The Lee Word Side

The U.S. Presidential election is over. The right man won, but where do we go from here? Clearly, we have a lot of hard work ahead of us and I’m not sure if “Real America” is ready for all the sacrifices that we will have to make. There is the plummeting economy that needs immediate attention, and then there is that pesky war in Iraq that not only sucks our financial resources, but has, and still is, needlessly killing our children. And for what reason…oil? We need to get out of Iraq now. We had no legal or moral reason to invade Iraq and each day that we stay there costs us, in countless ways. After eight years of Republican rule our country’s infrastructure is close to collapsing. Our roads, bridges, schools, and health-care system all need immediate and continued attention. For our country to get back on the right track it will require a lot of work and time. I don’t envy our next President, he has a lot to do. I just hope that he’s given the chance to do his job.

Ciao

Well, it all comes down to today. After all the months of endless political shenanigans and outright bullshit, the American political machine comes to a halt. I’ve done my part to see that the right person gets elected President as well as the right people get elected in my local elections. I can do no more. I don’t think the outcome of the election will be decided tonight, and I would be surprised if it’s even known by tomorrow morning. So I will go to bed tonight hoping that Barack Obama will become our next President.
If you haven’t voted yet I encourage you to do so because regardless of who you support it’s important that your voice be heard. Here’s to the next President of the United States Barack Obama.

Ciao

If, for some inexplicable reason, you’ve miss all the other pictures that I’ve posted of Rafa Nadal, not to worry because I’ve got for you today a new picture of the spicy hot Spaniard. Not only can he play a great game of tennis, but he also looks damn good doing it. I can’t wait until the Australian Open begins in January. Just a couple of months and Rafa will be ruling the court again. Love me some Rafa…
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With autumn fully upon us now I was thinking how quickly summer passed and just how much I miss it. To help me reflect on some of the more enjoyable aspects of the warmer season I found this delectable picture stashed among my files. And I have to say that he is what summer is all about; sun, skin, abs, and ass. Whoa!

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Today at their Notebook Media event Apple announced their new 15″ MacBook Pro. Some of the new advancements are improved graphics, performance and glass Multi-Touch trackpads. New to the Pro is the NVIDIA family of graphic processors. There is a choice between the GeForce 9400M which promises better battery life, and the GeForce 9600M GT which is all about performance. It has been reported that there has been some failings with the NVIDIAs, but Apple has promised to replace any faulty components. Of course all this new technology doesn’t come cheap. For the 15″ basic MacBook Pro you will have to come up with $1999. For the faster and, in my opinion, must have computer, it will set you back a whopping $2499. Ouch! Just incase you might have forgotten, my birthday is coming up next month and I wouldn’t say no to a new MacBook Pro.

Ciao

I can’t believe that it’s been almost one month since I’ve posted anything. And the sad part is that I don’t even have a good, or a very interesting excuse. Life just got in he way. I wish I could tell you that I meet someone and I’ve fallen in love and all my time is being spent in his muscular arms, but, alas, I didn’t. I’d like to be able to tell you that I’ve been on an extended vacation in some exotic location where the sun, the sand, and the men were all warm and accommodating, but I wasn’t. I’d like to be able to tell you that I won the lottery and I’ve been too busy spending my winnings, but I didn’t. I’d like to tell you a lot of things, I should have told you a lot of things, but I didn’t. Because like you, I’ve been busy with life. Just trying to keep my head above the water, which with these disturbing political and economic times is becoming quite a feat. Some days I’m fine, but on other days…
I’ll make an effort to post more. I’ve missed this.

Ciao

Roger Federer put his name in the history books tonight when he won his fifth straight US Open Men’s Final. He is the only player to have won five Grand Slam Finals on two surfaces, grass at Wimbledon and hard court at the US Open. His win tonight against Scotsman Andy Murray in straight sets is his thirteenth Grand Slam title. Just one away from Pet Sampras’ record holding fourteen. Federer won tonight after suffering two major losses this year. He lost to Nadal in the French Open as well as at Wimbledon. At 26 years old Federer still has a few good years to play some top notch tennis and to make that fourteenth Grand Slam Title.
With the close of the US Open tonight this winds down the tennis season for 2008. It was a wonderful year with some outstanding matches and some outstanding players. And to top it off we also had the Olympics in Beijing. What a great year.

Ciao

Bob and Mike Bryan, the no. 2 ranked players, won the Men’s Doubles tournament at Flushing Meadows on Friday. This was their second win at the US Open. Their first win came in 2005. The Bryan brothers beat Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and Leander Paes 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (12-10) to claim their sixth Grand Slam title. They won the match after a hard fought tiebreaker in the second set. This win will not only give them a check for $420,000, that they will split, but they will also regain their well deserved No. 1 ranking. In the Men’s Singles Semifinals Roger Federer fired 20 aces and advanced to the US Open final with a 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-2 victory over Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic. The other men’s Semifinal was suspended because of rain, with Scotland’s Andy Murray leading world No. 1 Rafael Nadal. This match should resume tomorrow afternoon weather permitting. I ‘m hopeful that Nadal can beat Murray. If that happens that will pit him against Roger Federer for the Final. That would be a fantastic match. The last time they meet was in the Wimbledon Final where Nadal won.

Ciao

Here we are, still two months away from the national election and I’ve already reached my Political Bullshit Quota. Never have I seen so much shit being served-up than what we’re being feed this election; from both parties. Democrats would have us believe that Barack is another Jack Kennedy, a political wiz kid, the reincarnated Martin Luther King. He isn’t. He’s just a junior Congressman from Illinois that has very little international political experience. He’s handsome, personable, and a good orator, but he’s unproven as a leader. Not to be outdone, the Republicans operate as we Americans are stupid, that we can’t see that McCain is just a Bush-lite, that he isn’t a “maverick,” and that he isn’t “his own man.” McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin for his Vice Presidential running mate is stupefying. Is she suppose to be the bait that will entice Hillary Clinton’s female base over to the dark side? Does McCain think so little of women that he thinks that they won’t notice, or care about the differences between Palin and Clinton? Or that we won’t see that their political and social beliefs are in direct opposition? After all, it’s just replacing one woman for another, right?
And what’s with this “unwed-pregnant seventeen year old daughter mess?” If this situation were reversed and it was Barack’s daughter who was pregnant the Republicans would be all over this. But because it has happened to them it’s now considered as something that’s wholesome, something that exemplifies Christian and family values, and it’s pro-life. You can call it whatever you want, but she’s still seventeen, still unwed, and she’s pregnant. And as much as we would like to believe that this shouldn’t matter, that a candidate’s family is “off limits,” it just isn’t so. Try asking someone from Kansas or Missouri what they think about this. You know what answer you’ll get. What ever happened to the belief in abstinence that the Republicans were peddling? More importantly, what happened to all the money, my money, that the federal government spent on abstinence programs? Didn’t work too well, did they? Abstinence doesn’t work. But you know what does work? CONDOMS, that’s what works.
Somehow between now and election day I’ve got to find a way to weave my way through all this bullshit or I’ll go crazy. Oh hell, who am I trying to kid, I passed going crazy miles ago. Bring it on, I’ve got my waders on.

Ciao

We are slowly moving into my favorite time of the year, autumn. The days are becoming shorter and the morning air is beginning to have a cool, crispness to it. Fall is still a few weeks away, but the early signs of it’s imminent arrival is enough to pick up my spirits. The afternoon temperatures are almost cool enough to get busy with some of the fall chores, and evenings are perfect to sit outside with family and friends and enjoy a nice cocktail. Autumn is the best time of the year, a time that makes me feel alive, and connected to the earth.

Ciao