A nice piece from the Boston Globe on the passing of my WBZ colleague Paul Sullivan. I did not know Paul well, but whenever I interacted with him, whether in the hallway or control room or on the air in the studio, he was always genuinely interested in how I was doing and always had a self-deprecating quip whenever asked about his own welfare. I can only hope that I deal with my own final days, whenever they come, as well as he did.

On the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, there is a great deal of conversation about the testimony of General Petraeus about the progress of military operations in Iraq. Yesterday, the General testified in front of a House committee and indicated that some troops could be withdrawn, but we face a long road ahead. His testimony was met by skepticism from Democrats, and a truly McCarthy-esque tactic by Moveon.org. In a full-page ad in the New York Times, the left-wing extremist group essentially declared General Petraeus a traitor who was "cooking the books" to give a positive report to Congress about Iraq. Byron York wonders if the Democrats will have the guts to repudiate the group's actions. Ralph Peters slams the group, even though he has often disagreed with Petraeus. After taking calls Sunday night/Monday morning on WBZ from folks who share Moveon's view, I doubt the Democrats will have the courage to put them in their place. Much like McCarthy, many mainstream politicians will be afraid of angering the significant number of people who back them. Unlike McCarthy, Moveon will not be discredited by their actions, even if they get significant media coverage, because back then Senator McCarthy's views, as well as his tactics, were loathed by the mainstream media members. This time, while many mainstream media members may be uncomfortable with Moveon's tactics, they sympathise with their views, so they won't make too much of an effort to discredit them.

George Will, long a skeptic of the Iraq War, is skeptical of any reported progress in that war, not because he doubts General Petraeus' honesty or patriotism, but because he believes the military does not have an achievable mission in Iraq.

What motivates Osama bin Laden and his followers? Despite all the rhetoric that seems to indicate his war against us is driven by our policies, here is an argument by a German that says Osama's ideology has direct links to the Nazis and is rooted in Jew-hatred.