Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Trump Loses One GOP Elector

On December 19, the electors will cast their votes to officially make Donald J. Trump the President-elect. Usually this process is just a formality, but this year, there’s talk of some electors defying their states’ wishes. One Texas elector, Christopher Suprun, penned an op-ed in the New York Times explaining why he will not be casting his vote for Trump. He offers many reasons–including Trump’s lack of experience–and makes some apt “Star Wars” references, saying:

He has surrounded himself with advisers such as Stephen K. Bannon, who claims to be a Leninist and lauds villains and their thirst for power, including Darth Vader. ‘Rogue One,’ the latest ‘Star Wars’ installment, arrives later this month. I am not taking my children to see it to celebrate evil, but to show them that light can overcome it.

Suprun finished up his piece by explaining that he hopes other electors will join him to support Ohio Governor John Kasich. We’ll have to see if Suprun’s argument gets any others to flip.

via GIPHY

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 RantCrush Top 5: December 6, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

No Dakota Pipeline…For Now

There’s been a lot of bad news lately, but yesterday the people won a small victory over big corporations when the U.S. Army Corps announced that it would not grant the easement for the Dakota Pipeline to be built near the Standing Rock reservation. Protesters and Native Americans have blocked the construction of the oil pipeline for months and endured clashes with the police that have left many injured.

The army said in a statement: “Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it’s clear that there’s more work to do.” It will look at alternative routes for where the pipeline can go instead.

President-elect Donald Trump, who is only about a month away from moving into the White House, is a big supporter of the pipeline, so this certainly doesn’t mean the fight is over. But for now, many people are celebrating.

We will forever remember Dec. 4th,2016 as a day of victory, but as we celebrate today, tomorrow we continue to work towards a better future. pic.twitter.com/uP2a2z1ua4

— Urban Native Era (@UrbanNativeEra) December 5, 2016

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: December 5, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

If you live in a major metropolitan area, or honestly even a small one, there’s a very decent chance that you’ll see protests today. You probably saw some last night as well. For any of you who have been living under a particularly comfortable and sheltered rock lately, the protests focus on the cases of two black men killed by police officers. Michael Brown, an 18 year old in Ferguson, Missouri, was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014. On November 24 it was announced that a grand jury had decided not to indict Wilson. Next, there’s the case of Eric Garner in New York, who was killed by Officer Daniel Pantaleo on July 17, 2014. Pantaleo was filmed putting Garner in a chokehold, even though that tactic is banned by the New York Police Department.

Here’s an example of the “hands up don’t shoot” gesture being used in protest:

"Hands up, dont shoot!!" #NYC #FergusonDecision #justice pic.twitter.com/OwMfX72v4H

— Arnaud Montagard (@arnaudmontagard) November 26, 2014

And Garner’s last words, which have become a rallying cry:

I almost can't read this. So painful. So ugly. #ICantBreathe pic.twitter.com/KVVbK6Gf0A

— Tessa Francis (@tessafrancis) December 4, 2014

Those are the roots of the protests, the catalysts. But the protests aren’t just about these two men. They’re about the greater issue–or more appropriately issues. I’m not trying to make an exhaustive list here but these protests are about the national conversations we need to have on racism, racial profiling, police violence, police militarization, etc, etc, etc. The protests are about a broken system–the deaths of Brown and Garner are tragic symptoms of this system.

The protests have been taking place all over the United States. New York, where Garner was killed, was especially busy. There was a “die-in” at Grand Central Station yesterday evening; a “die-in” is when protesters lie on the ground, silently.

Hundreds of people staged a "die-in" at Grand Central in NYC after #EricGarner decision. http://t.co/che6tRNyli pic.twitter.com/8cNl2DsEUw

— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 4, 2014

Protesters marched through New York City and temporarily blocked traffic at major transportation hubs, including the Lincoln Tunnel. One of the protesters explained her motivations, saying:

Every 28 hours a young black man is killed by police. Only 2 percent of police are indicted. Those numbers are crazy. It’s telling young black men that their lives don’t matter and their deaths can be passed over.

Protests were also very active in our nation’s capital. Last night, protesters flooded Dupont Circle and stopped traffic, as well as at some other locations in Northwest Washington. Today there will be a protest over by the Department of Justice at 4:00pm.

Protesters blocking DC intersection to protest non-indictment in #Garner case. Protest is peaceful. Cops standing by pic.twitter.com/j0JSd9B62O

— Athena Jones (@AthenaCNN) December 4, 2014

Cities all over the country look like this, and I’m going to leave these pictures and videos here, because I think they say more than words ever could:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philly protest at Tree Lighting event at City Hall #FergusonPHL #BlackLivesMatter #HandsUpDontShoot: http://t.co/FpDJKfBylC #EricGarner

— Daryel Jay (@DaryelJay) December 4, 2014

Oakland, California:

#EricGarner protest in Oakland. #NoJusticeNoPeace #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/0yxNmnJQQM

— Diana Saverin (@dianasaverin) December 4, 2014

Seattle, Washington

Seattle protests no indictment for NYPD officer whose chokehold led to death of #EricGarner >> http://t.co/nXEihNYg4p pic.twitter.com/I6PZktVbge

— KIRO 7 (@KIRO7Seattle) December 4, 2014

New York, New York

Garner widow on husband's killer: 'No I, don't accept his apologies’ http://t.co/NLncfA5Mft pic.twitter.com/pbkP6TCoVA

— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) December 4, 2014

Those are faces of change. Faces tired of the way that our system has been failing. Faces that have had enough. Faces that deserve to be, finally, listened to.

If you’re interested in joining a protest, here’s where they’re happening today. They aren’t going to end anytime soon, because this crisis clearly isn’t ending anytime soon either.

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 #HandsUpDontShoot #ICantBreathe: Americans Continue Protests appeared first on Law Street.

Sometimes the news, especially when it’s about politics, can get us all down. But recently I’ve been seeing a few news stories that have lifted my spirits. Lately, some small towns have started to elect dogs and cats as mayors.

Most recently, there’s Duke, a 7-year-old dog who was just elected the mayor of Cormorant, Minnesota. He’s going to have a lot of responsibilities, given that the town he presides over has 12 people. Luckily he has a great salary–kibble and treats provided by a local pet store. I’ve heard rumors that items on his agenda will include outlawing the postman, and importing more frisbees. But I’d have to say that Duke’s best qualification is that he is incredibly adorable and fluffy–just check out a video of Cormorant’s new mayor below:

One of the most famous animal leaders in the United States is the prolific Mayor Stubbs, who has run Talkeetna, Alaska since 1997. Here is Mayor Stubbs conducting an important meeting with a constituent.

Thanks, t-dawg!

Stubbs has been the mayor since he was just a kitten, defeating some of his less-qualified human candidates early in life. He was a write-in candidate, and has been very successful in reelection bids. Stubbs’ leadership has been very well received by the roughly 900 townspeople of Talkeetna, Alaska. They especially appreciate his paws-off approach when it comes to business. He also has increased tourism visits to Talkeetna just by being himself–everyone wants to come see the most prolific cat mayor in the United States.

Another more recent four-legged mayoral victory came from the town of Divide, Colorado. The leadership structure in general there is actually quite wild–the mayor is a dog named Pa Kettle, the Vice Mayor is a wolf named Kenyi, and the viceroy is a cat named Buster. To be fair, their leadership is less official than those of Duke or Stubbs, because they were elected on fundraiser driven by the local animal shelter. But since Divide doesn’t have a human mayor, I assume they’ll be consulting Pa Kettle on many important matters.

Of course, not every animal has quite as much success when running for elected office. Einstein, a beautiful shepherd mix, is running for mayor of Oakland, California. He has a very well developed platform that contains good proposals for both his human and animal friends. Unfortunately, due to horribly discriminatory laws, Einstein will not be on the ballot this year.

From what I can tell, there’s two reasons why these animals are getting involved in politics. The first is because let’s be honest, they’re super cute. Small towns often have other institutions in place to deal with day-to-day leadership, and a mayor is just a figurehead. Why shouldn’t the figurehead be fluffy, easy to work with, and boost tourism?

However there’s also another reason that some of our towns may be turning to electing dogs, cats, and other critters. It’s a pretty unsubtle comment on the state of politics in the United States. Einstein, the little guy running for Oakland mayor, is running on behalf of the Occupy Oakland movement. In a time when Congress has an approval rating of 13 percent, the state of our politics is pretty depressing. Why not change it up–at least dogs won’t try to impeach the President, fail to pass any bills, or anything of the sort. So next time that American politics have got you down, google “mayor dog.” I predict that we may see a gubernatorial bid from Duke soon.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead 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.

Featured image courtesy of [geckoam via Flickr]

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 Animal Mayors on the Rise: A Solution to America’s Political Woes? appeared first on Law Street.