Last week marked the first anniversary of the death of Paul Wellstone. On Oct. 25, 2002, a small plane crashed into a frozen forest in Minnesota, killing the senator, his wife, daughter and three aides. That day Minnesota lost a great senator, and the world lost a good human being.

Professor Wellstone taught political science at Carleton College for more than 20 years before he shocked the world of American politics. Driving across Minnesota in a green bus, Wellstone led a grassroots campaign in 1990 to upset a well-funded Republican incumbent, Rudy Boschwitz.

Re-elected in 1996, Wellstone ran on a platform most often described as "left of center" or "liberal." As the only senator in the Progressive Caucus, he voted against both wars on Iraq. He consistently fought for universal health care, for publicly financed elections and for the environment.

After breaking his promise not to seek a third term, Wellstone had just taken the lead in a closely contested election. President Bush had made many personal appearances in Minnesota, raising more money to support Wellstone's Republican challenger Norm Coleman than for his brother in Florida.

Now, I know that Wellstone would never approve of the unfounded accusations I'm about to make, so allow me to apologize in advance. Maybe I've watched JFK a few too many times, but I can't help asking — was he assassinated?

The plane, Raytheon's King Air A-100, was said to be one of the safest planes in the air. However, the pilot was less than rested, and the skies were not exactly friendly. Bad weather was identified as the official cause of the crash, but no black box was found. While FAA regulations require planes to carry black boxes, crash site investigators said that Wellstone's plane did not. I'm no expert on plane crashes, so I would have dismissed this tall tale if it weren't for another suspicious coincidence.

The crash that killed Wellstone came exactly two years and nine days after another senatorial candidate died in a plane crash. Just before the 2000 election, Democrat Mel Carnahan, who had been neck and neck with incumbent John Ashcroft, also died in a plane crash. It was too late to change the ballot, so when the people of Missouri elected him posthumously, his wife, Jean, was appointed to the Senate seat. However, in the 2002 special election to determine who would complete her husband's term, Jean Carnahan lost to Republican Jim Talent. (As a consolation prize, Bush appointed Ashcroft to the position of attorney general, enabling him to lead his jihad against medicinal marijuana and free speech.)

Back in Minnesota, former Vice President Walter Mondale was taken out of the Democratic attic, dusted off, and plugged into the ballot slot left vacant by Wellstone. Coleman beat the old man back into retirement. Needless to say, the 50-50 split in the Senate has now given way to a clear Republican advantage.

My unsubstantiated allegations of assassination by airplane certainly aren't the first. Back in '72, an airplane carrying House Majority Leader Hale Boggs and Representative Nicholas Begich mysteriously disappeared in the skies above their home state of Alaska. Boggs, who was part of the Warren Commission, had not yet described in detail but had publicly mentioned, doubts about the commission's findings. Neither the plane nor its passengers have ever been found. Those questionable circumstances are still remembered in conspiracy lore.

Maybe I'm just some conspiracy theory crackpot. Maybe it's my own paranoia, or perhaps I have some inherent urge to distrust the government. I really hope that's it, because I don't like what it means if I'm right. This is one of those times where I would love to be wrong.

Adam Zmick is a junior in engineering. His columns appear Tuesdays. He can be reached at opinions@dailyillini.com.