Center for Consumer Freedom

We’ve been spending a lot of time discussing the deceptive Humane Society of the United States recently. But there’s plenty of other news of note about HSUS’s philosophical ally in the animal rights industry: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

This week, PETA gave "Avatar" director James Cameron its “Outstanding Feature Film” award for having a message of animal empathy in his film. The news comes just days after Cameron told Entertainment Weekly that “I believe in ecoterrorism.” Now, we could give PETA the benefit of the doubt. But then again, NBA star Gilbert Arenas recently starred in a PETA anti-fur ad—coincidentally, a few days after he was arrested for brandishing four firearms in his team’s locker room.

PETA sure knows how to pick ‘em. (And if you think it should just stick to its bread-and-butter of scantily clad women, well, it’s already taking care of that.)

But PETA antics often drown out more important threats—such as appointed officials with PETA-inspired agendas. Today in Esquire, Harvard law professor Noah Feldman writes that Cass Sunstein, the White House regulatory “czar,” is “on everyone’s short lists” for a nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court should a vacancy arise. Sunstein, as we’ve exposed, has a history of animal rights radicalism, and believes that animals should be allowed to sue and that hunting should be banned outright.

So PETA is very tight with eco-terror cheerleaders and NBA thugs. It sure would be nice if they spent half as much energy playing with pets instead of killing them.