FEATURE ARTICLES. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD EVIDENCE, BAD EVIDENCE, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN? PT 2.

Now you may be Thinking Like, "EVIL CONSPIRACIES",
WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN, AND WHY DO
THEY USE IT AS AN EXPLANATION?"

First, SOMETIMES THE WORD "CONSPIRACY" IS USED TO DESCRIBE THE OPPOSITION, AND AT OTHER TIMES DIFFERENT TERMS ARE USED.

HOWEVER, THEY ARE ALL MEANT TO DEFINE THE SITUATION IN THE SAME WAY:

THAT THOSE WHO OPPOSE, OR DENY, THE CONCLUSIONS MADE BY ONE SIDE;
(THOSE WHO "KNOW THE TRUTH, AND WILL NOT BE SILENCED"), ARE PART OF AN
ORGANIZED PLOT TO DESTROY ALL OPPOSITION. THIS IS MEANT TO CONVINCE THE PUBLIC
THAT THEY ARE CRAZY, DELUDED, IRRATIONAL. UNEDUCATED OR DISHONEST. IN THAT WAY,
"THE POWERS THAT BE," CAN KEEP THE "SHEEPLE" IN LINE.

Some other Terms that are used ALONG WITH "CONSPIRACY", OR "POWERS THAT BE" INCLUDE:

"OLD BOYS NETWORK", "SELL-OUTS", "NEW WORLD OLDER", "SCIENTIFIC ESTABLISHMENT", 

AND JUST ABOUT ANYTHING THAT MAY INCLUDE WORDS SUCH AS:

-  GOVERNMENT.

-  CORPORATE.

-   POLITICIAN.

-   DOGMATIC.

Those who cry CONSPIRACY are usually doing so because They have no where else to go.  

IT IS A LAST DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO KEEP THEIR BELIEF(S)AS A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE
TO WELL REASONED, AND PROPERLY ANALYZED DATA PROVIDED BY THE OPPOSITION.

To Them, CRITICAL THINKING AND THE RULES OF LOGIC ARE FINE THINGS,AS LONG AS IT SUITS THEIR PURPOSES.  However, Once They Realize it Cuts Both Ways, and Their Conclusions are Shown to be Derived From Faulty Premises, and EVIDENCE THAT FALLS APART ONCE IT IS PROPERLY EXAMINED AND ANALYZED, THE "LAST STAND" MENTALITY OF "CONSPIRACY" IS TROTTED OUT TO RESCUE THEIR DISCREDITED OPINIONS, CONCLUSIONS, AND JUDGMENTS.

LOGIC. IT'S NOT JUST FOR VULCANS, AND VIEWERS OF "THE BIG BANG THEORY." #1.

This is a new category, and will be updated from time to time.

The subject matter will focus on current issues, and how many of those who give opinions and commentary in Public Forums often violate the basic rules of Logic and Critical Thinking.  Often this is done so casually, that it implies a disdain for proper intellectual discourse.

All examples are not meant to be considered true to life, they are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Some of the definitions I will use are my own, others can be found in Textbooks, Websites and Essays that are used to teach Logic and Deductive Reasoning.  If a definition is of my own creation, I will indicate it.

Lets get started.

TOPIC-  Gun control laws.

Reporter- "Senator, results from National Crime Reports indicate that your State, has one of the highest rates of violent crime and murder convictions in the nation. Do you think that your States Gun Laws are responsible for this, and what changes would you support to bring these rates more in line with the national average."

Senator- "My Constituents believe that the Second Amendment is essential to guarantee the Freedom of all Americans.  If we start taking away Guns from law abiding Americans, then only the Criminals will have them."  

This is what I label as a case of:

                                                 MISDIRECTION.

1)  A QUESTION IS ASKED ABOUT A CERTAIN TOPIC. 

                            

2)  THE ANSWER, WHILE STILL ON TOPIC, DOES NOT  

ADDRESS THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE 

QUESTION.

                            

3)  INSTEAD, THE RESPONSE ATTEMPTS TO TURN THE 

CONVERSATION INTO AN AREA OF THE TOPIC NOT 

COVERED BY THE INITIAL QUESTION.

This is a Tactic of many politicians, who want to avoid controversy by not taking a stand that may upset a certain portion of the electorate.

Why do I call it MISDIRECTION?-  Those of you familiar with Stage Magicians know that the success of many illusions relies on getting the audience to pay attention to what one hand is doing, while ignoring the other.  It is this hand that is actually performing the necessary work to make the Trick believable.

MISDIRECTION in the above example, (Gun Control Laws), is an attempt to draw attention away from what is actually asked, and focus it on information that has nothing to do with the question. Since it remains on Topic, the answer is the deception to draw attention away from the initial question, and focus it on unrelated information.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. ORGANIZED CRIME- WHAT IS IT, AND CAN IT BE STOPPED? PT 3.

ORGANIZED CRIME and CRIMINAL GANGS are often placed Together in the Same Category, and are Often used Interchangeably as being Identical Terms that Refer to the same thing.

However, that is not really True.  There are Real Differences that can Include 

such Things as:

 -  Goals that are Important to Each.

-  Methodology in How Criminal Acts are Planned and Carried out.

-  The Recruitment of New Members.

-  Rules that are put in place to Resolve Internal Problems.

-  The Degree to which Media Exposure Affects Policy Decisions.

-  The Use of Ritualistic Ceremonies to Bind All Members Together.

These Differences, Historically, are Sometimes Indicative of the Relative 

Success of Each.

GANGS are Traditionally a much Looser Collection of Individuals, who Team Up to Commit Criminal Acts, but usually don't have any formal Allegiance to one another.

Members come and go, so Most Criminal Acts are Those of Opportunity, or Extorting Local Small Businesses who cannot reasonably put up a Successful Defense.

In the U.S. Criminal Gangs have been around since its Inception.  In the Early Days of the Republic, the Size and Type was usually Orientated Towards the Geography and Relative Isolation of the Area of Operations.  Most Successful Gangs Operated on the Frontiers of the New Country, Where Law and Order were in Their Infancy.

The Dawn of the Formation of Larger Gangs, with a Membership that was Drawn from an Identifiable Section of the Population, came with the Onset of a Large Wave of Immigration starting in the Early 1800s.  From this Initial Period of American History, we see the Beginning of Social Factors that led to the Formation of the First Organized Criminal Gangs that would have a Lasting and Direct Influence on Major Population Centers.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. PORTRAITS OF EVIL- THE MYTH OF THE "WISE GUY."

Movies are Entertainment.  Television is Entertainment.  That is Their #1 Function, not Portraying Historical Events in a Truly Realistic Manner.  Too Many Viewers Forget this, and get Their Knowledge of History from Producers, Directors and Writers, People who are NOT HISTORIANS.

Unfortunately, that often Means Glorifying Groups and Individuals in ways that are not True to Life, and Creates a Mythology that has little to do with Reality.

I am covering Organized Crime in another section on this page, so this Article will Deal with how such Activities are Portrayed in the Entertainment Media, now and in the past.

THE "GODFATHER" MOVIES-  FACT AND FICTION.

That there Exists a Criminal Enterprise, made up of Italian and Sicilian Mobsters who are Formed into Individual Gangs/Groups Called FAMILIES, is Absolutely True.

Conceived of and Implemented in the 1930s, it was done to create a Truce with other Organized Criminal Groups. Other Ethnic Gangs;  Irish, Jewish, Polish etc., cooperated with Their Italian Counterparts, so that everyone could make Money. (This was a Problem in Chicago, where Gang Wars Continued Until Al Capone Emerged Victorious. This was just before he was Shipped off to Federal Prison for Income Tax Evasion.)

Because of Racial Stereotyping, Chinese - American Gangs, or "TONGS", and African- American Gangs, were Treated differently.  However, They have also Developed and Grown into more Sophisticated Enterprises, Brokering "DEALS" with other Criminal Elements.

The Idea of a Benevolent Father Figure looking out for those less Fortunate is Pure Fiction.  The Only Reason such a Thing Ever Happened, in Real Life, was to keep other Criminal Groups from Moving in and Victimizing Those that the Resident/Ethnic Crime Leaders considered Their Own Source of Illegal Income. Your "PROTECTION," as a Business Owner, was the amount of Money you Paid to Operate within the Borders of a Given Families Jurisdiction.  IT'S CALLED "EXTORTION."

The Idea that some "Bosses" were against some Criminal Activities, Like Dealing Drugs, and wouldn't allow Family members to Participate in such Activities was Extremely Rare.  When it did happen, it was because of the Notoriety and Publicity that such Crimes would bring from the Authorities and the Public.  Eventually, this objection was pushed aside, there was to much Money to be made.

The Idea that Leadership is passed Down From Father to Son is Nonsense.  You Rise to Power by:  Making the Most Money for Everyone, Being Utterly Ruthless or Gathering Powerful Allies, Showing the Degree of Influence you have on the Legal System, and the Friendship of Political Figures who may owe Their position to your  "Assistance."