I'm still awake when I should damn well be in bed. It's a rare opportunity that I can go to sleep before 11pm and I let it slip, anxious about this war we've finally begun. The bombs have started to fall - a target of opportunity, apparently - and from here on out, the world has changed again.

We are walking down a new road in unfamiliar terrain and I suspect there are landmines ahead of us that we have severely underestimated. I found myself hoping the "opportunity" was Hussein himself and that this insanity might come to a quick end but somehow, I know it doesn't stop with him. It can't. It's not like Iraq is unique in its despotism or capabilities. It's almost like they're being made an example of and whoever else doesn't get the message can consider themselves next in line. With us or against us is what Bush said and I believe he means it.

It's a scary thought that this is the man leading our country into battle. The total lack of emotion in his speech tonight was appalling.

Looking through some old emails post-9/11, I came across this quote from Jim Washburn of the OC Weekly: "Why, at this tragic moment, would I even think of writing an article critical of our country? Because we are the only factor here we can change. We can’t kill all the terrorists or shield ourselves against them."

All of our technological superiority and precision bombs and special operations forces couldn't stop 19 men from getting on airplanes and turning them into their own version of smart bombs. It couldn't stop them from dying for what they believed in. Now, tens of thousands of young men and women - not old enough to drink, barely old enough to vote - are putting their lives on the line for what they believe in.

The seams of the world are splitting apart.