Are we at the turning point?

I am beginning to feel like we are at the turning point. Things have been bad for a while, but most of you haven't noticed. Here is the list of what was bad and how it is turning for the better:

1. Habeas Corpus. Over the past 7 years, the Bush administration has routinely set aside the Constitution. Specifically, the concept of Habeas Corpus (produce the body) which protects us from unlawful arrest without a crime or charges. This has been the most shocking part of the attack on the US Constitution in a long time. (Yeah, I know Lincoln did it too.) Luckily, the Supreme Court has ruled that all people detained by the US Government must be charged and tried in a court of law. This is huge.

2. The surge is over. At the end of July, American forces in Iraq will be back to their pre-surge numbers. I don't care whether the surge worked or not. I do care that we are re-deploying our forces in Afganistan where the real threat exists. The Iraqi people must stand up for their own security and it is beginning to look like they are doing just that. Now, we need some of the Patraus faithful to handle the mess in Afganistan and crush the bad guys once and for all. (No more Tora Bora.)

3. Commodity Prices are Dropping. Over the past year, huge money flows have moved into commodities. Incredible fortunes have been made. This is the same lemming investment bubble that we saw in the late 80's in junk bonds, in the 90's in currencies, in the late 90's in equities, and in the 03-06 years in the mortgage backed securities. The bubble needs to burst and the money needs to spread out among all investment classes. I doubt that it will, but it needs to.

Financial speculation has replaced the old boom-bust-boom of the early industrial age. Money can flow quickly into an investment class and run up huge returns. But after the profits are made, it moves on and leaves a mess behind. It has happened time and time before and will happen again. We need to be prepared for $110/barrell oil in the next 12 months. That will devastate the next area of the money flows: green technology.

4. The Religious Right is Fragmented. Over the past 14 years, the religous right has grabbed power. It started with the Contract with America and moved on with G. W. Bush. With it came the absolutism of religous belief which has no place in a democracy. The republic must have compromise. With religous absolutism, there can be no compromise. The sign came when McCain was asked whether he supported health plans covering birth control like they do Viagra. He couldn't answer the question for fear of losing the support of the Christians. He, however, is not a true believer. So now the Religious Right has no champion. I believe the pendulum has swung back in the direction of reason.