Tic Tac Toe, Supreme Court style

Bribes, payola, favor of the physical kind? Forget-about it. Just put the right person in the appropriate agency, preferably a person from the line of business the agency is to regulate. But, for extra insurance over the long haul, with a little luck of timing you get to fix the legal issue almost permanently: supreme court justices.

Justices Make it Tougher to Sue Makers of Medical Devices

The case has significant implications for the $75 billion-a-year health care technology industry, whose products range from heart valves to toothbrushes. In a recent three-month span, federal regulators responded to over 100 safety problems regarding medical devices.

At issue before the Supreme Court was whether the estate of Charles Riegel could sue a company under state law over a device previously cleared for sale by federal regulators. State lawsuits are barred to the extent they would impose requirements that are different from federal requirements, said the ruling by Justice Antonin Scalia.

In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that Congress never intended “a radical curtailment of state common-law lawsuits seeking compensation for injuries caused by defectively designed or labeled medical devices.”

But Scalia, in response, said, “It is not our job to speculate upon congressional motives.”

The Bush administration sided with industry, saying unfavorable state jury verdicts would compel companies to alter product designs or labels that had already gotten FDA approval.

Hey, the government said it was good, what the f#$k is your problem?

Well, besides lending its self to a commentary of fascism , or that all the court is saying is that congress needs to do a more complete job, or that this represents another major blow for our constitution in that the government is failing to respond to the people, this is the manifestation of gamesmanship having fully ascended to our final stop gap measure. I forget who, but a commenter stated that law suits are the free market response to a lack of government regulation (I think I have it corret). If true, then the free market is truly dead and it has been killed by the most effective means of all; legal tic tac toe. We have been observing it in congress for years, with it most refined and skillfully played currently.

Here’s how you play it. I ask you a question literally: X. You respond literally: X. I say no, I was asking figuratively: O. Everyone knows that you can not win it. But, and it’s a big BUT, the purpose of this version of tic tac toe is not to win. It is to perpetually play the game. Just keep on blocking. It can be played with me asking a question: O, feeling you out. You respond: X. I think Ok and ask it again as you have responded: X. You respond: O.

Think I’m wrong? Then think about the hearings for the supreme court justices. Think about the AG performance concerning torture. Think about the definition of “is”.

This form of tic tac toe servers a very specific purpose. It forever releases the player from being responsible. You can never fully come to terms with a person who’s entire approach to life is to perpetually play tic tac toe because there is no way to win the game of tic tac toe. You can only move beyond them. Stop playing the game. For a society with a form of governance like ours, it means voting. Voting not to approve those who do not answer the question as a responsible person. Holding in contempt, etc. For me it was a divorce.

updated to finish the last paragraph.