I got home a short time ago from the peace march and rally in Santa Barbara. I’ll have something to say about it later, and maybe a few photos. For now, I want to say that I almost didn’t go. My stomach’s been bugging me a little today. I was tempted just to stay here in my comfy place, where the only noise is that of children playing outside. But then I turned on the computer and saw this photo.

Blood drips from the head of a blindfolded suspected insurgent inside an army headquarters in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad March 18, 2006. Three years after the war, dreams of a bright new future have died as insurgency and rising sectarian violence have brought new fears, and more poverty.
REUTERS/Helmiy al-Azawi

Hard to look at, isn’t it? And you see why I couldn’t stay here in my soft chair, sipping coffee and watching CNN, while the world devolves into blood and weeping. Not today.

Peace.