Bin Laden Dead

Wow. Just wow. Almost a decade ago, Osama Bin Laden masterminded the worst terrorist attack in American history. Now he is dead. I can't say I ever thought we would see this day. I think a part of me had given up on seeing justice so concretely served. But now it has, and in turn, history has been made.

Sunday night I was on Twitter, getting ready to chat up some tweeps about AMC's show "The Killing," when I read about an unexpected presidential address, subject unknown. On a Sunday night, short notice. It's the kind of thing you see in movies. You know, when the country is about to find out there's an asteroid headed to earth. Did we have Bruce Willis on call? Needless to say, all the unknowing had people a wee bit freaked out.

When Bin Laden's name first came up, I didn't believe it. The news cycle had been filled with Libya. Bin Laden? He was forgotten. But soon it became clear that though they couldn't outright say so, the newsers on TV knew what Obama would tell us. From there the story exploded. Social networking is amazing. Before POTUS even took to the podium, I think a good portion of the country knew the news.

It was an unforgettable night. The spontaneous celebrations and singing made me want to cry and cheer all at once. I know there are those who say we shouldn't be so happy about a death. In theory, I suppose that's true. But Osama wasn't just a man. He was a symbol for hate and murder and intolerance and pain.

For the long decade that we've hunted him, this country has seen war and natural disaster and economic collapse. It's been a hard road. This generation will never see the equivalent of a VJ Day. Our soldiers come home quietly from multiple tours. We all know there will never be a true win of any of the wars we're fighting. On the political front, we're marred in partisanship that continues to prevent true progress.

We've had little to celebrate lately. So when the man behind the attacks that killed 3,000 people is finally taken out in an operation where no American lives are lost, is it okay to take a rare moment to come together and cheer? I think it is. America, fuck yeah.

Tonight Anderson Cooper came at us live from Ground Zero for two hours. I won't be recapping. As I forgot in the jubilation of Sunday night, but was later reminded, it's still very early. We're in the rough draft of history. In the coming days, facts will change--maybe significantly, maybe not. Below you can see our anchor's piece that takes us through how the raid went down: