Past. Present. Future?

The recent past and the present:
The lies and wounds and deaths and financial cost of the mad Iraq war and occupation --Katrina -- 45 million Americans without health insurance -- Obscene tax loopholes for corporations and sweet tax breaks for the richest -- Catastrophic job losses -- An almost unimaginable national debt -- Government by lobby -- Thousands of migrant deaths along our southern border -- The rogues gallery of hypocrites, e.g., Foley, Abramoff, Cunningham.

Then the House turnabout. And now the Senate turnabout. And Rumsfeld has gone bye-bye.

So what does the fairly proximate future hold? Here are my bets:

Heavy pressure on Bush to start troop withdrawal from Iraq and a beginning of that withdrawal -- Talks with Iraq's neighbors, especially Iran -- Renewed attention toward the Palestinians -- More cooperation between parties in Congress (no more locked doors and midnight chicanery) -- House investigations into the Iraq debacle -- Real oversight -- A real ethics committee -- Renewed environmental protections -- Minimum wage raise -- Use of government purchasing power to get prescription meds -- A less-ferocious border policy and defunding of "the wall."

I hope I'm not hoping too much. But this week sure has let the light shine in.