There is great news because three vaccines that protect a person from getting COVID-19 will start to be dispensed within the next few weeks. Even if they work as well as advertised, it still will take months for mass distribution. Nevertheless, it gives us hope that the nightmare of COVID-19 will be eliminated or reduced to a manageable level. However, presently in the country, it is the worst that it has ever been, in the numbers of positive tests and people hospitalized. We now have more than 250,000 dead and 12,000,000 individuals infected with the virus. I remember back in the spring when there was talk of 100,000 to 200,000 dead. I, like many people, thought it was an exaggeration. Unfortunately, they were overly optimistic. It is going to worsen, because not only are people traveling for Thanksgiving but many people who are flying are not careful in the airport about properly using masks. The CDC recommended not to fly. Also, many are getting together in family gatherings. People have COVID fatigue.
Likewise, there is light at the end of the tunnel because there will be a new president.
This past week in the letters to the editor there were six attacks on my column by Trumpians, which is a new record. I have little doubt that as it comes closer to the end of the Trump presidency, the attacks will increase. It is hard to accept reality but easy to attack those who say what you do not want to hear.
Trump and his allies’ legal challenges are going nowhere fast. The biggest joke is that they have press conferences with fraud claims and conspiracies, yet it is not found in the court filings. In court you need to raise non-frivolous claims and produce evidence. The latest loss was in Federal Court in Pennsylvania.
“Plaintiffs ask this Court to disenfranchise almost seven million voters. This Court has been unable to find any case in which a plaintiff has sought such a drastic remedy in the contest of an election, in terms of the sheer volume of votes asked to be invalidated One might expect that when seeking such a startling outcome, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption, such that this Court would have no option but to regrettably grant the proposed injunctive relief despite the impact it would have on such a large group of citizens. That has not happened. Instead, this Court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations, unpled in the operative complaint and unsupported by evidence.” Donald J. Trump for President Inc. et al v. Kathy Boockvaver et al USDC MD PA Judge Brann. 11/21/2020. The Court dismissed the action and did not allow the plaintiffs permission to amend their complaint. This was the case that Rudy Giuliani argued.
By the time this article is published, Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania will have certified their results that Biden won. A candid response was by the Georgia secretary of state saying that he wanted Trump to win but numbers do not lie.
The Rudy Giuliani/Sidney Powell clown show is about to close. They have been subject to criticism not only from judges but from fellow lawyers such as Chris Christie. I may try to use some of their crazy conspiracy theories in cases where I represent an alleged incapacitated person in a proceeding for an appointment of a guardian, or on appeal from a family court order of a parent whose parental rights were terminated because of mental illness. I would argue that their beliefs are not any crazier than what lawyers such as Giuliani and Powell espouse, which are believed by many Trumpians.
January 20 cannot come too fast. Meanwhile, we still must deal with the lame duck taking revenge against those who speak the truth and trying to make things difficult for the Biden administration.
Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.
Warren S. Hecht is a local attorney. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.