Some time since posting Rhetorically spaking!

I confess I have been lagging on this posting, but will begin in earnest again!

terminology Ethos, pathos haunt me and even in my sleep. In my waking hours I am talking or meeting new people and all I can think about is we are establishing pathos...did you know that?

commonplaces Participating in a political campaign has been illuminating. Watching regular business people try to use their usual professional commonplace in a political campaign has been entertaining in that, usual conventions, habits, beliefs do not apply but they did not get out of those, for the most part. Could not make the switch to a new commonplace.

composing to learn: I have been shredding and parsing arguments, oral and written nonstop since I learned more about false arguments, folly, straw men, red herring. Its been excellent for my personal life to have these tools; frustrating for the campaign because those I am working with have allowed themselves to be sucked into the rhetoric of the opposition and they want to spend time there instead of diffusing them and making more sense to the voters.

Questions

Privilege & Manipulation in Public Discourse

Privilege & Manipulation in Public Discourse

My project community is the small town political campaign committee I am involved in until Nov. 2, 2010. The mission of the campaign is to help educate the Benton County community of interested and voters on the pros associated with NOT relocating a historic county seat and court house.

The community is comprised of 10 of the the small town's "city fathers (privileged)" and four "girls." Most of the members are in their late 50s to early 60s. There are three 30-something members, the city manager and a professional marketer and several local attorneys. Many members are second and third generation locals. The hallmarks are successful business owner, money-ed, former elected official, current elected official, town leader or a specialist in a field, such as marketing. I am one of the three women and the wild card (woman, no relative community standing, no influence, no money to burn).

As a whole, the committee-community is very conservative (dare I say Republican), very old-school and linear in their approaches to getting things done (formal meetings on Wednesday, with full presentations, group vote on all agenda items). One of the members has been in the "Move the Courthouse" fray since 1984 and is the group's historian. She and the current mayor are somewhat schooled in campaigning, but the group as a whole appears is not versed research and its value or in the value and advantages of social mediums (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) and their networking capabilities and the importance of the mediums. Market research they conceptually understand is important, but they are not sure what it is they need, how to obtain it and the most effective way to use it.

When I arrived on the campaign just after Labor Day, the group had agreed upon the campaign's arguments, was fundraising, had just distributed buttons, walked the local parade route, was building a county-wide list of places to talk/debate/discuss the issue. This was the meat of the campaign strategy.

Emergent Technologies and

Campaign Strategies

Initially Employed

Buttons, fliers, window signs, participating in a hometown parade, face to face meetings with service and business groups, Letters to the Editor, Facebook. These technologies are outdated at best, and designed to disseminate information on a small scale, such as our small town of 5,000, on non-emergent, "day to day issues." The technologies/methods originally to be employed were not matched to the voter demographic which in part are: voters are men and women, 18-99; make an average of $30,000 + a year and of those who are active voters, have voted consistently in an average of the last seven (7) elections.

Emergent Technologies and

Campaign Strategies

Now (and soon) to be employed

With some subtle nudging and strategizing, the campaign blitz now has, or will employ: Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, signage on hot air balloons, signage on cars traveling to Tri-Cities, electronic newspaper advertising, print newspaper advertising, TV ads during upcoming WSU and Boise State football games; Letters to the Editor, local print newspaper advertising, Interstate exit info banner, targeted phoning, use of graphic artist to create caricature graphic to brand postcard mailer, volunteers to go door to door, direct engagement with the media and community groups, spanning high school to seniors, active solicitation of volunteers, solicitation of endorsements of local municipalities and organizations, a Courthouse Caravan and sign wavers in high traffice areas are planned.

Purposeful selection of media vendors in Tri-Cities specifically to build good will and provide another method of dissemination.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Keep-Prosser-the-Benton-County-Seat/125483824168157?ref=ts

http://twitter.com/BentonCoSeat

Page E1, hard copy 9/26/10 Tri-City Herald forum page, front page letter.

COMMONPLACE 1

The first commonplace shocking to me in my first campaign committee meeting was, all the men in the group were, without asking, deferring all the tasks to the one woman, who is the paid meeting convener. She was diligently taking notes of all requested assignments and tasks. The note taker was no more a secretary to the group than the man elected chair and spokesperson. The common place was no one was asking who should be the organizer, it was assumed this ultra-organized woman would be; no one was asking how the duties should be parsed up, broken down, disseminated into work groups or by committee member strength: they were all handed without discussion to the note taker. There were no calendar, time-line, volunteer list, duties assigned or general (visual) organizational document in place which holds members accountable. It is assumed if you are present you will participate. But the products and outcomes of the meetings were slow, not nimble, with shots of pellets in the dark...hope we hit the target.

COMMONPLACE 2

The second commonplace is the absolute belief that the opinions and business models held by these successful business owners and employed in their businesses and organizations are the same and right ones for an emotional, brutal countywide campaign. Therefore, their words and decisions are the first, the last and the unquestioned. They assumed they were right and there would be an underling to perform all the tasks.

6 ARGUMENTS EMPLOYED by Measure Proponents

Here is the manipulation:

Note: I studied the six proponent arguments using our Ancient Rhetorics (Crowley & Hawley, Pearson, Longman, 4th Edition), but opted to use Dr. Michael C. Labossiere's Fallacy Tutorial (http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/) for purposes of easier dissection and sharing.

1. Kennewick is center of the universe (center of the county, community with the largest population) and is therefore, more deserving of Courthouse designation than the small town where it has resided since 1905.
Why this is a False Dilemma fallacy:
A False Dilemma is a fallacy in which a person uses the following pattern of "reasoning":

1. Either claim X is true or claim Y is true (when X and Y could both be false).
2. Claim Y is false.
3. Therefore claim X is true.

This line of "reasoning" is fallacious because if both claims could be false, then it cannot be inferred that one is true because the other is false. That this is the case is made clear by the following example:

1. Either 1+1=4 or 1+1=12.
2. It is not the case that 1+1=4.
3. Therefore 1+1=12.

2. Bigger population trumps history. It's an either or situation. It's either Kennewick or Prosser, there is no third alternative in county with 10 communities.
3. There is a flaw in the law which says more of the judicial system should take place in Prosser than currently does; proponents say the flaw couldn't possibly be fixed by the legislature. 4. History means nothing. It should take the backseat to needs of a relatively select few – Lawyers, county employees and judges, who believe they and their work is more important than the whole of the taxpayers so we should spend millions to accommodate them.

Arguments 2., 3. and 4. all fall under the Appeal to the Consequence of a Belief fallacy:
The Appeal to the Consequences of a Belief is a fallacy that comes in the following patterns:

1. X is true because if people did not accept X as being true then there would be negative consequences.
2. X is false because if people did not accept X as being false, then there would be negative consequences.
3. X is true because accepting that X is true has positive consequences.
4. X is false because accepting that X is false has positive consequences.
5. I wish that X were true, therefore X is true. This is known as Wishful Thinking.
6. I wish that X were false, therefore X is false. This is known as Wishful Thinking.

This line of "reasoning" is fallacious because the consequences of a belief have no bearing on whether the belief is true or false.

5. The cost of relocating a courthouse and its inhabitants will cost "nothing," say proponents; will cost a minimum of $3.5 million up to $7.6 million, say the hired consultants; http://www.co.benton.wa.us/newsView.aspx?nid=40; the newspaper of the County record, the Tricityherald.com says all the arguments are murky, the true costs are not known, so let's just move the thing and get it over with.

Why is this a fallacy of a Biased Sample?
This fallacy is committed when a person draws a conclusion about a population based on a sample that is biased or prejudiced in some manner. It has the following form:

1. Sample S, which is biased, is taken from population P.
2. Conclusion C is drawn about Population P based on S.

The person committing the fallacy is misusing the following type of reasoning, which is known variously as Inductive Generalization, Generalization, and Statistical Generalization:

1. X% of all observed A's are B''s.
2. Therefore X% of all A's are Bs.

The fallacy is committed when the sample of A's is likely to be biased in some manner. A sample is biased or loaded when the method used to take the sample is likely to result in a sample that does not adequately represent the population from which it is drawn.

6. Four sitting Superior Court judges (privileged and influential) signed a document endorsing the move as creating greater efficiencies for their judicial system and themselves, therefore, as role models and enforcers of justice, they must know best.
Why this is an Appeal to Authority fallacy:
Appeal to Authority is a fallacy with the following form:

1. Person A is (claimed to be) an authority on subject S.
2. Person A makes claim C about subject S.
3. Therefore, C is true.

This fallacy is committed when the person in question is not a legitimate authority on the subject. More formally, if person A is not qualified to make reliable claims in subject S, then the argument will be fallacious.

In summary, my project community is a group of successful (privileged) business owners from a conservative, self-reliant, small community who initially were going to employ archaic and mismatched tactics to a diverse demographic of voters who will be considering a county-wide issue of historic proportions. The original list of tactics felt like David taking a stick instead of a bazooka to meet up with Goliath. The project community is 2/7 men who initially delegated all the tasks to one woman in the work group. The project community received, and was receptive to, some new input employing additional social networking and other more contemporary and better matched mediums for this political campaign; they also took on targeted volunteer roles. We will see come November 2, 2010, 8 p.m., if their better matched strategies hit their target.

Public Discourse Privilege & Capitalism Brumley Project 1 Eng 301

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

Public Discourse, Privilege, Capitalism in play

Composition,

Purpose and

Emergent Technologies

My project community is the small town political campaign committee I am involved in until Nov. 2, 2010. The mission of the campaign is to help educate the Benton County, WA, community of interested and voters on the pros associated with NOT relocating a historic county seat and court house.

The group is comprised of "the small town's good old boys, and four "girls." Most of the members are in their late 50s to early 60s. There are three 30-something members, the city manager and a professional marketer and a local attorney. Many members are second and third generation locals. The hallmarks are successful business owner, money-ed, former elected official, current elected official, town leader or a specialist in a field, such as marketing. I am one of the three women and the wild card.

As a whole the committee-community is conservative (dare I say Republican), very old-school and linear in their approaches to getting things done (formal meetings on Wednesday, with full presentations, group vote on all agenda items). One of the members has been in the "Move the Courthouse" fray since 1984 and is the group's historian. She and the current mayor are somewhat schooled in campaigning, but the group as a whole appears not versed
as to what the news social mediums are (Twitter, Facebook, other) and the importance of the mediums. Market research they understand is important but gained this information half way through their campaign.

When I arrived on the campaign just after Labor Day, the group had agreed upon the campaign's arguments, was fund raising, had just distributed buttons, walked the local parade route, was building a county-wide list of places to talk/debate/discuss the issue. This was the meat of the campaign strategy.

Emergent Technologies and

Campaign Strategies

Initially Employed

Buttons, fliers, window signs, face to face meetings with service and business groups, letters to the editor, Facebook

Emergent Technologies and

Campaign Strategies

Now (and soon) to be employed

Campaign blitz has a time frame! Facebook, Twitter, Youtube video en process, community dance, Farmers' Market presence, street level campaigning, lighted reader board on busy Tri-City intersections, community readerboard campaign, yard signs, letters to the editor, local print newspaper advertising, Interstate exit info banner, targeted phoning, electronic newspaper advertising, use of graphic artist to create caricature graphic to brand postcard mailer, volunteers to go door to door, direct engagement with the media and community groups spanning high school to seniors, active solicitation of volunteers. Purposeful selection of media vendors in TriCities specifically to build good will and provide another method of dissemination.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Keep-Prosser-the-Benton-County-Seat/125483824168157?ref=ts

http://twitter.com/BentonCoSeat

COMMONPLACE 1

The first commonplace was shocking to me in my first meeting as all the men in the group were, without asking, deferring all the tasks to the one woman, who is the paid meeting convener. She was diligently taking notes of all requested assignments and tasks. The note taker was no more a secretary to the group than the man elected chair and spokesperson. The common place was no one was asking who should be the organizer, it was assumed this ultra-organized woman would be; no one was asking how the duties should be parsed up, broken down, disseminated into work groups or by committee member strength: they were all handed without discussion to the note taker. There was no calendar, time-line, volunteer list, duties assigned or general (visual) organizational document in place which holds members accountable. It is assumed if you are present you will participate. But the feeling was slow, not nimble with shots of pellets in the dark...hope we hit the target.

COMMONPLACE 2

A second commonplace of the group was lack of curiosity, the lack of questioning when discussing strategies and tasks, if this is the best way for a task to be accomplished and what the outcomes or goals from each activity be. These individuals run successful businesses, organizations, municipalities. Their words are the first, the last and the unquestioned.

Counters to Commonplace:

The questions for me are: are the arguments the best ones available; what are your counter points to your opposition's arguments; should historical argument be employed at all; who are we talking to and are we talking in their language; what are our sound bites and what is the most nimble this group can be while still committing to the work of the group.

LOOKING FORWARD TO PEER REVIEW FOR SUGGESTIONS

FORMAT, en process, video? prezi?

English 301 Page 63 Stuff

To Come!!!

Not well during Conjecture reading

I am wordless, regarding the help this class has already given me. I truly needed new tools to help me more maturely navigate my life with its chronic and insipid small tussles...with the little bit of reading and discussing we have been doing, I have already applied it to two situations where I have had to A) be the bad ass for months (advocating for quality, compassion, legalities and respect ect for two elderly parents in their long term care facility--hahaha) and B) defend my position against two males in an online discussion site who both insisted, tho neither know me from Millie, they both knew what I really meant and then keep paraphrasing it. NO! I was able to pull out tricks and tools recently read in 301 and dissect arguments and positions inside both situational standoffs. Glory be. I cant say that I "won" but I certainly was able to articulate my position with greater clarity than before. My husband says my forked tongue has three prongs now--good for me and woe to anyone in my forked path!
Now, back to the readings this week: difficulties on pages 117-128-- I had the same white out feeling in biology with lab last semester--total overload on terms. So much so I spent most of my time rereading my definition notes to see what I was reading about and forget the context. I could have used one of those WebMD if this, then this diagrams, I felt like an acute dunce.
The discussion in class always helps. I must be an auditory learner.
Amen.

Common places of all things

Or should I say all things are commonplace and commonplace is every and i mean every where. It comes out to play very often in this small berg I I live in. There roles, rules, unwritten mostly -- pecking orders, generational cultural acceptances which drive me to reclusivity!

The most blatant commonplace entering my world lately are these two:

A political work group I currently volunteering in is composed primarily of middle age white guys who quickly acknowledge themselves as city leaders/followers. I say a bunch of egotistical sexists...they pour all the work, large and small on the very successful female meeting convener. She smiles and take it...she is being paid for her part of this work group. But every duty and detail they dump on her. I am wanting to shout their attitudes in their "I'm all that" faces. She is cool and calm. I take a note off her page, calm down inside and think to myself, how happy I am to not be in her high heels.

The second commonplace is the culture of facade which has been in place for more than 20 years within the local school board. They have the hottest potato ever laying in the board member and super's respective laps and they act like there is no scorching elephant in the room. They acknowledge only the good and do not acknowledge the negative. It's a live wire show right now with the high school principal's wife being charged with sexting, grooming and sexually molesting not only one of her husband's students, but her daughter's boyfriend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Does it get any raunchier than tha? I don't know how!

The principal by law is supposed to immediately self-report any wrong doing done to any child under his jurisdiction. Instead, as the District Attorney's charging documents say, he colluded with his wife to try to get the 14-year-old boy's parents to write it off as bad judgment on the part of Mrs. Principal, also known as our former mayor. The school super and board prez lied to the public in the last school board meeting and said the DA was looking into the issue; after contacting the DA the day after the board meeting, we learn this is so not so...it's a self reporting thing that is supposed to be initiated by the first school administration member who learns of it and then goes to the local PD. So what will and what should the local school board do, if anything, with their ethically challenged principal?
For sure this scorching elephant will cause good faith issues for the board who wants to try and fly a high falutin zillion dollar bond to build a mega school early next year (mind u school population is on the decline).

These are my reddest flag waving commonplaces in my life right now. Holy cow, give me boring...

Rhetorically hiding behind words

Well I just finished today's reading assignment and for the first time in 10 days of the new semester I am reading a couple somethings I DO know...how to size up a topic for a research paper. I get the process, having written for a few decades. My mind is rather relieved, having just finished my first math homework just minutes prior, to get a rest. The part not remembered is the how I am supposed to blog or journal about today's reading. So brb...

here it is:

Over the semester it will be useful for you to keep an ongoing journal of certain topics and ideas. These journals can be electronic, audio, video (your phone for example may serve as your video log), written, etc. You will be required to "submit" your journals periodically throughout the semester to receive credit for your work; this should be a copy, not the original.

There are four areas this journal should cover on a regular basis (in whatever order works for you):

• terminology > while the texts do provide a glossary to explain some terms listed in bold, many other terms will come up that you should keep track of. You may choose to simply list definitions and/or you may choose to track different ways the term gets used in different contexts and over time.
• commonplaces > you read in ARCS chapter 1 about commonplaces and how they are embedded in different communities and with different values. Track commonplaces as you notice them in the different communities in which you participate. What are the values associated with them? Are they contested? By whom? Have they always been common? And other such questions should guide how you track and reflect on these commonplaces.
• composing to learn > taking the example from DK p. 15 on "composing to learn," reflect at the end of each reading assignment on those things that you have learned using the questions on p. 15 to guide you. Not only will you want to do this for reading assignments, but also for the assignment sheets you receive for our different projects in class.
• Questions > this will, perhaps, be the most useful component of the journal in that you will want to note the questions that come up for you while reading the various class assignments. When you do this, it provides you material to use in the follow class period's discussion of those readings. Thus, you'll want ready access to this part of your journal each day in class.
  

There were two aspects of today's reading I did enjoy (were new) was differentiating between writing to learn and writing to communicate and using Google as a test of whether something is ready to write about.

I am at the stage of my life, although I am in school, learning...I actually want and need to write regularly so I know what I think. I have never understood the aspect of my brain that, when I sit quietly think how I am feeling, I go 500% blank. Give me a blank piece of paper, an empty screen and a keyboard...lo...there is no quieting me. Hiding behind words.

And...because a good son in law works for Google in adwords...hey yes!! I want everyone to Google everything...thank you, that is all...