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{"id":5307,"date":"2016-09-08T21:35:38","date_gmt":"2016-09-09T03:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=5307"},"modified":"2016-09-08T21:35:38","modified_gmt":"2016-09-09T03:35:38","slug":"what-about-earpiecegate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/09\/what-about-earpiecegate.html","title":{"rendered":"What about Earpiecegate?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The trouble with conspiracies is they draw you in.<\/p>\n

Drudge this morning linked to Infowars<\/a> this morning with a suspicious image from last night\u2019s \u201cpresidential forum,\u201d which is also available and discussed at reddit.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The claim: \u00a0that the image clearly shows Clinton wearing an earpiece.<\/p>\n

The rebuttal: \u00a0that\u2019s clearly just a trick of the eyes, and all you really see is the lighting and an oddly-shiny inner ear. \u00a0(Snopes has some other angles<\/a> which look earpiece-less.)<\/p>\n

A site called TruePundit<\/a> claims that an unnamed NYPD source confirmed its use, and that this is exactly the sort of earpiece actors use to avoid missed lines.<\/p>\n

Reddit commenters say that her demeanor at the forum supports their claim, because she had odd pauses in her speaking, \u201cas if she was being fed lines.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what do you do with this?<\/p>\n

On the one hand, this is tinfoil hat territory. \u00a0There have always been such theories \u2014 consider, for example, claims in 2004 (for instance, here in Salon<\/a>) that Bush had an earpiece, as \u201cproven\u201d by a suspicious bulge in his jacket. \u00a0These are not as crazy as the \u201c9-11 is an inside job\u201d or \u201cSandy Hook was a false flag operation,\u201d but still \u2014<\/p>\n

On the other hand, though: \u00a0is there a protocol to ensure that candidates do not so something like this? \u00a0An inspection of some kind? \u00a0Similarly, are there processes to ensure they don\u2019t get any coaching during breaks, when that\u2019s agreed upon? \u00a0I imagine not, or NBC would have vouched for the effectiveness of their inspection at the first claim otherwise. \u00a0But why shouldn\u2019t there be?<\/p>\n

Is this an insult? \u00a0Should candidates be presumed to be honest, because it\u2019s just beyond the pale to imagine that they\u2019d cheat? \u00a0Why should that be? \u00a0The stakes are exceedingly high \u2014 comparatively much higher than that of winning a sports competition, and yet, in sports, there are significant efforts to ensure athletes don\u2019t use performance-enhancing drugs, and, at the same time, those athletes come up with ever-more complex ways of cheating, and even great heroes (e.g., Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor and Livestrong founder) were eventually felled.<\/p>\n

So why should candidates for the presidency be on the honor system?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"