Washington, September 23, 2016. Power is an old game in this city, but a style in play last week made all others seem crude. Aung San Suu Kyi, the effective head of state of Burma, was in town, and in her presence, the American government performed at peak form.

We cannot continue to pretend as if these horrid acts are occurring on their own, nor can we shy away from accepting responsibility for the innocent blood that has been shed as a direct result of our actions.

It is the declining power, Russia, that is both threatened by the global order and threatening to the global order, that has nothing to lose in trying to reshuffle the deck. Russia is the only major economy that, beyond a collapsing energy market, has no skin in the globalized game.

Our founding fathers may have been a bunch of white guys, but the greatness of America was built on diversity. By definition, diversity requires otherness - otherness to be cultivated, validated and celebrated.

Trump seems to think he's reenacting the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" campaign against John Kerry. But in reality, it's more like the Romney 2012 nomination speech that ignored the military, as well as the former CEO's ineffective battle against McCain for the nomination.