I am way behind this morning. Impossibly so; I got up at the usual time this morning, but decided to go back to bed- I had made the mistake of attempting to watch The Dark Knight on DVD and predictable happened there in the brown chair near the door: I came to consciousness around 0200 with the movie still dragging on.

It was vaguely interesting as I re-integrated to the world, and I must say the last complete performance by actor Heath Leger was entertaining in a profoundly unsettling way. Chaos is what he was after, and we have enough for my taste these days without seeing it in the living room.

I started stumbling around again around seven with some excellent Dazbog Russian-blend coffee and some Michigan unrefined raw honey from Pond Hill Farms to sweeten it into a meal and plowed through the 48 emails that piled up since I put the movie on.

There is a lot out stuff going on out there. We talked about the  unemployment
numbers last night at Willow. They are troubling, and I have no idea what the President is going to talk about next week to deal with it. If he suggests another gigantic stimulus program to shower jobs on the grateful taxpayers at their expense, I doubt if he will get the recalcitrant House to go along with him. Anything else is tinkering on the margins.

There are not enough “green jobs” on the planet to fix the current mess, even if that strategy worked. Which is doesn’t. Someone suggested a trillion dollar infrastructure building campaign, and once you have gone as far down the trillion dollar road as we have, I suppose you could argue that might be the way to go.

Still, the luster is off the Keynesian blossom, and the old adage that when you find yourself in a deep hole you ought to first stop digging. The thicket of regulations with which the Administration is so enamored might be contributing to the malaise, don’t you think?

They are closing a coal-fired power plant on the waterfront in Alexandria, a signal victory for environmentalists and NIMBYs who have moved in over the years. I salute their efforts- it will be cleaner and more pleasant for those who have enough money to live there. I must have missed part of the press release in which the activists explained what was coming on line on the power grid to make up for the loss of electrical generation.

I heard some illuminating commentary yesterday in the car that suggested there was exactly zip-squat that could be done in the way of options. The fact that the economy grew zero jobs in the last month- a first in sixty years of record keeping- the unemployment numbers are the most daunting thing the President and the country are confronting.

But I remain an optimist. I think it is too soon to write America off. Our position between the seas and the troubling but vibrant infusion of Mexico and Meso-America will make us look at lot more like Brazil than the WASPish establishment that is painted in our history books. We will be a vibrant people, and if I have grandchildren and they speak Spanglish, well, so what?

My son’s experience with Gunnery Sergeant Ishmael Bamba, USMC, gave me hope about the future. The Gunny is one squared-away Marine, and he happens to have been born in the Cote D’Ivoire.

Anyway, the real heart of the problem this morning is the Government, and I am not talking about intrusive regulation or economic ineptitude. The contracting authority issued the answers to the questions we had on the solicitation for the big contract I have been managing for the company for nearly four years. We did several hundred million dollars on it, so not bad, and if we win a spot on the new vehicle I am good for employment through the recession.

If we don’t, well…I was looking at house trailers and alternative ways of living yesterday. Maybe a yurt.

Anyway, the answers the Government provided to the questions were quirky, did not explain intent, created more problems to solve, and concluded with the admonition that she wasn’t taking any more clarifications or calls and there would be no extensions.

Hence, the War Room recommences at 1000 this morning, and my understanding is that we will sacrifice some small animal and examine the entrails for portents.

The upside is that Labor Day is the last great opportunity to grill out, and the goat may be useful in that regard. I am not going to tell you about marinades or techniques for grilling, since it behooves me to look interested. Or start looking for house trailers in earnest. In that event, I will be probably doing more grilling than I expect.

But it did occur to me that you might be looking for something on the side to compliment what comes in from the barbeque.

This came from my favorite cousin, who is a fine cook and woman who enjoys travel.

“Kartofenyi Salat po-Russki,” she says- Russian Potato Salad- comes form Moscow. It would go well with goat, if you have one left over from trying to figure out what the Government really wants. The original version of the salad was invented in the 1860s by Lucien Olivier, chef of the Hermitage restaurant, one of Moscow’s most celebrated restaurants. Olivier’s salad was immensely popular with Hermitage regulars, and quickly became the restaurant’s signature dish. “The exact recipe—particularly that of the dressing—was a jealously guarded secret,” said my cousin, “but it is known that the salad contained grouse, veal tongue, caviar, lettuce, crayfish tails, capers and smoked duck, although it is possible that the recipe was varied seasonally.”

It is the end of the season, so that is completely up to you.

Ingredients:

Salad:
One-quarter cup mayonnaise
One teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Two teaspoons ketchup
One tablespoon lemon juice
One half teaspoon horseradish (optional)
One pound small white potatoes, peeled, cooked and sliced
Six green onions, sliced
One tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
Two tablespoons gherkins, diced
Six radishes, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh dill for garnish

Directions:
Salad:
Mix together mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, lemon juice
and horseradish in a medium bowl. Add potatoes, onions, chopped dill,
pickles, and radishes, tossing to coat with dressing. Add salt and
pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh dill.

Makes 4 servings.

You have to provide your own goat.

Copyright 2011 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com