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’s Lawyer Sent Threatening Emails to Critic

President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, sent a string of threatening emails filled with profanities to a stranger on Wednesday night, after the man sent an email to him saying he should resign. Kasowitz wrote things like, “I’m on you now. You are f*cking with me now. Let’s see who you are. Watch your back, b*tch.” He also wrote, “Call me. Don’t be afraid, you piece of shit. Stand up. If you don’t call, you’re just afraid,” adding that he knows where the guy lives. Reportedly the man’s initial email argued that it would be in Kasowitz’s best interest to resign as the president’s attorney in the Russia investigations. The man contacted Kasowitz after ProPublica published an article about Kasowitz not having a security clearance, and alleging that he has suffered from alcohol addiction.

This is outrageous: Trump’s lawyer (Kasowitz) reportedly can’t pass a security clearance – and he’s threatening people who ask about it. https://t.co/fcNgU8lFQm

— Caroline O. (@RVAwonk) July 13, 2017

The man, who has only been identified as a former PR professional, said the emails worried him enough that he ended up handing them over to the FBI. After the emails were published, Kasowitz said he intends to apologize to the man. But some legal experts have said Kasowitz’s language is “incredibly troubling.”

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: July 14, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

The Pittsburgh Penguins seemingly thought it was a fun idea to add real, live penguins to the pre-game celebration of a recent hockey game. But animal rights activists disagreed. The penguins–the human team–played the Philadelphia Flyers in Pittsburgh last Saturday. The local zoo pitched in by delivering some penguins to play on the ice, but the pre-game show also included fireworks and pyrotechnics.

A video clip from the event shows the penguins reacting to the explosion and flapping their wings in alarm. This caused PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, to send a letter to the CEO of the Pittsburgh Penguins in which it states that it is obvious that the penguins are “scrambling in terror.”

Everything about this is terrible. pic.twitter.com/RRYJSDaCeh

— m g (@kikkerlaika) February 26, 2017

The PETA letter continued:

It’s inherently stressful for wild animals–who naturally shun contact with humans and are extremely sensitive to environmental changes–to be hauled around, used as props, and exposed to noisy crowds.

PETA also criticized the Pittsburgh Zoo for allowing its animals to be treated like this. The zoo replied in a statement of its own, saying:

The penguins who attended the Winter Classic are some of the same penguins that participate in our weekend Penguins on Parade event. They are very comfortable around people and noises.

ACTUAL PENGUINS! #StadiumSeries pic.twitter.com/7VA5o9NKCR

— NHL (@NHL) February 26, 2017

The statement from the zoo said that the penguins’ reaction to the fireworks is similar to that of humans’ when they are startled and that it only took a few seconds before they were playing again. It also said that it was a “great enrichment opportunity for our penguins to be introduced to new sounds, sights and smells.”

PETA asked the Pittsburgh Penguins not to use live animals for promotion of its team in the future, but a spokesman for the team and one for the NHL said they didn’t have anything to add to the zoo’s statement. PETA has long campaigned for sports teams to stop using live animals as mascots at events, but it doesn’t seem like the sports world is ready to give that tradition up just yet.

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 The Pittsburgh Penguins Borrowed Live Penguins, PETA is Not Happy appeared first on Law Street.

Texas has a feral hog problem. There are over two million wild pigs in the state and they can cause big problems for landowners–the state Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller even says they eat newborn calves and lambs. ICYMI, Miller was the guy who introduced the practice of hunting boar from helicopters, something he takes so much pride in that he keeps a toy helicopter and a boar head on the wall by his office. But now he has come up with an even more efficient way of reducing the number of hogs.

This new method is a poison, by the name of “Kaput Feral Hog Lure.” “This solution is long overdue. Wild hogs have caused extensive damage to Texas lands and loss of income for many, many years,” Commissioner Miller said. “With the introduction of this first hog lure, the ‘Hog Apocalypse’ may finally be on the horizon.”

The main ingredient, warfarin, is an anticoagulant that has been used for many years to fight the hog problem in Australia. Considering that the boars uproot city parks, landscaping installations, and crops; can pose a physical danger to humans when crossing highways; carry viruses and parasites; and can feed on local endangered species, the Texas Department of Agriculture was happy to find a new method. But what the press release from the department doesn’t mention is that warfarin kills the animals slowly and painfully–it would take one to two weeks for a boar to die. It also doesn’t mention that Australia has been phasing it out for the past few years because of those inhumane issues.

This is not how you manipulate wildlife.
Makes a lot of us sick to think of. https://t.co/HtGsuYpgXD
Quoted @texashoghunters

— Kayla Jean (@Kayla_Jean10) February 23, 2017

The Environmental Protection Agency approved the pesticide in January, but the Texas Hog Hunters Association does not approve. The organization has partnered with other groups of conservationists and trappers and started an online petition protesting the toxin–so far it has about 7,200 signatures. The group argues that it’s pretty likely that the toxin could accidentally sicken humans who unknowingly eat a poisoned pig. But Miller’s counter argument is that the poison contains a blue dye that will turn the boars’ insides blue so that it will be obvious if the pig is poisoned or not.

There’s also the argument against animal cruelty. Stephanie Bell from PETA, said that it is not right that wild animals should suffer just because they’re trying to survive. Besides, she points out, humans brought boars to America in the first place, for hunting. Former researcher with the U.S. Agriculture Department, Tyler Campbell, compared the effects of warfarin to those of rat poison. “They bleed. Internally and externally, usually for a week or more before they die,” he said. And he also pointed out that there is no way to ensure that other animals don’t eat the poison, and end up spreading the warfarin even deeper into the eco system. “The wildlife community at large has reasons to have concerns,” Campbell said.

This is awful. The proposal is to poison the hogs with warfarin which *is not selective* for hogs and can permeate the ecosystem. https://t.co/u4yXzNWteq

— Bryan William Jones (@BWJones) February 22, 2017

Louisiana politicians are considering using the poison as well. But state wildlife veterinarian Jim LaCour is hesitant. He said that even with precautions meant to make the food accessible to hogs only, such as heavy lids, it is impossible to guarantee that other clever animals, like raccoons, don’t learn how to lift the lids. Hogs are also likely to make a mess when they eat, dropping crumbs on the ground where birds and small rodents can pick them up.

Pigs are highly intelligent animals and their genome is rather similar to ours. It seems like an unnecessarily inhumane option to knowingly expose them to drawn-out and painful suffering when humans were the ones that introduced them to this country in the first place.

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 The Texas War on Wild Pigs: The “Hog Apocalypse” is Here appeared first on Law Street.

The status of the wild jaguar is “near threatened” according to World Wildlife Fund. Still, one of them was shot dead after an Olympic torch ceremony in the town of Manaus in Brazil on Wednesday.

The torch ceremony took place at a zoo and featured a jaguar, which is the Brazilian Olympic team’s mascot. According to an army statement, the animal fled from its handlers right after the ceremony. Veterinarians tried to sedate it using tranquilizers, but the jaguar resisted and lunged at a soldier, who saw no other solution than shooting it.

An endangered jaguar was killed moments after being used in the Olympic Torch ceremony. https://t.co/IScjZDedhv pic.twitter.com/Z5oatwHluB

— The Dodo (@dodo) June 22, 2016

The zoo was right next to a military center where soldiers handled the animal. However, using the jaguar, known as Juma, in the Olympic ceremony was actually illegal, said IPAAM, the Amazon state government environmental authority that restricts the use of wild animals. No one had applied to use the jaguar and therefore no permit was issued. IPAAM will investigate the incident.

The official organizing committee for Rio 2016 posted an apology on its Portuguese Twitter account that said the organization was wrong to have displayed the torch next to a wild, chained animal, and vowed that it will not happen again.

Erramos ao permitir que a Tocha Olímpica,símbolo da paz e da união entre povos,fosse exibida ao lado de um animal selvagem acorrentado.(1/3)

— Rio 2016 (@Rio2016) June 21, 2016

That assurance comes a little late for animal rights groups across the world. PETA issued a statement criticizing the whole thing, saying:

Wild animals held captive and forced to do things that are frightening, sometimes painful, and always unnatural are ticking time bombs—captivity puts animal and human lives at risk.

What were they thinking? Jaguar fatally shot following Olympic torch ceremony in Brazil https://t.co/Urceo7qJjc #RIP pic.twitter.com/lQYeywzd9x

— PETA (@peta) June 22, 2016

Animal behavior scientist Joao Paulo Castro told the BBC:

It’s neither healthy nor advisable to subject an animal to such a situation, with lots of noise and people. Often, jaguars already are stressed by being kept in captivity; that’s only compounded when they’re exposed to hubbub.

Others have also reacted on social media, calling for justice for Juma.

Rest in Peace poor innocent one #Juma the Jaguar who was mercilessly shot dead after Brazil’s Olympic torch… https://t.co/y6B7RXJNrn

— Broken Paws (@Broken_Paws_Int) June 22, 2016

Justice for Juma the Jaguar https://t.co/sOASnQ0hJC pic.twitter.com/zbgbZ5LbDY

— Compassion 4 Animals (@AmyRoseKathryn) June 22, 2016

I have met this jaguar. It lunged at me, but for a cuddle only. Sad to hear this https://t.co/EEfH883nvb

— Bill Bailey (@BillBailey) June 22, 2016

Despite not having even started, the Rio Olympics is surrounded by bad news–with the outbreak of the Zika virus, reports of being bankrupt, a high crime rate, bad organizing, and the impeachment of Brazil’s President. Hopefully the games will get its act together by the official start on August 5.

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 Jaguar Killed While Fleeing Olympic Torch Ceremony in Brazil appeared first on Law Street.

Hello, Monday, we meet again. As you trudge into a new work week, we’ve got you covered with stories you might have missed last week. Anneliese Mahoney topped the list with all three of the week’s top stories. Number one implores you to stop posting the useless copyright status to your Facebook account — seriously, it’s a waste of your time. Number two recounts Sarah Palin’s latest controversy, this time with PETA over a picture she sent out to her social media followers; and number three is a look at the bumpy legal road ahead for Uber. ICYMI, check out the best of the week from Law Street.

#1 Please Stop Posting the Facebook Copyright Status

Every now and then Facebook updates its policies. And immediately after that, I notice a series of statuses from my “friends” on Facebook. It’s a sort of notice alerting readers to the fact that the poster believes they have copyright over their own content. There are sometimes slight variations in wording, but that’s pretty much what these statuses look like every time. I’ve seen so many in my news feed over the last week that I thought it was time for an important PSA. This status means nothing. Read full article here.

#2 Sarah Palin vs. PETA: Welcome to the Overreaction Olympics

Sarah Palin has a unique place in my heart–after all, there are very few people who I can count on to continually surprise me with the weird scandals they manage to get themselves involved in. But she may have just outdone herself. The most recent Palin scandal started with a photo she posted to Facebook on New Years Day. Read full article here.

#3 Uber Will Have a Rough Ride in 2015

Uber is a great way to get from point A to point B, but the company may have a rocky road ahead of it in 2015. There are a lot of lawsuits pending against the ridesharing company, and while none of them seem that damaging, it does raise a question: why is Uber so prone to lawsuits? Read full article here.

Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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

Sarah Palin has a unique place in my heart–after all, there are very few people who I can count on to continually surprise me with the weird scandals they manage to get themselves involved in. But she may have just outdone herself.

The most recent Palin scandal started with a photo she posted to Facebook on New Years Day.

Sarah Palin sparks online controversy with photos of her son standing on a dog http://t.co/UbPZKShNDIpic.twitter.com/MTQzRQIVbV

— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) January 3, 2015

It shows her son, Trig, standing on his service dog, Jill, in order to reach a high counter. To me, this read as a relatively innocent photo. I’m not arguing that anyone should stand on dogs–that’s not nice–but little kids climb all over animals all the time. Palin definitely should have grabbed her son rather than post a picture, but in my eyes, it’s not really that big of a deal.

But that’s where this goes from “OK, probably not the world’s best pic to post on social media” to batshit crazy in a way that only a story involving Sarah Palin and PETA can.

So, after that picture was put on Facebook, PETA released this statement:

It’s odd that anyone—let alone a mother—would find it appropriate to post such a thing, with no apparent sympathy for the dog in the photo. Then again, PETA, along with everyone else, is used to the hard-hearted, seeming obliviousness of this bizarrely callous woman, who actually thought it appropriate to be filmed while turkeys were being slaughtered right behind her in full view of the camera.

Full disclosure here–I’m not a huge fan of PETA either. I think what it stands for–an end to animal cruelty–is excellent, but I think that its reactionary policies have the potential to do more harm than good. Anyway, the group got all upset about the picture of Trig stepping on the dog, and then Palin responded with a very long letter on her Facebook page responding to the PETA statement.

Have you come down with a case of the common but exhausting “Wow-These-People-Like-To-Hear-Themselves-Talkitis” yet? Because I certainly have.

Palin’s statement started as follows:

Dear PETA,

Chill. At least Trig didn’t eat the dog.

[…]

Did you go as crazy when your heroic Man-of-Your-Lifetime, Barack Obama, revealed he actually enjoyed eating dead dog meat?

Palin is referring to Obama eating dog meat as a child when he lived in Indonesia. Palin’s ethnocentrism here is important to recognize; the difference is that Obama was eating food that was a cultural norm in the place he was living. He describes it in the same paragraph as eating snake. Furthermore, he was a nine year old. He didn’t have much autonomy in that matter–Palin as a full-grown adult had the responsibility to take her kid off the dog that he was standing on.

Moving right along through Palin’s letter, there’s a super weird part where she accuses PETA of being a hypocrite in a very strange manner, saying:

Aren’t you the same anti-beef screamers blogging hate from your comfy leather office chairs, wrapped in your fashionable leather belts above your kickin’ new leather pumps you bought because your celebrity idols (who sport fur and crocodile purses) grinned in a tabloid wearing the exact same Louboutins exiting sleek cowhide covered limo seats on their way to some liberal fundraiser shindig at some sushi bar that features poor dead smelly roe (that I used to strip from our Bristol Bay-caught fish, and in a Dillingham cannery I packed those castoff fish eggs for you while laughing with co-workers about the suckers paying absurdly high prices to party with the throw away parts of our wild seafood)? I believe you call those discarded funky eggs “caviar”.

What? I am very certain that PETA is anti-fur and anti-leather, almost rabidly so. What she’s accusing PETA of here isn’t hypocrisy but elitism. Which to be fair, I doubt that the people at PETA are struggling to put food on their tables, but the entire thing seems like a weird attack on wealthy people (and let’s remember, Palin is doing pretty well herself). So in a post about being hypocritical, Palin is hypocritical, and wow, this headache is getting pretty bad.

Honestly this entire thing is so silly and features some of the most dramatic overreactions I’ve seen in a while. So, I have some advice for both of you embroiled in this lovely little smorgasbord of misplaced outrage.

Sarah Palin: don’t let your kid stand on a dog. Or if you do, don’t post pictures of it. It’s not worth it. I know he’s probably not hurting the dog, but if you really want to be the role model that you claim to be, just be careful with the social media. Also, learn how to say “yeah, probably not my shining moment. I’m sorry,” without making it about partisan politics.

PETA: There are animals actually suffering. Pay attention to them. You just wasted manpower, outrage, and attention over a dog that is probably fed better than I am. Yet thousands of animals languish in shelters. Use your powers for good

.

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 Sarah Palin vs. PETA: Welcome to the Overreaction Olympics appeared first on Law Street.

The FBI is changing the way that it deals with animal abuse. The abuse of animals is going to become a top-tier Group A felony with its own category, similar to homicide or assault. Interestingly, though, the logic behind the new classification of animal abuse has almost nothing to do with animals, and much more with preventative action.

The logic behind the new classification is that abusing animals can be a precursor to significantly more violent behavior. The pop culture archetype of a young child killing the neighbor’s cat, and then going on to become a serial killer, while overdramatic, is rooted in fact. The examples are easy to find and well known, according to PETA:

Albert DeSalvo (the ‘Boston Strangler’), who killed 13 women, trapped dogs and cats and shot arrows at them through boxes in his youth. Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer impaled frogs, cats, and dogs’ heads on sticks. Dennis Rader (the BTK killer), who terrorized people in Kansas, wrote in a chronological account of his childhood that he hanged a dog and a cat. During the trial of convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, a psychology professor testified that the teenager, who killed 10 people with a rifle, had ‘pelted—and probably killed—numerous cats with marbles from a slingshot when he was about 14.’

The idea behind changing the way in which the FBI characterizes crimes against animals, is that they may be able to earlier identify these potentially troubled people. Before this change, the crimes were just filed as “other” and characterized as less serious. Often prior issues involving animals are overlooked or fall through the cracks and don’t come out until the perpetrator is arrested for a significantly more serious crime.

The ability to collect and analyze this data will also give more credence to the above theory, and hopefully convince more law enforcement officials that they need to take the abuse of animals seriously, because it could easily turn into the abuse of humans. John Thompson, a retired sheriff from Maryland, pointed out that the aggregation of data will help convince people that the connection between the abuse of animals and future crimes is “not just somebody saying the ‘Son of Sam’ killed animals before he went to human victims and 70-some percent of the school shooters abused animals prior to doing their acts before people.”

The new Group A Felony crimes will require the reporting of a few different kinds of crimes — certain levels of animal neglect, intentional abuse and torture, and organized abuse (such as dog fighting). The new classification will also require the police to review animal cruelty cases more frequently, hopefully helping them to pinpoint patterns. It may also allow them to get help for young people who are found abusing animals.

Another motivation for the new classifications is that they will help prosecutors get convictions, as well as lead to more plea bargains and sway juries.

Overall, this seems like a good move for the FBI. As little as it seemed to have been incorporated into the decision to upgrade animal abuse crimes, it is of course a great thing that more animals will be protected from abuse. And the preventative-measure aspect of the upgrade to classifications, even if it helps pinpoint just a few who have potential to hurt humans, will be worth it.

—

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 [Rick Kimpel 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 FBI: Animal Abuse Now Top-Tier Crime appeared first on Law Street.