Thursday, June 27, 2024

The Supreme Court rules that state officials can engage in a little corruption, as a treat

 https://www.vox.com/scotus/357170/supreme-court-snyder-united-states-corruption

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the opinion in Snyder v. United States for the Court’s Republican-appointed majority. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote the dissent on behalf of the Court’s three Democratic appointees.

Snyder turns on a distinction between “bribes” and “gratuities.” As Kavanaugh writes, “bribes are payments made or agreed to before an official act in order to influence the official with respect to that future official act.” Gratuities, by contrast, “are typically payments made to an official after an official act as a token of appreciation.” (Emphasis added.)

29 comments :

  1. OMG! Reb DT you are very frustrating. Why don't you read the opinion instead of regurgitating hysteria.
    Essentially, the majority opinion is concerned by the lack of clean line. There are some gratitude which the government and common sense agrees are fine others are nit. The issue is that here in US (unless the Dems are successful in weoponizing the justice system, JK 馃槣) the constitution mandates that regulations be somewhat clear so that they cannot be enforced impartiality (e.g., no law against "acting shady" without defining what it means to act shady). The majority is therefore intelligent to create a guidelines; bribery is either (a) a gift after the fact that was promised in advance contingent on performance; or (b) an unsolicited gift before the fact with a request for performance. Option (c), a ln unsolicited gift after the fact, the majority decided is too vague unless you ban everything-which is not supported by the statute or presendent. There you have it, the law is clear.
    Opinion states as follows: "The flaw in the Government’s approach—and it is a very serious real-world problem—is that the Government does not identify any remotely clear lines separating an innocuous or obviously benign gratuity from a criminal gratuity. The Government simply opines that state and local officials may not accept “wrongful” gratuities.

    That is no guidance at all. Is a $100 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card for a trash collector wrongful? "

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    1. As a Trump supporter you have no problem with corruption
      Trump demanding Ukraine give him dirt on Biden in order to release weapons
      Diplomats having important favors to ask stayed at Trump's hotel
      'ivanka got valuable rights from China
      Jered got 2 billion funding after providing major help to Saudi Arabia
      and supreme court justices accepted expensive gifts from men who have or will have their interests being judged at the court
      Soliciting 13k is no different to Republicans than expecting a 10% tip

      The Donors obviously gave it from pure gratitude without expecting future benefit!?

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    2. Granted, the potential for curruption is genuine. but they want the lawmakers to make it less ambiguous where to draw the line, not individual judges and certainly not gov agencies at their own Chevron whim.

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  3. Not a great evening for biden central

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    1. Oh, oh, I know what DT will respond: Nope!

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    2. Wow! Trump sure looked great while repeating his lies and avoiding any real answers. Yes Biden did not dominate Trump who with the help of a muted microphone contained his inner child
      Bottom line nothing has changed. it is still a choice between two old men - one who is competent as a leader and is focused on helping the country while the other is only concerned about himself, power and revenge,
      BTW who do you think will live longer and avoid dementia? I am betting on Biden!

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    3. Except that the Dems are now considering replacing biden, as he is no longer in control.

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    4. Who survives, and who is struck down is not in my lowly powers to decide. Sadly, biden is already in the early stages of dementia. Perhaps he can try some of the new FDA approved treatments.

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    5. Garnel, that comment of yours seems to have been removed?

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  4. I hear that, other than dementia Biden wasn't awful and Trump appeared more controlled than his awful 2020 performance that cost him the election.
    Between the two of them, Biden is the bigger liar. Sure Trump exaggerates and takes credit. But nothing will ever compare to Bidens outright speeches of how his father was a coal miner (?) His son died in the military (?) He excelled at a university he never stepped foot in (?). Unless, he has dementia and believed his speach when he said it. Hard to know.

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    1. Also, are expected to ignore the fact that no audience was allowed to be present to see just how frail Biden really is?! Rabbi DT, we know u like Biden but Harris. The wicked witch from the west doesn't make u nervous at all?

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    2. Biden's a Democrat so yes, his father was a coal miner even thought he never actually worked in a coal mine.

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    3. You really brlieve Trump lies are minor like the fact that he didn't lose the election or his claims of successes that belong to others

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    4. KA thanks for sharing your expertise as a neurologist - you forgot to note that Trump is also suffering from noticeable cognitive decline as well as a whole collection of personality disorders

      The debate has no significant relationship to functioning as President - on that note Trump was a very poor president while Biden has been very successful

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    5. Freud was an actual neurologist, but you didn't accept his opinion either..

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    6. Freud was was being discussed regarding dementia I thought it was regarding his widely rejected fantasies !
      A scholar's opinion is not accepted automatically especially about issues outside his realm of expertise or are you always accepting of everything he says?
      I had noted you defend Freud without knowing what he actually said!
      Why you are obsessed with Freud is something I am sure he would find interesting!

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    7. https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2024/06/obsessional-neurosis.html

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    8. You fail to see that your preoccupation with Donald trump is widely seen in similar terms by the rov of your readers (though a rov of laymen has no effect, unless you go by rav Tzadok).
      That biden is now widely being reported as having health issues and being asked to step down.
      And that Freud _ despite much criticism was still one of the most influential figures in psychology.

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    9. Even Freud's much maligned theory on Moses - distorted as it is - has some basis in the Torah

      Deuteronomy Chapter 1 讚ְּ讘ָ专ִ讬诐
      37 Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying: Thou also shalt not go in thither;

      So in shorthand, it was am yisrael who "killed Moshe" according to Moshe's own statement.
      And he was only applying a lesson from the yerushalmi where king Solomon was replaced by a robot

      https://www.sefaria.org/Jerusalem_Talmud_Sanhedrin.2.6.7?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

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    10. So you are changing hats from Neurology to Psychology.
      Freud claimed Moses was a Egyptian who tricked the Jews to accept his moral code. Please inform me the basis for that in the Torah! Civilization and its Discontenta

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    11. Actually thw above work is an attack on organized religion as the basis of the crippling and harmful impact of the superego i.e moral values
      His wacky claim that Moses was an Egyptian who basically destroyed mankind by causing the Jews to be the conduit for his religious ideas which are harmful psychologically

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    12. I agree, we reject most of what he said. Moses was raised by Egyptians. Yosef was also so Egyptian looking that his brothers didn't recognise him. But the pasuk in devarim clearly states that Hashem was angry with Moshe for the people's sakes ie. We are responsible for him dying in the midbar. A terrible thing to accept but the Torah tells us this.
      As for Moses tricking the Jews, doesn't the Gemara say that mount Sinai was held above our heads until we accepted the Torah?

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    13. It's actually a more optimistic and pro-religious interpretation. Then how the rabbis understand things. Freud is saying that the Jewish people had guilt over their behaviour towards Moses Which led to him dying in the desert?. The rabbis say that our sins continued and that all bad things would repeat themselves on the day of the golden calf which was the 9th of Av. Both temples were destroyed on the same date.

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  5. Sorry that anonymous comment was mine.

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  6. Mr. KA, as a curiosity, why are u obsessed with Freud. He was brilliant and was monumental in his field but ultimately he is just outdated theories with no experimental data to back him up. In a sense, he is like Aristotle of psychology; he created a worldview to explain psychology but his work has little place in the modern world of experience. Also,you can clearly see how his nature as a Baal Tayva heavily influenced his interpretations.

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    1. Certain concepts are difficult to measure experimentally or clinically. The question is whether an individual sees defence mechanisms in people or himself and recognises that we are capable of them. Trauma therapy of today, for example is dealing with repression of traumas.
      I see him as gadol hador who simply went off the rails. He could have been a Rav Hirsch type figure but in psychology. There are many klipos in his works, as you point out. But also many deep truths.

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