Osama bin Laden dead (Official)

[Meeker]

Cool!

[Meeker]

Just got back from the White House... I have some pretty amazing photos and videos I'll post tomorrow.

Crowd is almost entirely GW students with a few Georgetown kids arriving now. Hardly anyone over the age of 22 or so.

[Meeker]

It is kind of weird how this is basically just being used as an excuse by college kids to party. Are the drinking on the Mall?

I saw kids with beers earlier, so I'm assuming they're still drinking.

Lots of people smoking weed too.

[Meeker]

It is kind of weird how this is basically just being used as an excuse by college kids to party. Are the drinking on the Mall?

I saw kids with beers earlier, so I'm assuming they're still drinking.

Lots of people smoking weed too.

Are you out there?

I just got back. We're in the middle of finals so I could only stay out so long, but it's nuts out there. Thousands and thousands of college students.

[Meeker]

In addition to the generally patriotic things that the media is reporting as being chanted in front of the White House, there were also chants of "Obama" and "Obama killed Osama". Unsurprisingly those are being largely left out of news articles.

[Meeker]

CNN is reporting they've already burried Bin Laden at sea.

I assume this was done so that his burial ground doesn't become a magnet for nutjobs from all over the Muslim world.

Or becuz IT WAS StAGED!11!!

EDIT TO ADD: 19% in the online CNN insta-poll say they do not believe Bin Laden is daed

[Meeker]

[Meeker]

Yeah... I read that Sirota piece earlier and while I usually like his work I have to disagree (I also think he's mostly trying to be contrarian just for the sake of being contrarian but that's neither here nor there.)

These celebrations would've happened had Bin Laden been captured alive as well. The public outpouring was more about finding closure and justice in the events of 10 years ago and not bloodlust. I know it's difficult to differentiate the two because the closure was tied to a violent death, but it seemed like the excitement last night wasn't really about the fact that he was dead so much as the fact that this chapter was now, in the heads of many people, finally over.

People react in different ways because, well, people are different and there's nothing wrong with that. I think drawing sweeping conclusions about this spontaneous burst of human emotion into a boarder picture of American society is tempting but just goes a step too far. Some folks reacted to the news with somberness and introspection; some reacted with cheering in the streets and hanging out with their friends and families. Different strokes for different folks. No need to criticize others for the way they handle things emotionally.

[Meeker]

lol wut

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/02/the-rock-osama-bin-laden-death_n_856381.html

Makes sense - The Rock was probably part of the team that carried out the mission.

[Meeker]

Obama, Hillary, Biden and Gates in the Situation Room.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/5680724572/

Why was John Lithgow there?  (Blue shirt, standing behind the seated General Webb.)

He became Obama's National Security Advisor when Rahm left. Bit of a shake-up.