I did say it was a variation on the above.  It was not possible to use it as is because that code doesn't offer a pure validation yes/no.  Instead it redirects users in a way we didn't want in the case where users don't have permission to see the given item.  This was the code I spotted the bug in visa vis issue paid subscription vs. article subscription.  I found it difficult to understand so I flattened the logic.  Because I had to understand the logic as  requisite to knowing whether what we were doing made sense or not.  So in this case I stand by this approach.