A Correction (With A Caveat), A Postscript, And A Bit Of Foolishness

A Correction

Terri Schiavo's autopsy results show extensive brain atrophy from the lack of oxygen her brain suffered some 14 years ago, according to the medical examiner's report released yesterday. The report interprets this to mean that no amount of therapy could have helped her, seeming to vindicate her husband in his efforts to "let her die in peace."

OK, so I was wrong when I interpreted the video of Terri showing what seemed to be awareness and purposeful movement.

But I still say it was wrong to starve and dehydrate her to death. It was unnecessarily cruel. Every human will die without food and water, so withholding food and water is heinous in any circumstance where the person is otherwise alive. While I was wrong about Terri's prognosis, I maintain I was right to protest the means of her death.


A Postscript

The Bellevue Public Schools Board of Education announced at its most recent Monday meeting that it's sending a letter to College World Series, Inc., to get CWS to let the tournament teams come back to practice at BPS facilities.

Essentially, the Board of Ed. is pleading like a dog w/ its tail between its legs to get CWS to forgive its attempt to extort money from CWS this year by demanding outrageous fees for use of BPS facilities.

And oh, by the way, any grants CWS wants to give BPS for use of the facilities in 2006 and beyond will be accepted gratefully.

The motion to send the letter was passed unanimously by the Board; the letter will be signed by both the President of the Board of Education and by the Superintendent of the Bellevue Public Schools.

One of the Board of Ed. members said of its previous actions this year regarding the CWS, "I think we've been misunderstood and miscommunicated."

What's to misunderstand? As I said in a previous post, the Board tried a bit of legal extortion, got caught, and is now frantically backpedalling to undo the damage its greed caused.

But BPS is still money-grubbing; the Superintendent said BPS would in any event incur extra expenses in connection with the CWS and that the community of Bellevue should help raise the funds to offset those expenses. (This after the Mayor said "no, thank you" to BPS's suggestion that the City pay BPS the exhorbitant $10,000 per facility fee BPS initially tried to get from CWS, Inc.)

The Superintedent's position would be a lot more credible if he could state it without revealing the dollar signs in his eyes.

While I would very, very much like to see the CWS resume using BPS facilities for the tournament teams' practices, I also think it would serve BPS right if CWS never comes back.



A Bit Of Foolishness--Actually, Two Bits Of Foolishness

Bit the First: There's an alligator in Carter Lake! Carter Lake, for those who may not know, is an oxbow formed when the Missouri River changed course several decades ago; the surrounding community, also Carter Lake, is officially in Iowa though it's on the Nebraska side of the main river channel. (When the state borders were made official, Carter Lake was the main channel; after it became an oxbow, no one changed the status of the town as being in Iowa.)

Anyway, last week several fishermen discovered an alligator in the lake. Really. It's officially a 3-foot-long caiman; the informed speculation is that it was a pet that either escaped or was released when its owner tired of dealing with it. (Either way, it's illegal in both Carter Lake and Omaha to own such an animal and board it within city limits . . . unless you're the Zoo.)

No one is too worried. It may eat a few fish, but people and properly domesticated pets like dogs and cats are not at much risk. It won't survive the winter in any event, according to Dr. Lee Simmons, head of Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.

A humane trap was put out; the caiman was caught at one point and its jaws duct-taped shut . . . but it got away.

I do not know whether it freed itself from the duct tape; nor do I know whether further attempts have been made to recapture it. All I know is that I am not going swimming in Carter Lake in the foreseeable future.


Bit the Second: If I ever get a new (to me, at least) car, I must buy an Accord. I want to get personalized license plates that say "Fenry."

Get it? I'd then own the "Fenry Honda."

>>>ahem<<<