Sandra Lewis says it's hot chocolate time.  She also says toss out the prepackaged hot chocolate mix -- it's time to try a “real” cup of hot chocolate. It’s not as difficult as you think to make it from scratch; your body and your tastebuds will thank you.  Click to read more ...

There’s interesting news on the Tom DeLay front. This is something I was informed of earlier by e-mail but could not independently verify. I see that the Houston Chronicle is now reporting it. State Dist. Judge Pat Priest has informed the parties via letter that he is unlikely to grant DeLay’s request to sever and thus separately try the money laundering and conspiracy charges against him. DeLay hoped a quick trial and acquittal on the former would make a conviction on the conspiracy claim unlikely, if not legally moot.

The judge has also indicated that he will not allow DeLay to stand trial apart from his co-defendants, Jim Ellis and John Cloyandro. Looming in the background is Ronnie Earle’s possible appeal of the dismissal of the other conspiracy charge against DeLay, at which point Earle could request a stay of all proceedings until the appeal is determined.

And the judge’s words, that he is favorably disposed to a trial date “early next year,” must provide little comfort to DeLay, who is trying to conclude everything by the first three weeks in January.

This, of course, seriously complicates DeLay’s return to his leadership position, even though Speaker Hastert has indicated he will take the unusual (and politically detrimental) step of not gaveling the House back into action until January 31—a full two weeks after the Senate opens—in order to buy DeLay time to win acquittal and return to the Majority Leader role. The judge’s letter will also encourage the restlessness and anxiety that is brewing among many Republican House members, reports of which are now starting to surface in the press and will surface more so now.

What’s DeLay’s last hope? That Judge Priest will sustain DeLay’s prosecutorial misconduct claim. Not likely, I think. Looks like check out time is nearing.

Being positive and confident in all your thoughts and actions develops inner strength ... fear and worry make us weak, doubtful and unproductive. Positive expectations bring positive results.

Baby Boomers...great term for my generation. A name (boomer), by the way, also used to describe the biggest of nuclear submarines patrolling the depths of the world's oceans. And lately, extremely apropos to a lot of my fellow BBers.

Latest stats confirm that as many as half of us 'boomers' age 55-64 suffer from high blood pressure and a whopping 40 % slither into the obese range.

And how did this happen you may ask... and are these stats reflective of other generations before ours? Well, the answer to the second part is easy...no. No because our parents weren't besieged by the instant accessability of virtually anything you want to eat at any time you want to eat it. I remember growing up at a time when a trip to the restaurant once every couple of weeks was a huge deal, not something you could do 2 or 3 times a day without ever leaving your car.

We've had 40 years to perfect the art of scrounging the junk food depths in search of our next cheeseburger target. Fries might have been an option at one time...today it's fries, curly-Q or waffle cut, extra crispy or doused in cheese or chili or both or all.

We denizens of the gobbing deep are truely the first generation to practice the theory of "Live To Eat" not "Eat To Live" and the sad stats are there to bear this out.

But wait! ...There's an upside...Eventhough you might be carrying around an extra person in your shirt & shorts, you're living longer. That's right, more stats confirm that life expectancy in the U.S. has hit an all time high of 77.6 years. Now the 'Homer Simpsons' among us see this as an extra opportunity to patrol the snack aisle or buffet line while others will gin up that new diet after January 1st. For me?...Lower periscope!...Dive!...Dive!...

In baseball, it doesn’t always take a blockbuster deal to make noise. Truly successful franchises don’t depend on the blockbuster deal. Successful franchises find a plan and they stick to it. It appears to me that the Rangers may finally be taking that path.

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The National Education Association reported this week that Texas is the only state that has decreased spending on students and now ranks $1,500 below the national average when it comes to spending per student.  I can’t say it’s any big surprise, especially after visiting various schools throughout Dallas where the zip code seems to play a determining factor in dividing the have’s from the have-nots.

Governor Perry has gone on record saying that educational spending in the state is more than adequate. Maybe that’s true for schools in wealthier districts where families can afford to supplement the state’s shortage, but those schools that are located in urban districts and have a student body where the majority are students of color and low-income aren’t as lucky. In fact, it’s a known fact that these students are at greater risk for not completing high school.

In the “Guide to the Education of Our Children” published by ( http://www.dfwinternational.org/ ) DFW International Community Alliance, it’s reported that on average, 50 percent of Latino students don’t graduate from high school. That’s a troubling figure when you realize that by 2025 Hispanics will be 43 percent of the DFW area’s population.

As it stands now, in DISD alone, 68 percent of Latino students are dropping out of school.

Critics will always blame the parents and the kids themselves, but for kids to want to come to school, the school has to be an environment that is not only conducive to teaching and learning but in making the child want to be there.

We already know, courtesy of a study released this month by the Pew Hispanic Center, that Latino teenagers are more likely than black or white students to attend public high schools that are overcrowded, have the highest concentration of poor students, and the highest student-teacher ratios.

And as encouraging as it was to learn that DISD had commissioned an audit on how to improve student performance, it was shockingly disappointing to learn that not all the schools are teaching the same skills to students at the various grade levels.

It’s no wonder that some public high schools in DISD can offer more advanced placement classes than others. If kids aren’t being taught the same skills to prepare them for college courses, it makes sense that kids who are less prepared are smart enough to know it and realistic enough to understand they don’t have a chance to score high enough on college placement exams to be considered for college.

To implement the changes that DISD plans to make is going to take dinero — beyond what Gov. Perry feels is adequate.

But it just makes sense that it would be money well spent if we could just get half of all Latino students to stay in school, and do something more with their lives than work a dead-end job.

Strayhorn’s financial backers encourage her to switch from Republican to Independent.

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Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour complained to a U.S. House panel Wednesday of inaction on  hurricane relief to his state.  If Barbour can't get any action, who in God's world can? He's about as well connected as any politician in the country. A former Republican National Chairman, Barbour is  on a first name basis with Bush White House folks and with lots of GOP members of Congress. Yet, lack of help from Washington is hindering recovery efforts in his state.  Nobody can say he hasn't asked for help. 

What is wrong with Congress?

Displaced students are fighting and arrested in a Houston high school.  Texas still has 34,000 in hotels. People in the areas of destruction are suffering from physical and mental illness. But we get lame responses from Congress about Katrina no longer being a high priority. Members want more "accountability" before they authorize more funds. Where has the accountability been in Iraq as Congress has poured billions into the war and recovery efforts there? Don't our own citizens deserve as much? This is outrageous behavior, as if ignoring the problems will make them go away.  If we were not so over extended by the war effort, maybe we could manage to take care of our own.

Meanwhile, as Barbour noted, federal highway funding to rebuild roads and bridges has been stalled. Congress has failed to approve financial aid for public school districtings facing bankruptcy, and homeowners who had no flood insurance are not getting help in rebuilding or repairing their homes.

Maybe some areas of New Orleans should not  be rebuilt. But the feds can't just turn their backs on Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. The richest country in the world can do better. 

 Thank God for former Presidents Bush and Clinton, who have raised and given $90 million in grants along the Gulf Coast, including $30 million for higher education institutions, which will aid students eager to return to their home schools.  But we can't rely on private fundraising at a time like this. Federal taxes must be put to work. This is a national disaster, and Congress acts as if it could care less.  

Texas Ranger manager John Daniels has made his first trade.  Ranger second baseman Alphonso Soriano is headed to the Washington Nationals for outfielder Brad Wilkerson and Termmel Sledge.  Wilkerson is considered an above average defender who will be 29 at the start of the season hit .248 with 11 home runs in 2005.  He has a lifetime average of .256.  However, when his 106 walks in the 2004 season and 84 walks last season are taken into account he boasts an on base percentage of around .350.  Sledge, who will be 29 at the start of the season, had only 37 at bats due to an injury.  In 2004 rookie season he hit .269 with 15 home runs.  There was also a player to be named later who is assumed to be a rookie pitcher.

Given that Soriano is one of baseball's premier offensive players having hit 36 home runs with 104 runs batted in and 30 stolen bases to his credit lat year.  Although Soriano was eligible for arbitration and it was unlikely the Rangers would have been willing to pay the $10 million that might have been required to keep him the trade is viewed as underwhelming.  Before last year's trading deadline Soriano's name had been linked to some of the best young pitchers in other people's systems.  The deal would appear to do nothing to address the club's despirate need for starting pitching or bullpen help.  Unless, the two players obtained are flipped for pitching it is likely that fans will view Daniels' maiden deal as a resounding dud.