Blogcritics Category: Culture: Administrative

Bailout Rejected: World Doesn't End

Mike Johnston — Wed, 1 Oct 2008 03:33:48 EDT

We have survived the financial crisis of 2008 without committing ourselves to a higher mountain of debt.
We have survived the financial crisis of 2008 without committing ourselves to a higher mountain of debt than we already have. The morning after always brings new clarity to any situation and this one is no different. We have passed the crisis point and the stock market is recovering.If we look at the panic driven days in the last two weeks compared...

The Appraisal: One Source of Our Economic Woes

Baritone — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:10:54 EDT

The current mess this country finds itself in regarding the entire financial industry has many culprits. Appraisals are one.
Out of all the cacophony caused by the current meltdown of this country's financial industry, one of the sources in the grass roots mechanics of how all this housing mess came about has been largely ignored: The appraisal.In the past, until a few years ago, FHA maintained a list of approved appraisers who were given assignments by FHA, not the...

LA Times Blinded From Light Shed By Hugo Chavez

Mike Green — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:35:59 EDT

Los Angeles Times editors lambasted Hugo Chavez, failing to realize he was right. They were wrong.
Los Angeles Times: the blind informing the blind. LA Times editors revealed a sad epitaph in their September 15 editorial targeting Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez and Bolivia’s President Evo Morales. Indeed, the Times’ cynicism killed any serious analysis of what amounted to a charge of attempted murder levied against the...

A Question of Trust

Realist — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:32:32 EDT

We will again discover too late that we've been sold out for thirty pieces of tarnished political silver.
The theoretical definition of government is essentially a compact of behavioral rules formed among a group of people who agree to abide by these rules. In actual modern practice, few people are going to freely agree to abide by all of these rules, as they have had little involvement in their creation. Under such conditions, the majority of people...

When Everyone Is a Minority

Clavos — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:23:17 EDT

We must begin now to prioritize and start planning to deal with the coming changes in our population.
Non-Hispanic white children born in America today will be members of a minority by the time they reach their fifteenth birthdays, according to Census Bureau projections released today. The report projects that present-day minorities will exceed 50% of the child population by 2023. Said Dave Waddington, chief of the Census Bureau's population...

A Word from the Hawking Institute for Mathematical Fantasy

Christopher Hoare — Fri, 8 Aug 2008 07:01:16 EDT

The experiment that swallowed the world.
While the Institute decided not to initiate discussions about the unfortunate events at CERN near Geneva last week, in the interests of scientific objectivity we would like to set out some important observations for public consideration.First, science isn't an intellectual pursuit that proves theories -- it was well established by Professor Karl R....

Good News For the Constitutional Amendment that Ensures All the Others

Kenn Jacobine — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:50:08 EDT

There have been several positive developments for the 2nd Amendment recently.
There have been several pieces of good news lately relating to 2nd Amendment rights in the United States. By now everyone should be aware of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the 32 year old Washington, D.C. ban on citizens keeping guns in their homes. Florida has a new law which allows gun owners to transport their legally...

The Tale Of Two Assistants

Brandon J. Mendelson — Sun, 6 Apr 2008 20:26:33 EDT

So where is the better bang for your buck, with the real assistant or the virtual one?
Recently we brought on two assistants to work with us on an entertainment industry project. Both assistants are American, but one is an actual assistant and the other is a "virtual assistant". Our goal for the month was to compare and contrast how successful the virtual assistant would be to the actual assistant in getting tasks...

Are You a Blogcritic?

Eric Olsen — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:32:17 EST

The "sinister cabal" is always looking for fine new contributors.
Are you a writer? Would you like to increase your visibility, hone your skills, join a community of fellow writers, and reach a very large and growing audience? Then Blogcritics may be for you.Blogcritics.org is an online magazine covering music, books, film, TV, video, politics, culture, sports, gaming, science, technology, the Internet, celebrity...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

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Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Corporate Propaganda Within the Service Industry

Joe Harris — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 03:09:34 EDT

"Get A Clue" is the title of a job orientation packet from a major supermarket chain. Despite the best efforts of retail propagandists, all but the most delusional of time clock slaves have done just that. From the painfully dull to the wildly implausible, service industry orientations and subsequent corporate indoctrination attempts are brimming with bullshit. Having worked with very few retarded people and even fewer contented employees, I'm confident that corporations' brainwashing endeavors inspire more laughs than loyalty.The "Get a Clue" packet, otherwise known as the "elusive satisfied customer caper," is rife with lies/punch lines such as: "people are great" and "prices are good." This is in addition to the implication that customers can get what they want "plus a little." However, illustrations of the Pink Panther cartoon grinning at me on every other page elevated this clumsily written drivel to the same tier as red letters in the New Testament.Orientation videos are perhaps the industry's most common brainwashing tool. In 2000, tooth grinding was mitigated by jaw dropping as I watched such a video on my first day at McDonald's. A prominent feature was excessively smiling Asian women and children in essence performing for corporate in the manner of actresses employed by the adult entertainment industry.Cliche notes of melodrama played tenderly in the background as a doltish regular customer shared her remarkable story of love pure and true served up with her morning coffee. Alleged employees of this store lauded the woefully unattractive woman. They actually claimed to have missed her while she was on vacation. Remarkable, indeed. McDonald's coffee sucks while human nature and basic economics prevent cashiers from giving a puddle of grease. The tape even told a story of how McDonald's saved a life. I'm secure enough to admit that this video left me cheering and militantly proud to shovel shit for my millionaire overlords.The demon came back to haunt me in 2006, when a different Dallas area McDonald's hired me. Computers had supplanted VCRs, but the annoyance was still real. Computerized cartoon characters walked myself and the other unfortunates through the magic of fast food. "Baibrook [the franchise company] is the best company in Texas," the orientation manager proclaimed. The best for whom?"Number one" was a recurrent phrase in the orientation packet, as were "happy" and "guest satisfaction." Apparently, "guest" is the new, corporate correct word for "customer." Directly after this packet welcomed me to the McDonald's "family," the next page was devoted to describing what burgeoning tycoons the franchise owners were. Hiel Ronald!Orientations are merely prelude to an intellectual gang bang, with corporate cracking the bull whip and management holding long hair out of the way. Poorly written bulletins likely composed with a third grade audience in mind dominate the back room scene. If an employee is lucky enough to have a break room, his subconscious is likely harangued by company cartoons raving about kissing customer ass. "Being a champion feels great and is easy to become," declared an Albertson's bulletin titled "How to Become a Champion Courtesy Clerk". I take my lunch breaks outside."Say one 'extra' thing" is my favorite. This affront to my intelligence was ripped off of the freezer door at Jack in the Box by yours truly. This smiley-face adorned eyesore gives examples of how to initiate conversation with a "guest." "That's a cool car you're driving!" "Your dog is so cute! Look at him ready to eat your French fries." These are two of seven lines crafted by corporate that I'd rather burn in Hell than utter."Cool car?" That is raw, undignified bootlicking. I've never had a car in my life, nor do I use the word cool in slang fashion. That is, unless I'm blackout drunk. We are denied full-time hours and disgracefully paid. For this, corporate expects us to give unconditional allegiance to the beast and suck up to customers who treat us like garbage.Not only are indoctrination attempts insipid, they are condescending. Every orientation, campaign and bulletin treats us as though we were mindless toddlers. Just as well; I've never been paid enough to think. Although everything corporate writes is geared to illiterates, I often see errors and pathetic writing in every grandiose paragraph.Unsurprisingly, corporate's onslaught is in vain. We may notice their propaganda long enough to mock it or deface the bulletins. An anonymous poet once changed "service with a smile" to "service with a suck dick." My ballpoint pen graffiti was slightly more cerebral, but with the same spirit."A satisfied customer made this paycheck possible," reads the bottom of my paycheck stubs. At the top of these stubs is my pay rate -- $6.15 per hour.

Joe Harris is a disgruntled writer with an affinity for loud music and paisley ties. A night stocker and former veteran cashier, telling the story of the service industry's workforce is a mainstay of Harris' work. The ruggedly handsome raconteur is commonly found reading about conspiracies or drinking alone with his cat.