Grant Dobbe

i realize that i’ve been ranting quite a bit. sure, a lot of things in this country are shitty, and the president is a fuck-up, but there are still plenty of things and people in my life that make me happy and glad to be here. therefore, let’s make a list.

things that make grant happy
by grant dobbe

• nicole peterson. i love this woman, and i cannot wait to see her tomorrow. just the mere thought of her makes me warm and fuzzy.
• lauren anderson, peter gloviczki, and my kitchen table. we had a rather good time playing mancala and just hanging out last night, and it made me glad that i have space and time to share with my friends.
• stav hall. i *love* our cafeteria. i take great joy in being able to walk up to the clerk, scan a barcode, and eat.
• my room. it’s looking pretty snazzy at this point, and once my roommates move in, this place is going to be downright awesome.
• my co-op membership. i love food that is sustainable, fresh, and delicious. i also love the fact that i can share that membership with my friends and loved ones.
• the tostrud center. don’t get me wrong; i like running. i just like being able to do something other than running every now and again.
• podcasts. i am a radio junkie, and i totally dig the concept of being able to listen to whatever i want, whenever i want. i also get an insane amount of geeky pleasure at being able to rewind and fast-forward through a radio show.
• nicole peterson. oh wait, i already did that one.
• shower curtains. thanks to my blue stars-and-suns shower curtain, i am able to create my own little canopied bed and private space in a room holding four people. thanks, shower curtains!
• rubber duckies. while i was unpacking, i would smile every time i pulled a rubber duckie from its box. current duckie count in rand 240: eight.
• wireless anything. wireless keyboards, wireless network connections, and cordless phones all bring me joy. why? you pick up your keyboard, move across the room, and tell me you don’t say “awesome!”
• my desk. my sexy, minimalist, zen desk. so sleek, so efficient. hottx.
• the view from said desk. a wall full of windows, green trees, and a limestone wall. it’s sure beautiful, alright.
• have i mentioned nicole peterson? she’s hot.

alright. time to think about a whole lot of nothing while i still can. peace, and behave.

president bush,

words cannot begin to describe the contempt i hold for you right now. i’ve never been a big fan of your policy decisions, but i’ve always held a modicum of respect for you. no longer. you are a failure, and an embarassment to the office you hold.

why? because you and everyone in your administration saw the hurricane coming and did absolutely nothing about it. you saw it coming, and you let thousands of people die anyway. you saw it coming, and yet you could not be inconvenienced to end your vacation to do the fucking job you were elected to do.

hurricane katrina hit monday. why were there no refugee centers set up? why was the army corps of engineers not deployed on saturday to make sure things were alright? why did you not deploy the military to the area and bring the army bases in the region to a standby? why wasn’t FEMA ready to move in right away? where are all the helicopters?

but no. you were on vacation, and probably couldn’t be bothered to think about it. god knows you couldn’t be bothered to get out of your plane and look at it, much less drive there. and now, look at the inconvenience caused to you by having to leave your vacation 72 hours after the hurricane passed. 72 hours.

you know, it’s absolutely astounding to think that we can spend hundreds of billions of dollars on a war and “rebuilding” effort in iraq to rebuild power infrastructure and roads and schools, but we can only give ten billion dollars to the people of louisiana, mississippi, and alabama. that is one fifth of the pentagon’s annual budget without counting the current “war” effort in iraq. $10 billion? i agree with ray nagin, president bush: get off your ass and help the people of new orleans.

in closing, “mr. president”, thank you. thank you for letting thousands of americans die needlessly. thank you for giving them too little, too late. thanks to you, we have lost the busiest port in the world for months, if not years. gas prices will only go up, and the products we need to survive will only become more and more difficult to obtain. i only hope that your administration begins to unravel, and we can see you and everyone that works for you as the pack of liars, thieves, and scoundrels that you truly are. it’s about time that our country wakes up from its political date rape. we have a lot of damage to clean up, and not just in new orleans.

eat shit,

grant robert dobbe.