Introduction - An introduction the problem of people trying to mislead the public, followed by a description of techniques for general critical thinking including breaking statements into premises and conclusions.
Things to look for - This will be the majority of the book, consisting of multiple short chapters. Each chapter will describe the issue, explain why it is an issue, offer an example with analysis drawn from existing news stories from a variety of topics and times and then offer an example without analysis for consideration or for instructors to use as an assignment.
Problems with how people think
Arguing about the person instead of the idea (The Ad Hominem)
Arguing against something no one actually said (The Straw Man)
Don't be a hypocrite! (Tu Quoque)
Look! Squirrel! - Arguing by distraction (The Red Herring)
There are only two things that could happen (The Black and White)
And you'll end up living in a van down by the river... (The Slippery Slope)
One rotten apple spoils the barrel (The Fallacy of Fallacies)
Apples to oranges (Faulty Analogies)
Cool. Don't care. (Irrelevant Conclusions)
I saw a thing once. (Hasty Generalization)
All the children are above average. (The Division Fallacy)
Great players must make a great band. (The Composition Fallacy)
(Begging The Question)
(No true Scotsman)
Problems with what people say
If you loved me... (The Appeal To Pity)
Agree or else (The Appeal to Force)
No one has proved you can't, so... (The Appeal To Ignorance)
I'm not a doctor, but... (The Appeal To Authority)
We've always done it this way. (Appeal To Tradition)
A lot of people agree. (The Appeal To Popularity)
The sky is green. (The Big Lie)
Problems with numbers
It's a percent of what? (Ignoring The Base Rate)
Spider bites and spelling bees (Correlation Is Not Causation)
Rabbit feet and lucky rocks (Lurking Variables)
The difference that doesn't matter (Unnecessary Precision)
It's not actually that likely (Naive Probability)
Bigger isn't necessarily better (Lying With Charts)
When a difference isn't really a difference (Misinterpreting Polls)
Chapter 1: The Doomsday Project, Deep Events, and the Shrinking of American Democracy
Chapter 2: The Deep State, the Wall Street Overworld, and Big Oil
Chapter 3: The Doomsday Project: How COG on 9/11 Subordinated the U.S. Constitution
Chapter 4: The Falsified War on Terror: The Deep History of U.S. Protection for al-Qaeda Terrorist Ali Mohamed
Chapter 5: The Falsified War on Terror II: How the Deep State Has Protected Gulf Arab States Rather than the American People
Chapter 6: Deep State Uses and Protection of al-Qaeda Terrorists
Chapter 7: The U.S. Terror War: The CIA, 9/11, Afghanistan, and Central Asia
Chapter 8: The Fates of the Presidents Who Challenged the Deep State, 1963-1980
Chapter 9: The Doomsday Project and Deep Events: JFK, Watergate, Iran-Contra, and 9/11
Chapter 10: The American Deep State, Deep Events, and Off-the-Books Financing
Chapter 11: America's Unchecked Security State: The Continuity of COG Planning, 1936-2001
Chapter 12: America's Unchecked Security State and Lawlessness
Chapter 13: Why Americans Must End America's Self-Generating Wars
Epilogue: Greek Theater-Mario Savio and the Socratic Quest
Selected Bibliography
Introduction
Chapter One: Athlete (All Around) - Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias vs. Jim Thorpe
Chapter Two: Band (music) - The Beatles vs. Rolling Stones
Chapter Three: Baseball Player - Babe Ruth vs. Hank Aaron
Chapter Four: Building Designer/Architect - Zaha Hadid vs. Frank Lloyd Wright
Chapter Five: Chess Player - Hou Yifan vs. Gary Kasparov
Chapter Six: Composer - John Williams vs. Ludwig van Beethoven
Chapter Seven: Dancer (Female), Dancer (Male) - Anna Pavlova vs. Janet Jackson, Mikhail Baryshnikov vs. Michael Jackson
Chapter Eight: Electric Guitar Player - Jimi Hendrix vs. B. B. King
Chapter Nine: Hoops Star (Female), Hoops Star (Male) - Maya Moore vs. Anne Meyers, LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan
Chapter Ten: Inventor - Leonardo da Vinci vs. Nikola Tesla
Chapter Eleven: Jazz Soloist - Ella Fitzgerald vs. Miles Davis
Chapter Twelve: Jockey - Angel Cordero Jr. vs. John Velazquez
Chapter Thirteen: Martial Artist - Rickson Gracie vs. Bruce Lee
Chapter Fourteen: Mathematician - Srinivasa Ramanujan vs. Sir Isaac Newton
Chapter Fifteen: MC (Hip-Hop Artist) - Nas vs. Jay Z
Chapter Sixteen: Orator (Public Speaker) - Martin Luther King Jr. vs. Sir Winston Churchill
Chapter Seventeen: Philosopher - Plato vs. Albert Camus
Chapter Eighteen: Quarterback - Joe Montana vs. Tom Brady
Chapter Nineteen: Sci-Fi Franchise - Star Trek vs. Star Wars
Chapter Twenty: Scientist - Marie Curie vs. Albert Einstein
Chapter Twenty-one: Stunt Person - Dar Robinson vs. Jeannie Epper
Chapter Twenty-two: Super Hero Squad - Justice League vs. Avengers
Chapter Twenty-three: TV Moment - Moon Landing vs. Ellen's Coming-out Episode
Chapter Twenty-four: Video Game - Mario Brothers vs. Pac-Man
Chapter Twenty-five: Villain (Fictional) - Lord Voldemort vs. Joker
Chapter Twenty-six: Wrestler - Mildred Burke vs. Dan Gable
Chapter Twenty-seven: Writer - William Shakespeare vs. Mark Twain
Introduction
Chapter One: Athlete (All Around) - Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias vs. Jim Thorpe
Chapter Two: Band (music) - The Beatles vs. Rolling Stones
Chapter Three: Baseball Player - Babe Ruth vs. Hank Aaron
Chapter Four: Building Designer/Architect - Zaha Hadid vs. Frank Lloyd Wright
Chapter Five: Chess Player - Hou Yifan vs. Gary Kasparov
Chapter Six: Composer - John Williams vs. Ludwig van Beethoven
Chapter Seven: Dancer (Female), Dancer (Male) - Anna Pavlova vs. Janet Jackson, Mikhail Baryshnikov vs. Michael Jackson
Chapter Eight: Electric Guitar Player - Jimi Hendrix vs. B. B. King
Chapter Nine: Hoops Star (Female), Hoops Star (Male) - Maya Moore vs. Anne Meyers, LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan
Chapter Ten: Inventor - Leonardo da Vinci vs. Nikola Tesla
Chapter Eleven: Jazz Soloist - Ella Fitzgerald vs. Miles Davis
Chapter Twelve: Jockey - Angel Cordero Jr. vs. John Velazquez
Chapter Thirteen: Martial Artist - Rickson Gracie vs. Bruce Lee
Chapter Fourteen: Mathematician - Srinivasa Ramanujan vs. Sir Isaac Newton
Chapter Fifteen: MC (Hip-Hop Artist) - Nas vs. Jay Z
Chapter Sixteen: Orator (Public Speaker) - Martin Luther King Jr. vs. Sir Winston Churchill
Chapter Seventeen: Philosopher - Plato vs. Albert Camus
Chapter Eighteen: Quarterback - Joe Montana vs. Tom Brady
Chapter Nineteen: Sci-Fi Franchise - Star Trek vs. Star Wars
Chapter Twenty: Scientist - Marie Curie vs. Albert Einstein
Chapter Twenty-one: Stunt Person - Dar Robinson vs. Jeannie Epper
Chapter Twenty-two: Super Hero Squad - Justice League vs. Avengers
Chapter Twenty-three: TV Moment - Moon Landing vs. Ellen's Coming-out Episode
Chapter Twenty-four: Video Game - Mario Brothers vs. Pac-Man
Chapter Twenty-five: Villain (Fictional) - Lord Voldemort vs. Joker
Chapter Twenty-six: Wrestler - Mildred Burke vs. Dan Gable
Chapter Twenty-seven: Writer - William Shakespeare vs. Mark Twain