Last week’s top stories on Law Street covered racist responses to Harriet Tubman replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill, a judge ruling that Pastafarianism is not a real religion, and the end to Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s puppy-smuggling saga. ICYMI, check out the top stories below.

1. Of Course There are Racist Responses to Harriet Tubman on the $20 Bill

There are some truths I know to be absolute: gas station sushi is a bad idea, Betty White is a national treasure, and the internet is full of racist people. And if you need proof of that third claim, look no further than the internet’s response to the Treasury Department’s announcement that Harriet Tubman will be replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Read the full article here.

2. The Flying Spaghetti Monster, a Religious Impasta?

Throw out your colanders and get rid of all of your spaghetti, a Nebraska judge ruled that Pastafarianism is not a real religion. Stephen Cavanaugh, a Nebraska inmate, sued Nebraska prison officials seeking $5 million in 2014, arguing that his religion should be treated like every other religion. He claims that he was mocked and harassed over his belief in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. He also claims that prison staff would not provide accommodations for his religion, as they do with others, by refusing to allow him to meet for worship services, to wear religious clothing and pendants, and to receive communion. Read the full article here.

3. Amber Heard & Johnny Depp Issue Strange Apology For Pet Smuggling

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s Australian puppy-smuggling saga is finally over. Heard plead guilty Monday to knowingly producing a false and misleading document, and received a one-month $1,000 good behavior bond. Luckily for the actress, prosecutors dropped the more serious illegal importation charges, which carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of 102,000 Australian dollars (that’s $75,000.) Read the full article here.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post ICYMI: Best of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

There are some truths I know to be absolute: gas station sushi is a bad idea, Betty White is a national treasure, and the internet is full of racist people. And if you need proof of that third claim, look no further than the internet’s response to the Treasury Department’s announcement that Harriet Tubman will be replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.

First of all–this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Plans to redesign the most commonly used bills have been underway for some time, and the push to place a female face on American currency has been a longstanding effort. Additionally, Tubman won’t be the only woman to be featured on paper currency come the 2020 redesign–according to WIRED:

And so Hamilton will remain on the face (you can thank, or blame, the hit musical Hamilton for that), while the obverse will feature abolitionists and women’s rights activists Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Alice Paul. The $5 bill is changing as well, to ‘honor historic events that occurred at the Lincoln Memorial in service of our democracy,’ according to the Treasury. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Marian Anderson, and Eleanor Roosevelt will appear on the bill.

However, it’s the Tubman addition that the internet is freaking out about, and while a lot of reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, there are plenty of jerks responding with bigotry, racism, and general idiocy. Here’s some examples:

@FoxNews who in the world is that? Never heard of her & don’t want her on the money period. I will refuse any $20 bill with that on it #tcot

— thetruthishere (@marctyler30) April 20, 2016

The Wonkette collected some charming examples from the comment sections of articles written about the addition of Tubman to the $20; here are some particularly vomit-worthy standouts from an article written by Jim Hoft on the Gateway Pundit:

I would think the EBT card would be more appropriate.

Can you guess how many of them will be defaced… and how fast? As much as they try to rid the enword from our language, this will increase it’s use exponentially.

this will go the way of the sacagawea golden dollar. i will not accept a twenty dollar bill until it has jackson back on it. give me 10’s and 50’s…i’ll deal with it…you should too. these self serving racist do gooders must be stopped

Here’s, of course, a call for our future savior Donald Trump to step in and put an end to the malarky:

@FoxNews

Whats next, There is nothing in this country that is good enough anymore. We need Trump to stop all the PC crap.

— OhReally (@OhReally22) April 20, 2016

It wasn’t just the anonymous people on the internet getting involved in the debate. Talking head Greta Van Susteren went on a rant last night on Fox about how the addition of Tubman on our $20 bill and removing Jackson is “dividing the country” and “creating a completely unnecessary fight,” which is amusing given that she propagated a fight that didn’t actually exist by bringing it up on her show. 

And then, of course, you have Republican hopeful himself, Donald Trump, who came out against putting Tubman on the $20 as “pure political correctness,” suggesting that she be featured on the $2 bill instead. He also defended Jackson, the man who was responsible for the Trail of Tears saying that he should remain on the $20. 

America, this is why we can’t have nice things. 

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Of Course There are Racist Responses to Harriet Tubman on the $20 Bill appeared first on Law Street.

In the immortal words of the one and only Beyonce Knowles “Who run the world? Girls!” But that anthem makes me wonder–if that’s the case, why in the U.S. are there no female faces on the actual thing that makes our world go round–our money? The nonprofit “Women on 20s” hopes to change that with its campaign aiming to get a famous female face on the twenty-dollar bill by 2020. The date would celebrate the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote.

One of these 4 women could replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. #WomenOn20s @avianneflu http://t.co/6zWlCdNX0V pic.twitter.com/brFmW1EZ7i

— Paul Shin (@PaulHBShin) April 8, 2015

“Women on 20s” started this portion of its advocacy by allowing voters to pick from 15 candidates, all of whom have made significant strides in history in her own right, and now it’s down to the final four. The final contenders include First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, civil rights activist Rosa Parks, abolitionist Harriet Tubman, and Cherokee Nation leader Wilma Mankiller.

The group’s executive director Susan Ades Stone told ABC News:

In the past 48 hours since the final round started, we’ve had 60,000 people cast votes already. Though all these women and many more deserve to be honored, the winner will be a symbol of what we hope are greater things to come.

But why the 20-dollar bill? Well according to the group’s website, continuing to immortalize Andrew Jackson on our money is blatantly disrespectful to American Indians and also kind of ironic.

While our nation’s seventh president was celebrated for founding the Democratic party, he also signed, supported, and enforced the Indian Removal Act of 1830, commonly known as the “Trail of Tears.” This mass relocation of American Indians off their “resource-rich land” to provide space for white European settlers resulted in the deaths of thousands from exposure, disease and starvation. Wilma Mankiller, who was the first elected female chief of a Native nation in modern times, could very well be the perfect American Indian-positive revamp for the somewhat tainted bill.

As for irony, according to the campaign’s site Jackson was actually a “fierce opponent of the central banking system and favored gold and silver coin or ‘hard money’ over paper currency,” making his permanent place on papered 20s quite funny.

Stone told ABC News that after the voting period ends, “Women on 20s” will “ask President Obama to start the process of getting the winning woman on the bill.”

Do you want a say in which lady graces the new twenty-dollar bill? Get involved and cast your ballot here, or tell us your pick in the comments below. All of these historic ladies deserve to grace our dough, but there can only be one winner.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Could a Female Face Grace the New Twenty-Dollar Bill? appeared first on Law Street.