Will it beHillary Against Newt?

Will we see Hillary pitted against Newt Gingrich in the upcoming Presidential race? Of course, it is a little early to tell. Rasmussen today tells us that Hillery is pulling in a substantial 39% compared to her nearest rival in the Democrat camp, Obama, at an anemic 22%. And forget pretty boy Edwards; he's in the quicksand at just 14%.

Anything can happen to Hillary, but the question is, does it matter? Her supporters hardly care about questionable contributions or the ethics that drove her to take those souvenirs when she departed the White House. And she's got many supporters. So given that, the smart money might be on her in the primaries. A Teflon coating and having the ability to let Bill out when it is strategically viable maybe her two best attributes.

The question is, who will oppose her from the GOP? There's a lot of strong contenders, to be sure. As Glenn Beck stated last week, Giuliani has "fire in the belly". That's certainly one quality America admires as presidential. On the other hand, Romney is quieter but arguably the best of all the candidates to handle the economic situation the next President will be served up for breakfast at the White House.

Will Newt run? Only if he gets the money. If he does, there is no question. He has the experience as an insider, having served as Speaker of the House. He has vision. And he has intellect. All this makes him Hillary's worst nightmare.

So will Newt get the money? Time will tell. His American Solution initiative is certainly getting him into the limelight.

What goes on when they're out stumping is one thing. But when the two of them share the same stage and go toe to toe on issues of national policy, it will take a very strong supporter to defend Hillary when her shrieking and cackling laughing contrast with Newt's style.

Not Fall Yet, Lazy Meter Readers

OK, so I was wrong... those in the know are predicting 90 degrees high at least until the end of the week. But that's still a good message for my electric bill... if I could ever get that straightened out.

I recently switched to TXU from Reliant to get a better deal. It turns out that the deal isn't that sweet. Forget the "great KwH rates", the thing is the fuel adjustment charge they choose to use. In the end you get hosed.

My problem this time was that was that they obviously estimated my bill rather than have a person do it in person. They claimed I used almost 3000 KwH in a one month period. When I read the meter about three weeks from their "read" I had only used 160 KwH. Hello?

When I talked to them on the phone (a couple of levels of management) they acted as if they were doing me a favor to "extend" my bill. I wanted someone to come read my meter to work it out but their poor overworked readers couldn't make it out for 15 days! Oh yeah, I live for this kind of customer service!

Well, what can you do? I need to train my dogs to run in one of those cages hooked up to a dynamo...

Looking For Fall

Well, it looks like the worst of the summer has passed us by; the highs are now in the mid 80s instead of the high 90s. Still abiding a bit of humidity harassment - but then again, you can't have everything.

Also, no hurricane or major tropical storm thus far. Having said all that, I suppose it's safe to say that we've had a benign summer.

What am I looking forward to? Mostly some crisp morning air so I can get off that treadmill and start running outdoors again. I know, I know; what a wimp. Oh well, time marches on, I get a bit older, and I find myself trading boredom for a higher quality workout.

And when I finish writing my latest batch of articles, I'm going to load up the kayak and head to the bay...