Ex-CTLawyer

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  • in reply to: Bochurim Self-Funding #1975976
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    My brothers and I worked in daddy’s stores during breaks
    My Children and grandchildren worked in our offices during breaks.
    All were paid for their labor and then had spending money………………

    in reply to: Israel is the safest country for Jews #1975383
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @bk613
    I was specifically not talking about bug cities and referenced crime in inner cities in my remarks.
    My parents had the foresight to leave NYC in 1952. We still own a house in Brooklyn and use it very occasionally (I haven’t been there since January 2020, before the Pandemic). Owning it for taxes, insurance and maintenance, it has made sense to hold onto it and a number of our next two generations lived in it while continuing their education in NYC.
    I have no interest in living in a large city, anywhere

    in reply to: Israel is the safest country for Jews #1975387
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @lakwhut
    Arabs are NOT the biggest threat to Jews chutz laaretz. I don’t live in EY. Since Mrs. CTL cannot fly for medical reasons, I haven’t been in our home there in more than 5 years.

    Not all Muslims are Arabs, Not all Arabs are Muslims. The words are not interchangeable and neither are the threats each group poses to Jews.

    I feel far more comfortable with left wing POC in my area (including the large city we neighbor) than the Right wing Trump lovers with tatoos, American, Trump and Confederate flags on their pickup trucks. They express their Jew Hatred and Hitler love pretty openly while living in denial

    in reply to: Israel is the safest country for Jews #1974821
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @lakewhut

    Your ignorance an political bias continues on and on. Get over it Trump LOST.

    I live in small CT Town with a Democrat administration with legislative body and all elected board and commissions having Democrat majorities (having ousted the Republicans who messed everything up for 8 years). In a state run by a Democrat Governor and legislature and all our Congressmen and Senators are Democrat.

    Jews are perfectly safe here (as safe as any other residents, and safer than people of color in our inner cities). Incidents of anti-semitic nature continue to fall year to year as tracked by ADL.

    We understand living in harmony with our neighbors. We don’t flaunt zoning and building codes with illegal synagogue in houses, or dorms in schools where not permitted by code. We don’t try to take over the school boards where we don’t send our kids to cut budgets for public education so we lower our tax bills while the whole community suffers.

    Bad behavior by frum Jews moving into not-first ring suburbs has brought about many anti-Jewish attacks…verbal and physical.
    Properly planned revitalization of old decrepit industrial cities (which had a125 year history of Jewish life) such as Waterbury and Naugatuck have been welcome. Even the new educational campus in Durham, a farming community that never had Jews has not brought about attacks on Jews.

    in reply to: Thank Biden for the Gas Shortage #1974235
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Health
    with no indentations, you posted no paragraphs………………………………
    They is a pronoun, it should refer to the previous plural proper noun, in this case Federal Government.
    It could not mean criminals as they don’t prosecute.

    I am not a mind reader. If you intended fior someone besides the Federal Government to have been the prosecuting authority, you should have posted it

    in reply to: Thank Biden for the Gas Shortage #1973823
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Health

    Keep telling lies
    ” now we have a Federal government that sides with criminals over e/o else.

    Look how they dealt with the Criminal named George Floyd.
    They prosecuted the Cops.
    They defunded the Cops.”

    The Federal Government did NOT prosecute and Police in the George Floyd murder, neither did the defund the police.

    Floyd’s murderer was prosecuted by the state. The police are funded by the city with some state assistance.

    STOP LYING….get it through your head, Trump is a LOSER. He couldn’t get reelected or take it in the courts.

    in reply to: Rebbetzin Without A Rov? #1973212
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Always
    Sorry,
    you view it as shul giving an honor, assigning her to teach without asking.
    A married professional with a J.D. and L.L.M sees it as they were trying to get something for nothing. They hired the husband at a salary for his services. They did not contract for her services.
    These were not classes on Shabbos or Yuntif, or at night, but smack in the middle of the business day.
    Before publishing and distributing the schedule, the shul should have asked her if she was willing and available to teach. For too long, shuls think the Rabbi’s wife is unpaid help, a bonus to his salary.

    in reply to: Rebbetzin Without A Rov? #1972606
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @always
    Why was it wrong for her to laugh? She was at home with her husband, read the bulletin and laughed in amusement.
    Should she have picked up the phone and given the shul president a piece of her mind for the nerve to publish this without asking her and getting permission? Do you know her schedule was in my open for class times?

    Laughter was appropriate

    in reply to: Rebbetzin Without A Rov? #1972269
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @UJM
    She practices almost exclusively in Federal Courts. She bills $750 at the District Court (trial) level, $1,000 at the Court of Appeals and $1500 if she has to appeal to the Supreme Court (she prefers not to go to DC, but has appeared a few times over the years).
    Her speciality is Federal Labor Law and discrimination in the workplace.

    in reply to: Rebbetzin Without A Rov? #1972191
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @ujm
    “Can someone not be a rebbetzin if her husband is a Rov?”

    ABSOLUTELY
    20 years ago my nephew-in law took a shul pulpit in NJ. A few weeks after he started the shul bulletin came out and it listed a number of classes for ladies to be taught by my niece.
    She took one look at the bulletin and broke out laughing.
    My niece called the shul president and said: ‘you hired my husband to be Rav, you didn’t hire and aren’t paying me.’ The president replied that the former Rebbitzen always taught those classes, and for free. My niece said: ‘I’m an attorney, I have a practice and my time is billed at $400 per hour. If you would like to hire me send me a contract and a serious offer.’

    My nephew in-law notified the shul that he would perform the duties of his one year contract and was not interested in a renewal. He would prefer a congregation where everything was disclosed during negotiations and not after the contract was signed.
    20 years later, he is still a shul Rav and she is still a practicing attorney, not a Rebbetzin

    in reply to: Anyone else waiting for Tax Refund longer then usual? #1970087
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Refund? Unless it is because of a tax credit, why would you loan money interest free to the US Government.
    This morning I finished the returns for personal and several family members. Having adjusted withholding and/or estimated payments during the year, 6 are sending payments to the government in amounts less than $100, the other is getting a refund, as a granddaughter had taxes withheld on Unemployment and the last Recovery bill made the first $10,000 (or so) tax free. She is getting back $700.

    I do not understand the attitude that a tax refund is forced savings, take x amount from your pay each check and bank it.

    in reply to: Census 2020 #1969392
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Participant
    Your statement remains incorrect

    The Census did not count tourists. It counted those residing (not visiting) the US on April 1, 2020.
    We host some Chinese students. They are here for the school year on F1 visas. they are not tourists. They were counted. There presence was perfectly legal.

    Most people in the CR conveniently forget that the Census is not just for apportioning the members of the House of Representatives. It affects how much federal aid goes to states and municipalities. That’s why college students are counted at their school address. the municipality where the school is located is providing police, fire, ems and paved roads, etc.

    Having helped train Census Field Workers an am very familiar with the directives on who is to be counted and where. Trump tried to change it and could not get away with it.

    in reply to: Census 2020 #1969391
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Always
    Trump NEVER issued a memorandum to count ONLY voters.
    Children can’t vote and must be counted. Trump did not direct that children not be counted

    Stop posting lies

    in reply to: Census 2020 #1969319
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @lakewhut
    #1 I didn’t go out of my way, I was reading the CR for amusement while taking a coffee break
    #2 I did not defend illegal….stop making false accusations. There is no defense of anyone in my comment, just an explanation of who must be counted.
    #3 What do Taliban incarcerated in Gitmo have do do with this topic?
    #4 What have people who have not been Mirandized have to do with this topic?

    #5 ALL people residing in America have to be counted in the Decennial Census. In this case they had to be residing here on April 1, 2020 even though the physical field count did not begin until July. The questions started: ‘were you living at this address on April 1, 2020

    #6 I have posted repeatedly that I DON’T PRACTICE CRIMINAL LAW. I don’t defend anyone in criminal cases.

    in reply to: Census 2020 #1969201
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @participant
    READ Made Aliyah’s post before commenting on my reply

    MA did NOT say that tourists should be counted, he made the comment that if all people should be counted then tourists should be able to vote. A totally non-connected comment to the discussion that the Constitution requires all people residing in the US be counted. The Constitution does not say count voters. We are mandated to count minors, who are not eligible to vote, adults who are not registered to vote and felons who may have lost their right to vote (in some states).
    The 14th Amendment of the Constitution calls for counting the number of whole persons in each state, not citizens, not voters……………………..

    in reply to: Census 2020 #1969115
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @madealiyah
    Your ignorance is amazing.

    The Constitution requires counting all people in the USA every 10 years. It does not count voters. Those under 18 cannot vote, neither can those who are not registered. Women didn’t get the vote til 1920 but had been counted for over 100 years.

    Your assertion about tourist is laughable, just like your comments

    in reply to: Census 2020 #1968966
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @alway
    Trump’s directive to only count citizens was ruled unconstitutional by the Federal Courts, repeatedly. The Census Bureau did not sabotage anything. Trump was trying to sabotage the count of all persons in the US as required by the Constitution. It doesn’t say citizens in the Constitution.

    in reply to: Did Democrats learn About the French Revolution? #1967066
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @lakewhut

    Wrong again, what a surprise.
    Yes I have studied the aftermath of the French Revolution. Not all was a disaster.
    Not fond of public beheadings or the reign and wars of Napoleon.
    I did like the emptying of the Bastile.

    Revolution is a change that can return to the beginning. The French started and ended with a King named Louis.

    in reply to: Did Democrats learn About the French Revolution? #1967067
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @lakewhut
    This mob? which mob? the Trumpsters who invaded the Capitol and belong in prison for life?
    As for your comment of disposing of Jews after using them, it doesn’t matter if liberal, conservative; once they are no longer of use, Goyim get rid of Jews

    in reply to: Did Democrats learn About the French Revolution? #1966986
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @lakewhut
    Learn history before slinging mud

    Many Democrats are well educated and studied the French Revolution.
    There is nothing similar about the current civil unrest in the USA and the French Revolution.

    #1 No one is trying to overthrow a monarch who rules by divine right
    #2 We have no official Estates or classes in the USA
    #3 All adult citizens are free to vote, although Republicans nationwide are trying to make it harder to do so
    #4 We have no official state religion to threaten the mob with hell or purgatory for not obeying the Divine Right monarch.
    #5 The Press and social media is not subject to the monarch’s censorship and coverage is LIVE, not delayed and available to the few who were literate (as in France of the 1780S).

    You need to get a life and stop wasting time with conspiracy theories

    in reply to: liberals are completely backwards #1966985
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Law enforcement officer is a terrible term to use when referring to police.
    In the USA it includes:
    Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) special agents
    Bureau of Diplomatic Security special agents
    Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and United States Border Patrol agents
    Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agents
    Federal air marshals
    Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agents
    Federal Flight Deck Officers
    Dept of Treasury Federal Reserve Police officers
    U.S. Dept of Treasury Secret Service special agents and uniformed officers
    Dept. of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Rangers
    Dept. of Interior Bureau of Land Management Law Enforcement officers
    Dept. of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents
    DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation officers
    Dept. of Interior National Park Service (park rangers and forest rangers)
    Dept. of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons corrections officers
    Dept. of Homeland Service Transportation Security Administration US Marshals and Deputy Marshals
    U.S. Coast Guard officers, warrant officers, and petty officers
    United States Postal Service postal inspectors
    Federal Bureau of Prisons officers
    United States Department of Veterans Affairs Police
    United States military police, including the Military Police Corps, Air Force Security Forces, Navy master-at-arms, Marine Corps Police, provost marshal officers, and United States Department of Defense police

    Traditionally, police were known as PEACE OFFICERS, charged with upholding, preserving the PEACE.

    Among the government positions I have held in my adult life is JUSTICE OF THE PEACE. I don’t deal with criminal matters in this role, but in earlier times petty crimes were adjudicated by JPs.

    So, LEO is a MODERN term for peace officers, Liberals are not changing the definition when they want police referred to as Peace Officers. Police are charged with maintaining the peace. That cannot be said of a ‘meter maid’ who is a sworn Law Enforcement Officer, charged with enforcing local statutes regarding parking.

    The OP is worked up about nothing

    in reply to: everything bad is due to the trumpkopf #1966727
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @CoffeeAddict

    I know this is semantics, but people don’t believe in their religions, they practice their religions’ precepts, customs, dogma, etc, that revolve around a belief in a deity. That deity may be mono or polytheistic or tripartate.

    I am on a local commission made up of adherents of various faiths. Every time a ‘religious leader’ attempts to start the meeting with a ‘universal’ prayer and a statement that their is only one ‘god’ I challenge it and say there is no universal prayer and while each of the 3 major religions stemming from Avraham may be ascribed by you to have the same ‘god’ there are members of this commission who are Buddhist, Hindi, Sikh and Native American who worship multiple gods. Lets leave all religion out of the government commission.

    in reply to: everything bad is due to the trumpkopf #1966251
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Always
    eliminating how many children you can deduct is useless to senior citizens with grown children
    Raising the standard deduction helped lower middle class, more than upper middle class. It didn’t do me much good.

    What has happened is that many of us have formed or are forming LLCs to own each piece of property to get around the tax changes. But we could not do this retroactively. The tax change affected tax years already underway.

    Now I won’t bear legal expense to form LLCs, just filing fees, but it can be costly for others.

    I would much prefer a flat tax. Everyone pays a set percentage of income, no deductions. I also would like inheritance tax thresholds lowered, too much is exempt since the Reagan years.

    in reply to: everything bad is due to the trumpkopf #1966099
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @catchyourself

    Sorry,
    residents of your state can’t pay higher Federal Taxes than residents of my state. The Federal tax rates are uniform across the country. Whether an individual avails themselves of Federal deductions has nothing to do with it. Loads of residents of my state don’t itemize or aren’t affected by the 10K cap on state tax deductions.
    We pay state income tax (there is no local tax), property tax on both real estate and automobiles and sales tax (which like motor vehicle fees may be deductible after a certain amount). I also pay fire district taxes, Water Pollution Control Authority Taxes (so we don’t send wastewater untreated down stream to red or blue states or the ocean).

    and I gladly pay these taxes to be able to live here….. Like Trump, I could have changed my official residence to Florida (I’ve owned a home there longer than him) to avoid state income taxes. But, I don’t also have to avoid state prosecution as he might

    in reply to: everything bad is due to the trumpkopf #1965975
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Catchyourself

    You are not subsidizing me.
    I live in a state that sends more dollars to Washington in taxes than it receives back.
    I paid full boat for my childrens’ educations and the same is said for my grandchildren (paid by my children).
    I also pay far more than tuition to keep institutions such as the one who employs you alive.
    I don’t complain about paying taxes. I pointed out the first year the Trump limitation on state tax deductions came into effect that it reduced $25,000 a year in disposable money that I gave to Tzedaka. It’s not about my lifestyle. My home is paid for, it has been greatly expanded over the decades with most labor done by myself and family, yes I can build, paint, plumb, do electrical. We grow food in the compound and chose to add houses to keep the family near.
    I am self employed all my life, so no pension, just Social Security paying back what I paid in and continue to pay in as I work past retirement age.
    I drive a 2004 Luxury car I bought new then and will probably drive it 20 years and pass it down to a grandchild. Remembering, Billig iz Tyrere…..I buy the best I can and it lasts.
    We don’t buy prepared food or eat in restaurants with any frequency.
    We haven’t taken a vacation in more than 10 years, the entire clan moves in with us for the summer using our facilities, no multi-thousand dollar camp fees.
    After 5 generations in America we do have some accumulated wealth. We don’t make landlords rich, but instead bought homes at young ages and have added property to our portfolio. That said we charge fair rents and don’t increase every year. I’d rather have a good tenant stay decades and make a small amount, than change tenants every couple of years and make a lot of money.

    That said, no one is subsidizing my lifestyle. I take my own garbage to the curb and pay for pickup, I shovel my own snow and cut my own lawn. I don’t object to my tax dollars supporting public schools, libraries, hospitals, police, fire, transportation whether I use them or not.
    I do object to the Trump tax breaks for billionaires and corporations who pay no US Tax.
    I object to Trump paying $750 in US income tax in 2017 and Paying $15,000 in income tax to Panama the same year….that’s not a blue state versus red state issue

    in reply to: everything bad is due to the trumpkopf #1965970
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @CoffeeAddict
    Sorry, None of the items I mentioned can be corrected by a pen. UNLESS
    it is the PG and terrible judges signing resignation letters and Biden signing a new comprehensive tax package passed by the Congress.

    Executive Action can’t rectify these situations

    in reply to: everything bad is due to the trumpkopf #1965815
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Coffeeaddict
    It is not yet 90 days since Trump is out of office, hardly a long time

    Lots to blame him for that Biden cannot change quickly, or at all
    Start with the inept Postmaster General and bad mail system. Biden can’t fire the PG
    Terrible (IMHO) appointees to the Federal Bench who serve for long period of time, and I am not talking about the Supreme Court
    A local piece of garbage Trump appointed Judge, Kari Dooley, just gave the Bridgeport Police Chief only a year and a day in Club Fed and the Personnel Director who rigged the test so he could get the job only 4 months. Republicans Tough on Law and Order/ Not for white privileged political hacks.

    The list goes on, especially as I am about to file taxes and am limited to a $10,000 deduction for state and local taxes, a direct Republican/Trump attack on all of us who live in blue states

    in reply to: Spirit Airlines #1965709
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Sorry Common,
    I don’t practice that type of law, only family law, wills, trusts, real estate. No torts, medical malpractice, slips and falls. One son handles landlord/tenant issues but only in CT and MA, One daughter does adoptions, guardianships and elder law in CT, NY and FL.

    We don’t want to expand the practice area, but if some grandchild wants to come in and become an ambulance chaser, then Zaidy will probably finance it.

    in reply to: Car Leasing #1965398
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Mrs. CTL leases, I don’t. She wants a new car every three years and always under 100% warranty.
    This past year she hasn’t driven due to Covid (only out of the house twice in a year for vaccines). So, my car has sat and I have put the mileage on her car. Otherwise we would be gifting the leasing company 15,000 miles of nonuse.
    Right now used cars are super expensive. Very few new car sales this past year, chip shortages affecting production, so a lease may be a better deal than buying a late model car. Once supply catches up with demand, used car values may tank 30%/

    in reply to: Only Gitten #1965396
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    As the resident Divorce lawyer in the group let me pass a few comments.

    Here in the USA, in addition to a get, most also go through a civil divorce. A case look up on the Judicial website will have names, dates, etc. Most other details are not available to the public.

    Contrary to the public, most goyim don’t send singledom announcements (the bulk of my clientele is goyim). Even with a divorce rate of about 50% there is still shame and social stigma in a failed marriage.

    As to hidden defects, an anecdote. 49 years ago, a female first cousin got married. In the Yichud room the boy took out a needle and shot up. The boy’s family had hid his heroin addiction. He lied and said it was insulin and his blood sugar was low from fasting. She knew better, you use insulin to bring down your blood sugar, not raise it. The officiant, ripped up the civil marriage license and never recorded it, she went home with her parents and a get was given promptly.
    But it became knowledge that she had a bad experience and it took 10 years til she married again and has been married for 39 years. As for the boy, he left town and we never heard about him again.

    in reply to: Spirit Airlines #1964574
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @CommonSaychel
    I just read your comment about keeping discussions short when they cost $300-500 per hour.

    I currently have a female divorce client (not Jewish) who has been very talkative running up a large bill at a fee in excess of the numbers you posted. It is not unusual for upset clients to attempt to use their divorce lawyers as therapists, but this was really extreme.
    Yesterday, she was sitting with her mother in the waiting room before our appointment. My granddaughter was at the reception desk and overheard the client’s mother telling her: ‘remember to bend CTL’s ear, your husband is stuck paying the lawyer according to your prenup, this will leave less money for him.’
    My granddaughter shot me an email with the info before showing the client in. I attended to our business in 30 minutes. When the client attempted to stretch, I told her that she should hire a therapist, but she would not be running up my bill to harm her spouse. If she didn’t she could find a new attorney. She seemed shocked that I wasn’t interested in a bigger fee. I explained that I would not help her perpetrate a fraud. She shut her mouth and left, but stopped at the desk to make another appointment to sign papers next week.

    in reply to: How many ppl use the coffee room? #1963668
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Lamdan
    I drink my coffee black

    in reply to: How are you cleaning your face mask for Pesach?😷 #1959581
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    I only use disposable masks, so it’s not an issue.
    Chances are I wont be leaving the compound, so probably wont have to wear a mask anyway. We have had our vaccinations already. No outsiders coming in who haven’t been here for months. Food orders already delivered with the exception of fresh milk coming right before the holiday and that will be left on the curb/contactless delivery

    in reply to: President Donald Trump, Oheiv Yisroel Par Excellence #1959253
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Just because the Goyim are about to celebrate Easter there is no reason to resurrect this dead horse.
    The Trump Presidency is over. He is a loser and wasting time on him is ridiculous

    in reply to: Reality Check on Spirit Airlines #1959233
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @always
    Common Saychel and I actually agree on many things when politics, politicians and secular government is not involved

    in reply to: Real estate #1957953
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Not to sound morose…………………..
    A burial plot for your resting place until t’chiat maytim. You eventual demise should not be a burden on your family or the community.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    Then, before anyone can give valid suggestions, you need to provide some information about your self.

    Single
    Married
    Children
    Past having more children
    Children to be educated
    Children to be married off
    Do live Chutz or in EY
    If Chutz, do you plan on aliyah during your lifetime
    Where you live is it cheaper to rent or own?

    Are you bankable?

    So many coinsiderations that affect your possible RE investment

    in reply to: New Segula – for non-Jews #1957626
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @AviK
    Since this has already existed for approximately 2,000 years with Christians praying to pictures and statues of Yushke, I don’t think the figure of the generic Jew constitutes a problem.

    in reply to: shalom bayis problems #1957488
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @UJM
    Chances are the other spouse knows about under the table or schvaze gelt and will ask why it is not disclosed.
    The Family court financial documents are sealed. they are not shared with IRS or CT Department of Revenue services.
    A couple can supply tax returns and then a supplementary document with other income

    in reply to: shalom bayis problems #1956689
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @UJM
    Therapy costs money, many therapists accept insurance. In this age of Covid most sessions are by phone and the co-pay has been waived by the insurance companies.

    Here in CT one cannot get a court granted divorce unless the couple has had/counseling/therapy. In fact the court will provide counselors at no additional cost beyond the filing fee for those who don’t have insurance or cannot afford the counseling. Since those seeking divorce must provide the court with full financial disclosures (under penalty of perjury, including jail time) it is easy for the court to determine if free counseling should be offered.

    in reply to: shalom bayis problems #1956568
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    As a family law practitioner I can tell you that many never overcome their problems and it has provided me a handsome living for decades.

    That said, I try to discourage divorce when potential clients come to see me. One of the first things I tell them is to ‘uninvolve’ your families in your situation. The couple’s business, strife, etc. is not the business of siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins et. al. The more others know and interfere, the less likely that harmony can be achieved.

    Discussions with a competent psychologist may be helpful, BUT not therapists advertising themselves as marriage counselors. Marriage counselors often suggest ending the marriage, not fixing the problems each party has that may be contributing to the disharmony.

    in reply to: Israeli vs. American hand shmura matzo #1956462
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @twisted
    I agree completely about local, and as noted above, we generally bake our own matzo each year.
    Mrs. CTL grew up in a family that owned a bakery and our oven for matzo was a gift from her family when we bought this home decades ago.
    Until Covid, our Rav was always here for the baking and we hosted all the children from the shul each year on a Sunday for matzo baking. I know that Chabad and other groups set up such an experience using shul kitchens, but the children come away with matzo that is not Pesachdik. What they baked here could be used for their family Seder.

    This year we are baking for the family, the Rav is coming and will bake for his family as well (we both get our second vaccination tomorrow morning). But we’ll not have others in the compound this year.

    in reply to: stimulus- food for thought #1955947
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Always
    The numbers you report are way off.
    Fiscal year 2020 (as used by state governments ended June 30, 2020
    Alaska fell 33.6% many times what you report via WSJ.
    From the Pew Trusts:
    “State highlights
    A comparison of inflation-adjusted tax receipts reported for July 2019 through June 2020, the budget year for most states, with fiscal 2019 pre-pandemic totals shows:

    Among the 43 states in which tax revenue fell, four had declines greater than 10%: Alaska (-33.6%), North Dakota (-13.2%), Oregon (-12.3%), and California (-11.1%). Four had losses of less than 1%: Kentucky (-0.2%), Illinois (-0.4%), Wisconsin (-0.7%), and Tennessee (-0.9%). California’s drop excludes substantial income tax receipts that were delayed, although at least some of that money was applied retroactively to the state’s fiscal 2020 budget.
    West Virginia (-8.7%) recorded its greatest percentage decline in at least 25 years. The state had flat to negative growth in all four quarters, but it also was missing its April income tax payments because of the filing delay.”

    in reply to: stimulus- food for thought #1955853
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Always
    The NYT article dealt in the aggregate a loss of less than 2% overall.

    If you read the article at axios dot com (we cannot post links here) you will find that TWENTY PER CENT of the states had loss of tax revenues between 5.6 and 40% in 2020 compared to 2019.

    These 10 mostly red states, with Alaska suffering the largest percentage loss, will benefit most from the government aid provisions in the stimulus bill…and their Congressional delegations all voted no.
    You won’t see Rick Santilus returning Florida’s share to Washington

    in reply to: stimulus- food for thought #1955578
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Always
    Not only don’t I mind this bill, I support it. I won’t be receiving a check but am in favor of helping those who need it.
    I don’t mind paying taxes for the greater good. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. I am generally opposed to any public funds supporting religious schools and institutions, and the stimulus bill sends aid their way. But, I would not abandon the good the bill does, for the expenditures I personally oppose.
    Last Friday, our town had a mass vaccination of educators, in addition to public school personnel they included all who work in the religious schools in our town. We want all the town’s children back in the classrooms as soon as possible, public and private.
    IO have been notified that right after Pesach I will be attending my first live trail in a year. It is a child custody fight between grandparents (the parents signed away parental rights). By the trial date, the judge, both attorneys, all 4 grandparents, the court clerk and bailiff will have had both vaccinations and an additional 20 days. This is a beginning to return to normalcy. Family court judges have been reluctant to make these decisions by zoom, there is much to be observed from body language, etc in person that is easy to mask on Zoom.

    in reply to: stimulus- food for thought #1955351
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Contrary to opinions expressed here, many states did not collect full expected taxes in 2020. Not only are income withholding tax receipts down as people lost employment (2020 tax returns are not due yet, so we don’t know actual income tax receipts), BUT sales tax, meal tax, hotel tax and entertainment tax are all way off as people hunkered down during the pandemic.

    Here, in CT, homeowners were allowed to defer property tax payments, which affects municipalities. Those local governments also benefit from the stimulus package.

    B”H, Mrs. CTL and I don’t qualify for the checks, but we have tenants who are behind on rent who will receive the checks and may pay some back rent.

    in reply to: How do airlines ban customers? #1954836
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Common
    Fiat/Chrysler..now STLA
    Tata Motors
    Ford
    GE
    Boeing
    Embraer
    American Air
    United
    Spirit
    Jet Blue
    Delta
    Home Depot..although I detest the founder’s politics
    GPX
    Starbucks
    Kraft/Heinz because people are cooking at home, even goyim not eating out much
    to name a few

    Mrs. CTL chose all the medical and biotech stocks, such as Moderna, Aztra zeneca. JNJ. Quest

    B”H, we’re in good shape, my business prospered during the Pandemic, so we are taking profits and making up the tuition/fundraising shortfall in one of our grandchildren’s yeshivas.

    I type this while taking a break from preparing my 2020 tax return, I yearn for a simple flat tax, these returns that can run in excess of a hundred pages are ridiculous

    in reply to: Thank You President Joe and VP Harris #1954832
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Common
    You post a lie,
    President Biden had 10 Republican Senators into the White House to discuss/negotiate the bill. They weren’t interested in what 70+ percent of the American People wanted.

    Those 10 are 20% of the Republican Senators…………..
    All are afraid of the trouble Trump may cause come reelection time

    in reply to: Is Flatbush Still In-town? #1954833
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Flatbush is still in town, but the Dodgers have gone OOT

    in reply to: How do airlines ban customers? #1954794
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Common
    Thanks for sharing information that I already know.
    JetBlue service to Florida from White Plains has existed for years.
    It is of no use to me as it is all coach class service, although my grandchildren have used it when they would fly to visit us in Florida during the winter breaks.

    Years ago, when JetBlue started this service, they did not have use of the airbridges from gate to plane. Passengers had to walk outdoors in winter weather and up a long switchback ramp while carrying their oversized cabin baggage and young children. Not a pleasant experience…said my eldest and his wife who had to negotiate that with their two toddlers in a snowstorm. That said, I bought their shares at the height of the pandemic last spring (as I did with most American airlines, and industrials, as I had faith in a recovery) and they have more than doubled in value.
    Thus, I am happy when their revenues rise, I just don’t fly them.

    in reply to: Israeli vs. American hand shmura matzo #1954399
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    CTRebbe

    Flour and water, the ingredients sound the same bit they are not.
    There are varieties of flour, and it is affected by soil and growing conditions.
    Water varies greatly. The mineral content varies a great deal.

    Was it baled in electric, gas, coal or wood fired Ovens?

    Here in the compound we’ expect to bake our annual load in our outdoor brick wood fired oven. As he has almost every year (not last year when we let no outsiders into the compound during the early stages of the pandemic) in the last 20, our Rav will be here to supervise and partake in the mixing, rolling, baking. We like thin and crisp and dark.

    and before anyone comments, the preparation area and oven are covered with a high overhead tarp to deal with prohibitions of outdoor baking of matzo…not that they had indoor ovens in Mitzrayim and Sinai.

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