Ed

I am seeking legal methods to Off-Set Losses against state lottery Winnings. I play the scratch off games and claimed a winning ticket for $1,000.00 a few months ago. I was given a check by the state without any Federal Tax Withholding. Yesterday, I had another $1,000.00 winning ticket (At this point, I'm reluctant to say that I won $1,000.00). The state will report both winnings totaling $2,000.00 to the federal government in accordance with federal compliance regulations. That's the law and I'm fine with that practice. Since I'm retired and on a fixed income, I count on my Federal Income Tax Refund each year to pay for my property real estate tax bill. Based upon my research, I can only deduct losses if the following conditions apply:

1.) Deductions for losses cannot exceed the winnings,

2.) I would be required to have kept some form of journal entries and other supporting documentation of the winnings and losses. That evidence may include witness statements from people that observed the winnings and loses,

3.) Loses can only be deducted through completing Schedule 1040 A, itemized deductions. This is the condition that I cannot seem to overcome.

I'm at the stage in life that I do not have enough deductions to support itemizing deductions. I probably could not legitimately come up with more than $7,000.00 in deductions including the lottery loses. Therefore, I do not file schedule A as the standard deduction provided was $11,900.00 for a married couple filing jointly during 2012. My wife and I now enjoy a simpler life. We are retired and have none of the larger deductions like I used to have (City and State Wage Deductions and mortgage interest). Without itemizing deductions, it appears to me that I cannot claim the lottery loses. Am I missing any rule that would permit me to off-set my winnings against loses? It seems somewhat unfair that I must pay federal taxes on the entire $2,000.00 when I genuinely did purchase many losing tickets. My interruption of IRS Policy is that people without itemized deductions are being unjustly penalized (My children could deduct lottery loses). I guess that I'm crying a little bit all the way to the bank, but felt that it was worth a chance to see if the Yahoo Answers Community has any creative suggestions. With all of our country's problems, this issue really isn't a big deal. Please don't get me wrong. I am truly grateful for my winnings and want to pay my fair share of taxes... But no more than my fair share.

Thank you for your time.

I am seeking legal methods to Off-Set Losses against state lottery Winnings. I play the scratch off games and claimed a winning ticket for $1,000.00 a few months ago. I was given a check by the state without any Federal Tax Withholding. Yesterday, I had another $1,000.00 winning ticket (At this point, I'm reluctant to say that I won $1,000.00). The state will report both winnings totaling $2,000.00 to the federal government in accordance with federal compliance regulations. That's the law and I'm fine with that practice. Since I'm retired and on a fixed income, I count on my Federal Income Tax Refund each year to pay for my property real estate tax bill. Based upon my research, I can only deduct losses if the following conditions apply:

1.) Deductions for losses cannot exceed the winnings,

2.) I would be required to have kept some form of journal entries and other supporting documentation of the winnings and losses. That evidence may include witness statements from people that observed the winnings and loses,

3.) Loses can only be deducted through completing Schedule 1040 A, itemized deductions. This is the condition that I cannot seem to overcome.

I'm at the stage in life that I do not have enough deductions to support itemizing deductions. I probably could not legitimately come up with more than $7,000.00 in deductions including the lottery loses. Therefore, I do not file schedule A as the standard deduction provided was $11,900.00 for a married couple filing jointly during 2012. My wife and I now enjoy a simpler life. We are retired and have none of the larger deductions like I used to have (City and State Wage Deductions and mortgage interest). Without itemizing deductions, it appears to me that I cannot claim the lottery loses. Am I missing any rule that would permit me to off-set my winnings against loses? It seems somewhat unfair that I must pay federal taxes on the entire $2,000.00 when I genuinely did purchase many losing tickets. My interruption of IRS Policy is that people without itemized deductions are being unjustly penalized (My children could deduct lottery loses). I guess that I'm crying a little bit all the way to the bank, but felt that it was worth a chance to see if the Yahoo Answers Community has any creative suggestions. With all of our country's problems, this issue really isn't a big deal. Please don't get me wrong. I am truly grateful for my winnings and want to pay my fair share of taxes... But no more than my fair share.

Thanks for your time.

I am seeking legal methods to Off-Set Losses against state lottery Winnings. I play the scratch off games and claimed a winning ticket for $1,000.00 a few months ago. I was given a check by the state without any Federal Tax Withholding. Yesterday, I had another $1,000.00 winning ticket (At this point, I'm reluctant to say that I won $1,000.00). The state will report both winnings totaling $2,000.00 to the federal government in accordance with federal compliance regulations. That's the law and I'm fine with that practice. Since I'm retired and on a fixed income, I count on my Federal Income Tax Refund each year to pay for my property real estate tax bill. Based upon my research, I can only deduct losses if the following conditions apply:

1.) Deductions for losses cannot exceed the winnings,

2.) I would be required to have kept some form of journal entries and other supporting documentation of the winnings and losses. That evidence may include witness statements from people that observed the winnings and loses,

3.) Loses can only be deducted through completing Schedule 1040 A, itemized deductions. This is the condition that I cannot seem to overcome.

I'm at the stage in life that I do not have enough deductions to support itemizing deductions. I probably could not legitimately come up with more than $7,000.00 in deductions including the lottery loses. Therefore, I do not file schedule A as the standard deduction provided was $11,900.00 for a married couple filing jointly during 2012. My wife and I now enjoy a simpler life. We are retired and have none of the larger deductions like I used to have (City and State Wage Deductions and mortgage interest). Without itemizing deductions, it appears to me that I cannot claim the lottery loses. Am I missing any rule that would permit me to off-set my winnings against loses? It seems somewhat unfair that I must pay federal taxes on the entire $2,000.00 when I genuinely did purchase many losing tickets. My interruption of IRS Policy is that people without itemized deductions are being unjustly penalized (My children could deduct lottery loses). I guess that I'm crying a little bit all the way to the bank, but felt that it was worth a chance to see if the Yahoo Answers Community has any creative suggestions. With all of our country's problems, this issue really isn't a big deal. Please don't get me wrong. I am truly grateful for my winnings and want to pay my fair share of taxes... But no more than my fair share.

Thanks for your time.

I am a 63 year old male. 10/22/12-Routine Initial evaluation of eye health status was conducted. I had moved from the north to the south and had not been examined in 4 years. My eye sight was for close-up work was satisfactory, I took no eye medications, did not use glasses, did not have glaucoma, and eye pain did not exist. The ophthalmologist, after his staff did testing, spent approximately five minutes with me and declared that cataract surgery was necessary. I knew nothing about cataracts and had only heard stories of success. (I had provided a complete personal medical history and family health history). The health history clearly identified my present complaint of some night vision driving difficulty and only fair far distance vision, past eye health including a visual field defect and that glaucoma disease affected my maternal grandmother, mother, and a younger sibling. At no time was I told that cataract surgery could lead to glaucoma in individuals with a family trait tendency towards this disease. Discussion concerning possible complications was limited to the following general caution: “All surgery can have complications, bleeding and infection can occur, and general anesthesia risks. Of course he read from a form and only discussed the possible routine complications as I’ve stated. He then said, “Sign here.” My wife was present.

11/15/2012- Left eye cataract surgery performed. Result- Decrease in vision quality- I was told that that it “takes time” by the optometrist seeing me for post-surgical follow-up. Right eye cataract surgery was performed. Result- Continued deterioration of vision quality. Despite following post-surgical instructions and administering various eye drops as prescribed, my ocular pressure increased and severe headaches resulted. 01/11/2013- Laser jag procedure performed on first eye. After reporting the headaches to the doctor, he ordered laboratory blood testing. After reporting the headaches to the doctor, he ordered laboratory blood testing. He stated that my vision should improve by the end of the current day. By the following day, I did not note any ocular improvement. 01/18/2013- Laser jag procedure performed on second eye. Following the procedure I reminded the doctor that we had not discussed the laboratory blood testing that was performed on 01/14/2013. Later on 1/18/2013 I was phoned by a staff member who told me that I had the marker for an autoimmune disorder. 01/24/2013- During a follow-up visit and a review of eye photos with the optometrist at in a satellite office the following information was revealed: (1) I had glaucoma and would need to take eye drop medicine for the balance of my life, (2) I had fluid build-up behind the retina.

My Current Impressions

Possible Unnecessary Cataract Surgery | Permanent and devastating Vision Loss (I now must use strong reading glasses and a magnifying glass just to get by) | Secondary Glaucoma resulting from the cataract surgery | Chronic Eye Pain | Failure to inform me of all potential complications | failure to adequately conduct pre-surgical screening to ensure my suitability as a cataract surgical candidate | significant edema behind the retina |

What actions can be taken both legally and medically? I’m even finding it difficult to find other treatment. The first questions are usually who did the cataract surgery and why aren’t they treating you?

I began to answer Yahoo questions. Suddenly, another person who answers questions regularly began to provide little snide comments. It appears that I have been providing answers to questions in a category that had belonged exclusively to this individual. His comments are included as part of his answer and refer to me by name,” Ed”. Some references include ones such as these: Ed, wrong again. Ed doesn’t have a clue, and more. Over the past week his off topic comments are part of all his answers that in his category of specialization for which I also provided an answer. At first I ignored the comments, but recently have started to defend my original answer with edits. But I’ve decided that I'm not playing his game. I need to find another solution other than not answering questions in that category. But I’m also not going to be run out of town by this person. The people asking questions deserve better from two people providing answers as a public service. I have never responded to him by his screen name or defamed his reputation. The outlandish thing is that this person seems to be the one that is dispensing reckless answers. His answers routinely have a cynical and jaded viewpoint of the asker and include workshop jargon and statistics that most people would have no familiarity. Some of his answers sound like rants. I have reported his recent answers as being abusive through that icon next to his answer. Yahoo has not responded, and apparently won’t, unless 2 or more reliable people report the same abuse in his answer. I believe that his answers have slid into violation territory because:

1.) He is seeking best answer votes for himself in this specialized category by attempting to eliminate his perceived competition. Myself, I really don’t care much about points. I just want to answer the question and move on,

2.) He is using Yahoo Answers to harass and taunt (You can almost hear the cackling as he writes, "Ed, wrong again".

This person’s personal information is hidden from the view of other posters. Therefore; they cannot be emailed or instant messaged. This person has answered many questions over the years and has a positive Best Answer to Question Answered Ratio. Does anyone have a workable suggestion to change this poster's attitude and abusive agenda.?

Can you name this very old movie? I originally had my question posted in the category of entertainment (movies) and received no response. I apologize for asking this question for a 2nd time, but figured that someone interested in senior citizen issues may have my answer.

I remember seeing an old movie on television during the 1950's. It had to have been made during the 1930's or 1940's. The story was about two brothers during war time. One of the brothers was a German officer while the other brother worked for the allied underground. The brother that worked in the underground movement was caught and brought to headquarters. The brother who was the German officer was summoned by his superiors to gauge his reaction to the arrest. The German officer brother disavowed knowledge of his brother's actives; he even spat in his brother's face. Eventually the underground enlisted brother (looking dejected) was brought to a courtyard to be hung. As his hanging was about to occur, the loud speakers suddenly echoed with a familiar voice confirming that the underground movement would continue stronger than ever. Of course the distinctive voice being piped through the speaker system was that of the brother who was the German officer . Immediately, a broad smile was observed on the face of the condemned brother as he was hung. He died knowing that his cause would be carried on and that his officer brother would lead the mission. Any details that you can relate to me such as title, year made, stars, and where I can obtain a copy would be sincerely appreciated. I'd love to see it again. Thanks.

I have coffee with a close neighbor 2 -4 times a week. During a recent chat it was disclosed to me that their spouse had multiple intimate affairs (up to 10 different partners and spanning a 2 year period). Apparently no other sexual transgressions have occurred in the past 25 years. At the time of the misconduct, neighbors, family members, and friends knew what was happening, but remained silent. Now, the couple’s adult children also know the secret. My friend has tried prayer and counseling without success in an effort to eliminate the shame, anger, and hurt feelings. Has anybody had experience with this type of marital deceit? Please provide me with the best advise that I can share with my distraught friend. Thanks.

I have found that the quality of answers provided by the Yahoo Community vary greatly. Approximately 60% of the people responding to questions follow the rules and make an honest effort to be helpful. Another 20% of the responders attempt to be funny, are sometimes sarcastic, and full of resentment or anger. While those answers can be annoying, their intent is usually obvious.

What concerns me the most are the remaining 20%. They provide answers in a reckless manner. Irresponsible information is disseminated in a pontifical and authoritative fashion. Their answer may be factually incorrect, but the inquirer may use that information to make serious decisions. This is a respectful question and not a rant. Do you think that in addition to the thumbs up or down icon, a 3rd choice of “Factually Incorrect” should be added?

This is a real question and not a rant or chatter. Yahoo removed one of my answers without providing a clear reason. I appealed the decision and received the reason as being ... Non-Commercial Personal Site Promotion. I have no idea what this means.I have exhausted all other means to determine what my infraction was. My answer was respectful, clear and complete, did not contain hyperlinks, and promoted no commercial or noncommercial sites.I spent time writing my answer in an honest fashion drawing from my work experience.I am not attempting to be a radical and probably should not discuss details of the question (don't want to be banned from Yahoo). It is safe to say that I explained the government's policy on paying for an item with a large amout of cash. If anything, I painted the position of the federal government. But the question still appears as open without any answers.It's not like I instructed someone on doing something illegal. Please explain what I am missing. I don't care about the points; I care about my integrity. Thank you.

My email to Yahoo Answers is being returned with the following error message... Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

answers-alert@cc.yahoo-inc.com

Technical details of permanent failure:

Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the server for the recipient domain cc.yahoo-inc.com by av2-mrin.yahoo.com. [216.145.48.70].

The error that the other server returned was:

553 5.3.0 <answers-alert@cc.yahoo-inc.com>... User unknown

Please provide me with clear, step-by-step instructions that will enable my message to reach Yahoo. Thank you.

Do you know of someone who sneezes multiple times shortly after eating a meal? If so, please provide the name for this condition and explain its cause(s) and possible treatment. Thank you.

I am a Do-It-Yourself-Rookie that can do minor electrical work like splicing wire, run new wiring through walls, install ceiling fans, light fixtures, replace circuit breakers, and fashion pigtails. But I am a novice and have a lot to learn. I live in a 6 year old home. A bathroom has a combination light switch for a ceiling light and a duplex outlet contained in a 2 gang box. Neither the outlet nor light switch will work. This bathroom also has over the sink vanity lighting and an exhaust fan contained in another adjacent 2 gang box operated with 2 paddle switches. The vanity lighting and exhaust fan both operate flawlessly. The circuit breaker switches were all found to be in the on position. I went around the house… inside, outside, and garage and tested all G.F.I.'s. One of three G.F.I.'s in the garage had tripped and was reset. I have replaced both the duplex outlet and light switch without successfully restoring operation. In trouble-shooting and in replacing the switch and outlet, I have verified for circuit power using a Klein Brand battery operated circuit tester. When touching the black hot wire with the circuit tester, sometimes it reacts with the beeping sound and light, and sometimes it does not. I will appreciate your time in providing me with your ideas to solve my non-working switch and outlet. Thank you.