Congratulations old people of the Supreme Court - your "get out of jail free card" called preemption is live and kicking....

[Click on Post Title for Link to External Article]

...patients where it really hurts!!!

We now have a perfect system to circumvent any need for accountability or justice. We can watch patients die or be put through unnecessary morbidity by firms without any need for worry, whatsoever.

I am not talking only of Medtronic mind you - this article refers to their cases that were dismissed. Very recently, Stryker also walked away from any responsibility from similar cases filed in Colorado.

The FDA is dead and useless for all practical purposes, and the only lawmaker who even seems to know anything about all this is of course, Grassley, but that is almost plain hypocrisy since it is the Republicans who appointed the Supreme Court Justices and cheered the industry on to weaken regulation on any and every kind.

We do have only God (who created us 6,000 years ago alongside the dinosaurs by the way) to thank for the continued existence of the FDA - given President Bush's propensity to allow "free" markets and deregulation even when everything fails.

However, I do not trust the Democrats to stand up for, against or with anything. Even with 39 senators, Republicans can hold the Senate to ransom because Democrats are chronically weak, aimless and never in charge. Moreover, their focus is to bring in their grandchildren to inaugural ceremonies of every sort, and Obama is focused on "diversities of opinion" at the expense of the people who voted for him and stood by him.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the galaxy - companies do recalls, fail to sell products of any remarkable quality and are now well protected!!!

Apparently, the FDA is thrilled that there were "fewer" clinical trial rule violations in 2007 (that may be because they are all waiting 6 months to a few years before feigning knowledge of breaking the law!)

Read about it here:
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/advamed/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=7AAC37B8-F2E5-438D-82C6-FCA5A7DF75F9©id=F24E6520-7502-4050-9A02-DDC0053774B5

Sigh! Watch this space for continue sad and bleak revelations on the fruits that preemption will bear.

Meanwhile, an infamous stent manufacturing "power house" medical device company whose stock is worth less than fodder, just acquired a company in Ireland - this after laying off hundreds of well meaning employees and unloading assets over the last month.

Irresponsibility, seems to be the backbone of 21st century medical device manufacturing...

Oh, happy new year, by the way.