Fallacies/Debates and missed class 3/29

Hi Gang! I got really sick over the weekend, sorry for the last minute class cancellation on 3/29 Tuesday--I will be in class Thursday to collect your case/brief assignments, hand out the take home exam and help teams prep for next week's debates. To review, here is the schedule for next Tuesday: First round of debate I
April 5th: Mike D, Trevor, Melissa and Mike
April 5th: Neal, Michelle, Raiza, Ying and Dimo
For this week's blog: let's work with fallacies. The most important ones to know are: Slippery slope, hasty generalization, non-sequitor, begging the question, bandwagon, ad hominem and faulty cause--These are all flaws in reasoning that you can commit or accuse your opponents of.

Slippery slope: One little action will lead to a huge landslide! ie: if you ever try pot you are sure to become a heroin addict!
hasty generalization: Taking one example and applying it to an entire group (stereotyping falls here) ie: everyone who wears baggy pants is in a gang.
Non sequitor (does not follow): Evidence is unrelated to the cause, ie: It is sure to rain today, I wore my lucky scarf!
begging the question: Claim is unsupported so claim is repeated, ie: "I can't get an F! I am an A student!!!"
bandwagon: everyone is doing it! (only evidence is compliance), ie: trends
ad hominem: attacking the person, not the argument, ie: "How will he run the country, he can't even manage his own love-life?!"
Faulty cause: Suggesting an unproven cause (mistaking a correlation for a cause), ie:  If the suspect was in the house between 8 and 9pm, and the murder took place at 830pm, the suspect must have done it!


Blog Task: Idnetify and give an example of one of the fallacies above, using your own evidence. Humorous entries are welcome! Smiels--Sandra

Make the Case!

Spring Break...4 weeks from now....You: Mired in a stack of evidence so high you need a ladder to go through it. Your teacher: She must be nuts, this is an impossible workload! After you hand in the evidence assignment, you have to make a prima facie case on the side of Gov't. (for change). Remember...Contentions 1-4....you know, stock issues? Ill, harm, blame, cost benefits...Is it coming back to you now? For this blog, splash some cold water on your face and pretend it's an ocean breeze. Walk over your unswept floor and lie to yourself...it's SAND somewhere near Santa Cruz....or Baja....do a couple sit-ups, shake out your beach towel....is it kicking in yet???? SPRINK FEVER???????!!!!!!!!!!! OK...Make a case for Spring Break....state a rsolution and four simple contentions about anything to do with spring break plans, the length of time we take break, when and where it should happen, how it should change, what one should plan/have/wear/whatever.
EX:
1. Resolution: THB Spring Break should be shorter.
2. ILL: Students are being hurt by leaving their studies for a whole week.
3. BLAME: The Los Rios School DIstrict
4. PLan:  I propose a long weekend instead: 3 days max. We can rename it: Spring Long Weekend Time. BRILLIANT!!! The communication department could be the first dept to implement this new improved spring "stall" at CRC. I mean, come on people: China doesn't offer a spring break!
5. The benfits will be improved grades and less sunburns and hang overs! This far outwieghs the cost of a few less days at the  beach or partying! Vote for me and my team of one curly-headed whack-job teacher coalition.

EXTRA CREDIT plus: Your First Publication!!! Be famous! (well...kinda...)

Are you a writer? A visual artist? Please consider contributing your creative work to the fifth annual edition of Cosumnes River College’s literary publication. We are committed to publishing emerging and established writers, including Cosumnes River College students, faculty, staff, and the rest of the world.
We want your: short stories; essays, including autobiographical narrative, criticism, interviews; mini-essays (250 words) on the theme: carpe diem; poems; art: photographs, drawings, etc. Also, please include a fifty-word bio with your submission. Please forward your contributions to: crc-ljsubmit@crc.losrios.edu
Include no more than five poems or photos per entry; limit your short stories + essays to two contributions per year. Please send MS Word attachments for writing + jpeg files for the art.

For the Spring 11 issue, e-mail crc-ljsubmit@crc.losrios.edu by March 18th.

Post questions, ideas, or a favorite quote or idea taken from your own, newly improved Advocay paper to this blog--Did you benefit from these revisions? Hope you take the time to apply for the journal!  I'll join your fan club!

Prove it!

The evidence assignment is underway, the hardest and most challenging assignment of our class--Next we'll try and form resolutions around each topic that we can agree on within each debate group--Our final topics included: Facebook, Somalian Pirating and the Egyptian political crisis--we eliminated everything else, right? For this blog we'll explore how one topic is open to a variety of cases as each of you tries your hand at a version of the resolution. Remember you want a prima facie case, or case that can stand on its own merrit.

--So please post your name, the topic that you signed up for (if absent, claim a topic from the list above here) and then declare a resolution, (or proposition, same thing, basically the 'thesis of your debate) in the affirmative (worded on the side of the govt) which you think would lead to a good, hearty, lively debate --I want you to avoid getting into much detail here as we are so early in the "discovery" process, as they refer to 'evidence gathering' in courts of law--try to stay open to all sorts of possiblities and let your research guide you towards a case, ok? If you find yourself planning details already, such as what to say and how to debate your topic....WHOA!!!! ----you are jumping ahead SMARTY! Back up, just read and absorp as much info on your topic as you can without evaluating it or categorizing it just yet...Please read all the other entries to be sure your reslotuion is different than your classmates--for extra credit, please offer constructive feedback on the topics you DID NOT sign up for, using our COMM 311 course vocabulary.

EXAMPLE POST:
My topic: Legalizing Pot (just an example topic)

My Resolution: Resolved: The City of Sacramento should only open weGROW marijuana dispenseries located right next door to or inside of hopitals and doctors' offices in order to regulate traffic and allow for optimum policing

SAMPLE  ex cr feedback on resolution: Good job Sandra (if that is your REAL name....???) Legalizing pot in Sacramento has been so controversial, I would reword your resolution by adding a "reservation" (according to Toulmin in our book,  these are "exception" or "unless" clauses that show your willingness to accomodate the opposition a bit.) I'd reword your resolution like this: Sac should restrict weGROW pot dispensaries to hospital and medical settings except those within 1 mile of public and private schools.