep decline between 2000 and 2009.
Some people are bombarded with negative news all day long and retreat into focusing only on self. Others feel threatened by political upheaval and react to those threats with a lack of empathy towards others. It is a common political ploy to make people feel endangered and then offer to remove the danger when they vote for a particular candidate. Note that this is actually a page from the authoritarian or fascist playbook.
We can teach people to have more concern for others. There have been studies at various education levels from middle school through college that worked. There have even been programs to teach doctors to relate better to the fears and concerns of patients and those work. They take time and effort. My concern is that as long as we are exposed to a 24 hour a day cycle of disinformation and doom it will be hard to break they cycle.
Bottom line
I don’t want people deciding the fate of our nation’s healthcare system who have no empathy for others. Pick people who care about others - then maybe we will have a healthcare system that works for all of us.
Resources
Healthcare Advocacy (Us)
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Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All
Physicians for a National Health Program
One Payer States
Healthcare Now
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
Charley. chatbot abortion resource - make sure to use a secure incognito browser if you live in a state that has banned abortion
Planned Parenthood
Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.
United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org
Claims Denials and Appeals & What to Do
Appeal a Healthcare Decision
Appeal/Negotiate a Hospital Bill
Disinformation Management
Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency
Save Democracy
Chop Wood, Carry Water by Jessica Cravens
RESISTBOT
Link to the RESISTBOT site to learn more
Link to Chop Wood, Carry Water RESISTBOT write up
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My dissertation focused on the connection between a nurse’s empathic abilities and their patient’s satisfaction with their care. This was conducted in 1989. As you can guess, there was a definite connection. But - unexpectedly - nurses also stated that practicing nursing using an empathic approach to understanding the patient and using that knowledge to inform their nursing care boosted a nurse’s satisfaction with nursing as a career. Many study participants stated their nursing career was more a “calling” and they couldn’t imagine doing anything else. A lot has changed since this study, and the lack of connection fostered by our digital landscape and impersonal workspaces have not helped. Not sure what a solution could be, expect to make those connections when you have the opportunity, and foster the connections you already have.
Hi Alan,
EDD is not actually a diagnosis or a criterion but is a popular label. Lack of empathy (not “EDD”), of course, helps to evaluate whether someone has some mental health disorders, such as Narcissistic Personality Disorder.