#Yaakov Roth

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Rachel Leingang at The Guardian:

Donald Trump’s justice department said it will review the Colorado conviction of former election clerk Tina Peters, who received a nine-year prison sentence for her role in a voting system data-breach scheme as part of an unsuccessful quest to find voter fraud in 2021. Yaakov Roth, an acting assistant attorney general, wrote in a court filing on Monday that the Department of Justice was “reviewing cases across the nation for abuses of the criminal justice process”, including Peters’.

“This review will include an evaluation of the state of Colorado’s prosecution of Ms Peters and, in particular, whether the case was ‘oriented more toward inflicting political pain than toward pursuing actual justice or legitimate governmental objectives’,” Roth wrote, echoing the language in a Trump executive order on “Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government”. Peters, then the clerk of Mesa county, allowed a man affiliated with the pillow salesman and election denier Mike Lindell to misuse a security card to access the Mesa county election system. Lindell posted about the DoJ’s statement on his fundraising website, telling donors their assistance had “contributed to positive developments at the Department of Justice that give us hope that the wheels are in motion for the early release of Tina Peters”. Jurors found Peters guilty in August, convicting her on seven counts related to misconduct, conspiracy and impersonation, four of which were felony charges. Judge Matthew Barrett sentenced her in October to nine years in prison, calling Peters “as defiant as a defendant that the court has ever seen” and said he believed Peters would do it all over again if she could.

Peters had argued for probation and is appealing against her conviction.

The DoJ’s statement of interest notes that Peters’ physical and mental health have deteriorated while she’s been in prison, and that “reasonable concerns have been raised” about her case, including the “exceptionally lengthy sentence” the court imposed and the denial of bail for Peters while her appeal plays out. Her appeal deserves “prompt and careful consideration” by the court, Roth wrote.

The DOJ under Traitor Tot and Pam Bondi set to review the 9-year prison sentence of right-wing election-denying former Mesa County, CO Clerk for her role in a voting system data-breach scheme.

[magnetothemagnificent]

the brainrot is brainrotting

any headcannons on bucky's hebrew name? I was thinking yosef chaim but I genuinely do not know where that idea came from... apprently james tangentially comes from yaakov though so maybe that?

also same question about magneto. wikipedia says erik means something like ruler or king, so maybe melech? or, if that's too literal, yehuda, shul, david, shlomo... I think shaul works. the midrashim are very clear that, despite it all, shaul was still a tzadik. something something great man making awful mistakes...idk

BUT if we're going by max, google is saying mordechai...thats more boring imo

sorry for rambling in your asks :>

My headcanons for Bucky's Hebrew name:

MCU Bucky: Yaakov Shimshon. His family called him Yankele and his sisters called him Yanky.

616 Bucky: Yaakov Baruch

Headcanons for Magneto's Hebrew name:

Moshe, and his mother called him Moishele

Bonus other Jewish character name headcanons:

Arnie Roth: Aharon

Anya Eisendhart: Tikvah Chana, because Max Eisendhart (Erik Lehnsherr) found comfort in the birth of his daughter after the devastation of the Holocaust, and she was his hope for the future

Quicksilver: Peretz Chaim, because he burst out with life after such immense loss (and also the Peretz in Tanakh was also a twin)

Scarlet Witch: Mazal Chava, because her birth defied bad omens and instead was a fortune for life

*Pietro and Wanda weren't given their Jewish names until later in their life when they reconnected with their Jewish heritage

Billy Kaplan: Aryeh Leib, because of his ferocity like a lion

Tommy Shepherd: Tzvi Hirsch, because of his speed like a deer/gazelle

*According to Jewish tradition, parents have a spark of prophecy when they choose the Jewish name of their children, and of course Wanda had an extra strong dose of that prophecy when naming her kids

Kitty Pryde: Chava Chana (this one is semi-canon, it's implied she's named after her aunt Chava who was killed in the Holocaust, and I added the Chana because her middle name is Anne)

Luna Maximoff: Lila

Lorna Maximoff: Hadassah

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

Jewish Song of the Day Archive

Because we all know tumblr's search function and tags are useless! Will update with links as posts are added.

Original post/Ground rules

Olam Chesed Yibaneh - Matt Dubb

The Narrow Bridge - Nefesh Mountain

Yedid Nefesh - Josh Warshawsky

Eliyahu Hanavi - Matt Dubb

Modeh Ani - Tzemed Yeled

Piaseczna Niggun - Derech Achim

Karvah - Eitan Katz feat. Zusha

Tu Bishvat - Batya Levine

Adama ve Shamayim - ???

One Day - Koolulam

Sound of Silence [Yiddish] - Chaim Shlomo Mayesz

Bellida - LALA Tamar

Give Me One Prayer - Shmuel

Orayta - Victoria Hanna

Ani Maamin - Devorah Schwartz

Acheinu - Hadar

Park Ave Niggun - Joey Weisenberg

Am Yisrael Chai - (several :D)

Shir Shel Yom Rishon: Psalm 24 - Gad Elbaz

Shir Shel Yom Sheni: Psalm 48 - Ribi David Kadoch, z"l

Shir Shel Yom Shlishi: Psalm 82 - Tor Marquis

Shir Shel Yom Revii: Psalm 94 - multiple artists & Psalm 95 - Josh Warshawsky

Shir Shel Yom Chamishi: Psalm 81 - A.K.A. Pella

Shir Shel Yom Shishi: Psalm 93 - Josh Warshawsky

Nigun of the Month: Adar I - Nava Tehila

Lo Yisa Goy - Melita Doostan & Octopretzel

Modah Ani - Lahakat Hallel

Arbeter Froyen - Daniel Kahn

Ribono Shel Olam - Simcha Leiner

Tefilat Haderech - Marni Loffman

Avram Avinu - Arleen Ramirez and The Ladino Music Project; Kuando el Rey Nimrod - Farya Faraji (bonus additional version of Avram Avinu)

Miriam Haneviah - Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz

Borei Olam - Dovid Gabay

Yigdal - Our Siddur

Old Time Medley - Nefesh Mountain

Halev Sheli - Ishay Ribo

Ein Od Milvado - Avraham Fried & Tomer Adaddi

Dror Yikra - Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz

Evening Prayer - Ezra Furman

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai - Matt Dubb

Ivri Anochi - Benny Friedman

Hana Mash Hu Al Yamin - A-WA

Lo Nirga - Avihai Hollender

Yismechu - Batya Levine

V'Shamru Nigun - Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz

Omed ba'Shaar - Lahakat Hallel

Milemala - Chaim Shlomo Mayesz

Machar - Mordechai Shapiro

Bashana Haba'ah - Melita and Isaac

Ante Abate - U-da/Yehuda Pardo

We Rise - Batya Levine

Lecha Dodi - Nava Tehila (two versions)

Vurka - Avrum Mordche

Mincha - Mendel Roth

Hashem Melech - Gad Elbaz & Nissim Black

Adon Olam - Kedmah

Guf Venshama - Yaakov Shwekey

Hakol Mishamayim - Mordechai Shapiro

Ana Bekoach - Lahakat Hallel

Ashrei - Pri Eitz Hadar/R' Shefa Gold

Va'ani Ashir Uzecha - Josh Warshawsky

[nuviaisrael-blog]

Reflection on Reading Israeli Literature

- Palestine by Joe Sacco

- The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan

- Past Perfect by Yaakov Shabtai

- Operation Shylock: A Confession by Phillip Roth

GENERAL REFLECTION

      Israeli literature is actually really good to read. This country is awesome. Reading these books reminded me of my experience of when I went to Israel back in November 2018. That experience was the best thing that had ever happened to me. I learned so much about their culture. I tasted some of their main dishes. It was a great experience especially that I was reading books about this country. Mostly these books talked about the war that happened. Some of the books mentioned some of the experiences they had in the war. I would say that the main theme is war. All the books mentioned something about war. All the books had this thing, it didn’t matter if it was first person or second person, they always had this conversational element. They knew how to communicate with the readers. They always knew how to keep readers hooked. For example, I found all the books interesting. I like how the authors had me reading. They weren’t boring. Also, all the books didn’t have hard vocabulary words in their books. Some had a few hard words, but they were still understandable with context clues. Other than that, these books were great.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM THESE BOOKS

      All the books were different. The only thing that the books had in common was the fact that they talked about the war. All the books mentioned how during the times of the war it was ugly. It was rough times. Some girl was getting raped, people were having soldiers take a property like their house, wife, or other things. In “Operation Shylock”, since it’s a book where the author just talks about his stuff and confesses things from his life, I thought that I could do the same. It reminds me of every diary entry I’ve written in my journal. Looking at the title of the book “Confession”, looking at that word makes me imagine that this book is going to filled with confessions, it’s never easy to confess something to somebody, especially in books, about something you probably want to keep personal. I learned that confessing is healthy. You are telling what you’re feeling from the inside of you. You’ll feel great after talking. In “Past Perfect”, I learned that we have to be careful in life but enjoy life. Life’s too short to be worrying about things that don’t matter. We need to enjoy life because we only live once. In the book, the character Meir was a very depressed person and didn’t like his life and ended up dying. Then at the end, he was born again. That doesn’t happen to us, once we are dead, we are dead. We aren’t born again. That’s why we need to live a happy life. In “The Lemon Tree”, the author talks about the war. Her story is about her remembering and honoring this war for the 50th anniversary of the war that happened. She writes the story in the second person and writes the story in a way where the characters as if they are living in war. I learned that, even though your life seems like it’s falling apart and it's horrible, you need to thank the Lord every day because he’s the only reason why you’re alive right now. In “Palestine”, the author was super funny. He wrote the conflict and war between Israel and the Palestine people. He would mention how a lot of violence broke out in the streets and how a bunch of people would get involved. This book was written in the form of a comic book. I learned that you need to have fun in life. Just like this author decided to write the book with humor, even though it was talking about violence stuff, you can have fun with it. You just need to be creative. Life’s too short, so why not have fun with it.

WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT MYSELF & READING

      Something I learned about myself is that I can read any type of book. I’m the type of person who hates reading because I tend to zone out a lot while reading. I can never move on from page one in the story because I zone out and have to keep rereading, I couldn’t understand what I had just read, or simply because what I just read was super boring. Doing this assignment scared me because I thought I was going to hate it, but I didn’t. I loved iit. This was fun. These books were super interesting to read. Reading these books reminded me of my experience in Israel. These books mentioned places that I went to like, Palestine, Israel itself, Tel Aviv, and more. One of the places that I slept in a hotel was Tel Aviv. these books brought so many memories and that’s what made these books interesting. This assignment showed me that I’m capable of reading anything.

[forlawfirmsonlymarketing]

Crosstown traffic: SCOTUS considers ‘Bridgegate’ prosecutions

Home

Web First

Crosstown traffic: SCOTUS considers 'Bridgegate'…

U.S. Supreme Court

By Mark Walsh

January 9, 2020, 1:18 pm CST

The George Washington Bridge connects Manhattan and Fort Lee, New Jersey. Photo from Shutterstock.

“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” That was the now-infamous 2013 email that launched “Bridgegate,” when three officials schemed to shut down two of three access lanes from the New Jersey city into the toll plaza for the George Washington Bridge into New York City. The scheme was payback against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for refusing to endorse New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for re-election that year. The four-day shutdown caused massive traffic jams in Fort Lee, as the officials expected, slowing commuters, school buses and emergency vehicles. One official pleaded guilty to federal fraud and conspiracy charges and turned prosecution witness against the other two, who were convicted of wire fraud, federal-program fraud and conspiracy charges. Those officials are Bridget Anne Kelly, who was a deputy chief of staff to Christie, and William E. Baroni Jr., the deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the bi-state agency that operates bridges and tunnels in the New York City area. The Supreme Court took up Kelly’s appeal, and her lawyers argue that she was convicted essentially for having ulterior political motives. “I think everyone understands we would like public officials to act solely in the public interest at all times,” Yaakov M. Roth, Kelly’s lead counsel and a partner with Jones Day, says in an interview. “The government’s theory of property and of obtaining of property would make every official decision at every level of government a potential federal fraud prosecution.” The government defends its prosecution of the two on the theory that conspiring to close the traffic lanes deprived the Port Authority of its property. “By telling … lies, and diverting the agency’s resources to serve their own personal ends of inflicting massive four-day gridlock on Fort Lee, Kelly and Baroni committed fraud,” says a brief in Kelly v. United States by Jeffrey B. Wall, who is the acting U.S. solicitor general in the case. (The former law firm of Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco is representing Kelly in the case.)

‘Is it wrong that I’m smiling?’

Traffic on the George Washington Bridge. Photo from Shutterstock.

Kelly was the author of the “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” email, which was sent in August 2013 to David Wildstein, an aide to Baroni at the Port Authority. The goal was to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, Mark Sokolich, for his refusal to endorse Christie, a Republican who would win a second term as governor that fall. Kelly, Baroni, and Wildstein hatched the plan that September. Fort Lee has long had three dedicated lanes during the morning rush hour feeding into the George Washington Bridge, the double-deck span over the Hudson River that is the world’s busiest, with daily traffic of 250,000 to 300,00 vehicles. (The other nine lanes serve traffic from two interstate highways.) The thee officials came up with a cover story that a traffic study was the purpose for reducing Fort Lee’s lanes from three to one. They also lied to the Port Authority’s executive director and took other steps to conceal their plan. And they did not inform Sokolich or anyone else in Fort Lee. When the lanes were first reduced on Sept. 9 that year—the first day of school—the traffic backup in Fort Lee was massive. Public safety vehicles had troubling moving through the city, including to look for a missing child and respond to a cardiac arrest, and at one point ambulance attendants left their vehicle to respond on foot to an emergency. Baroni ordered that all calls from Fort Lee officials be directed to him, then refused to return the calls. When Wildstein forwarded Kelly a text from the mayor stating that Fort Lee was having a “problem … getting kids to school,” Kelly sent a reply that said, “Is it wrong that I’m smiling?” The lane reduction continued for four days before the Port Authority’s executive director ended it and launched an investigation. There was further evidence of cover-up efforts that include false legislative testimony and efforts to delete emails. A 16-month federal investigation resulted in the multiple charges against Kelly and Baroni, with Wildstein accepting his plea deal.

Casting ‘a pall over routine political conduct’

Both Kelly and Baroni took the stand in their own defense, with both testifying that they believed Wildstein was conducting a legitimate traffic study that involved reducing the Fort Lee access lanes. The uncovered emails and other evidence painted a different picture, and the jury convicted them on all counts. On appeal, a panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the convictions based on the wire fraud, federal-program fraud and conspiracy charges. (The court tossed some civil rights charges.) The court found that Kelly and Baroni committed fraud by engaging in deception with the traffic study and had directed the misuse of Port Authority resources, such as the time and wages of employees involved in realigning the lanes and for an extra toll collector needed for the single Fort Lee lane. The appeals court also upheld the district court’s refusal to instruct the jury that an intent to punish Fort Lee’s mayor was a necessary element to any of the charges. “That defendants were politically motivated does not remove their intentional conduct from the ambit of the federal criminal law,” the court said. Kelly appealed to the Supreme Court, with her lawyers observing that “for over three decades, this court has repeatedly warned against using vague federal criminal laws to impose standards of good government on local and state officials.” Among the cases cited for that proposition was McDonell v. United States, the 2016 decision in which the court unanimously eviscerated the public-corruption conviction of former Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, despite “tawdry tales” that the court found “distasteful.”

Aerial view of the George Washington Bridge. Photo from EQRoy/Shutterstock.com.

This case is “similar in many respects to McDonnell,” says Ellen S. Podgor, a law professor at Stetson University in Gulfport, Florida, who is an expert on white-collar crime. “If the court goes in favor of the government, the government just got a lot of power in the political sphere, and that is frightening.” Roth says the defendants took no money or property from the Port Authority. When public resources are allocated to a public use, through deceit or political considerations, the state is not deprived of its property—only regulatory control. He cites several hypotheticals that would be at risk under the government’s broad theory on property fraud. One would be a legislator who sought help from a bureaucrat on a matter that would be good for his district, when in reality the lawmaker was seeking to help a political ally. Another would be a police chief who sought more officers because he said a crime wave was anticipated, when he is really seeking to curry favor with the police union. The government’s theory “casts a pall over routine political conduct,” Roth says. Although Baroni’s high court appeal was on a slightly different timetable, the justices have indicated they will essentially be considering his and Kelly’s appeals together by granting Baroni’s lawyers time to argue on Jan. 14. “Allowing the federal property fraud statutes to be used in this unprecedented way dangerously injects a potent new weapon into a highly charged, hyper-partisan political environment in which voices on both sides are already regularly clamoring for their rivals to be prosecuted,” says a brief for Baroni filed by Michael A. Levy of Sidley Austin LLP.

Hijacking Port Authority resources

Wall, in his brief for the federal government, casts the case as largely a continuing dispute over the facts rather than law. “Kelly and Baroni acknowledge that a public official commits fraud if, for example, he misleadingly diverts public-agency resources to work on a private home,” Wall says in the brief. “Their conduct here is materially indistinguishable.” As the jury, district court, and appeals court recognized, Wall says, “Kelly and Baroni lied about a traffic study in order to hijack Port Authority resources to gridlock a town, cause maximal harm to its residents, and endanger public safety. That was both outside their authority and repugnant to the goals of safe and efficient transportation to which those resources would otherwise have been committed.” Frank O. Bowman III, a former federal prosecutor and a law professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia, says that “reasonably open-ended fraud statutes are needed if we’re going to keep up with the crooks, particularly the crooks in public office.” He adds that he has been worried that the Supreme Court has been taking “an unduly protective view of official misconduct.” “The notion that what is otherwise plainly a crime becomes permissible because it has a political motive strikes me as just daft,” says Bowman, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University Law Center this academic year. Christie denied any knowledge of the lane closings, but the scandal was a major irritant for him and may have contributed to his 2016 presidential bid failing to gain traction. Kelly was ultimately re-sentenced to 13 months in prison after the appeals court threw out some of the charges. She has not yet served time pending her appeal. Baroni was resentenced to 18 months and had begun serving his time before being granted bail when the Supreme Court granted review last summer.

https://www.forlawfirmsonly.com/crosstown-traffic-scotus-considers-bridgegate-prosecutions/

[suitedgladiators]

ABAJournal

“I think everyone understands we would like public officials to act solely in the public interest at all times,” says Yaakov M. Roth, Bridget Anne Kelly’s lead counsel and a partner with Jones Day. https://t.co/fo3t87RDZq #SCOTUS pic.twitter.com/PYNz0SpDDy

— ABA Journal (@ABAJournal) January 10, 2020

via Blogger https://ift.tt/35KQFlK https://ift.tt/20qd6Z0