Next Rant... (Friggin' Hot Dogs...)

F--k Nathan's hot dogs!

F--k "Nathan's Famous Inc.!"

Friggin' scumbags have reduced package size to 14 ounces!

BASTARDS...!!!

F--k 'em and their 14 ounce package; their hot dogs can sit in the supermarket fridge and friggin' ROT before I'll let 'em get away with pulling this crap on me.

From 16 ounces to 15 ounces I accepted; but folks... if we accept 14 ounce packaging how long till it's 13 ounces... 12 ounces... 11 ounces...

(Actually, their "Angus Beef" hot dogs ARE NOW being sold in a measly 11 ounce package! Check the small print, folks!)

So... f--k Ronald G. DeVos, Chief Financial Officer!

F--k Eric Gatoff, Chief Executive Officer!

F--k Howard Lorber,  Executive Chairman!

F--k Wayne Norbitz, President and Chief Operating Officer!

F--k you all... and f--k Nathan's Board of Directors - each of them - as well!

Folks... it ain't just Nathan's and it ain't just hot dogs.

Hey... folks... it's not as if these scumbags are being forthright. Look at the packaging. It usually LOOKS the same as it did before... before the manufacturer decided to give you less product for your dollar while hoping you wouldn't notice.

Boxed goods... canned goods... bagged goods... all sorts of products are being shrunk - and usually in the most deceptive manner possible. 

AND... NOTE... once one major play does it... the rest usually follow. If that's not collusion I don't know what is! (No... they're not "meeting" to "fix" the package size; they don't have to; but in the end what it amounts to is across the board consumer abuse.)

Folks... WE'RE the consumers! WE'RE the ones getting screwed!

And where's government? Where are the regulatory "guardians?" They're nowhere to been seen - let alone heard from. I suppose campaign contributions grease a lot of wheels in Washington and in the various state capitals.

How long till tuna cans shrink again? Or soup cans? Or ice cream cartons? Or... (Well... you get the idea.)

Ya know that inflation that "doesn't exist," folks? Well... it exists. It exists in this sneaky, underhanded, deceitful practice of constantly shrinking product size.

You should ALL be as mad as I am. But... I know you're not. Which is why this country is going down...

Another Medical Rant

What the f--k is wrong with these friggin' people?!

What "people," you ask? My sleep guy... my sleep guy's office... this massive friggin' medical practice...

(*GNASHING MY TEETH*)

OK. Background...

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Last month I got my CPAP.

I like the doc...

I can handle the CPAP...

But here's the thing: Apparently the pressure is too high. This is a new phenomenon. As I say, I got the CPAP about a month ago and last week I saw the doc for a post-usage visit. ($50 copay.) Basically this entailed giving the doc the memory stick from the unit so he could read and analyze it at his leisure. (Which he did; and then he called me on the phone and told me I needed to be wearing it more often than I'd been or else I'd have a problem with my insurance provider.)

ANYWAY...

I'm not sure if he adjusted the air flow pressure (via wi-fi) after this conversation or whether my increased usage has simply made me more aware of a pre-existing "over-pressurization," but in any event what happens is that after I've slept for awhile I'll wake up (in the middle of the night; often several times throughout the night) with the damn pressure so high as to literally blow the damn mask "off" my face - meaning violate the seal of the mask. Thus... I have to adjust the mask... and adjust and adjust and adjust... during these episodes so as to temporarily "relive" the air leak and re-seat the mask properly... properly until it happens again.

SO...

(*GRITTING MY TEETH*)

Yesterday... while in Rockland (where the doc's office is) I actually stopped in to report the problem in person. The doc wasn't in... so I left a note.

SO...

No observed change last night. Same problem.

SO...

Today I called the practice. I got the friggin' voicemail. 

(*ROLLING MY EYES*)

I got a call-back...

I was told that the doc was on hospital rotation... that he'd be on hospital rotation (ICU) till Thursday... BUT... that on Thursday they'd make sure he got my note.

(*HEADACHE*)

The telephone HAS been invented... right? Voicemail... texts... emails... they all EXIST, don't they?

To paraphrase the tagline from the '70's "Six Million Dollar Man," "WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY," don't we - the technology to REACH the doctor and DELIVER the message?

A*P*P*A*R*A*N*T*L*Y...

 N*O*T...!!!

Apparently the doc is "incommunicado." My piddling little problem apparently isn't important enough to be brought to his attention. "Big deal," right; so... I have to go through AT LEAST two more nights of this crap...

(*SLAMMING MY FIST ON THE DESK*)

ARE... THESE... PEOPLE... FRIGGIN'... CRAZY...?!?!

CALL THE FRIGGIN' DOC! (Or email him!) Get permission to LOWER THE FRIGGIN' AIR PRESSURE!

Folks... I'm not an unreasonable guy! I "get" that there may be some medical reason I'm not aware of that will result in the doc telling me, "Bill, I wanna keep the pressure where it is for awhile; give you a chance to get used to it."

FINE! I could ACCEPT THAT!

But, no... I'm being told by staff that they WON'T contact the doc and inform him of my "problem." 

Basically... I'm being told to "F" off.

I don't like being told to "F" off - especially when I'm PAYING for my care! I'm PAYING my insurance premiums! I'm PAYING my copays!

So... none of his colleagues - partners - can take a look at my note and act in "my" doc's stead? (It's a LARGE practice! I do believe well over a dozen doctors - not to mention nurse practitioners!)

Folks... I'm not a happy camper. AND... the doc is gonna hear about it!

Barker's Newsbites: Tuesday, June 30, 2012

Expensive day yesterday... but worth it.

New struts... new shocks... new torque bar... new tie rod... alignment...

$875.94 plus tax... final tab... $949.30 (Interest free 6-month financing; free money!)

(*SHRUGGING WHILE GRINNING*)

Hey... all part of Hank's (my 2008 Charger RT) pre-100,000 mile tune-up. 

Up next... the actual "tune-up" - the engine tune-up; 16 new plugs! (5.7 HEMI)

And now... onto newsbites!

Barker's Newsbites: Monday, June 29, 2015

First and foremost...

(*DRUM ROLL*)

H*A*P*P*Y B*I*R*T*H*D*A*Y R*O*B A*N*D C*A*R*L...!!!

Eat... drink... and be merry... for you BOTH need all the practice you can get!

(*GUFFAW*)

And now... on to newsbites...

You Folks Know Who Laurence Tribe Is... Right?

Well... if you don't... Laurence Tribe has taught Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School for over four decades and is considered perhaps the nation's foremost liberal legal scholar. Mr. Tribe is a Democrat partisan and one of the co-founders of the American Constitution Society, an activist liberal legal think tank specifically created as a Leftist counter to the constitutionist Federalist Society.

Here's why I'm bringing all this up today:

I'm presently at a library. (Hank - my Charger RT - is getting some suspension work done; so I'm "hanging" here at the library as the replacement parts are being installed.)

So... browsing the stacks of new non-fiction I came across Tribe's latest work, "Uncertain Justice: The Roberts Court and the Constitution," (written with Joshua Matz).

Excerpting from the inside cover synopsis:

"Acutely aware of their opportunity, the justices are rewriting crucial aspects of constitutional law and redrawing the ground rules of American government."

Folks... this isn't William R. Barker making the claim. (Though I do concur!) This isn't Antonin Scalia making the claim. (Though he does!) This isn't coming from Clarence Thomas or Samuel Alito or some conservative pundit. (Though they'd all concur that our Constitution is under direct assault by five, six, and on occasion seven members of the High Court itself!)

No... this is Laurence Tribe. This is Joshua Matz.

My friends... my readers... this book was published in 2014 - prior to the latest outrages. Think about that. A year has gone by. The situation has gotten worse, not better. Those of us who revere and seek to abide by the Constitution were outraged by the original ObamaCare ruling... and then came last week's renewed Supreme Court blitzkrieg against the Rule of Constitutional Law in the form of the second ObamaCare decision.

THERE'S... BEEN... A... COUP... a coup against the Constitutional Government of the United States. You all need to recognize this.

Question...

Raise your hand if you think Hillary Rodham Clinton is going to be the Democrat nominee for president.

Now... answer me this... (particularly those likely to vote for the Democrat - no matter who he or she is)...

If AL GORE were to throw his hat in the ring... would you support him over Hillary Rodham Clinton?

(*SHRUG*)

Yeah... GORE has his own financial dealings to explain... but... vs. those of THE CLINTONS...?!?!

(*GUFFAW*)

And you "kids" reading this... those of you between say 18-30... what do you (think) you know about Al Gore? Many of you... most of you... have been taught that he's pretty much a hero via his "environmentalist" credentials; right?

Dems... aren't you STILL pissed off that while Gore won the popular vote in 2000 (hey... he DID, fellow conservatives!) the election was "stolen" (*SMIRK*) from him? (Com'on... you KNOW you are!)

So, folks... look inward at your own reactions to the questions I raise and then ask yourself the following:

Why WOULDN'T Gore run...???

(*SHRUG*)

It's certainly not Clinton who would have to best chance to beat a Republican (depending upon who the Republican candidate is) next year - it's AL GORE. At least... that's MY thesis.

(*ANOTHER SHRUG*)

Again... why WOULDN'T Gore at least make the attempt?

The Obamas HATE the Clintons. There's a civil war going on within the Democratic Party between the Obama Machine and the Clinton Machine.

(*SHRUG*)

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the Obamas have been engaging - behind the scenes - in talks with Al Gore's people.

To smash the Clinton Machine and ensure the long-term primacy of the Obama Machine the Obamas have no choice but to see that Hillary Rodham Clinton NEVER becomes president.

(*SHRUG*)

Anyway... stay tuned...

In any event... either I'm right or I'm wrong. And if I'm wrong... wrong in the sense that Gore DOESN'T throw his hat in the ring... you're still left with this simply question:

WHY...???

Just a Quick Notification

No... I haven't given up on blogging. (Though the news this week WAS particularly disturbing...)

Anyway... just throwing this out...

If you're NOT already a "FaceBook Friend" of mine... send me a "friend" request.

If you're NOT on FaceBook... respectfully... you should be. (Simply do what I do and adjust your settings so that no one can proactively post absent responding to a particular post of YOURS...)

Folks... I get FAR more spam trying to post itself on my blog than I do via FaceBook. DON'T be afraid of FaceBook! I tell ya... I find it a useful tool as well as a forum to rant.

(*WINK*)

Busy... busy... busy...

Graduation party tomorrow... graduation party Sunday... getting new quick-struts and shocks on Hank on Monday...

(*SMILE*)

So if any of you are going through "Barker Withdrawal"... you'll find me on FaceBook!

Don't worry, though... AGAIN... I'm NOT giving up on blogging! (Be patient!)

We Laid Aunt Ruth to Rest Today...

Today... we said our final goodbyes to Aunt Ruth's mortal coil...

Ruth Charlotte Larsen: April 4, 1919 - June 13th, 2015.

Ninety-six years (plus!) of making a difference for the better on this earth... not bad.

God loved my Aunt Ruth. She was spry and active till the day of her heart attack - till last Friday in other words.

I noted in a previous post that she passed on Sunday - last Sunday, the 14th, but actually she passed late Saturday night. (A distinction without a difference, really, but you know me... I'm "anal" this way.)

Crowded wakes - both the 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and the 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - which being the social butterfly that she was Aunt Ruth would have appreciated.

Friends... relatives... co-workers... men and women of all ages and backgrounds came to pay their respects to a wonderful woman and comfort each other.

This morning... 11:00 a.m. at the United Church of Spring Valley... we again paid our respects and spoke of our love for this amazing woman.

Relatives spoke. Friends spoke. I spoke. We all spoke from the heart.

Afterwards... a celebration... "breaking of bread" and a clinking of glasses. From her perch in Heaven I'm sure Aunt Ruth was frustrated that she couldn't join us.

(*WINK*)

There's never gonna be another "Aunt Ruth." She was "Auntie Mame" incarnate! They "don't build 'em" like her anymore. She epitomized everything that was once so exceptional about America. She wasn't just a strong woman... she was an inspiration... she was a living, breathing example of "my" America.

I pay tribute to her here and now. I will always pay tribute to her. I loved her. I will always love her.

Till we meet again, my dear!

Is Pat Buchanan Wrong About Trump?

No...

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

At the declaration by Donald Trump that he is a candidate for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party, media elites of left and right reacted with amusement, anger and disgust.

* YEP. BEING HONEST... THAT'S HOW IT STRUCK ME TOO.

Though he has been a hugely successful builder-businessman, far more successful than, say, Carly Fiorina, who has been received respectfully, our resident elites resolutely refuse to take Trump seriously.

* EXCEPT FOR ALL THE BANKRUPTCIES...

* BUT THEN AGAIN HE KNOWS HOW TO "PLAY THE GAME." (HE'S STILL INCREDIBLY RICH, ISN'T HE?!)

Our resident elites should take Trump seriously.

Not because he will be nominated...

...but because the Trump constituency will represent a vote of no confidence in the Beltway ruling class of politicians and press.

* NOW THAT'S TRUE!

Votes for Trump will be votes to repudiate that class, whole and entire, and dump it onto the ash heap of history.

* YEP...

Votes for Trump will be votes to reject a regime run by Bushes and Clintons that plunged us into unnecessary wars, [will] not secure our borders, and negotiates trade deals that [so far have] produced the largest trade deficits known to man and gutted a manufacturing base that was once “the great arsenal of democracy” and envy of mankind.

(*NOD*)

A vote for Trump is a vote to say that both parties have failed America and none of the current crop of candidates offers real hope of a better future.

* I BELIEVE RAND PAUL DOES. I BELIEVE TED CRUZ DOES.

(*SHRUG*)

The first book in Arthur Schlesinger’s trilogy about FDR’s ascent to power was “The Crisis of the Old Order.” That title is relevant to our time. For there is today a crisis of the regime in America — a crisis of confidence, a crisis of competence, a crisis of legitimacy.

People are agitating for the overthrow of the old order and a new deal for America.

* SOME ARE. MORE RHETORICALLY "TALK THE TALK." BUT BY AND LARGE... WE'RE NOW A NATION OF SHEEPLE BEING LED TO THE SLAUGHTER.

There is a palpable sense that the game is rigged against Middle America and for the benefit of insiders who grow rich and fat not by making things or building things, but by manipulating money.

* WELL... "DUH!"

Americans differentiate the wealth of a Henry Ford and a Bill Gates from that of the undeserving rich whose hedge fund fortunes can exceed the GDP of nations.

* DOERS vs. MANIPULATORS.

(*SHRUG*)

Trump says America is becoming a “dumping ground” for mass immigration from the failed states of the Third World, that Mexico is not “sending us her best and finest,” that China is stealing American jobs, that invading Iraq was a blunder.

Politically incorrect and socially insensitive certainly, but is he ... wrong?

* NO! NO HE'S NOT!

Was not the Iraq war a disaster for which our foreign policy priesthood and journalist-acolytes never paid the price that would be exacted in other societies were thousands of soldiers to die and tens of thousands to be wounded and maimed in so predictable a blunder?

Is it not true that among the millions of illegal immigrants who have broken into our country the great majority has illegitimacy rates, delinquency rates, dropout rates, drug use rates, crime rates, and incarceration rates far higher than those of native-born Americans?

Is Trump wrong on this, or simply wrong to bring it up?

Has not mass immigration brought to America old diseases we once stamped out and new diseases we had never heard of?

Do Americans not have the right to decide who shall come to our country, how many, and whence they shall come?

Is there no correlation between a decrepit Maoist China rising to become the greatest manufacturing power Asia has ever seen — and the $3 trillion to $4 trillion in trade deficits we have run with Beijing — and the disappearance of a third of all American manufacturing jobs?

Who negotiated those deals?

* THE INSIDERS. THE OLIGARCHS. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BOTH PARTIES.

Who paid a price for the misery they brought to Rust Belt America?

* WE THE PEOPLE.

(*SIGH*)

There are precedents in U.S. history for outsiders — Norman Thomas and Henry Wallace on the left, George Wallace and Ross Perot on the right — to enter the presidential lists. And across the pond a similar crisis of the old order is calling forth new people and new parties.

As in America, dominant parties like the Tories and Labour in Britain are losing loyalists to the “a-plague-on-both-your-houses” dissident parties.

Millions in Europe now want out of the EU. Old nations are coming apart. Leftist parties like Syriza in Greece and Podemos in Spain have arisen to defy Brussels and Berlin.

The Scottish National Party is of the Left while the Independence Party in the U.K. is of the populist Right. In Southeastern Europe, there have arisen parties of the extreme Right.

This endless proliferation of parties, like the welcome being given to Trump, testifies to the new reality: Everywhere, including here, old parties are losing the people in whose name they presume to speak.

And the specter of Republicans, who just won an historic victory by promising to do battle against President Obama...

(*GNASHING MY TEETH*)

...[now] colluding with Obama to surrender Congress’ right to amend trade treaties and sign on to a Trans-Pacific Partnership pact that looks like another transfer of jobs and factories to Asia...

(*PUNCHING THE WALL*)

...has re-enforced these sentiments.

* I PRAY FOR BOEHNER'S DEATH; MCCONNELL'S TOO!

If Trump wants to stake his claim as a different kind of Republican, he will go to Washington and pound the Boehner-McConnell Congress until it gives up on ObamaTrade and fast track.

* THIS APPLIES TO ANY REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE! THE RINO CONGRESS IS AS MUCH OUR ENEMY AS IS OBAMA AND HIS OUT OF CONTROL EXECUTIVE BRANCH.