I'm no economic expert, but the idea that China and Russia agree to renounce the US dollar

... does not seem to be a value neutral decision on their parts.  Of course we are assured by 'experts' that there's nothing to see here.  And if this occurred in some sort of vacuum, a void where nothing has happened one way or another, I might just ignore this particular development.  But it hasn't.  Each week, each day, there is something else that slowly reveals an emerging picture of a post-American world about which the leaders of various countries (ahem, China, Russia) appear more than gleeful.  Americans, meanwhile, continue to embrace the ostrich as our totem animal of choice, and hope that by blaming ourselves and thinking happy thoughts about everyone else, in 20 more years we'll still be buying our widescreens, our IPads, and not a damn thing will have happened to change any of it.