“O, what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive!”
- Sir Walter Scott, Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field
After the rampant and unparalleled failures of the medical-industrial-complex (MIC) the past four years, wrongs are thankfully being revealed in new ways every day.
One of these latest revelations happened last Thursday, when the Alabama Supreme Court heard arguments over a case concerning the COVID care Nathaniel Johnson received in an Alabama hospital in 2020. The legal issues at play in the case – as argued by the hospital, Gov. Kay Ivey, and the Business Council of Alabama – are in large measure a result of the egregious actions the MIC orchestrated throughout the past four years. My hope is that our Supreme Court will begin to address these rather than sweep the loss of life and freedoms under the rug on some technicality.
While the unique situation of a viral pandemic (with a case fatality rate of 0.003% in those under the age of 60) allowed for the government to take extraordinary steps, the MIC wielded control in every aspect of our daily lives – unfortunately with the encouragement of most of our faith institutions. The evidence is clear: inordinate fear was promoted to the benefit of only the few pulling the levers of power.
Recent numbers from The Economist’s “Our World in Data” platform show that there were 651,512 EXCESS deaths in the U.S. between January 2022 and September 2023. That’s roughly equivalent to the combined loss of Americans who died in combat in ALL our wars since the Revolutionary War.
Given this horrifying news, why is the MIC silent? They should be forthright in seeking to understand how to best stop the greatest “die off” in our country's history. They have clearly lost sight of their obligation and duties – and if the Alabama Supreme Court upholds their argument that they should have exceedingly broad immunity, when will the deaths abate?
I’ve been an expert witness defending those involved in medical malpractice trials and I don’t readily seek to find guilt in those who practice medicine. But the past four years have revealed exceedingly egregious actions by those instrumental in doing generational harm to the reputation of our profession. Thus, it is past time for a reckoning of those in charge, and it is up to the Alabama Supreme Court to begin to hold those in leadership accountable. I'm afraid that if the Alabama Supreme Court allows the broad sweeping actions of those in control the past four years to go unchallenged by unconstitutional fiat laws, we will be living in unparalleled times as freedoms will be removed not only from us, but also from generations to come.
So despite the egregious failures heretofore by our state’s executive and legislative positions at the behest of the MIC, the Alabama Supreme Court justices must stand in the gap NOW against some of their largest campaign supporters and do what's right by beginning to peel this rotten onion.
Dr. Tankersley is a fourth-generation physician serving in the Montgomery area. He also served on three deployments in the U.S. Army’s Medical Corp, retiring in 2021 as a Colonel in the Alabama Army National Guard. In 2012, Gov. Robert Bentley appointed him to a five-year term on the Alabama Ethics Commission, and in 2020, Gov. Kay Ivey appointed him to the state’s vaccine working group. Besides being involved in church activities, Dr. Tankersley enjoys reading and spending time with his family.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819news.com.
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