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posted by janrinok on Monday January 27 2020, @05:46PM   Printer-friendly

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Political polarization among Americans has grown rapidly in the last 40 years—more than in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia or Germany—a phenomenon possibly due to increased racial division, the rise of partisan cable news and changes in the composition of the Democratic and Republican parties.

That's according to new research co-authored by Jesse Shapiro, a professor of political economy at Brown University. The study, conducted alongside Stanford University economists Levi Boxell and Matthew Gentzkow, was released on Monday, Jan. 20, as a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper.

In the study, Shapiro and colleagues present the first ever multi-nation evidence on long-term trends in "affective polarization"—a phenomenon in which citizens feel more negatively toward other political parties than toward their own. They found that in the U.S., affective polarization has increased more dramatically since the late 1970s than in the eight other countries they examined—the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden.

"A lot of analysis on polarization is focused on the U.S., so we thought it could be interesting to put the U.S. in context and see whether it is part of a global trend or whether it looks more exceptional," Shapiro said. "We found that the trend in the U.S. is indeed exceptional."

Using data from four decades of public opinion surveys conducted in the nine countries, the researchers used a so-called "feeling thermometer" to rate attitudes on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 reflected no negative feelings toward other parties. They found that in 1978, the average American rated the members of their own political party 27 points higher than members of the other major party. By 2016, Americans were rating their own party 45.9 points higher than the other party, on average. In other words, negative feelings toward members of the other party compared to one's own party increased by an average of 4.8 points per decade.

The researchers found that polarization had also risen in Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland in the last 40 years, but to a lesser extent. In the U.K., Australia, Germany, Norway and Sweden, polarization decreased.

More information: Levi Boxell et al, Cross-Country Trends in Affective Polarization, (2020). DOI: 10.3386/w26669


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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by barbara hudson on Tuesday January 28 2020, @12:29AM (29 children)

    by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Tuesday January 28 2020, @12:29AM (#949696) Journal
    The fact that so many who profess Christian values shows just how flexible their so-called moral standards are. A study by a Christian organization actually had the integrity to report that christians had the majority of abortions in the USA. The finding wasn't a surprise - sex is in the air at any Christian camp. What was surprising was they didn't suppress their findings.

    The hey should be applauded for publishing the truth, it's so rare in Christian circles.

    Planned parenthood needs to start going through their clients records and cross index them with voting registration lists. Republican, had an abortion - "hi, we would like to talk to you about abortion rights and your hypocrisy." Just the rumour that they have such a list might get some Republicans talking about how abortion isn't the evil they make it out to be for political reasons.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by deimtee on Tuesday January 28 2020, @03:22AM (26 children)

    by deimtee (3272) on Tuesday January 28 2020, @03:22AM (#949811) Journal

    Planned parenthood needs to start going through their clients records and cross index them with voting registration lists. Republican, had an abortion - "hi, we would like to talk to you about abortion rights and your hypocrisy." Just the rumour that they have such a list might get some Republicans talking about how abortion isn't the evil they make it out to be for political reasons.

    So you are apparently fine with doxxing and blackmail?
    You don't know the circumstances of any particular abortion, and group punishments are unequivocally evil.

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    • (Score: 2) by sjames on Tuesday January 28 2020, @09:51AM (10 children)

      by sjames (2882) on Tuesday January 28 2020, @09:51AM (#949995) Journal

      IO don't see any suggestions of doxxing or blackmail suggested.

      Doxxing would be publishing the information publicly. Blackmail would be the threat to do so. Talking privately is neither of those things.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 28 2020, @12:01PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 28 2020, @12:01PM (#950025)

        Blackmail is not done from a radio so get your head out of whatever ass's ass you have implanted it in.

        • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Tuesday January 28 2020, @03:48PM

          by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Tuesday January 28 2020, @03:48PM (#950102) Journal

          Blackmail is not done from a radio so get your head out of whatever ass's ass you have implanted it in.

          No, blackmail and intimidation are now done via Twitter. Just ask Trump.

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        • (Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday January 29 2020, @09:32AM

          by sjames (2882) on Wednesday January 29 2020, @09:32AM (#950565) Journal

          Perhaps the ass you pulled radio out of, because certainly it wasn't being discussed here.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 28 2020, @03:04PM (6 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 28 2020, @03:04PM (#950076)

        "Gee, sure is a nice life you've got here. Be a real shame if everyone found out about that abortion wouldn't it"

        "Gee, sure is a nice building you've got here. Be a real shame if it burned down wouldn't it"

        • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Tuesday January 28 2020, @04:05PM (4 children)

          by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Tuesday January 28 2020, @04:05PM (#950108) Journal

          Hey, they aren't willing to practice what they preach, - "what would Jesus do?" - even Jesus publicly condemned the hypocrites. If they don't like it, they can always rewrite the bible again.

          Or they can stop being hypocrites. Stand up for the rights of women to control their own bodies. Religions that don't allow that deserve to be publicly humiliated for their hypocrisy, same as politicians who publicly want lgbt to burn in hell but are themselves in the closet. Practice what you preach or STFU (stop preaching).

          I can't believe how cowardly people have become. 10 years ago I was walking my dogs (this is post-transition but before my eyes went, so at 143 pounds and 5'7" I wasn't exactly an imposing figure). I turned the corner and saw what I first thought was a gang of people around one individual kicking a dog. Well, can't have that ...

          As I got closer, I saw that it was a black guy pounding the crap out of another black guy, surrounded by about 20 other blacks cheering him on. So I got in the face of the guy doing the beating, while all the other white folk going home from the commuter train just turned their heads away as they passed by, studiously avoiding even being seen as noticing it.

          What is wrong with you people? You only do right when it's at no personal risk? You won't intervene to stop violence because you might get hurt? Kind of stupid logic - someone else is getting hurt, wouldn't you want them to intervene if the situation were reversed?

          Or is there also an element of racism? "It's just the way those people are." "They're not one of us, so I'm not getting involved." "We don't behave like that, so they deserve what they get."

          Bullies always need to be confronted. When the cops showed up, they wanted me away from the mob, so I left, but what would have happened if I had done what cowards do and looked the other way because "don't get involved?"

          Every white person who walked by without even stopping made me ashamed to be white. "White privilege" so quickly becomes "white cowardice."

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          • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Tuesday January 28 2020, @07:04PM (3 children)

            by deimtee (3272) on Tuesday January 28 2020, @07:04PM (#950183) Journal

            Hey, they aren't willing to practice what they preach, - "what would Jesus do?" - even Jesus publicly condemned the hypocrites. If they don't like it, they can always rewrite the bible again.

            I will stand by my assertion that group punishments are evil. You want to punish women who got abortions, for what other, probably unrelated, people are doing. You are evil.

            ...

            As for the rest of your post, wow, I don't often see that level of unconscious racism. It's lucky you were there to take care of them poor darkies. /sarcasm.

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            • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Tuesday January 28 2020, @08:47PM (2 children)

              by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Tuesday January 28 2020, @08:47PM (#950217) Journal

              Groups that commit the crime, do the time. You drive the getaway car, you're still charged with the murder of the bank guard.

              We're social beings, and we understand collective responsibility. It's when collective responsibility collapses, as it has in the case of the hypocrites who push against women's right to get an abortion but themselves procure abortions, that the sense of collective responsibility collapses. It becomes "one law for me and mine, another for the rest of you dirty scum."

              The best way to deal with hypocrisy is to expose it. All the anti-abortionists who like the thump the bible need to learn that Jesus exposed the hypocrites because he hated them with a passion. You simply cannot be a hypocrite and a christian according to the bible.

              And if we throw away the bible, then where's their basis for undermining a woman's right to control her own body? There is none. Same as nobody is telling them that everyone has to get an abortion, nobody should be saying that nobody can have an abortion. It's my body, my life - abortion, euthanasia, sex change,sexual orientation, nobody else has a right to tell me what to do with my body.

              People who have had abortions or procured abortions for someone they got pregnant and still say that others don't have a right to an abortion are hurting those who want abortions. We see it all the time with both anti-abortion laws and withholding funding for sex education and contraception.

              The Hyde Amendment needs to go, as do all other anti-abortion laws. They are causing needless suffering. If exposing hypocrites is part of that process, "pour encourager les autres" to be a bit less hypocritical, hey, don't be a hypocrite. Be honest about why it was necessary in your case, and encourage compassion and abortion services for others in the same situation.

              Or don't. But this is 2020 - do you really believe that anything can be kept a secret? All those fake "family planning clinics" that are there only to try to coerce women into not getting abortions by such devious tactics as showing other people's unltrasounds and saying "see - this is your baby, you're too far along to get an abortion anyway" are committing fraud.

              On the other hand, since they're very careful not to go over the line into actually offering real medical care, they can sell their "client lists" - and if someone gets them one way or another it's not a HIPPA violation. So perhaps the best way to end that scam is to leak their client lists. Maybe that will get google to stop donating free advertising to them. At the very least, it will make people more aware that there are fake "clinics" out there who don't have women's best interests at heart, same as they don't have any other child's interest at heart after birth. When it comes to helping a woman and child, there are plenty of Christians who become ultra-libertarians. "Food stamps? Quit sponging off my tax dollars" - even though poor nutrition early in life results in a lifetime of extra costs to society.

              The anti-abortionists are bullies, and deserve to be treated as such. That includes the women who, by their silence, encourage the curtailment of a basic civil right - the right to control your own body.

              They're in the same boat as someone who sees violence in front of them and yet doesn't intervene, but still says they're against violence. They're not, not really.

              Which brings us to your final innuendo. I was not wrong to intervene when I saw a mob beating on one person. The fact is, when it's black-on-black violence, most whites are chickenshit. The bystander effect [wikipedia.org] (better labelled as bystander apathy) kicks into high gear.

              People are sometimes asked how they would act in hypothetical situations, such as when someone if being attacked. Oftentimes, it's "I would have acted differently." But that's just wishful thinking. I know I would act because I don't even hesitate to weigh out the pros and cons - and neither should anyone else. Someone is getting beaten up - you need to try to stop it, end of discussion. Same as if you're the one getting beaten up, you want others to try to intervene, not dither about whether it's too risky. When you dither, you put yourself at greater risk because you can't catch everyone else off-balance. You certainly don't want to give them the chance to assess the situation and realize that you're alone. And you don't want to give yourself the chance to be afraid and perhaps reconsider your options.

              I intervene because it is the right thing to do. I learned as a kid that bullies will beat the crap out of you either way, so might as well do the right thing. It makes them think twice the next time they want to beat up on someone.

              After all, bullies are the second-biggest cowards going. The biggest? Those who try to defend not intervening, because they know deep down that they would cut and run in a second.

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              • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Tuesday January 28 2020, @09:34PM (1 child)

                by deimtee (3272) on Tuesday January 28 2020, @09:34PM (#950244) Journal

                That's a big wall of text, which entirely misses the point.

                I don't care about the bible, and I am a pro-liberty, pro-choice, atheist.

                I have an ethical objection to group punishments.

                You are advocating ruining peoples lives for something other people are doing. Do you really think some young girl who was raped and had an abortion has any control over what the bible thumpers are doing? Your blackmail won't work because she doesn't have that control. So you want to out her and fuck up her life because you can't tell the difference between an individual and some nebulous group you object to.

                Let's get a bit more personal here. You've repeatedly stated in the past that many transsexuals are sex workers. I don't know if it's legal where you are, but if it isn't, should the cops arrest you for soliciting? Or if it is legal, should we just call you a whore?

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                • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Tuesday January 28 2020, @10:06PM

                  by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Tuesday January 28 2020, @10:06PM (#950267) Journal
                  No, only those who did it and lied about it, and condemn others for doing the same. It's a very specific group - anti-abortionists who have procured abortions for themselves or a family member. If someone got an abortion in the past or aided someone to, and still condemns others today, they are lying hypocrites. If they got or procured an abortion in the past and are now not against abortion, they are not lying hypocrites. It's only the hypocrites, who continue to deny others what they in secret had themselves, who merit being called out.

                  You totally missed the point. There are two different groups, and only one are hypocrites. As for calling me a whore, I've been called far worse, and no, I've never been a sex worker. Though one of my sisters did say I dressed like a prostitute because I had the top 3 buttons of my top open in 90 degree weather. Or maybe it was the 2" hoop earrings? Probably both. My reaction? "Works for me." When it's 90 degrees in the shade I'm going to dress for the weather. Top and skirt. Maybe a sun hat. Sandals or barefoot in the grass beside the sidewalk.

                  Hardly makes me a whore. But it also doesn't invalidate that many transsexuals engage in the sex trade. Two different groups - those who do and those who don't. Same as anti-abortionists who have procured abortions, and those who haven't. Only the first group are self-entitled hypocrites.

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        • (Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday January 29 2020, @09:27AM

          by sjames (2882) on Wednesday January 29 2020, @09:27AM (#950563) Journal

          You're making assumptions not suggested by OP.

    • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Tuesday January 28 2020, @03:13PM (14 children)

      by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Tuesday January 28 2020, @03:13PM (#950081) Journal

      I have no problem with "doxxing". I've posted all my contact information online in threads where people whine that they're "being doxxed" because someone published their address. They seem to have forgotten that we used to have a free book delivered to every door with everyone's name, address, and phone number in it.

      People have become such cowards, afraid to stand up for what they believe.

      Second, I did NOT say to publish th records, just to let the Republican voters know that they exist as a nuclear option and to back off if they don't want their hypocrisy exposed in fighting abortion when so many republican men and women have benefited from abortions.

      Or are you against exposing hypocrisy and in continuing to put women's health and lives in danger? Are you, perhaps, someone who's taken a hypocritical stand. I've seen enough "abortion is wrong - but my case is different and God is okay with it because Jeebus" stupidity. I would have no problem exposing the leaders who engage in this crap.

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      • (Score: 2, Informative) by khallow on Tuesday January 28 2020, @06:17PM (13 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 28 2020, @06:17PM (#950150) Journal

        They seem to have forgotten that we used to have a free book delivered to every door with everyone's name, address, and phone number in it.

        And you could get your name taken out of that book. Private numbers [wikipedia.org] are a thing!

        People have become such cowards, afraid to stand up for what they believe.

        Like standing up for the right to change their phone number when a bunch of idiots start calling it? Doxxing can result in your phone number becoming useless.

        Second, I did NOT say to publish th records, just to let the Republican voters know that they exist as a nuclear option and to back off if they don't want their hypocrisy exposed in fighting abortion when so many republican men and women have benefited from abortions.

        Even the threat would generate numerous felony charges from inappropriate use of medical information and blackmail, which is worse than some people being hypocrites.

        Or are you against exposing hypocrisy and in continuing to put women's health and lives in danger? Are you, perhaps, someone who's taken a hypocritical stand. I've seen enough "abortion is wrong - but my case is different and God is okay with it because Jeebus" stupidity. I would have no problem exposing the leaders who engage in this crap.

        This is an example of how polarization gets worse. The other side is so bad we must blackmail the voting public. Exposing the leaders is one thing - there are ways to do that which don't involve committing vast numbers of felonies. You went beyond that because you perceived the issue as being so important that a important rule could be broken.

        So what happens when the other side of US politics now has that mass rule breaking as an issue to justify their next wave of shenanigans? This would just escalate the polarization.

        • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Tuesday January 28 2020, @06:58PM (1 child)

          by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Tuesday January 28 2020, @06:58PM (#950179) Journal

          Actually, you-had to pay to get your number removed from the standard phone book - But there were always other sources.

          Also, we have caller ID, and you can tell your phone to not let through any call without a caller ID, or even just allow from a whitelist. It's not 1980 any more. My phone number is on the net - I haven't experienced a wave of crank calls - just the usual scams, and I make it a point to ask them what the weather is like in Mumbai or Hyalabad. Waste their time so they have less free time to call someone else. It's just me doing my civic duty to combat crime while having a bit of fun pissing off the scammers.

          The only problem with that is eventually you get on assorted blacklists so the scammers stop calling, but I'm okay with that too.

          As for the rest, people have been revealed to have had or procured an abortion, have AIDS, etc., and if it's not procured from a medical provider and the person voluntarily disclosed it, there's no violation of the law. In other words, those fake clinics that try to dissuade people from getting abortions are a prime source of such information. They don't provide any medical services, they know who has come through their doors, etc. The ultrasound images that they show people are fake, trying to convince women that they are too far along to get a pregnancy, and they don't have to meet HIPPA standards because they are not real clinics providing medical advice. They're very careful not to cross that legal threashold.

          So your "vast number of felonies " just went down the shitter, since the fake clinics will sell the information quite legally, and thanks to "parallel construction ", even if the original source was a real clinic, if you get a second copy of the information legally, it's all legal. Ask the cops - they do it all the time. ,

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          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday January 28 2020, @10:09PM

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 28 2020, @10:09PM (#950269) Journal

            So your "vast number of felonies " just went down the shitter, since the fake clinics will sell the information quite legally, and thanks to "parallel construction ", even if the original source was a real clinic, if you get a second copy of the information legally, it's all legal.

            Sorry, it's not true in the US, medical information no matter the source is subject [cornell.edu] to HIPAA (a person, who knowingly gathering and maliciously revealing medical information that can be individually identified, can be fined up to $250k and 10 years in prison). I bet Canada is the same way.

        • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Tuesday January 28 2020, @08:57PM (10 children)

          by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Tuesday January 28 2020, @08:57PM (#950224) Journal

          By the way, remember the part in the Bible where Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees about an adulterous woman and he said "Let you who is without sin cast the first stone." After being bugged some more, he began writing in the sand, and one by one they left? He was listing their individual sins for everyone to see.

          If it's good enough for Jeebus ... then it should be good enough for atheists to treat Christians that way too. Many are just modern-day Pharisees anyway.

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          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday January 28 2020, @09:57PM (9 children)

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 28 2020, @09:57PM (#950260) Journal

            If it's good enough for Jeebus ... then it should be good enough for atheists to treat Christians that way too. Many are just modern-day Pharisees anyway.

            Well, how about you commit a few thousand felonies of that and tell me how it works out for you.

            And what should happen if someone does that to you? Where your hypocrisy gets publicly revealed while theirs doesn't?

            • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Tuesday January 28 2020, @10:19PM (8 children)

              by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Tuesday January 28 2020, @10:19PM (#950275) Journal
              As I pointed out, it's not a felony, so stop with the bullshit. In case you haven't followed the news in the last couple of decades, people have been outed for procuring an abortion for their mistress on the sly so their wives wouldn't find out,?the sources don't get arrested. Someone sees them going into an abortion clinic and takes pix, where's the felony. A client in the clinic sees her anti-abortion pastor accompanying a family member and tells the other parishioners, where's the felony?

              Someone buys me clients list from one of those fake family planning clinics that actually doesn't offer any medical services because it's run by a group of anti-abortion activists and doesn't need a license to operate, just "offers counseling ". Where's the felony?

              No laws broken at any point.

              But now that many health care providers use google to store their data, you can expect to see all sorts of medical information to surface.

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              • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday January 28 2020, @10:55PM (7 children)

                by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 28 2020, @10:55PM (#950298) Journal

                As I pointed out, it's not a felony, so stop with the bullshit. In case you haven't followed the news in the last couple of decades, people have been outed for procuring an abortion for their mistress on the sly so their wives wouldn't find out,?the sources don't get arrested.

                Public figures have far less defenses against such things. And you are deliberately collecting medical information.

                • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Tuesday January 28 2020, @11:56PM (6 children)

                  by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Tuesday January 28 2020, @11:56PM (#950325) Journal
                  That somebody went to a fake abortion clinic is not medical information. The fake clinics, by definition, don't treat patients. It's no more medical information than if someone went to a drugstore ore a movie theatre. Or aren't you clear about the concept of "fake" in the term fake medical clinic. They are not doing anything that comes under the definition of medical - they're just a bunch of anti-abortionists trying to deter people from getting to a real clinic, one that can actually provide medical treatment.

                  Think of it the same as all those tv shows where actors pretend to get married. It's not real. They don't need to get a divorce from their current spouse to go through the fake wedding ceremony.

                  And you could probably buy information from some internet company that gave you the information on anyone who searched for a real abortion clinic. That's not medical information either. Same as they were selling ads targeting suicidal people.

                  Your searches are public information. You consent to that when you do a search. As well as your information being sold.

                  Now if the republicans were in Europe they would have a certain "right to be forgotten ", but in the US freedom of speech applies to everyone who isn't a protected minority - and abortion is not a protected minority - thanks to republicans, including those who have procured abortions while trying to deprive them to others.

                  And there's nothing to stop such a list being posted on wikileaks or a similar site outside the US. Russia would probably develop such a list just to have leverage. Anything to stir up crap.

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                  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday January 29 2020, @12:07AM (5 children)

                    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday January 29 2020, @12:07AM (#950332) Journal

                    That somebody went to a fake abortion clinic is not medical information.

                    Actually it is.

                    It's no more medical information than if someone went to a drugstore ore a movie theatre.

                    Drug stores are also subject to laws like HIPAA.

                    They are not doing anything that comes under the definition of medical - they're just a bunch of anti-abortionists trying to deter people from getting to a real clinic, one that can actually provide medical treatment.

                    It's still medical information and they're still subject to the laws of the land.

                    And you could probably buy information from some internet company that gave you the information on anyone who searched for a real abortion clinic. That's not medical information either. Same as they were selling ads targeting suicidal people.

                    The moment you link medical conditions to identifiable people, it becomes medical information.

                    See the pattern?

                    • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Wednesday January 29 2020, @12:51AM (4 children)

                      by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Wednesday January 29 2020, @12:51AM (#950353) Journal
                      Services provided by the pharmacist or technician are medical services. Buying a chocolate bar or a laptop aren't, and aren't covered by HIPPA even if the sale is performed by a pharmacist because the cashier hasn't come in yet. Neither is the fact that you entered or left the store. See the pretty security cameras? Try to shoplift a bunch of drugs, that video is not covered by HIPPA either.

                      That you bought a box of Kleenex or Tampax or diapers is not medical information, even if bought at a drugstore. Even it it's linked to you, it's still not medical information just because it happens in a drugstore.

                      Nothing the fake family planning shops do is medical information because they are not, by law, allied to perform any medical services. Non-medical services are simply not medical information. If they were, pro-choice folk could get them shut down for providing medical services without a license. But since they aren't medical providers and are very careful not to provide medical services ... their data is not protected by HIPPA. Find me one that claims to be covered by HIPPA and I'll happily forward the information to Planned Parenthood. They would love to shut the fakes down for medical fraud.

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                      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday January 30 2020, @01:56PM (3 children)

                        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday January 30 2020, @01:56PM (#951166) Journal

                        Buying a chocolate bar or a laptop aren't, and aren't covered by HIPPA even if the sale is performed by a pharmacist because the cashier hasn't come in yet.

                        Nobody said they were.

                        That you bought a box of Kleenex or Tampax or diapers is not medical information, even if bought at a drugstore. Even it it's linked to you, it's still not medical information just because it happens in a drugstore.

                        If you use that data to reconstruct medical conditions and identify those medical conditions with people, then you do fall under HIPAA. You know, what I've been saying all along.

                        Nothing the fake family planning shops do is medical information because they are not, by law, allied to perform any medical services. Non-medical services are simply not medical information.

                        Nor did anyone say they were. Awful lot of straw men in your post.

                        But since they aren't medical providers and are very careful not to provide medical services ... their data is not protected by HIPPA.

                        Wrong. Again, it's the handling of medical information not the providing of medical services that triggers HIPAA.

                        Let me give you a real world example. As I've mentioned in the past, I do seasonal accounting work for a tourism/resort company in Yellowstone National Park. A number of years back, I decided to work winters in the park as well. That means working whatever is available. For about half a dozen years, that meant working security for a few months a year. Mostly that meant being a professional witness and shoveling a lot of snow.

                        Every so often, in part because my location was barely high enough elevation to cause medical problems in some visitors and new employees, I would witness or assist guests and employees experiencing medical problems. To protect ourselves from liability, detailed reports of any such interactions were written up and submitted to my bosses. Even though I wasn't providing medical services, that information had to be kept under wraps more so than normal guest/employee interactions because of the medical information involved. And HIPAA was one of the big reasons why.

                        In other words, you don't have to provide medical services in order to be subject to HIPAA. Selling candy bars or being a fake service doesn't immunize you from HIPAA requirements.

                        • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Thursday January 30 2020, @03:54PM (2 children)

                          by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Thursday January 30 2020, @03:54PM (#951219) Journal

                          Nope. If you are not a covered entity [hhs.gov], you are not governed by HIPPA.

                          Text Resize A A A Print Print Share Share on facebook Share on twitter Share HIPAA for Professionals Regulatory Initiatives Privacy has sub items, Privacy Security has sub items, Security Breach Notification has sub items, Breach Notification Compliance & Enforcement has sub items, Compliance & Enforcement Special Topics has sub items, Special Topics Patient Safety has sub items, Patient Safety Covered Entities & Business Associates has sub items, Covered Entities & Business Associates Business Associates Business Associate Contracts Training & Resources FAQs for Professionals Other Administrative Simplification Rules Covered Entities and Business Associates The HIPAA Rules apply to covered entities and business associates.

                          Individuals, organizations, and agencies that meet the definition of a covered entity under HIPAA must comply with the Rules' requirements to protect the privacy and security of health information and must provide individuals with certain rights with respect to their health information. If a covered entity engages a business associate to help it carry out its health care activities and functions, the covered entity must have a written business associate contract or other arrangement with the business associate that establishes specifically what the business associate has been engaged to do and requires the business associate to comply with the Rules’ requirements to protect the privacy and security of protected health information. In addition to these contractual obligations, business associates are directly liable for compliance with certain provisions of the HIPAA Rules.

                          If an entity does not meet the definition of a covered entity or business associate, it does not have to comply with the HIPAA Rules. See definitions of “business associate” and “covered entity” at 45 CFR 160.103.

                          Are you a health care provider, a health plan, or a health clearinghouse, or a worker or contractor for one of them? No? Then you are not bound by HIPPA.

                          So threatening, say, a newspaper for violating HIPPA is ridiculous. Next time do some research before spouting off. You'll look less stupid.

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                          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday January 31 2020, @01:00AM (1 child)

                            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 31 2020, @01:00AM (#951521) Journal
                            Not governed by explicit rules on handling medical information. I still think it's going to be jail time, if you play that game.

                            Are you a health care provider, a health plan, or a health clearinghouse

                            In your scenario the entity that collects medical data to shame conservatives counts as a health clearinghouse and hence, would be a covered entity.

                            • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday January 31 2020, @02:39AM

                              by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Friday January 31 2020, @02:39AM (#951588) Journal
                              No it doesn't, because it's not a health entity, It's a fake. It's not licensed as a health entity, it doesn't employ doctors or nurses or other medical workers, and it doesn't provide health care. It's a front for anti-abortionists. Orf are you too stupid to look at the government's own definition of who is covered by HIPPA - can't even click on the link I provided?

                              If are you just being stupid for the sake of argument yet again. You ALWAYS do this. Your reputation of arguing despite the facts is well known.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 28 2020, @04:30AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 28 2020, @04:30AM (#949875)

    Your thinking such a finding would be surprising is indicative of the bubbles in America driving everybody to absurd partisanship. More than 70% of the US is Christian. The only way Christians would not make up the majority is if there was some really huge number of non-Christians having abortions. Whereas far from it, blacks account for the plurality (and nearly the majority) of abortions and also have substantially higher [pewforum.org] rates of religiosity than whites (or any other group for that matter).

    The reason an organization would report such a stat is to incentivize more Christians to argue from restrictions on abortion. Paradoxical if you don't understand. It's just in-group out-group stuff, like increasingly everything in America. If the out-group are killing their babies, who cares? If the in-group are, that's a different matter.

  • (Score: 2) by Username on Tuesday January 28 2020, @02:55PM

    by Username (4557) on Tuesday January 28 2020, @02:55PM (#950069)

    Eh, this is where identity politics fail. Not all christians are the same. The catholic church is against abortion and considers it murder, a motal sin. The church also considers anyone who is baptized catholic, as catholic forever. Even if the person doesn't want to be associated with them. A lot of people do fake their catholic faith to get votes, like Joe Biden, only to attend church and get excommunicated since they support abortion and didn't realize what the church is about. He should have went to a protestant church, most of them support abortion.