Tom Friedman has come back from vacation with an astonishing slap in the face of George Bush and Dick Cheney over their continued support of the failed politics of the past as opposed to the politics of the future. He says that the current biggest enemy facing this country is not Islamism, Communism, or other such ideologies, but Petrolism, or the practice of sustaining a country through oil revenues. He calls for a new policy of Red, White, Blue, and Green.

If this had come from someone from Greenpeace or Earth First, nobody would raise their eyebrows. But coming from a man who was at one time one of Bush's biggest enablers is a sign that the Bush administration has run desperately adrift and is losing some of its key supporters. This would explain the photo-op meeting yesterday by the Bush administration and many former Democratic and Republican administration officials which was all spin and no deliverance.

On September 26th, 1983, we almost died. Stanislav Petrov was an obscure commander at a Soviet missile site who had the authority to launch 5,000 nuclear missiles and kill us all. On that morning, alarms went off saying that the US had launched 5 missiles at the Soviet Union. Standard Soviet military doctrine required him to push the launch button and notify his superiors in Moscow immedately. However, his heroic decision not to launch saved our lives and the lives of the rest of the world.

The reason he did not launch 5,000 missiles in retaliation was because something did not seem right to him -- why would the US only launch 5 missiles at the Soviet Union instead of  thousands? He could not be sure -- he had to trust his judgement. He judged correctly that the US would not be so stupid as to launch only five missiles at the Soviet Union, as they would survive to hit back. This judgement saved the world. For now.

If you missed the Bush radio address this morning, you missed a vapid defense of the Patriot Act, complete with the usual vague, detail-free justifications. But you know the really weird thing?  Bush missed the address, too.  Because instead of delivering the scheduled radio address, he made a TV appearance to deliver a much more pointed message.

Bush's points this morning:

1. Senators who block the Patriot Act are helping terrorists.

2. Yes, I did authorize spying on Americans without a warrant.

3. I'm going to do it again whenever I want.

4. Open democracy be damned.

WASHINGTON - The Senate on Friday refused to reauthorize major portions of the USA Patriot Act after critics complained they infringed too much on Americans' privacy and liberty, dealing a huge defeat to the Bush administration and Republican leaders.

In a crucial vote early Friday, the bill's Senate supporters were not able to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster by Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and their allies. The final vote was 52-47.

Wonder how much this had to do with the vote...and the longer this goes on, the less likely the bill is to pass.

Full story Here

Russ Feingold is taking questions about the Patriot Act and his just-finished performance over at the TPM Cafe

Since there are many here at the Cortex interested in this issue, including a recent diary posted by a first-time diarist here on actions you can take, check out both of these.

Senator Russ Feingold has accused the Bush administration of "trying to drill their way out of the national energy crisis," the AP reports. His comment about the Bush administration hits the nail on the head. His constant, steady opposition to the ANWR bill is a big contrast to the moral decay of the Republican Party, whose members can't tell right from wrong.

The AP article notes that Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman made a campaign promise not to vote for the ANWR bill. However, now, he is waffling on the bill like a person who knows he is not supposed to lie, but who wants to do it anyway. Coleman is like the people who call Dr. Laura who waffle about cheating on their spouses or doing a headlong rush into a premarital sexual relationship or something of that nature.