Bookmarks: If you want to prosper, smile. • Obama condemns political correctness • Hidden factors in the job search • “And he will fleece his flock”
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I was surprised to come across this piece so soon after the discussion of attitudes and prosperity in my recent “Why racism no longer matters to me.” It’s a short piece that manages to get in-depth into an outlook on life remarkably similar to my own.
Related: Think and Grow Rich
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An opposing view that I have not responded to, since this author’s concept of “political correctness” is radically different from what others complain about: Politically Correct or Gospel Compliant?
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Hidden factors in the job search
Tuesday 2015-09-15
This morning as I walked from Dunkin’ Donuts up Charles Street to a doctor’s appointment, the right lane of Charles Street in front of Old St. Paul’s Church was completely occupied by film crew vehicles. Most of the sidewalk was occupied, too. They were setting up a buffet table, and outside dining tables, for crew members.
I’ve dealt with film crews and their members before. No one survives a minute in that industry unless one has a very strongly “J” personality. One must report to work at perhaps 5:00 a.m., as energetic as if one’s already had five cups of coffee. Time is of the essence every second. They’re all quite bossy, and very prone to look down on anyone unlike themselves.
Walking on, I recalled my contacts with Horseshoe Casino. Horseshoe Casino began aggressively recruiting staff six months before they ever began construction. I attended a mini-job fair at the library’s computer center. The interview process, we were told, has several stages after their mere acceptance of one’s application. At one point, there is a panel interview; “This is your time to shine.” One might be asked, for example, to put on an impromptu song and dance, and panelists would rate one’s willingness and ability to do that. Here’s an employer that requires a strongly “E” personality: even for positions in housekeeping or dishwashing, they want every staff member to display that kind of bubbly exuberance. No exceptions.
Not all jobs are for all people. Here are criteria that may or may not be spelled out in a job description. They’re not asked about in the application form, and probably won’t appear on one’s resume. They have nothing to do with one’s background or, some might argue, one’s ability to actually do the job. They’re job qualifications nonetheless.
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John Oliver’s fake TV church
John Oliver Exposes Shady Televangelists Fleecing Americans For Millions John Oliver Closes His TV Church After People Send Unwanted ‘Seed’ Donations
It would be easy to want to mount a crusade to denounce or censure these people. The first article includes some disturbing remarks attributed to Gloria Copeland. The second mentions one “John Payne,” apparently an error; the real individual is James Payne. Joel Osteen is often accused of preaching a “prosperity Gospel,” but I’ve never anything from him like what these people do.
Payne’s web site is all about money, and the only way he reports to get money is “planting” “seeds.” His comments are engineered to make the reader or viewer or listener feel as if he or she needs money, no matter how prosperous or non-prosperous one may be now.
The web site is, mechanically, a blog, and nobody is moderating the comments. They include lots of links to wonderful Russian porn sites.
The whole “seed faith” bandwagon apparently was first popularized by Oral Roberts. Wikipedia says, “As one of the most well-known and controversial American religious leaders of the 20th century, Roberts’s preaching emphasized seed-faith.[4]” It appears, however, to have been the brain-child of one James Eugene Ewing. Wikipedia says Ewing “has written fundraising letters for other evangelists, including Oral Roberts[4] as well as Don Stewart, WV Grant, and Rex Humbard.[5]” Ewing has ghost-written such letters for Robert Tilton also.
Originally posted 2015-09-21.
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