If there’s one notable thing that Trump has become known for, it’s his lack of regard for anything with a heartbeat that doesn’t pay taxes! The environment, nature, and the animal world have no use to him and he’s actively gone out of his way to opt out of ways to protect them, but this week that came crashing down as his latest move was blocked by a very literate judge!
US District Judge Valerie E. Caproni, a federal judge in New York has invalidated rule changes by the Trump administration that allowed individuals and corporations to kill scores of birds. But in a blistering ruling where she quoted Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the move was thwarted.
The changes made by Trump would have largely benefited oil companies, which are the companies most likely to mass kill birds by accident with oil spills and the like. We’re not a news page and we like to stick to literature so while we won’t share the entire ruling or ins and outs of the case (You can see the whole story here), we do want to share this literary courtroom brilliance.
As part of the ruling Caproni determined that the move was illegal and admonished the Interior Department with a passage from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. “It is not only a sin to kill a mockingbird, it is also a crime,” Caproni wrote. “That has been the letter of the law for the past century. But if the Department of the Interior has its way, many mockingbirds and other migratory birds that delight people and support ecosystems throughout the country will be killed without legal consequence.”
Trump has readily admitted he ‘has no time to read novels’ preferring to read excerpts or have information summarised for him, so we can possibly assume this is one book he either hasn’t read, or at least hasn’t read since school. We wonder if he understood the reference?
Whatever the case, we’re sure a million mockingbirds and other birds will benefit from Caproni’s ruling and her sharp wit and we’re grateful for that!
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