A group is going to try and get the South Dakota Legislature to adopt a bill legalizing medical marijuana.  The following is from Bob Newland about that effort.

-----

South Dakotans for Safe Access will bring an item before the legislature in the 2009 session. We want sick, disabled and dying people to be able to use cannabis to alleviate their conditions. We want the legislature to remove law enforcement, as much as possible, from interfering with doctor/patient relationships, except in cases of real criminality.

Denying effective medication to people who need it is unspeakably cruel. Yet, that is exactly what South Dakota law does. A government acting in this manner can not call itself civilized.

The therapeutic benefits of cannabis are undeniable. The question is: How can South Dakota lawmakers recognize this fact in law while not creating a legal mess worse than the current situation?

The voters want sick, disabled, and dying people to have access to medicine that works for them, even if it is cannabis. Yet federal and South Dakota law proclaim there is “no medical use” for cannabis.

Here are some scientific facts about cannabis:

1. There is no record in medical history of a person dying from ingestion (by any method) of cannabis.

2. There is no record in medical history of a cannabis-only (no tobacco) smoker contracting lung cancer.
The implications of this are enormous. Several studies have shown that THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) shrinks tumors in mice, or averts their incidence. The fact that cannabis-only smokers have a lower lung cancer rate than the general population suggests something. Perhaps further studies are necessary?

3. Four major US government studies have concluded that, at the very least, therapeutic benefit appears to accrue to some people for some afflictions. They recommend further study. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of “minor” medical studies have confirmed the benefits of cannabis for several specific afflictions.

4. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), at the direction of the White House, will not allow scientific study into cannabis therapy, because Congress says cannabis has “no medical value”.

5. For over 20 years, the FDA has sent 300 rolled cannabis cigarettes per month to each of six patients in the United States.  The George H. W. Bush administration instituted the Compassionate
Investigational New Drug Studies, program which administered govt.-grown cannabis to people who applied and were accepted. 22 people were accepted for cannabis studies. Of those, 6 are still alive (Remember, these were nearly all seriously ill people; most lived far beyond their prognoses because of cannabis, their doctors say.)

Clearly, the federal government is of two minds about therapeutic use of cannabis.

South Dakotans pride themselves on their good common sense. Its existence was demonstrated in the 2006 election, when 48% of the voters agreed with us that sick, disabled, and dying people should not be prosecuted for trying to feel better with medicine that works for them.

The quandary, we believe, lies in what some perceive as a conflict between federal and state law if, say, South Dakota were to statutorily allow patients to possess cannabis if their doctor thinks it might help
them (the same standard as for the opiates oxycodone or percocet).
 
Our position is that South Dakota law enforcement is under no obligation to enforce federal laws. If the DEA wants to go to Chamberlain and drag a wheelchair-bound paraplegic to jail for using cannabis to extend his life, there’s probably not much we can do, but we don’t have to assist them. It is cruel to do so. We’d like to make it illegal to do so, thus removing any question from the minds of law enforcement agents.

13 states have now passed legislation allowing patients to possess and use cannabis, if they have a doctor’s recommendation. In fact, the 48%-52% vote in South Dakota in 2006 was the only time medical cannabis has appeared on a ballot in the US without passing.

We propose that the South Dakota legislature discuss and pass a law:

Providing for patients to possess and use cannabis, if their doctor recommends it. The law also needs to provide for either the patient or a caretaker to grow cannabis for the patient. It also needs to provide for
an affirmative defense of medical use for people who use cannabis medically but have not yet acquired a doctor’s recommendation at the time they were accused.

You can see SDSA’s model law at http://www.sodaknorml.org/sdsa_files/081120ProposedBill.htm

This is the language we proposed in the initiative that got 48% of the vote in 2006. We’re willing to work on it.

The Tom Faltynowicz case (see accompanying sheet) illustrates graphically why this needs to be done. It is just wrong to place police officers, prosecutors and judges in the position of having to choose
whether to do the right thing or to treat sick people like the criminals the law says they are.

http://www.sodaknorml.org/Falt/falt.htm#sentence

A respected Rapid City physician said, under oath in a Sturgis courtroom, “Smoked marijuana is essential to Tom Faltynowicz’s therapy.”

The conflicts that arose during the Faltynowicz case are present, to a lesser degree, in many other prosecutions in South Dakota. This is not a good way to administer justice.

We are confident that a majority of South Dakota legislators will agree that it’s not a good way to administer justice, and will act to withdraw South Dakota’s support for the federal government’s war on
sick, disabled, and dying people.

If you support our position, or have any suggestions on how to make our proposed legislation better, please contact us right away.

Very best regards,

Bob Newland
South Dakotans for Safe Access

I’m not a jazz fan. I’m even less of a heat fan.

So I don’t attend the annual Jazz Fest in Sioux Falls each summer. I also try to avoid the traffic mess near the venue, Yankton Trail Park.

I think it is great that such a cultural event is held here. Seriously. There are some great artists who attend. And most people behave themselves.

But apparently the event has a dark side you don’t read about in the Argus Leader.

For local law enforcement, it’s like an extended St. Patrick’s Day.

A friend of mine is a correctional officer at the Minnehaha County Jail. He said this weekend and Monday—thanks to Jazz Fest—will be one of the busiest weekends of the year at the jail, with 70-80 new “guests” spending some time in the local bastille for everything from DUI, public exposure, public drunkenness, and warrant checks.

I know the jazz folks think they’re a little smarter than the rest of us. True, perhaps. They’re apparently just not any better behaved.

Have fun—responsibly—while at Jazz Fest.  If you can’t, bring bail money.

Technorati Tags: Jazz Fest, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, jail, jazz, music

Happy Groundhog Day!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Whoops, gotta get the Bill Murray move Groundhog Day out of that loop in my brain.

Here are your Must Reads!

MUST READS FROM THE SOUTH DAKOTA INTERNETS!

Maradona gives in
01/02/08 18:01 from black marks on wood pulp
So, Diego Maradona did cheat. Well duh. We all know that. Still, thisis pretty big news. This is Pete Rose admitting he gambled. This isBarry Bonds admitting he juiced. (That last one hasn’t happened yet,and probably never will...

• Two surprises.  First, Cory is a soccer fan.  Who knew?  Second, Maradona gives it up that it wasn't the hand of God that helped him score The Goal but Diego's hand.  That's like Barry Bonds admitting he juiced.  But in the USA, probably Cory and five other people care about this.

Has recession taken hold in Mitchell? More likely fading boom, experts say
02/02/08 02:02 from The Daily Republic : Mitchell
Newlycompiled statistics from 2007 indicate that Mitchell did not experiencea banner economic year. Whether the city is experiencing a downturn orrecession similar to what’s affecting other parts of the nation is opento interpretation...

• Guess we won't be seeing a Culver's on the west side of Mitchell anytime soon, huh?

Harrisburg to hire 56 for schools
01/02/08 23:00 from Argus Leader - News
HARRISBURG- With the new elementary school to open next school, year along withthe addition to the high school, the Harrisburg School District is inneed of more employees - 56, to be exact...

• But just don't expect anyone to tell you about it until it's done.  You'll get nothing, patrons of the Harrisburg district and like it!

MUST READS FROM THE NON-SOUTH DAKOTA INTERNETS:

State GOP went with what has not worked
02/02/08 06:03 from WE Blog
Conservative Republican candidates got trounced in every statewide racein Kansas in 2006, losing to either moderate Republicans in the primaryor Democrats in the general election. So what did the state RepublicanParty do last weekend?...

• Perhaps the same will happen in South Dakota in 2008?

L.A. Times Endorses Obama
01/02/08 20:35 from Rolling Stone : National Affairs Daily
It's a judgment thing. And also this: Clinton is an essay, solid andreasoned; Obama is a poem, lyric and filled with possibility. Clintonwould be a valuable and competent executive, but Obama matches her insubstance and adds something..

• Or the alternative headline: L.A. Times Ratifies Epp's Man Crush.
  

Technorati Tags: Diego Maradona, Mitchell, South Dakota, soccer, The Hand of God, The Goal, Harrisburg, teachers, recession, Culvers, Los Angeles Times, Barack Obama, Republican Party, GOP, Kansas, Bill Murray, Groundhog Day

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The following story from Bob Newland of Hermosa is a follow-up to his two previous stories on the lack of probable cause saga of Eric Sage of Sydney, Nebraska during last year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

• Newland: Chewing and Grinding Probable Cause and the War on Some Drugs
  

• Newland—Chewing and Grinding—The Rest of the Story
  

It is a cautionary tale of how easy it is to abuse our Constitutional rights and individuals in our country in the name of the war on drugs.

Thank you, Bob, for your contribution.

It’s common practice for cops to overcharge for violations of drug laws. This has evolved into a kind of, “Charge ‘em all, for everything; let the lawyers sort it out” attitude amongst some law enforcement officers.

[For the record, I do know a couple cops (one’s a SDHP) who say they hate the cannabis laws, and do what they can to avoid having to charge people for violations thereof.]

The overcharging gives prosecutors leverage in shaking people down for a plea to a lesser charge. A plea means instant money for the system, no work for the prosecutor, and the threat is gone (for a price) for the shakedown victim (the “defendant,” in prosecutortalk).

Most of the time, it’s the victim’s word against the cop’s. Most of the cases that make it to trial pit a long-haired working guy in a bad sport coat and malevolent necktie, accused of possession, against the gel-haired prosecutor and a jury pre-qualified by the prosecution to accept that a cop’s word is waaaaaay more credible than a drywaller’s word.

Eric Sage’s story below is the drug war played out at street level, where it’s treated as an informal taxation system levied mainly against the working poor. Eric had the rare experience of running up against a cop and prosecutor who disregarded the fact that the evidence was all on their victim’s side of the courtroom.

======================

NEBRASKA MAN SAYS PENNINGTON CO. STATE’S ATTORNEY “MUGGED” HIM

On Monday, Jan. 28, 2008, Eric Sage, of Sidney, Nebr., sent complaints to several South Dakota agencies and professional standards groups regarding the actions of government employees and an elected official.

Named in the complaints are So. Dak. Highway Patrol Trooper Dave Trautman, Pennington County State’s Attorney Glenn Brenner and Deputy Penn. Co. SA Gina Nelson.

Sage made a complaint to the Dept. of Public Safety about Trooper Dave Trautman, to the Attorney General and the So. Dak. Bar about Brenner and Nelson, and to the Pennington County Commission asking restitution in the amount of $3577.50.

The complaints stem from an incident on Interstate 90 ten miles east of Rapid City on Aug. 7, 2007. Trooper Trautman stopped Sage, on a motorcycle, and inadvertently stopped Sage’s three friends. They had been driving a pickup just ahead of Eric, and stopped also.

During the course of events, Trautman searched the pickup and found a pipe in a purse. One of the pickup’s passengers claimed the purse and the pipe. Regardless, Trautman ticketed everyone in sight for “paraphernalia,” including Sage, who had not even been in the same vehicle.

Rather than review the evidence and drop the charge, Pennington County Deputy State’s Attorney Nelson chose to take a case in which the evidence showed the accused person was innocent and make it a case which turned the accused person into a victim of the system.

Based, apparently, on the statement that Nelson had Trautman concoct for his report; that Eric had told the trooper that Eric had smoked marijuana, Nelson charged Sage with “ingestion,” a more serious charge than “paraphernalia.”

Sage alleges that Trautman and Nelson conspired to extort a guilty plea and a fine from him by threatening him with conviction of an offense of which they knew he was innocent.

“They mugged me,” Sage said. “They cost me $4000. I had to travel to Rapid City several times, I had to hire a lawyer, I missed work. It cost me three times as much to get them to drop a bogus charge as it would have cost me to say I was guilty of something I didn’t do and pay their fines. They only quit when they ran out of clubs to hit me with.”

According to Sage, Nelson went so far as to refuse to notify his attorney that the charge had been dropped, in November. “My lawyer called Gina Nelson several times to see if I needed to drive up on Nov. 21,” Sage said. “She wouldn’t return the calls. So when I got there, I found the charges had been dropped on the 16th. Gina had purposefully made me drive one more 500 mile round trip, for nothing.”

Sage cites several violations of the South Dakota Bar’s Rules of Conduct, as well as alleging procedural and legal irregularities in the actions of the trooper and prosecutors.

All documents are available online at
http://www.sodaknorml.org/SageAffair/complaints/complaints.htm

For further information, contact Eric Sage
Sidney, Nebr.
sage_eric@hotmail.com

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Technorati Tags: Eric Sage, Sydney, Nebraksa, Bob Newland, drugs, war on drugs, marijuana, probable cause, search and seizures, Constitutional rights, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, prosecutors, Rapid City, Pennington County, attorney discipline, South Dakota Bar

Much to the chagrin I’m sure of the NSU Hardy Boys Ken Blanchard and Jim Seeber, the domestic partner of slain NSU professor Morgan Lewis has hired Brendan Johnson, one of the best young attorneys in the state, to get to the bottom of whether Prof. Morgan was murdered (which the evidence actually points to) or committed suicide (which appears to be more of a wish than a fact.)

There will be an administrative hearing before a state hearing officer March 11-13, 2008, either in Pierre or Aberdeen.  It will likely be extremely interesting.

Perhaps with Brendan’s help, Prof. Morgan and his friends and family will finally get some justice.

• Read:

Suspicious death of professor gets a new hearing
07/01/08 11:36 from Northern Valley Beacon
News agencies are reporting that the death of Prof. Morgan Lewis on the NSU campus will be re-examined before a state hearing officer in March.Professor Lewis was found dead early the Monday morning before the general election of 2004…

And here’s a blast from the past.  It’s my initial posting about this whole sordid matter from February 12, 2006.  The questions I asked then are just as relevant now as they were then.

What the Heck is Going on in Aberdeen, Part II?

I’m not even sure where to begin.

The Aberdeen chief of police won’t talk with the Aberdeen American news about the details that lead him to conclude that NSU Prof. Morgan Lewis committed suicide (under suspicious circumstances) yet he will allow two NSU professors, one of whom is a prominent blogger (and supporter of the suicide theory) to interview him?

Huh?

Why did Prof. Ken Blanchard of S.D. Politics blog fame NOT post his interview on this own blog and only a preview:

Click http://southdakotapolitics.blogs.com/south_dakota_politics/2006/week6/index.html#a0008890414 I would have gotten an exclusive like this on my own blog as quickly as I can.  This is big news. 

Huh?

Then the AAN publishes a story where they interview the two NSU professors about their interview with the Chief?

Huh?

This all seems very odd to me.  The police won’t talk to the real media directly but will talk to professors and bloggers and finally release the details of the murder and why they think it was a suicide?

Huh?

This has to be a first of some kind of first in the annuls of South Dakota “journalism.” 

Here are excerpts from today’s AAN: http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/13853691.htm

An hour-long meeting with Aberdeen Police Chief Don Lanpher Jr. has convinced two Northern State University professors that Morgan Lewis committed suicide.

Lanpher said he met with Ken Blanchard,professor of political science, and Jim Seeber, assistant professor of sociology, on Friday on the NSU campus. But the chief doesn’t approve of them going public with the information he gave them regarding the death of Lewis, a 46-year-old German professor whose body was found on campus the morning of Nov. 1, 2004.

For 15 months, Lewis’ death had been labeled “suspicious” by law enforcement officials. All the public knew was that he had been shot in the left side of the neck and a gun was found in a nearby garbage receptacle.

But during a press conference on Feb. 2, Lanpher said the department had concluded Lewis’ death was a suicide. He refused to give reasons for the findings, despite questions from NSU faculty and staff and the media.

Blanchard said he and Seeber asked to meet with Lanpher after the chief told NSU President Patrick Schloss and Aberdeen Mayor Mike Levsen that he would be willing to do so.

Facts revealed: During the meeting Friday,however, Blanchard and Seeber said Lanpher gave them a number of reasons why police believe Lewis killed himself:

• Lewis had gunpowder residue on both hands and blood spatter on one of his hands.

• Blowback, consisting of blood, hair and other materials, was found on the gun.

• Lewis held the gun in his left hand and placed it against his neck.

• A shell casing found next to the garbage receptacle led police to believe that’s where the gun was fired.

•The bullet severed an artery, but missed the spine, allowing Lewis to throw the gun in the garbage receptacle and walk 40 feet before bleeding to death. A blood trail also followed the path.

• On the morning of his death, Lewis left his belongings - including keys, money and backpack - in his office in Seymour Hall. He then exited the building wearing no jacket.

Lanpher confirmed all of the fingings to the American News, except he said the shot was “close to the neck,”but not necessarily against it.

Chief righted wrong: Schloss said he doesn’t know why Lanpher chose not to release additional information on Feb. 2 even though both he and Brenda Dreyer, NSU director of university relations, were led to believe all questions would be addressed. Lanpher said he was advised by lawyers not to. However, the president said Lanpher corrected the wrong - at least with the university - by agreeing to speak to Blanchard, who previously had believed Lewis’ death was suicide, and Seeber, who was doubtful of the police department’s conclusion.

Lanpher said he never would have agreed to talk to Blanchard and Seeber if he had known before the meeting that they were going to release the findings to the public. But Seeber said Lanpher seemed supportive when they addressed it during the meeting and never asked them not to do it - a fact Lanpher confirms.

“We talked about it with him,” Seeber said. “He said, as long as ‘you’re careful about presenting the facts.’”

However,Lanpher said he didn’t hear of the plan until three-fourths of the way through the meeting, and never had any intention of releasing anything.

Lanpher said he didn’t release the information to the public because he thought it would be an invasion of privacy for Lewis and his family.

If something happens to a close family member, you don’t want it out in public, Lanpher said.

With this additional information, perhaps Mr. Lewis took his own life.  I’m not sure I’m convinced.  But I am glad that the information came out—though through odd channels.

What I don’t understand:

• Why didn’t the AAN push the Chief and interview him themselves?
• Why would the chief talk to bloggers and professors and not journalists?
• Why would the chief talk to these specific people?
• What are the various motives involved?  Are they public spirited?  Is something else at play?
• IfNSU was going to pursue this, why wouldn’t they have the President, a designee of the President, or Brenda Dreyer, the had of university relations, talk to the Chief.  Brenda is a friend of mine.  I worked with her for several years at S.D. Public TV where she was a producer and
  on-air host.  Before that, she was a reporter at KELOLAND-TV. Brenda was a good reporter.  She has great people skills.  She could have easily interviewed Chief Lanpher and done a good job.

Maybe all this helps bring closure to Prof. Lewis’ tragic death.  But the telling of the story is as odd as the circumstances of his death.  And I’m not the only one who wonders what’s going on .  My buddy Chad at Clean Cut Kid has opined about this as well.  Click: http://cleancutkid.com/2006/02/11/morgan-lewis

It’s definitely one of those things that makes you want to go “hmmmm.”

Nagging question remain: What’s Blanchard’s and Seeber’s interest in all this?  Why did they push for the suicide theory?   Did the police have it right (murder) then screwed it up (suicide)?  If the police are wrong, will they change their minds and admit a mistake now?

What the hell’s going on in Aberdeen?! 

Technorati Tags: Morgan Lewis, Morgan Lewis murder, Morgan Lewis suicide, Aberdeen, South Dakota, Brendan Johnson, open government, open records, crime

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Back on November 18, 2007, Bob Newland of Hermosa, SD shared the nightmare story of Eric Sage who was “busted” for pot during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally last August.  The problem was, there wasn’t any probable cause.

Below, Bob has, as Paul Harvey would say, “the rest of the story.”  It has about as “happy” an ending as possible given the jackbooted approached of law enforcement and the prosecutors involved.  Sage was also lucky to get a defense attorney, Rena Hymans, who believed in her client and in the Bill of Rights.

——-

In early November, (Pennington County States Attorney Glenn) Brenner made noises to a reporter about transferring the (Eric) Sage case to Meade County, where Sturgis is located, and where Brenner claimed the “ingestion”—that he had no evidence even took place—took place.

Sage retained a lawyer, Rena Hymans, Sturgis, So. Dak. She called Gina Nelson several times during the week prior to Eric’s preliminary hearing on Nov. 21. She left detailed messages on Nelson’s voice mail; “Are you really going to have a prelim on this?” Nelson didn’t return any of the calls.

Eric drove the 241 miles from his house to the Pennington County Court House November 21. He met with Hymans and they went to the Clerk of Courts, who handed them a piece of paper that said that the charges had been dismissed by Gina Nelson on November 16. Her reason was, “jurisdictional issue (charges involve Meade County)”.

State’s attorney Glenn Brenner and assistant SA Gina Nelson had presented one final finger to their victim.

Technorati Tags: marijuana, Pennington County, Meade County, South Dakota, Sturgis, drug laws, war on drugs

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I'm not even sure where to begin.

The Aberdeen chief of police won't talk with the Aberdeen American news about the details that lead him to conclude that NSU Prof. Morgan Lewis committed suicide (under suspicious circumstances) yet he will allow two NSU professors, one of whom is a prominent blogger (and supporter of the suicide theory) to interview him?

Huh?

Why did Prof. Ken Blanchard of S.D. Politics blog fame NOT post his interview on this own blog and only a preview: Click http://southdakotapolitics.blogs.com/south_dakota_politics/2006/week6/index.html#a0008890414 I would have gotten an exclusive like this on my own blog as quickly as I can.  This is big news. 

Huh?

Then the AAN publishes a story where they interview the two NSU professors about their interview with the Chief?

Huh?

This all seems very odd to me.  The police won't talk to the real media directly but will talk to professors and bloggers and finally release the details of the murder and why they think it was a suicide?

Huh?

This has to be a first of some kind of first in the annuls of South Dakota "journalism." 

Here are excerpts from today's AAN: http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/13853691.htm

An hour-long meeting with Aberdeen Police Chief Don Lanpher Jr. has convinced two Northern State University professors that Morgan Lewis committed suicide.

Lanpher said he met with Ken Blanchard, professor of political science, and Jim Seeber, assistant professor of sociology, on Friday on the NSU campus. But the chief doesn't approve of them going public with the information he gave them regarding the death of Lewis, a 46-year-old German professor whose body was found on campus the morning of Nov. 1, 2004.

For 15 months, Lewis' death had been labeled "suspicious" by law enforcement officials. All the public knew was that he had been shot in the left side of the neck and a gun was found in a nearby garbage receptacle.

But during a press conference on Feb. 2, Lanpher said the department had concluded Lewis' death was a suicide. He refused to give reasons for the findings, despite questions from NSU faculty and staff and the media.

Blanchard said he and Seeber asked to meet with Lanpher after the chief told NSU President Patrick Schloss and Aberdeen Mayor Mike Levsen that he would be willing to do so.

Facts revealed: During the meeting Friday, however, Blanchard and Seeber said Lanpher gave them a number of reasons why police believe Lewis killed himself:

• Lewis had gunpowder residue on both hands and blood spatter on one of his hands.

• Blowback, consisting of blood, hair and other materials, was found on the gun.

• Lewis held the gun in his left hand and placed it against his neck.

• A shell casing found next to the garbage receptacle led police to believe that's where the gun was fired.

• The bullet severed an artery, but missed the spine, allowing Lewis to throw the gun in the garbage receptacle and walk 40 feet before bleeding to death. A blood trail also followed the path.

• On the morning of his death, Lewis left his belongings - including keys, money and backpack - in his office in Seymour Hall. He then exited the building wearing no jacket.

Lanpher confirmed all of the findings to the American News, except he said the shot was "close to the neck," but not necessarily against it.

Chief righted wrong: Schloss said he doesn't know why Lanpher chose not to release additional information on Feb. 2 even though both he and Brenda Dreyer, NSU director of university relations, were led to believe all questions would be addressed. Lanpher said he was advised by lawyers not to. However, the president said Lanpher corrected the wrong - at least with the university - by agreeing to speak to Blanchard, who previously had believed Lewis' death was suicide, and Seeber, who was doubtful of the police department's conclusion.

Lanpher said he never would have agreed to talk to Blanchard and Seeber if he had known before the meeting that they were going to release the findings to the public. But Seeber said Lanpher seemed supportive when they addressed it during the meeting and never asked them not to do it - a fact Lanpher confirms.

"We talked about it with him," Seeber said. "He said, as long as 'you're careful about presenting the facts.'"

However, Lanpher said he didn't hear of the plan until three-fourths of the way through the meeting, and never had any intention of releasing anything.

Lanpher said he didn't release the information to the public because he thought it would be an invasion of privacy for Lewis and his family.

If something happens to a close family member, you don't want it out in public, Lanpher said.

With this additional information, perhaps Mr. Lewis took his own life.  I'm not sure I'm convinced.  But I am glad that the information came out--though through odd channels.

What I don't understand:

• Why didn't the AAN push the Chief and interview him themselves?
• Why would the chief talk to bloggers and professors and not journalists?
• Why would the chief talk to these specific people?
• What are the various motives involved?  Are they public spirited?  Is something else at play?
• If NSU was going to pursue this, why wouldn't they have the President, a designee of the President, or Brenda Dreyer, the had of university relations, talk to the Chief.  Brenda is a friend of mine.  I worked with her for several years at S.D. Public TV where she was a producer and on-air host.  Before that, she was a reporter at KELOLAND-TV.  Brenda was a good reporter.  She has great people skills.  She could have easily interviewed Chief Lanpher and done a good job.

Maybe all this helps bring closure to Prof. Lewis' tragic death.  But the telling of the story is as odd as the circumstances of his death.  And I'm not the only one who wonders what's going on .  My buddy Chad at Clean Cut Kid has opined about this as well.  Click: http://cleancutkid.com/2006/02/11/morgan-lewis

It's definitely one of those things that makes you want to go "hmmmm."

I found the following from recent Gallup polling difficult to believe:

Confidence in Local Police Drops to 10-Year Low

After several years of stable readings, Gallup's latest update on confidence in the police to protect people from violent crime has fallen this year, to a level not seen since 1995. The decline in confidence has generally occurred across demographic subgroups, as members of most key groups are less confident in the police this year than last. Gallup also finds a new low in the percentage of Americans who say they have a "great deal" of respect for the police in their area. Meanwhile, there has been no change in Americans' beliefs about police brutality occurring in their local areas.

http://www.gallup.com/nl/?19783,AlertSP,11/10/2005,

Perhaps it is just us here in South Dakota, but it is my personal observation that post-911, law enforcement is MORE trusted than ever.  I had a jury trial in Wichita earlier this year in federal district court and believe me, respect for the police among the jury pool was very high as well there.

On the other hand, if I were a Native American or a black, I might have a very different view.  I just thought it was something to make you go "hmmm."