Thursday's Democratic debate -- More of the same - not worth watching as Bernie repeatedly criticized Hillary's ties to wealthy donors and Wall Street banks before a crowd that interrupted, booed and cheered in sports-arena style in Brooklyn. Today, Bernie visits the Vatican to talk about the world economy and social justice - two issues at the core of his bid for the presidency - as he steps off the campaign trail just days before the New York primary. He will not meet with Pope Francis. Glad to see the video of Trump's campaign manager being well within his rights when he pulled aside the female reporter. Trump dramas have always been "part of the deal".
Across the pond ... Britain's big decision ... The official campaign period for the June 23 referendum on whether to stay in the European Union or to opt for a "Brexit"' as it is being called - begins today. Britons appear to be sharply divided. The International Monetary Fund issued a stark warning this week about the potentially negative economic impact of a withdrawal. More scare tactics.
Skip this if you didn't see last night's episode.
Thursday night, Liz had a baby girl but there was a price to pay ... her life? As someone who watches soap operas here and there over the decades I can tell you no one is ever dead on TV until you read that their contract (not the metaphysical kind) is up with a network. I haven't read that Megan Boone has not resigned her contract. So we shall see how this story line plays out. Review of the episode
The apparent death of Megan Boone's character comes as the actress herself prepares to give birth to her first child, a girl, this month, likely leading viewers to wonder whether the character's demise is merely a ruse to accommodate her real-life maternity leave. This wouldn't be the first time James Spader's Red faked her death as a protective measure. Read more
I'm sure you remember the Ponzi schemes that came to light after 2008 and the Bernie Madoff investment scandal. We segue now to a reading I did this week with a local woman (let's call her Maria, 65) and her family who were swindled out of hundreds of thousands of dollars over a period of years by 69 year old insurance agent Paul Simoneschi who is accused of scamming 13 victims - one of which as old as 94 - out of $2.5 million collectively. Friday - after a five year investigation - Simoneschi - who at one point tried to kill himself - will be sentenced - many of the victims to appear in court. Most expect to get some of their money back. I didn't know about this scam, though I have read people who have lost their life savings in others.
Now here's an interesting twist - as I watched the CBS video with Maria (click link above) - (I use an iPad during many of my readings) - I suddenly focused on Simoneschi's attorney Matthew Mari. Backing up the video, I remembered him as the father of one of my clients who I read several times. I told her he was a Mafia lawyer and to tell him to be careful. She told me he doesn't believe in psychics and she would not share that we had met. Maybe now she will.
Also - Mari and his family live around the corner from Maria and her family. It reminds me of a Brooklyn blog I wrote in 2006 called The '10 Square Block Radius' Reading about being programmed to live out your life (karma, programming) within a 10 square block radius. You grow up on the block ... marry someone from the block ... buy a house there or inherit your parents' home or live with them in a two-family house ... and can even find a lover there when your marriage gets boring. Now that's a soul group who stays and plays together. The trend in recent years has been to migrate to Staten Island then to New Jersey while still playing out the same scenarios though the geographic radius widens once you leave NY.
Did you pay your taxes? Tax evasion has put many people - rich or poor - behind bars in recent years. Do you know anyone who has removed themselves from the tax system? It's not worth it.
Most people know April 15 as the deadline for submitting personal tax returns, but this is not always the case. When the date falls on a weekend, it is often moved to the following Monday. However, for the 2016 deadline, the Internal Revenue Service has given taxpayers until April 18 to pay their taxes, but it is not because the due date falls on a weekend. Instead, the IRS is observing a holiday that is usually only observed in Washington, DC. Emancipation Day marks the day that the Compensated Emancipation Act was signed by President Abraham Lincoln and is observed on April 16. Emancipation Day is a legal holiday in DC, and public employees are given the day off work. However, because April 16, 2016, falls on a Saturday, it is celebrated on the closest weekday, which is Friday April 15. This means that public employees such as those that work for the IRS will have April 15 off of work, and so it pushes the tax deadline to April 18, a Monday, which is the next business day.
