Y’know … some mornings I wake up and wonder what alternative world I have stumbled into. Nothing is as it once seemed, norms that I’ve known for some 7 decades have been shattered, replaced by utter stupidity and conspiracy theories, and I am not sure how to cope with this not-so-brave new world. It’s tempting to simply stay in bed surrounded by books, disconnect from the rest of the world, and never come out of my cocoon. In the past, I have mocked people for doing just that, but now … I understand. When it seems we have absolutely zero control over what is happening in the world, when the minority are paving the way to chaos while the majority sit quietly on the sidelines wringing their hands, I wonder just how much longer this nation can survive.
I did manage to find one sign that there is still a bit of sanity left in this country …
Remember in the days and weeks immediately following last year’s election when the former guy refused to acknowledge that he could possibly have lost? He had countless lawyers filing frivolous lawsuits attempting to get courts to overturn the election results without so much as a single shred of evidence that the results, by which President Biden won by more than 7 million votes, were anything but legitimate. The court cases dragged on, costing more and more money, each one thrown out for lack of credible evidence.
I wondered at the time why any self-respecting attorney who had worked hard to get to this point in his/her career would associate with the likes of the former guy, a known con artist and liar. I think the key word there is ‘self-respecting’ … the attorneys who filed these cases were not serious about their career in law, but rather wanted to make a name for themselves, sought to trail in the spotlight that seemed to be constantly on the former guy. Fame & fortune?
And now, those same attorneys who will never again be trusted by honest people are being sent back to school! Yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Linda Parker imposed sanctions on Sidney Powell, Lin Wood and seven other pro-Trump lawyers in a strongly worded denouncement of what the court called a frivolous election fraud lawsuit, saying they “filed this lawsuit in bad faith and for improper purpose.” That’s an understatement if ever I’ve heard one, but okay.
As part of the sanctions, the attorneys must take legal education classes and also reimburse attorneys’ fees that the city of Detroit and Michigan state officials paid in seeking the sanctions. I hope the next step is disbarment, but I’m not holding my breath on that one. This ruling was over one case in Michigan … dozens of frivolous suits were filed late last year … if every single one comes before a conscionable judge and more sanctions are heaped on, then perhaps we can rid the public of yet another clump of human trash.