Your cronified court strikes another blow for life, liberty and the American Way

Dear George,

Isn’t it wonderful to have a lock on life, to have all your ducks in a row? Surely, the cronification of America is a wonder to behold. Bit by bit you and your minions have seeped your cronies into every nook and cranny of our government until it has morphed into a well-oiled machine that is sensitive to your every nuance (whenever you have a nuance, which isn’t very often, but who really cares.) What Boss Tweed did for New York City, you have done for America.

The keystone to this structure, of course, is your cronified Supreme Court. They surely delivered another one for you when the ruled that manufactures of medical equipment were immune from liability for personal injury as long as the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved the device.

The decision makes sense because we know, George, as surely as there is a God in heaven, this is the best equipment money can buy, given the constraints of productivity, efficiency and cost containment. And it is indeed a comfort to have this equipment approved by an agency that understands the constraints of productivity, efficiency and cost containment. The decision illustrated the importance of having party hacks on the court who also understand the constraints of productivity, efficiency and cost containment.

But the decision did more than prohibit the victims of cost-contained equipment from suing the manufacturers. It also established the supremacy of federal standards over state standards. Unfortunately, the business-friendly policies of your administration have run afoul of states still plagued by the demon of public responsibility. All too often they have promulgated standards stricter than federal standards. It is the responsibility of our federalized cronies to save the states from the errors of their ways.

I was pleased to see that you are slipping another case through the courts that would grant immunity to big Pharma as long as the FDA approved the drug that resulted in death and debilitation. It is time the American people learned to accept risk as a fact of life. The courts exist to insure the smooth flow of commerce and not to act as the public’s nanny.

Surely it is a Confederation of Cronies that makes America what she is today.

Your admirer,
Belacqua Jones