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Fauci: Vaccinations are ramping up in a `glimmer of hope’

Back in the day, we would wait for midnight and then grab our pots and pans and spoons and run out onto the porch and start banging them, welcoming in the New Year.
				You don&rsquo;t see &mdash; or hear &mdash; that type of celebration much these days.
				There are those die-hard fireworks people that decide to set off loud, booming fireworks at midnight. All too often, just like around July 4th, these same people set off their fireworks days in advance and days after the actual day of celebration.
				Even though these can be bothersome to the ears of some humans and pets alike, they are celebrations and God knows we haven&rsquo;t had much to celebrate since March 2020.
				The pandemic and all that, you know, has tempered our celebrations.
				But as human beings, we are resilient and we persevere, even in the face of a pandemic. Thank goodness for big screen TVs and takeout restaurants and, yes, pizza.
				As we continue to &ldquo;turn the corner&rdquo; on COVID-19 and await our turn for the vaccination, we must do our best to remain patient and we must, as Dr. Levine and Dr. Fauci urge us daily &mdash;mitigate. We must wear our masks, like it or not, and we must use sanitizer and wash our hands and refrain from large crowds. It&rsquo;s a mater of public health.
				But traditional New Year celebrations aside, there is something else to celebrate. That is the decision by most reasonable elected officials to not blindly follow the ridiculous movement to somehow overturn the presidential election. We all know, or should know, that Democrat Joe Biden handily defeated Republican Donald Trump by more than 7 million popular votes, easily garnering more than 300 electoral votes along the way.
				Biden won. Trump lost.
				Time to move on &mdash; Inauguration Day is Jan. 20.
				U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican from Lehigh Valley, issued a statement regarding the intent of some Republican senators to oppose certifying the presidential election results:
				&ldquo;A fundamental, defining feature of a democratic republic is the right of the people to elect their own leaders,&rdquo; Toomey said. &ldquo;The effort by Senators Hawley, Cruz, and others to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in swing states like Pennsylvania directly undermines this right.&rdquo;
				Toomey went on to say that these senators justify their intent by observing that there have been many allegations of fraud.
				&ldquo;But allegations of fraud by a losing campaign cannot justify overturning an election,&rdquo; Toomey said. &ldquo;They fail to acknowledge that these allegations have been adjudicated in courtrooms across America and were found to be unsupported by evidence. President Trump&rsquo;s own Attorney General, Bill Barr, stated &lsquo;we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.&rdquo;
				Toomey also said, &ldquo;I acknowledge that this past election, like all elections, had irregularities. But the evidence is overwhelming that Joe Biden won this election. His narrow victory in Pennsylvania is easily explained by the decline in suburban support for President Trump and the president&rsquo;s slightly smaller victory margins in most rural counties.&rdquo;
				Toomey said he voted for President Trump and endorsed him for re-election.
				&ldquo;But, on Wednesday, I intend to vigorously defend our form of government by opposing this effort to disenfranchise millions of voters in my state and others,&rdquo; Toomey said.
				Yes, Toomey has decided that he is not going to run for re-election two years from now, but I am sure that did not influence his stance on this issue.
				Toomey has always been a thoughtful senator. We need more like him in Congress.
				Start banging those pots and pans.

Beyond the Byline: Plenty of reasons to celebrate the New Year