- The "Bush earpiece" controversy has generated
an astonishing number of visitors to this site -- and, I presume, to others.
Mainstream media has become interested. The Los Angeles Times even made
brief (and rather dismissive) reference to the "molar phon" suggestion,
first aired on this site.
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- For some odd reason, though, Matt Drudge has yet to take
note. I wonder why?
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- I have reason to believe that a "respectable"
publication will soon do some in-depth work on this story. When that happens,
the official Republican harrumphers will enter stage right and do their
act. Expect to hear many oh-so-clever references to black helicopters,
tinfoil hats and Oliver Stone. Those jokes never get old, do they? Alas,
they won't make the evidence go away.
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- If you're new to the controversy, a good way to start
is to scroll down to the post below: "What's the Frequency, Karl?"
If you want a handy list of links to all the latest info, I offer the following:
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- For a web site devoted to this issue, see here. The comments
are worth reading.
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- For a recording of the mid-debate slip that blew this
tale open, click here.
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- For video of the earlier occasion when news mics accidentally
picked up a "phantom voice" feeding Bush his lines, click here.
(Some have argued that this "pre-echo" was nothing more than
a technical foul-up. Listen closely: Bush and his prompter sometimes use
slightly different wording.)
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- For the largest, clearest version I've yet seen of the
Bush profile shot displaying the earpiece in situ, go here. (I hope the
image is still up!) The clearest images of Bush's "hump" may
be seen on the afore-cited "Is Bush wired?" site.
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- For stories on the molar phone (which I suggest as the
likeliest vehicle), try this article, as well as the wonderful quote about
the potential political uses of this invention. Other sites of interest:
this one from Science World, or this piece, or this report from the BBC,
and this lengthy piece is Wired. I can't help relaying this quote from
the last-mentioned article:
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- Sounds are transferred from the tooth into the inner
ear by bone resonance (digital signals being converted into audio). And
for those who might be worried about a buzzing mouth, sound reception is
assured to be totally discreet. "The vibrations are on a molecular
level, so the user only experiences pure sound streaming into their consciousness,"
Loizeau says.
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- The implant is designed to work in tandem with either
a dedicated device or a modified mobile telephone, which can pick up the
long distance signals and transmit a local signal to the tooth receiver.
Capable of being fully customized to suit user requirements, reception
can be switched on and off at will with the aid of the dedicated device.
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- "We realize that having unwanted sound information
arriving directly into the user's brain would resemble technological schizophrenia,
therefore maximum control is essential." Auger says.
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- For the video of Bush unfolding a crib sheet during the
debate, go here.
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- This report indicates that Bush does not actually look
at the teleprompter when giving a speech. Either the man possesses a far
better memory than we have presumed, or he is receiving help aurally.
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- Here are some other writers looking into this matter:
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- "Bush The Articulate - Hearing Voices" by Jay
Weidner.
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- An interesting thread on TalkLeft.
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- The Bellaciao site has garnered a lot of germane commentary,
some of it quite useful, some of it silly.
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- David Lindorff has been doing great work on his site
(scroll down). Also see here.
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- I'd like to offer a few rebuttals to some points raised
by would-be debunkers:
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- 1. At the time Bush said "Let me finish," he
still had thirty seconds. Plenty of time. No one has offered any evidence
that Lehrer or Kerry had made even a slight attempt to break in.
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- 2. The "back bulge" was not caused by body
armor. Bulletproof vests latch on the side, not in back. The "Is Bush
Wired?" site displays a profile shot of Bush walking away after the
debate -- and you can clearly see that his suit conceals a hidden wire.
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- 3. Some have suggested the Bush used a device called
the Neurophone, invented by Patrick Flanagan, a one-time whiz-kid who was
profiled in Life magazine many a moon ago. Since this device allegedly
can make the deaf hear, and since I was once romantically involved with
a deaf lady, I wrote to Flanagan's representatives many times, asking to
speak to a deaf person who could testify to the invention's effectiveness.
The only response I received was a piece of double-talk worthy of Professor
Harold Hill. I suspect that Flanagan (who was also the man behind the "pyramid
power" craze of the 1970s) may be a con artist.
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- 4. Many have made snide remarks about Bush's poor debate
performance. If he had help, why did he fail? I would argue that his "help"
may have been more of a hindrance. Speaking while listening is no snap
-- in fact, it's a rare talent. In the field of translation, only the top
professionals can offer simultaneous interpretation (a skill made famous
during the Nuremberg trials), which involves use of both mouth and ear
at the same time. Similarly, newsmen have to learn how to speak while receiving
instructions from their directors. This task is not easy, and I am not
surprised that Bush became flustered.
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- 5. I've offered "Audiogate" as a name for this
controversy, but I'm open to other suggestions. "Gepetto-gate"?
"Radiogate"? "Rovergate"?
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- Comment
- Name Wittheld
- 10-8-4
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- This "earpiece" nonesense was making me crazy,
so I contacted a friend who is on the job with the Secret Service.
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- The pure and simple answer to this ludicrous accusation
is that this device is nothing more than a location-transponder and panic
button with which the President may notify the Secret Service of an emergency
and vice versa.
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- Should this be wrong, I promise on my word of honor to
eat all my hats. All of them. Even the one made of leather soaked in mad
cow juice.
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Comment
Alton Raines
10-8-4
Here's what's so damned stupid about this earpiece nonsense. For one, if
he was wearing an earpiece, he'd have done a superb job and not been all
over the place and verbally whacked. Second, when Bush said "let me
finish" he wasn't accidentally talking to someone he was hearing in
his ear, he was telling the moderator -- who quite often would raise a
finger and interrupt to set both Kerry or Bush back on track -- "let
me finish"... he was off camera. Do any of you people on the left
use a brain cell? Come on. Bush can't hiccup without you calling him a
drunk, sniffle without being called a coke head, slur a word without being
called dry-drunk or make a mistake and be called a moron. Granted, Bush
isn't the brightest bulb in the box, but he's not a moron. A fool, perhaps.
A ne'er do well. A scumbad, even... yes, all those things. But, Jesus,
people, stick to realistic stuff! You make the left look so damned ignorant
and paranoid. Also, the little hump of material seen on his back is not
an audio device strap under his clothing, he likely wears a very thin bulletproof
vest.
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