Trump's last stand?

As his legal defense crumbles, with 30+ losses in court and one of his attorneys, Sidney Powell, sent packing, President Trump is banking on pressure on state Republican delegations to delay vote certification in key states in a last-ditch effort to cling to power. Michigan is supposed to certify its results today, and all eyes will be on the four board members to see if it happens as planned. In Pennsylvania, a federal judge dismissed Trump's legal case in a sharply worded decision, but the campaign has filed an appeal. Most counties are slated to certify their election results today, though that could change amid pending lawsuits and the discretion of local election officials. Georgia, which already certified its results on Friday following a manual recount, is doing yet another recount, this time by machine, at the Trump campaign's request. Trump's legal team has made a bizarre accusation regarding Georgia's Trump-supporting governor, Brian Kemp, making a deal with Venezuela to fix the vote against Trump. Finally, recounts continue in two counties in Wisconsin, until the state's Dec. 1 certification deadline. —CNN

• — GOP response. Trump is facing mounting pressure from Republicans calling on him to recognize President-elect Joe Biden's win and begin the transition process. Over the last few days, Sens. Pat Toomey and Rob Portman, House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney, Rep. Fred Upton, former National Security Advisor John Bolton, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie all urged the president to concede and the GOP at large to move on. —The Hill
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• — Biden transition. Biden made a series of Cabinet nominations today, including Antony Blinken, who served as deputy secretary of state and deputy national security advisor during the Obama Administration, as his secretary of state. If nominated and confirmed, Blinken would be a leading force in Biden's bid to reframe the U.S. relationship with the rest of the world, after four years in which Trump attacked longtime alliances. —Axios
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• — Coronavirus. Though COVID-19 continues to spread unabated across the U.S., epidemiologists are looking forward to the pandemic's end. The closing act of the crisis is likely to come gradually, with infections, restrictions, and public health fears falling away one by one rather than all at once. Getting there won't be as simple as getting a shot, but with effective vaccines, robust distribution plans, widespread testing, and continued social distancing through the winter, they predict our exit from the pandemic could begin as early as spring. —The Boston Globe
   
• — Foreign policy. The U.S. has formally withdrawn from the 1992 Treaty on Open Skies, an agreement that sought to foster trust by allowing the 34 participating nations to observe one another's militaries through unarmed flyovers. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, "America is more secure" because of the withdrawal, while adding, "Russia remains in non-compliance with its obligations." —Al Jazeera
   
• — Around the world. Over the weekend, hundreds of protesters broke into Guatemala's congress and burned part of the building amid growing demonstrations against President Alejandro Giammattei and the legislature for approving a budget that cut educational and health spending. —The Guardian

'A small light in the darkness of Covid'

A retired orchestra teacher battling COVID-19 turned to his true passion—music—to help spread some joy in the ICU. Even while being intubated and unable to speak, Grover Wilhelmsen wanted to show his gratitude to the healthcare workers at McKay-Dee Hospital. He used pen and paper to ask a nurse if his wife, Diana, could bring his violin and viola to the hospital.

• — After some planning, Grover got his wish. "It was honestly shocking to be there when he picked up the violin," R.N. Matt Harper said. "It felt like I was in a dream. I'm used to patients being miserable or sedated while being intubated, but Grover made an unfortunate situation into something positive. This was by far one of my favorite memories in the ICU that I've had."
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• — "That's just Grover." Diana, who has been married to Grover for 47 years, said it didn't surprise her at all that he had requested his musical instruments. "He wanted to play it to thank them," she said. She hopes he'll be strong enough to return home in time for Christmas.
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• — "It brought tears to my eyes. For all the staff to see a patient doing this while intubated was unbelievable," R.N. Ciara Sase said. "Even though he was so sick, he was still able to push through. You could see how much it meant to him. Playing kind of helped to soothe his nerves and brought him back to the moment." —CNN

Giving thanks for an unexpected son

The California lawyer who made sure that white supremacist Tom Metzger, who passed away earlier this month, made payments on a judgment for his role in the killing of an Ethiopian man studying in the U.S. took no money for handling the case. But he ended up with something priceless: a son. 

• — Attorney James McElroy worked with the Southern Poverty Law Center to get a $12.5 million award against Metzger, a one-time leader of the Ku Klux Klan who was linked to the murder of Mulugeta Seraw, a 28-year-old college student who was clubbed over the head with a baseball bat in Portland, Ore., in 1988.
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  — McElroy became close with the victim's family and eventually adopted the man's son, who was 7 at the time of the killing. The boy grew up with McElroy and his family in California and graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Now in his mid-30s, he is married and is a pilot for a major commercial airline. 
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• — His son "actually pursued the dream of his father" by getting a U.S. education, McElroy said. "(He) was actually able to do it out of this great and horrible tragedy." McElroy calls the relationship with his son "the best fee that I ever got out of a pro bono case." —Associated Press

A bond forged across states

As COVID-19 cases surge to new highs in Utah, hospitals are reaching capacity throughout the state, creating a perilous situation for overworked medical staff. Intermountain Medical Center has already had to transfer patients to facilities with more space and staffing available. "In the last few weeks, we've had to use part of our plan we hoped to never have to use," said Dr. Katie Thomas, associate medical director at Intermountain. So the arrival of volunteers from New York City to help with patient care has been a blessing to the staff.

• — Intermountain has hired 190 traveling nurses to assist staff while patient numbers and needs increase. Another 31 nurses are returning the favor of Intermountain staff who went to New York when the need was greatest there, and hospitals couldn't handle the surges of COVID-19 patients in April. 
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• — The lasting friendships and collaborations forged between Intermountain and New York-Presbyterian Hospital during the pandemic is a "silver lining," says Natalie Torrance, a nurse at New York-Presbyterian. "Our nurses can relate to the stress and fear of an impending Covid surge," she added.
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• — The presence of the volunteer nurses in Utah has helped lift spirits. "A battle is easier won together," said Wen Hui Xiao, another nurse at New York-Presbyterian who is assisting in Utah. She said the experience has given her "a new perspective and refreshed sense of passion for my job." —Deseret News
  
  Story suggested by TOPLINE reader Jim V., New York.

Cookies always bring people together

Utah's Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox figures that if protesters are going to gather in front of his rural home in Fairview, they might as well get some snacks. Utahns protesting the state's mask mandate at Cox's house we're treated to cookies and hot chocolate by the governor-elect last week.

• — Cox, a Republican, supports the emergency order issued by Gov. Gary Herbert in hopes of stopping the surge of COVID-19 cases that have flooded state hospitals. Utah's daily case counts reached record numbers over the last week as the expected coronavirus second wave plagues the country.
   
• — "Never dreamed I would have protesters at my home in Fairview," Cox tweeted humorously. "But we don't get many visitors, so if you make the long drive, the least we can do is make you cookies and hot chocolate. I'm glad I got a chance to tell them I love them even if we disagree on masks. #OneUtah."
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• — When another Twitter user asked exactly what was in the cookies, Cox replied: "Haha. My wife and daughter made them and I ate more than I should have. So if they did something sneaky I'm in big trouble." —ABC News
   
• Story suggested by TOPLINE reader Heather S., Utah.

'It's the Christmas miracle of 2020'

Ellen Kalish is used to getting calls about taking in undomesticated animals at her non-profit group, the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center, in Saugerties, N.Y. So when she got a call last week asking if she could rehabilitate an owl, she was happy to help. The surprise was where the owl came from—tucked inside the branches of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

• — The owl most likely accompanied the 75-foot Norway spruce on its 170-mile trek to Manhattan from Oneonta, N.Y. A worker found him and thought he might be injured after the ordeal. He brought the owl home, and his wife contacted Kalish.
   
• — Kalish brought the tiny owl, nicknamed Rockefeller, back to the clinic last Monday, where he has spent most of his time eating and sleeping. On Wednesday, Rockefeller went to the vet to have some X-rays taken. He has no fractures or broken bones. "It's unreal," Kalish said.
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• — Because he's doing so well, Rockefeller is being released back into the wild. "I will wish him a very long and happy life—something we all strive for," Kalish said. "It's a pretty great story. I was honored to be of service." —The Washington Post
  
  Story suggested by Stand Up Republic Media Manager Mary Anna Mancuso.

Santa Claus is still coming to town

If the pandemic has had you worried about Santa Claus, relax. He won't be bringing COVID-19 down the chimney this year. At least, that's the word from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert. "Santa is exempt from this because Santa, of all the good qualities, has a lot of good innate immunity," Fauci said last week.

• — It should come as no surprise. As children all around the world already know, Santa is superhuman. He flies around the world in one night, delivers millions of toys, and eats his weight in cookies.
   
• — But with millions of Americans already sick with COVID-19, children have been worried about Santa, especially this Christmas Eve, when he visits millions of homes. And there's no denying that Santa, because he is older and overweight, would at first glance appear to be at higher risk of developing severe disease from COVID-19.
   
• — "Santa does not want the kids to line up waiting to see him because he doesn't want to spread germs. Santa gets sad if the kids or their families are sick," said Dr. Gina Song, a pediatrician at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva, Ill. "So this year, Santa will be watching you from afar, giving you the gift of good health, and will only visit when no one is around on Christmas Eve." Whew, that's a relief! —USA Today

Someday, a Jon Meacham or Michael Beschloss yet unborn will write an early 21st-century version of Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy…murdered 57 years ago this past Sunday…and a stirring chapter will be devoted to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The pro-life, devoutly Christian Republican put the rule of law and the righteousness of numbers ahead of unseemly requests from members of his own political party, and certified Democrat Joe Biden as winner of Georgia's electoral votes, despite being called a RINO (Republican In Name Only), the Trumpers' favorite four-letter obscenity, as if the taxpayers of Georgia had hired him not to assure an honest election, but a Republican victory.

Profiles in Courage relates stories of heroes of conscience like John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, and Robert Taft, but unlike Brad Raffensperger, they did not receive death threats from people with a warped sense of what the 2nd Amendment is all about. That is a sad distinction Raffensperger shares with another Georgian of courage: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Buried in a footnote of the Raffensperger chapter will be the names of Georgia's two U.S. senators, tiny, inconsequential people long forgotten, who called for Raffensperger's resignation for the temerity to do his job for the citizens of their state. Passing mention may also be made of the senator from South Carolina…a fluttering little butterfly ever searching for a glistening street lamp…who also attempted to overturn the result of the election. Future historians will wonder why he was never censured, indicted, or removed from office.

There is another person who once would have merited the first, longest, and most glowing chapter in any telling of heroes from the early 21st-century: Rudolph Giuliani, New York City's Eliot Ness, and later America's Winston Churchill, whose decline from an exemplar of probity to a buffoon of parody was worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy, or…in the Italian opera he so loves…Pagliacci, complete with the makeup of a pathetic clown dripping down his face.  

Rudy Giuliani might yet be included in an updated Profiles in Courage, albeit in a brief afterword, with a poignant and brutally honest title: He used to be a hero. —Jim V., New York

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