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2:00PM Water Cooler 2/28/2025

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By Lambert Strether.

Readers, the fundraiser for my very nearly gold retirement watch + all my Water Cooler work done in 2024 is complete!

The goal was 400 donors; we now have 132 232 324, 402 or 33% 58% 81% 101% of goal. Thank you all so much. It means a lot, and it’s very, very helpful. –lambert

Bird Song of the Day

Lambert here: Readers, I really enjoyed starting each Water Cooler by finding a bird song. I enjoyed it even more when some readers suggested mimidae like catbirds, thrashers, and mockingbirds!

American Robin, Hammond Hill SF, Tompkins, New York, United States. “Mobbing a Barred Owl.” From 1992!

* * *

In Case You Might Miss…

  1. Goddamned Democrats.
  2. Big Z at the White House (transcript).
  3. Economy already worrisome.
  4. Epigenetics: Violence alters human genes for generations.

Politics

“So many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles

* * *

Trump Administration

Wowsers:

Democrats en déshabillé

Readers, I’ve been compiling a solid list of Democrat maleficence for my last Water Cooler. Please check back in an hour or so, when I’ve worked up a good head of spleen.

(1) Generally I avoid this trope, because who wants copycats, but please kill me now:

Slotkin is, of course, a “CIA Democrat” (first listed by WSWS in 2018). I don’t know whether this is the intelligence community, given Tulsi, yanking Schumer’s chokechain, or Schumer signaling fealty, or both. “They have learned nothing and forgotten nothing.” –Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, of the Bourbons.

(2) You will only pry “fighting for” from their cold, dead hands:

So wait a minute. The health care “our 9/11 heroes deserve” but not the rest of us?

(3) True leadership:

(4) “God is still on the throne.” –Hakeem Jeffries

(5) James Carville is still alive:

What I want to know about Democrats playing dead: How can we tell? For example–

(6) A centrist snoozefest:

(7) A hoodie too far:

(8) If you hold a primary, you don’t have to improvise a firing squad:

(9) Learn to code:

(10) Every so often I have hope for the labor movement but not now:

(11) Bernie, Bernie….

(12) No:

And there’s more, so much more….

Syndemics

Lambert here: Many readers have commented on how helpful they found the Covid section. Let my repeat my belief: Assume for now that airborne disease will be a constant going forward, by Rule #2. (Covid, measles, maybe bird flu, the usual suspects like TB, RSV, etc.) Devise your airborne protection protocol according to the Swiss Cheese Model and stick to it. Don’t be thinking all the time and adjusting your behavior, not least because there will be at least a two week lag time between the next pandemic getting rolling and you hearing about it in the news. The K.I.S.S. principle applies.

Covid coverage at Naked Capitalism will continue, but neither the list of Covid resources nor the Daily Covid charts will continue; they are too complex to maintain. (For a good weekly Covid wrapup, check out the Threat Model blog with Violet Blue.) I was especially pleased and proud of the collective responsibility readers took on for each other by aggregating and then maintaining the Covid Resources listings, immediately below. If some kind reader with a blog wants me to send them the HTML code, so they can carry on the work, send me mail.

Finally, I was not “HEARD” as Garrison was, very sadly. I feel that I did help out readers, and I did inspire part of a lawsuit against HICPAC’s Inspector General. Five years of charts, and the only conclusion is that anybody who tells you that Covid has gone away is deluded or shamelessly lying….

“I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison

* * *

Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; includes many counties; Wastewater Scan, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, but national data). “Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts” (especially on hospitalization by city).

Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put “COVID” in the subject line. Thank you!

Resources, United States (Local): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reports); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d’Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (wastewater); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).

Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (Government of Canada).

Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).

Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, KidDoc, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).

Stay safe out there!

* * *

TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts

Wastewater
★ This week[1] CDC February 17 Last week[2] CDC (until next week):

★ Variants [3] CDC March 1 ★ Emergency Room Visits[4] CDC February 22

Hospitalization
★ New York[5] New York State, data February 27: ★ National [6] CDC February 27:

Positivity
National[7] Walgreens February 24: ★ Ohio[8] Cleveland Clinic February 22:

Travelers Data
★ Positivity[9] CDC February 10: ★ Variants[10] CDC February 10

Deaths
Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] CDC January 25: Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] CDC January 25:

LEGEND

1) ★ for charts new today; all others are not updated.

2) For a full-size/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and “open image in new tab.”

NOTES

[1] (CDC) Down, nothing new at major hubs.

[2] (CDC) Last week’s wastewater map.

[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, “Ommicron,” has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.

[4] (ED) A little uptick.

[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Weird plateau without exponential growrht

[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.

[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.

[8] (Cleveland)

[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Uptick.

[10] (Travelers: Variants). Don’t know what the dominance of XEC is all about,

[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.

[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.

Stats Watch

Manufacturing: “United States Chicago PMI” [Trading Economics]. “The Chicago Business Barometer, or Chicago PMI, surged 6.0 points to 45.5 in February 2025, up from 39.5 in January and exceeding market expectations of 40.6.”

* * *

Manufacturing: “FAA Proposes Airworthiness Directive for Boeing 787 Due to VHF Frequency Anomalies” [Aviacionline]. ‘The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for a new Airworthiness Directive (AD) affecting specific Boeing 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 models. This action follows reports of uncommanded changes in VHF frequencies on the Tuning Control Panel (TCP), which could lead to communication failures with Air Traffic Control (ATC) and pose an operational safety risk….

The Economy: Git along little DOGEbags:

Federal workers have a multiplier of two or three contractors, so DOGE is well on its way to a million unemployed in a very short time. That’s a lot.

* * *

Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 16 Extreme Fear (previous close: 18 Extreme Fear) [CNN]. One week ago: 36 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 28 at 1:31:01 PM ET.

Rapture Index: Closes unchanged [Rapture Ready]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 181. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) • This is a tough crowd. Surely Trump’s second month brought the Rapture closer?

Zeitgeist Watch

“What conservative women know − and liberals don’t − about happiness” [USA Today]. “One of the weirdest reactions I saw after President Donald Trump was reelected in November involved videos on social media of young liberal women in hysterics over the results of our democratic process. Some even vowed to shave their heads and swear off having sex with men. I don’t remember losing my mind when Joe Biden was elected president in 2020. I was disappointed, but angry and depressed? No. Turns out, there’s data behind this phenomenon. New research shows that young conservative women are much happier than liberal women. The findings are about far more than political ideology. They demonstrate fundamental differences between Republicans and Democrats. According to the 2024 American Family Survey, liberal women ages 18-40 are far less likely than conservative women to say they are happy. Only 12% of liberal women said they are “completely satisfied” with life compared with 37% of conservative women. Self-described moderates also are happier than liberals, with 28% agreeing that they are fully satisfied with life. Grant Bailey, a research associate of the Institute for Family Studies, and Brad Wilcox, a senior fellow at the institute, investigated “how marriage, churchgoing, and loneliness help to account for the happiness gap between liberal and conservative women.” Bailey and Wilcox make a strong case that conservative women are happier because they make different life choices. They are more likely to get married, have babies and embrace a strong faith − all things that make them feel less lonely. And people who don’t feel lonely are more likely to be happy.” • Hmm.

“A History of Violence” [BookForum]. The deck: “On Gisèle Pelicot, Virginie Despentes, and post-#MeToo narratives” And: “It goes without saying that victims of sexual violence experience victimization individually. But the abiding cultural formulations of rape as unspeakable—a private and singular tragedy for which words will not suffice—serve mainly to shore up stigma and secrecy surrounding these violations, leaving rape a kind of insoluble fog saturating life under patriarchy. As a physical trauma, at least, rape is a delineable event: it happens in a particular time and place; specific, divisible bodies are involved; and presumably, at some point, the incident concludes. Either you live or you die. Your rapists are held to account or they are not. (Mostly they are not.) While the psychic aftershocks of rape are murkier, it’s nonetheless experientially intelligible; trauma does not categorically defy utterance, as is frequently insinuated or proclaimed. If narrative is at times an ill-fitting container for grief, the alternative—silence—is unthinkable.”

The Screening Room

Clip suggested by a reader (take a bow in comments):

“Good. Great!”

Political Ecomedy

Clarke and Dawe, suggested by a reader:

Musical Interlude

Heavy beats–

Apparently the first reggae song, c. 1965 (though perhaps not the first version):

And another bassline. I can take or leave the whoever the front man is, prancing about, but the under-rated Bill Wyman is my favorite bassist after Phil Lesh:

(This one is good too, and for once Wyman is in the shot most of the time, but I feel his playing is even better in the clip above.)

News of the Wired

“Violence alters human genes for generations, researchers discover” (press release) [University of Florida]. “In 1982, the Syrian government besieged the city of Hama, killing tens of thousands of its own citizens in sectarian violence. Four decades later, rebels used the memory of the massacre to help inspire the toppling of the Assad family that had overseen the operation. But there is another lasting effect of the attack, hidden deep in the genes of Syrian families. The grandchildren of women who were pregnant during the siege — grandchildren who never experienced such violence themselves — nonetheless bear marks of it in their genomes. Passed down through their mothers, this genetic imprint offers the first human evidence of a phenomenon previously documented only in animals: The genetic transmission of stress across multiple generations. ‘The idea that trauma and violence can have repercussions into future generations should help people be more empathetic, help policymakers pay more attention to the problem of violence,’ said Connie Mulligan, Ph.D., a professor of Anthropology and the Genetics Institute at the University of Florida and senior author of the new study. ‘It could even help explain some of the seemingly unbreakable intergenerational cycles of abuse and poverty and trauma that we see around the world, including in the U.S.’ While our genes are not changed by life experiences, they can be tuned through a system known as epigenetics. In response to stress or other events, our cells can add small chemical flags to genes that may quiet them down or alter their behavior. These changes may help us adapt to stressful environments, although the effects aren’t well understood. It is these tell-tale chemical flags that Mulligan and her team were looking for in the genes of Syrian families. While lab experiments have shown that animals can pass along epigenetic signatures of stress to future generations, proving the same in people has been nearly impossible.” • Will Jean-Baptiste Lamarck please pick up the white courtesy phone? (I should really file this under class warfare….)

* * *

Contact information for plants: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. From Desert Dog:

Desert Dog writes: “I found a photo of the frost on the tree.” Desert Dog periodically sent in photos of the same tree as the seasons changed. Here’s another:

And: “Some days are much better for my tree…”

* * *

Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. Material here is Lambert’s, and does not express the views of the Naked Capitalism site. If you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn’t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I’m on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for three or four days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals:

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About Lambert Strether

Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (“Because markets”). I don’t much care about the “ism” that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don’t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. To me, the key issue — and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me — is the tens of thousands of excess “deaths from despair,” as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics — even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton’s wars created — bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow — currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press — a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let’s call such voices “the left.” Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn’t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I’ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.

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177 comments

  1. timotheus

    I feel like that English personage who delighted in a leisurely read through the entire Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and then asked, “Is there no more Gibbon?”

      1. clarky90

        Dearest Lambert
        Please do not leave! Someone has put rum in the punchbowl and the party is starting to seethe…….

  3. sardonia

    402…nope, make that 403.
    Best wishes on your new endeavors.
    I’d hoped to have time to write a farewell song parody for the Water Cooler, but nope. Maybe later
    For now, as Douglas Adams wrote, so long and thanks for all the fish. :)

  4. Carolinian

    Lambert we who are reading our last Water Cooler salute you and say thanks for being such a great host over the years. Maybe you can come back to visit sometimes. In any case

    Best wishes.

  5. ChrisFromGA

    Sent you an email, Lambert. Me no likey Paypal, but put me down for a donation.

    (Email send this AM hopefully before the fundraiser closed.)

      1. Randall Flagg

        Another will be coming via snail mail. With apologies for lateness but well deserved and wish it could be more.

        And great picture of the tree to go out with!

      2. lyman alpha blob

        I have a late one to send you! I’m sure you are very busy with a number of things, but I did email you as requested and just need a confirmation in order to send my donation.

  6. Steve H.

    lambert A former unit of *luminance equal to the luminance of a uniformly diffusing surface that emits or reflects one lumen per square centimeter.

    [Oxford Concise Science Dictionary]

    1. chris

      I just posted this below too.

      My initial thoughts are Zelensky was high on something, his own supply and maybe coke too. I can’t imagine walking into a meeting like that and arguing in that venue unless your senses were clouded by drugs.

      This may be the best gift for Trump though. He has a good excuse to back out of any future agreements with Ukraine. I guess we’ll see if he takes that opportunity or not.

      1. Louis Fyne

        Cocaine is a helluva drug! see Z’s fidgeting, nose tweaking, agitation….Z was tweaking.

        Citation: and having partaked (a bit) and being around it in my early 20’s, lol

        And I bet (tea-totalling) Trump’s been around tweakers a lot too over the decades, and knows the signs from across the room. And likely doubly offended at Z’s imbibing.

      2. griffen

        Zelensky has gotten accustomed to many of his pleas and convincing appeals to US government leadership ( Biden, Blinken, Sullivan, etc…) that the new bosses are for real, and just not in the BAU mode of operations…

        No longer is it Business as Usual, or standard procedure to have your refill of countless millions and billions. Reminding me of a hard tack in foreign policy approach, not necessarily a bad shift. We got problems closer to home, fighting a never ending overseas conflict or even just merely playing the role of Big Daddy War money I believe has, or had already, begun to grate on American citizens.

        Trump can be a blunt tool in such affairs and in his negotiating tactics.

          1. Michaelmas

            It is a funny comment. But the blackest of black comedy given the half-million-plus human lives flushed down the toilet in this incredibly stupid war.

        2. sardonia

          “Ding ding ding ding ding ding”

          Actually the Dems are probably very happy about this – now they can say “Ukraine would have won the war if WE were in power! Trump lost the war!!” And the fully propagandized public will buy it.

          1. NosFurATwo

            IF Israel, just as Ukraine, requires US security guarantees and US weapons and US funds to pay it’s bureaucracy and guarantee it’s bonds to survive -and Ukraine must sign a resource extraction and infrastructure collateralization deal with the US to protect US Taxpayers’ interests to secure those security guarantees and weapons and funds; WHY is there no commensurate commitment demanded of Israel?

        3. jonboinAR

          If he (Biden) even remembers much about being president. Depends of the state of his decline, probably.

      1. hoki_haya

        Vance escalated the conflict? Oof Laura, that’s a shallow slant, but anyway, yo Lambert, good on ya in all your metamorphoses! You’ve tangibly contributed to the self-education of many, myself included.

        May the last song from our admired ‘Combat Rock’ serve as the soundtrack of my tribute. Ginsberg may be passé, but this cut-up rug really tied that room together.

        https://youtu.be/GTLMgAuTNOI?si=UFuIVk0r42XCslE-

    4. hazelbee

      wow. just wow. I’ve not seen anything like it.
      watching the “Rest is politics” live stream on it now.

      Alastair campbell reminding us that Trump is a not serious reality tv person. Interested in just two things, ratings and conflict.

      more evidence of the clown show in the oval office.

      1. chris

        Does the video of that encounter make you think Trump isn’t a serious person? He looks like Churchill next to Zelensky in that affair.

        1. hazelbee

          I hope I don’t stray outside the guidelines after the latest comment ban. Going to be careful with my response.

          I can look at the video of that encounter with the sound off. What I see are 3 primates in a power display. The body language is not collaborative or healthy at all. Crossed arms from Zelenksy. (defensive), finger pointing from Trump and Vance (aggression). It’s a conflict situation. One of the primates is in good physical condition , the other two look ready for a long winter, one old, one young. the young is subservient to the old.

          Now if we replace 3 primates with “2 presidents and one vice president” then I expect very different behaviour. I would not expect such a nakedly obvious animal interaction. More type 2 thinking vs type 1 please.

          Lastly the comment at the end of “this will make great TV”. As a way to try and close out the encounter at the end? This trivializes one of the important political situations of our time. Unserious. This is going to go down very badly over here. people will be incredulous at the encounter. Staff will be working overtime on damage limitation.

          Curious why you draw the comparison with Churchill? (and as a Brit I know Churchill was very much of his time with his own problems)

          1. Michaelmas

            hazelbee; I can look at the video of that encounter with the sound off. What I see are 3 primates in a power display.

            What else would you expect? What else was all of this ever, from the start, but primate power competitions?

            Is it, maybe, actually better that the proles can see that that’s what the reality always has been?

            Indeed, however inelegant you may find Trump – and I too am a Brit, who after decades in the US is back in London to watch the equivalent of what I fully expect may be the equivalent of the Yeltsin years for the US — isn’t hearing Trump and Vance articulate out loud the actual stakes of what Zelensky is trying to get them to do, which is to have the US underwrite the continuance of this conflict on his terms rather than make peace, slightly refreshing?

            Each to their own taste, of course. But you say that this was ‘unserious.’ I, on the other hand, don’t like Trump and Vance, and liked Biden, Obama, Clinton, etcetera, even less, but I liked this. Because this was the truth.

          2. ChiGal

            nice observation. and of course we—US, UK, the West—put Z in this position to begin with. Talk about a bait and switch…

            1. Pat

              No, Zelensky and his Ukrainian backers put Zelensky in this position. I realize that this conflict was managed by grifters and ideological US bureaucrats wanting a proxy war with their real target, but none of them went to Zelensky and told the popular comic actor to run for his country’s Presidency. But even being a clueless entertainment figure, the precarious situation the country was in had to be clear to him before he did this. He ran knowing that the US was pulling the strings, actually ran on policy counter to what his administration did, and was the appropriate front man for the grifters in his country with the West. He may have gotten more than he expected. (It wouldn’t surprise me that he was deluded about what Russia could do as our ever failing foreign policy strategists were.) But once again he chose to jettison a successful career for this.
              I feel for many Ukrainians. I do not feel for Zelensky or the remaining Ukrainian legislature, or most of its top military, especially the Azov brigade. Not that most of the American government (and top Europeans) are any better. And while not keeping up the pretense that Ukraine as anything but lost in this is refreshing, throwing more money at it because of a ‘deal’ that Zelensky has no real legal right to make doesn’t make doesn’t give the latest home team any points either in my book.

    5. Skip Intro

      Consistent with earlier theory that Trump will take the minerals deal, reportedly inked by the Rada already, and work it with the Russians, Zelensky is boxed out and his authority hasn’t been reinforced or made significant. I have to wonder if this isn’t still kayfabe, because Zelensky’s defiance and expulsion will buy him some credibility with the Banderites who have guns to his head. Maybe he will make it to France.

    6. The Rev Kev

      Strange for me to say so but in all fairness to Zelensky the guy is probably a mental train wreck right now. He has just signed his entire country over to the US for who knows how many generations and he knows full well that if it had not been for the US this war would never have even happened – and now the US is going to walk away with everything. Vance and Trump talk a lot about respect but I have noticed that for them the respect goes only one way.

      1. curlydan

        First Zelensky and Ukraine were slapped by the left hand of imperialism, and now they (and particularly Zelensky) have been slapped by the right hand of imperialism.

      2. Michaelmas

        Rev Kev: (Zelensky) knows full well that if it had not been for the US this war would never have even happened – and now the US is going to walk away with everything.

        Sure. But when any country’s elites have actively sought to get into bed with Langley and indeed with DC, generally — after no less a personage than Henry Kissinger explained the score decades ago (recite after me, children: to be an enemy of the US is dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal) — that country’s elites are not wholesome, upstanding, and respectable. They are deeply corrupt.

        How did those thirty-plus US biolabs in Ukraine ringing Russian borders get there, for example? With the active connivance of Ukraine’s elites. And so on.

        Furthermore, the US is not going to “walk away with everything.” After this, the US’s credibility is almost certainly so deeply tarnished that even, for instance, the quisling elites in Europe are going to have a hard time selling out to it.

        Good.

    7. .Tom

      I think Z knew what he was doing going into this: putting on a show for the Europols, use their hatred of Trump to get them to put together a security guarantee without the USA.

    8. clarky90

      https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/24/nuclear-armed-ukraine/
      or
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtY4MpoOQ1s

      How a nuclear-armed Ukraine could become ‘Europe’s Israel’
      “On the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, Ukraine faces a dilemma over how to defend itself…….”

      I have not read the article or watched the youtube…. the thought of a nuclear armed Zelenski is repugnant to me ………

      This project of, Ukraine as Europe’s Israel, sums up, imo, much of the last eleven years in the Ukraine.

      The Trump-Zelensky dust up is very welcome news imo.

      1. JohnnyGL

        The Israel model pops up from time to time in the writings of the foreign policy think tank crowd.

        They want to do the same with the Kurds, too.

        These maniacs love Israel precisely for the exact reasons we hate the whole damned failed project. They want to recreate it throughout the world.

  10. CanCyn

    From the bottom of my heart, I thank you Lambert. I have learned from and been entertained by you for many years now. I will miss your posts and all the wit, intelligence, insight, critical commentary, snark and plain good writing they have encompassed. It does not surprise me at all that so many writers are required to fill those yellow waders of yours. I wish you all the best in retirement and your new endeavours. Farewell, may you live in peace.

    1. jonboinAR

      Intelligence, wit, good cheer, those have been Lambert’s trademarks. We will miss him, certainly. Thanks for everything, Lambert. Bon voyage!

    1. Cassandra

      We shall miss your sharp eyes at the masthead, Lambert. May we all steer clear of th’ impervious horrors of a lee shore.

  15. froggy

    What conservative women know − and liberals don’t − about happiness | Opinion

    The pursuit of happiness − a right outlined in the Declaration of Independence − can mean a lot of things. In 1776, the right to follow one’s own path toward happiness was foundational to liberty. Now, happiness is all that Americans want to pursue. And much of our culture is geared toward individual happiness in the moment

    Happiness is not meaning. The pursuit of happiness can make people perpetually miserable, because happiness depends on external circumstances – things you can’t control. Pursue contentment and meaning, which you can control, and accept happiness whenever it finds you.

    1. amfortas the hippie

      yeah,
      Nietzsche’s “define yer own good” is a hard row.
      i built a village, and now theres nobody here but me and
      my lunatic mom.
      so i had to modify the Good that i am still moving towards…
      now…well…
      my boys will need a refugia….
      in the coming darkness.
      so this infrastructure remains important.

        1. amfortas the hippie

          i hung a 12′ sign on the side of my shop, right after we moved back out here: all i want for christmas is the means of production.
          one of many aphorisms and statements i sequestered on walls and among bushes so that my kids and their friends would notice them, and ask questions…leading to discussion and discourse.

          1. mary jensen

            Amfortas, ever heard of Armand Schulthess? Collection de l’Art Brut Lausanne CH:

            https://www.artbrut.ch/en_GB/author/schulthess-armand

            “He embarked on the task of laying out his 18,000 m2 property with a network of paths, bridges, stairways and ladders. From the trees, by means of wire, he hung hundreds of metal plaques made from the tops or bases of food tins, which he coated with paint and inscribed with messages. The texts, written in five languages, combine knowledge relating to geology, astrology, psychoanalysis, literature and music, among other subjects.”

      2. Lee

        For years I hung on to a house much too big for me, occasionally renting rooms. Then my long gone son moved back in, worked locally, got married and had two kids that now all live with me. Yeah, based on my good fortune, I’d say keep the infrastructure both within and without in good working order.

    2. The Rev Kev

      I have heard that in college that liberal girls tend to hook up with conservative guys more than liberal guys. Make of that what you will.

  16. mrsyk

    The oft quoted part of Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening won’t quit my mind. In it’s entirety:

    Whose woods these are I think I know.
    His house is in the village though;
    He will not see me stopping here
    To watch his woods fill up with snow.

    My little horse must think it queer
    To stop without a farmhouse near
    Between the woods and frozen lake
    The darkest evening of the year.

    He gives his harness bells a shake
    To ask if there is some mistake.
    The only other sound’s the sweep
    Of easy wind and downy flake.

    The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep.

    Perhaps one snowy evening we all will meet again. Bon voyage.

  17. Jason Boxman

    Thanks for the past decade plus that I’ve been reading these!

    Also, it’s been 3 years (Jan 2022) since I last asked, so as we enter Pandemic year 6 I’m again looking for TV show recommendations; I’m currently rewatching all of Stargate SG1 (I never watched the last 2 seasons) and Stargate Atlantis (never saw the last 3 seasons). That might keep me busy until Oct-Nov, but then I’m out of ideas again.

    Thanks!

    1. amfortas the hippie

      Stargate Universe is prolly my favorite scifi show of all time.
      and do check out the Expanse, on amazon….they still have sounds in space(lol), but get a whole lot of the other stuff right(Flip and Burn, for one)
      and if you havent enjoyed frelling Farscape..get thee there!…and suspend all disbelief, because its worth it.

      1. amfortas the hippie

        and i recently enjoyed a big chunk of star wars…Andor to the end.
        andor and rogue one are pretty gritty by disney standards.
        ive read about a treatment of Asimov’s Foundation…with Lee Pace, but didnt want yet another subscription,lol.
        and the recent Dune movies…as well as the Sisterhood series on whichever network that was…were pretty good.
        lots better, save for fandom weirdos like me…than the David Lynch, etc versions of pretty much the same material(Herbert is hard to translate to film)
        and if you like procedural crime show that aint law and order svu…look to scandinavia, and daneland, and germania…
        from the latter, Dark was excellent.
        on netflix, last i looked.

    2. ambrit

      Your library could probably get you copies of the Inspector Morse, and later Inspector Lewis series. I sometimes find them up on Youtube.

      1. The Rev Kev

        They are excellent watching and I have the full Inspector Morse series here at home. No big gun battles, no helicopter chases, no major explosions – just thoughtful character development and great stories based on the books set in an England that we do not see much. Same with Inspector Lewis too with the same values.

  18. lcm

    Thank you, Lambert, for everything, and thanks to everyone who sent the many plantidotes over the years. We have enjoyed them every day and saved many to continue to enjoy in the future. It’s lovely to have Desert Dog’s tree as the final installment.

    1. Lambert Strether Post author

      From the transcript

      1) Nobody mentions Maidan, how odd.

      2) No, Trump is not strong on detail but he has a firm grasp of the essentials.

      3) The end, where Trump clearly visualizes Putin as, with him, a victim of Democrat calumnies — could Trump actually be showing empathy here???? — is awkward

      4) Was Vance playing “Let’s you and him fight”?

      1. mrsyk

        Obama was mentioned by Trump a few times at one point, but I couldn’t figure out the context. Was this a roundabout reference to Maiden?
        As for Vance, I bet he was hoping for an excuse to raise it to fisticuffs. There is nothing but upside to kicking VZ’s butt on tv.

        1. judy2shoes

          “As for Vance, I bet he was hoping for an excuse to raise it to fisticuffs. There is nothing but upside to kicking VZ’s butt on tv.”

          Fight, fight, fight!!!! (would have been so funny – and god, I’m disgusting)

      2. Mikel

        Z left without signing a critical minerals deal.
        So maybe it turns out to be a way to ease out of that after all the hoopla.

      3. ambrit

        Is Z’s doctor a CIA “asset,” and running a similar game to what Dr. Theodor Morell was doing for the Brown Hair Satan of years gone bye?
        See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Morell
        Z is just learning the lesson that all of America’s “Strategic Partners” learn eventually; with friends like the US, who needs enemies?
        This is also the perfect set up for a “Stabbed in the Back” myth for the Kiev regime.
        After the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia of the Nineteen Teens, Paris was flooded with “displaced” Russian ‘nobility’ and middle classes. Will Paris soon be seeing the birth of a vibrant Ukraine Exile culture and community?

        1. amfortas the hippie

          shit.
          i knew i should have jumped on that boat to Paris, mite near forty years ago,lol.
          would have still been Paris, back then…smoking assholes yammering philosophical gibberish on little streetside tables.

          1. mrsyk

            Lol, that yammering a-hole could be me!
            Come on down to the Mermaid cafe
            And I will buy you a bottle of wine
            We will laugh and toast to nothing
            And smash our empty glasses down.
            Let’s have a round for these freaks and these soldiers
            A round for these friends of mine
            Let’s have another round for the bright red devil
            That keeps me in this tourist town…,
            Carey
            Joni Mitchell

      5. clarky90

        https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html

        US identifies vast riches of minerals in afghanistan
        June 14, 2010, Fifteen years ago.

        “The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials. (!!, OMG!)

        The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.

        An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys.”

        1. clarky90

          Ukraine’s $500 billion rare earths scam: they don’t exist, and we should know better

          “Inside China Business”

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tILXLxMTmgA&t=623s

          “Reports that Ukraine will pledge its vast reserves of rare earth metals and other strategic minerals in exchange for hundreds of billions of dollars worth of loan forgiveness and additional aid have supply chain managers perplexed.

          No honest assessment of Ukraine’s mineral assets comes anywhere close to the numbers that top government officials claim. The US Geological Survey, and even publications from Ukraine’s ministries report only trace amounts of rare earth metals anywhere in the country.

          Even were we only to consider non-rare earths, other problems become apparent. Many of those reserves are in Russian hands, and much of the rest can not be commercially mined at current market prices.

          The situation in Ukraine is alarmingly similar to Afghanistan, where Pentagon assessments of Afghan mineral reserves dramatically overstated their actual size and market value, while giving war planners additional time and resources to prosecute what was ultimately a losing war effort.”

        1. judy2shoes

          Thanks for the link. At about 9 minutes into the video, Trump repeatedly refers to what sounds like “raw” earth instead of rare earths. Is that what you heard?

      7. Big River Bandido

        Wow, reading that transcript seems almost surreal.

        I wonder if Vance’s presence was to position him in the thick of things now, for a presidential run in ’28. Regardless of what people think of the theater of it all (and those opinions will fall along all the predictable lines) — I suspect the substance of the position Trump and Vance have staked out will prove quite popular with the public.

    2. judy2shoes

      I think both Trump and Vance appropriated finger wagging from the Dems.

      Also, this was hysterically funny to watch! Reminded me of Trump’s having an on-camera meeting with Schumer and Pelosi during his first term. They were terrified and it was my pleasure to watch.

    3. fjallstrom

      My question is if it was intended to go this way. From Vance and Trump that is.

      Typically these world leader press conferences are scripted. Here instead you have Vance right of the bat pushing Zelensky’s buttons. Zelensky hits back, Vance accuses him of being disrespectful to Trump. “You come here, on the day of my daugther’s wedding…” Sorry, wrong script.

      Anyway it goes on until Trump gets out the steel chair and tells Zelensky not to tell him what he will feel. Zelensky starts to backtrack and Trump goes in for the kill “We are trying to save you, come with me if you want to live…” Sorry, wrong script again.

      I just don’t see why they would have set this up like this otherwise. You don’t have a frank discussion in front of the media, you just don’t. Wonder what the Ukrainians were told would be going down.

      1. Big River Bandido

        I’m sure this was intended, and I’d bet the real audience was not Z, but American voters and the agencies.

      2. Big River Bandido

        Just watched the video. How richly enjoyable. I took in about the first 10 minutes and then skipped ahead. I wanted to see the blowup but I also wanted to see it in context so I scrolled to about 35 minutes. And then sat through a seemingly interminable and ignorant harangue by Zelensky, who came across as thoroughly detestable. By the time Vance interjects, it comes as a relief.

      1. The Rev Kev

        Now that is interesting that. Trump seems to think that the two oceans on either side of America will always protect them. And as part of this, he wants both Canada and Greenland to make this geographical block secure. Same with his idea of an Iron Dome for America. Call it Fortress America. So for Zelensky to say that this will not always be true must have really struck a raw nerve with Trump.

        1. Big River Bandido

          I don’t think that’s what struck the nerve, Rev. Trump did, after all, warn of the risk of world war, several times during the event.

          I think it’s a more basic response. Zelensky’s statement “you will feel it in the future” can be interpreted one of two ways: as a threat, or as a prediction. Neither is very gracious. I myself was appalled by it, not so much by what Zelensky said, but just the fact that he said it. Just not a very “politic” thing to say, especially when you’re a begging dependent.

    5. Skippy

      Having see the Breaking Points Video I thought the the highlight was the UK Ambassador to the US @6:48 in the background with head in hand. It was 40 minutes into the media PR $unt when it all came undone.

      Few other notes.

      “For his part, Trump made clear that the US would continue delivering military aid. All Zelensky had to do was remain calm for a few more minutes and they would’ve signed a deal.

      The argument started when Trump pointed out that it would be hard to make a deal if you talk about Putin the way Zelensky does. Vance interjects to make the reasonable point that Biden called Putin names and that didn’t get us anywhere.

      The Zelensky/Trump dynamic was calm and stable. It was when Vance spoke that Zelensky started to interrogate him.”

      Lmmao … from experience it was like watching a white collar Coke deal go bad, no guns allowed affairs, so it all comes down to attitude and the knowledge of it being backed up. Zelensky just got put in the – Gimp Box – on international media for everyone else to see. On that note I wonder what the EU posse is musing right now, come to Oval office and get a public spanking for all to see, go back home and plead for ice – ????

      The only other thing is the juxtaposition of Trump/Vance/Musk vs say Putin/Xi on global media. How is that dynamic going to play out in the near and long term.

  21. Retired Carpenter

    Lambert,
    Fare thee well wherever you may fare. May your chisels remain sharp and saw lines true.
    Ave atque vale.
    Retired Carpenter

  22. Stephen v

    In grief, I often resort to poetry:
    spoken by Prospero.

    Now my charms are all o’erthrown,
    And what strength I have ’s mine own,
    Which is most faint. Now ’tis true
    I must be here confined by you,
    Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
    Since I have my dukedom got
    And pardoned the deceiver, dwell
    In this bare island by your spell,
    But release me from my bands
    With the help of your good hands.
    Gentle breath of yours my sails
    Must fill, or else my project fails,
    Which was to please. Now I want
    Spirits to enforce, art to enchant,
    And my ending is despair,
    Unless I be relieved by prayer,
    Which pierces so that it assaults
    Mercy itself, and frees all faults.
    As you from crimes would pardoned be,
    Let your indulgence set me free.

    MAY YOU WEATHER ANY UPCOMING STORMS WITH GRACE AND INSIGHT. You leave a big hole hehind Lambert !

  23. Bill B

    Lambert, goodbye. I’ll especially miss your DOGEbag commentary. Enjoy your retirement or whatever comes next for you.

  24. judy2shoes

    Lambert, there’s nothing I can add to the very eloquent encomia expressed by my fellow commentators other than I share their feelings and well wishes for you.

    Thank you, thank you, thank you. I will miss you.

  25. Lambert Strether Post author

    I have added orts and scraps (for the final time; thanks for all the kind words). It’s fitting that “the goddamed Democrat Party” is the topic. That, and an amazing session at the White House with Big Z, Vance, and Trump.

    I have a couple of weekend posts to go, and then… I’ll see you on the other side.

    1. Mikel

      Z: Everybody has problems even you. You have a nice ocean and don’t feel. But you will feel it in the future.

      Whooboy…that made Trump pipe up,didn’t it?

      Code for blowback is a bitch?

      You take care, Lambert.

    2. Wukchumni

      Wow, just watched the melee or was it a poker game, with the many mentions of not having the cards?

      I’d imagine the big Z wishes he’d worn his lucky green shirt~

      Maybe it was the lighting, but i’ve never seen the President looking oh so very Oompa-Loompa as today, wow.

      Oompa, Loompa, doom-pa-dee-da
      If you’re not greedy, you will go far
      You will live in happiness too
      Like the Oompa, Loompa, doompa-dee-do
      Doompa-dee-do

    3. The Rev Kev

      I see the Democrats have not changed. They are going with Democrat Elissa Slotkin who is Republican Lite but people will more likely just go with an actual Republican.

      1. Pat

        When you don’t offer a truly different choice you shouldn’t be surprised if there is no rush to follow you. But the Democrats will be.
        I was just watching a silly but comforting movie. The big theme, so big it is repeated multiple times, is when what you are doing is not working you need to step back and go in another direction. The problem that elected Democrats and their consultants have is that they are having a hard time understanding that because they are comfortable and have been somewhat protected and don’t realize that is not the case for more and more Americans. They really do not understand how this happened. They will not change until they truly hit bottom. It is too uncomfortable for them as their livelihoods, where the real money is, will not survive real change. So posturing and pretending and putting the spooks on the air to reassure the owners that none of it means anything will continue.

    4. hazelbee

      Sad to see you go and thanks for all you have done here. You’ve done a good stint. I am educated and better from what you have shared here. Particularly the covid coverage.

      and you are going out at a quiet news time. nope nothing going on of note at all right now…. :D

    5. jo6pac

      The other side?

      Is the grass greener?
      Flowers smell better?
      What about bees, butterflies?

      See you there, I guess?

  26. The Beeman

    Lambert – thank you for your insights and your wit – I will miss reading your column – good luck – happy trails. Brian

  27. Rick

    Appreciate the promotion of bassists. I saw Jaco Pastorius with Joni Mitchel in 1979 and the solo he did was a highlight of the concert. It was the first time I’d experienced looping in a live performance, mind expanding.

      1. Alice X

        I’m watching it again after some years. There is solid musicianship throughout. It was Joni’s show and she had the musical foundation to propel it.

  28. JM

    Thank you Lambert for all the insight, and (“dry, very dry” :D ) wit over the years, you will be missed! I wish you only the best. This felt like a fitting Irish well-wish for the occasion: “May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, and never catch up.”

  30. anon in so cal

    Thank you, Lambert, for all of your wonderful Water Coolers, articles, and analyses. Every one of them was a masterpiece. I am especially grateful for your unrivaled Covid coverage and for honoring the avian world with the beautiful Bird Song of the Day. Much happiness and success with all of your future endeavors!

  31. mrsyk

    “Andrew Cuomo to receive labor endorsement in mayor’s race he’s yet to enter”, because government is organized crime, lol, it’s like putting it on a billboard.

    1. Jen

      The good news is that no mayor of NYC has ever gone on to higher office. Of course that’s only good for those of us who don’t live there.

      1. mrsyk

        I saw that. Kudos to the prison guards I hope, but not knowing the lay of the land, and having a deep suspicion of the prison industry, I’ll refrain from being too enthusiastic.
        Thinking about the question you finished with, prison guards holding an almost unique position of power as to who can and will fill in, combined with society’s urgent need for uninterrupted service. Air traffic control professionals might fit here as well. Baristas, well, I already make my own coffee.

  32. urdsama

    Thank you, Lambert, for all the years of Water Cooler posts, as well as the countless yellow wader sessions!

    An amazing body of work.

  34. Pat Morrison

    Thank you, Lambert. The Covid coverage has been vital, and the general insight and snark have been greatly appreciated. Wishing you the best for the future.

  35. ambrit

    Stay safe, wherever you are, whatever you do.
    Thank you for all the hard work.
    Take a well deserved rest.
    You have more friends and colleagues than you will ever know.

  36. sardonia

    Lambert – a suggestion?

    I think you mentioned one of your next projects is writing a book? If so please let us know when and where it is – cuz nothing helps a book get traction like the 500 glowing reviews that I’m sure everyone here would participate in providing. :)

  38. Leftover

    Lambert….will send a check……I cannot BELIEVE you are leaving. NC is an absolute fave and your “dry” wit has grown on me as the years pass. BEST……..and take care.

  39. Bugs

    What a last Water Cooler! It’s like the Hollywood exit where the explosion is right behind you as you walk off the stage.

    Lol enjoy your cool new world my guy. Lambert 4 evah!

  41. Zephyrum

    So long, Lambert. And thanks for all the wit and wisdom. For man who rarely laughs out loud, you certainly inspired a number of guffaws for me over the years. Best wishes!

  42. t

    Some of the conservatives I know seem generally happy – although they are all convinced that many woke forces are out to get them, personally and specifically. That doesn’t sound pleasant, no matter how they describe themselves.

    The MAGA heads I know for other reasons would, I believe, tell you they are happy. And they probably are because they love drama and being angry all the time. Imagined slights – they know I don’t like this many pickles! – crazy paranoia about the knock-out game and seed oils and not going to parts of town where they would be sex trafficked (even thought they have guns in their purses.) It’s like their social skills were learned from bots.

  44. PelhamKS

    Water Cooler was my most eagerly anticipated read of the day. So sorry it’s going away. All the best to Lambert!

  45. JustAnotherVolunteer

    “Fare thee well now
    Let your life proceed by its own designs
    Nothing to tell now…”

    Yours words have been a treasure.

  46. Turtle

    Thank you for everything, Lambert!

    In case you haven’t already seen this and if you don’t plan to get away from the internet completely after your retirement, it may be of interest to you for future web searches:

    Bruce Sterling (the sci-fi author) posted on his Mastodon today about an open-source search engine that prioritizes non-commercial content, which sounds like something that a lot of us have been wishing for.

    For some quick examples that I tested with, a simple search for “Ukraine” returned several of NC’s favorite/friend blogs in the first page of results. A search for “calpers” returned Naked Capitalism on the second page of results. Compare that to Google’s results.

    Their tagline on their github calls it an “Internet search engine for text-oriented websites. Indexing the small, old and weird web.”

    https://marginalia-search.com/

    I hope you enjoy this and that you also enjoy your retirement!

    Best regards.

    1. JennyBesserit

      Thank you, Turtle!
      “Internet search engine for text-oriented websites. Indexing the small, old and weird web.”
      https://marginalia-search.com/

      Marginalia Search – what a find! Former librarian here, frothing at the mouth. This is fantastic!

  47. millicent

    We have much more to thank you for than can be said. I will miss your insights and wish you all good things to come.

  49. The Rev Kev

    Wishing you well on the new stage of your life as you will have more time to go after those pursuits that you have left aside. Lots of changes ahead for you but I hope that you check in on comments every now and then to add your own insights.
    Happy trails.

    1. Martin Oline

      I agree. Now that you have more time you will accomplish much. We will all be saying “I knew him when . . . ”
      Have fun, but don’t have too much fun.

      1. The Rev Kev

        And as that old Irish saying goes ‘May you be in Heaven thirty minutes before the devil knows that you are dead.’

  50. outside observer

    I’ve a hole in my heart, now that it comes down to it. Lambert, please drop us all a line from time to time and let us know how you’re doing. Only the best wishes for you and yours in your next phase in life.

  51. Art Vandalay

    I have gained so much from my daily visits to the Water Cooler that I can’t even express. Working in BigTech I am surrounded by kool-aid drinking PMC neoliberals all day every day, and Water Cooler has been a welcome respite from all that. Because of Water Cooler I joined Twitter (now X) to follow Matt Stoller, and from there have ended up following 75-odd people and counting, many of whom I was introduced to through these very pages. This eclectic collection of X’ers has led me down paths that have contributed my having a more open mind and open heart. The commentariat does the same every day. I so appreciate what you have done for all of us, Lambert. I hope your retirement includes writing projects we can enjoy in the future . . . but more than that I hope you know you’ve already done more good than most writers could ever hope to achieve.

  52. curlydan

    Lambert, you went deep–deep into places, issues, causes, committees, bird calls, tree barks, mindsets, air flows, transcripts, computer coding, keyboards, overlooked photographers, Twitters, gardens, and so much more. I don’t go that deep–probably don’t have the patience, but thank you for taking us on the ride. Have a merry and satisfying post-NC journey.

  53. Jen

    Lambert, thank you for everything. I’ve marked so many days by the water cooler that I can’t even attempt to count. How will I even know it’s 2pm without the water cooler?

    Wishing you all the best and echo Petal’s comment that if you are ever in the Hanover NH area, the first, second and third round are on me.

  55. bassmule

    Thank you Lambert: You, along with helpful commentarians, were, from the beginning (Mar 2020, if memory serves) the only believable source for COVID information. Of which I fear there will be very little from now on, things being how they are.

  58. herman_sampson

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for you work in NC. You will be missed, but I think NC will just be a little different. Your Covid coverage and political coverage has been very helpful. Highlighting different websites (Black Agenda Report to the Daily Yonder) (and Yves does similarly) shows how despite differences (some significant, others not so much) the working class has a common interest and a common enemy. I will look forward to your future contributions (and book?).
    Inspired by Angie Neer’s b/w photo, I had hoped to send a couple before now, maybe an occasional plantidote will be in the works. Donated last night.
    Re today’s WC: It’s a wonder Bernie and the Kamala cover didn’t poke holes in your yellow waders.
    I had finally put my toe in Facebook, but I recently tried Mastodon, which is more to my liking. A Covid post pointed to this concerning future vaccine possibilities.

    https://absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/02/28/exciting-news-from-europe-and-roadblocks-in-the-us-nextgen-covid-vax-update-26/

    Enjoy your retirement.

  60. JGK

    May the Long Time Sun guide you on your journey. Darn, howl…see you on the sunny side. Darn, with-drawl count starts…Thank you so much for your numerous gifts! Be well.🌅

  61. dogwood

    One last heartfelt thanks and fond farewell Lambert. Sure will miss you and Watercooler lots. Wishing you much awsome reading and fresh new discoveries, insights and experiences. Keep in touch!

  62. Michael McK

    Lambert, thank you for the years of education and entertainment. There was a hole in my life on weekends, now it will be permanent.

  65. none

    “Violence alters human genes for generations, researchers discover”

    A version of that was one of the premises of Freud’s book Moses and Monotheism among other things. The old is new again.

  66. LawnDart

    Till now I’ve avoided stopping here today: I don’t want to see you leave.

    As much as I’ve enjoyed the insight and humor you’ve brought here, work-ethic and more, I appreciate the sense of plain old common decency that comes across in your writings. You’ve set an example that I and many others will try to follow, hopefully meeting with at least some success.

    Truely.

  68. Chris moure

    Wish you the best on future endeavours. Thank you 1000x for daily nudging my personal dial back toward ‘there is maybe some hope for humanity’; for building and maintaining a network and hub of covid info; and for many a well researched and thought out take that I have learned from and passed on (w attribution!). Long live the old school blogosphere!

  69. marym

    Thank you, Lambert, for all the gifts you’ve given, which other commenters have documented so well, and best wishes to you as you take this next turn in the road.

  70. Ben Panga

    A final thank you to Lambert for everything. Truly a blessing for all the readers.

    Wish you well for the next part of your journey.

  71. Chuck Harris

    Lambert,
    Thanks for the phrase “birds like messy”. I think of it often as I wander around my messy garden in a neighborhood of sterile manicured yards. Seems like the messy place is the only one full of life, especially birds and bugs. Also, have appreciated your insights and jokes.

  72. Pat

    A short cynical take on the rally to protect the special health programs, you have to understand that for many NY elected Congressional members it is the biggest and most important piece of the numerous ways that money was funneled to various power groups as a result of 9/11 that of the biggest thing they ever accomplished. It was, quite honestly, the only real accomplishment of Hillary Clinton’s senate terms, the rest was renaming post offices. It is not just that there is a psychic wound about the events of that day that in NY is inescapable. They literally have benefitted for years because of the largesse that has been spent over the years. They cannot lose it or its legacy of success.
    And you are right that it is just wrong that this is the wrong focus or approach, they all should have gotten single payer universal health care long ago.
    In the meanwhile as a fitting irony in the same week that was going on, Mount Sinai won their court battle to close Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital on First Avenue and 16th Street. This was the hospital farthest downtown since Saint Vincent’s was closed. If they had their way there would be nothing below 23rd but urgent care and enhanced urgent care centers. (I have it on good authority that the extensive one across from where St Vincent’s once stood has to send anything truly serious to real hospitals, one of their doctors told me.It has beds but they are for observable situations.) Now it is true that a new temporary court stay was put in place Friday, with the hopes that the full court will hear the case, but they are determined to shut the hospital.

  75. megrim

    Thank you for all the hard work, Lambert! Especially the covid coverage these last (checks watch) five years!

  76. Mareko

    The proposed New Yorker cover of Kamala is really a remarkable thing. While initially distracted by the hallowed visages that are somehow printed onto her suit, it was the raised index finger that surprised me. That’s a gesture that readers will remember I am sure, popularised by our friends ISIS: the tawhid, “the belief in the oneness of God and a key component of the Muslim religion.” As I understand it, this is the type of fundamentalism that rejects any other religious outlooks, including Shia etc, as idolatry, and worthy of death.
    It’s a very odd gesture for Kamala Harris to make.
    https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2014-09-03/isis-sends-message

    Thank you Lambert, an era is passing, all is sackcloth and ashes. Farewell and god speed.

    1. Fried

      It’s also a very popular gesture amongst cricket umpires. Doesn’t she have connections to India?

      1. Mareko

        She does indeed, but apparently the umpiring thing is to raise your index finger above your head. And if Kamala had her finger over her had it would suggest that, um, she was the umpire when she was actually a competitor in the election. So if even the image had her signaling Trump as out with a finger over her head, it would be wrong because if she beat Trump she’s a bowler, or fielder, not an umpire. And her finger is most definitely not over her head. I prefer a theory of rank stupidity.

  78. Joe Renter

    Thank you for the years of work Lambert. I was working yesterday and thought more than once,this is the last water cooler. I hope your next adventure is satisfying and you continue to share your insights with the many who appreciate them. Cheers

  80. Revenant

    Beir Bua agus Beannacht, a Lambert! Take Victory and Blessing, Lambert!

    (Conveniently abbreviated BBB for these accelerated times, although that sounds like the robot from Space 1999).

    As those palindromic Swedes didn’t quite sign off::

    Thank you for plantidotes, the songs and musing,
    Thanks for all the joy they’re bringing,
    Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty,
    What will life be?
    Without your Water Cooler, what’s NC?
    So I say thank you for the writing, the thoughts you’ve given me.

    Thank you, Lambert. I came to NC for the GFC in my GMT lunch breaks and stayed for the MMT but along the way I found myself reading the water cooler in the evening despite it being so American in name and often in subject matter because it was so European in perspective. The refreshing ennui, the ironic detachment, the rumination. It’s probably where I spend most time because of my day’s pattern.

    And with that, everything must change to stay the same. Goodbye and I look forward to hearing of your new works (and I will try not to exasperate Yves in your absence!).

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