Thousands protest in St Louis over Ferguson shooting

“Everyone here is peaceful, calm & respectful #AGoodDay,” St Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson wrote on Twitter. “Organizers are trying to keep everyone on the sidewalk.”

Let's hope the police follow suit.

More like the other way around.

The police will respond when provoked. Otherwise the police will cause no problems. When will some people recognize this? They do their job. Scour the streets for vermin. They don't bother me, but I raise no suspicions.

In a late-breaking development, the grand jury has requested to hear testimony from the independent forensic pathologist, Dr. Baden. He will begin his testimony today.

One wonders what testimony the grand jury has actually heard -- and who or what has been the "gatekeeper" for that testimony. The grand jury process is completely secretive and kept that way by the same group that the police work for. The victim's family and their legal representatives have no voice in this process whatsoever.

No American, and certainly no citizen of the community of Ferguson should put much faith in a process that is the opposite of transparent. Secret tribunals are for totalitarian societies.