Update: Aetogate

It’s no surprise that neither Bill Parker nor Jeff Martz were particularly impressed with the inquiry that wasn’t, and they’ve both posted responses that should have been solicited anyway over at Mike Taylor’s site. It’s of particular interest to me that Parker has both electronic and eye-witness testimony which fairly clearly refutes some of the claims made in Spencer Lucas’ submission about the dates and circumstances of his access to the NMMNHS palaeontological collection; an object lesson in why both sides should perhaps have been involved in the proceedings.
Just to make things official, these reponses form the core of a formal response (pdfs) to the inquiry’s verdict, which has just been sent to the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. It’s hard to predict what, if anything, will happen now; not only has the response of the NMMNHS so far been almost as damaging as the original (very serious) allegations, but it has also burnt most of the bridges to a constructive and amicable resolution.