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Announcing 2025 Water Cooler Fundraiser for Lambert’s Gold Retirement Watch (and Work Done in 2024)

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Dear Reader,

Welcome to Water Cooler’s yearly fundraiser: My goal is 🌡️ 400 donors, the same as last year. You can help out by becoming one of them and clicking here, which will take you to the Donate button on this page. If you can give a lot, give a lot. If you can only give a little, give a little; every little bit helps! (You can also pay it forward by donating on behalf of those whose circumstances do not permit them to do so, this year.)

As you may know, Water Cooler fundraisers pay for work I have already done (unlike Yves’ altogether more sensible approach, where she asks you to support work that she will do in the next year). You can judge the quality of my work last year — and, if you like, show your appreciation — by venturing down to the Tip Jar and tossing some coin.

Imagine, if you feel dubious about donating to a writer whose work here you shortly will not see, that you are passing the hat for a very nearly gold watch to give the oldest employee in the firm, who banged in every day and was faithfully at his desk for a very long time, until his hair was quite grey: 2024 – 2011 = 13 years; and who wrote 2,643 Water Coolers (with three to go). And very grateful I am to Yves for giving me both chances! (You may also wish to consider that your donation will be easing my retirement and contributing to my future literary and artistic endeavors, and yes, I do have plans.)

Normally, at this point, my mental fundraising template tells me to make a long list of all the successes of the year, but that sounds like work. Also, I must hustle along and add the orts and scraps to Water Cooler, so I will skip the tub-thumping. I do feel that Water Cooler had a very good year. You’re read this far; you know!

Wrapping up with some kind thoughts from readers, from JC:

I have procrastinated in writing this farewell, as I am so very sad you are leaving NC. I am sad for myself, at the loss of a daily pleasure and personal benefit that I have enjoyed for so many years, and for the community which will become poorer at your absence. I am not sad for you, hoping that you are successful in the literary and other artistic pursuits in your future.

With fondness and deep appreciation, I wish you great fortune.

And JTH:

S. checks in daily to Links and the Water Cooler, and lets me know the really important articles to read. (And, the bird songs, especially the catbirds of late, get played every afternoon. ) Thank you, everyone, for enriching our lives with information, as well as the added beauty with the antidotes of photos and art. )

And PL:

You are the best!

And KA:

Don’t let the bastards get you down ; )

Never!

* * *

Finally, a brief remark about blogging. At least according to my theory, all bloggers develop a persona. The persona, “Lambert Strether”, is not the same as the “real” person who writes what Lambert Strether writes. Similar, perhaps, but not the same. My unexpected experience over the last years is that my real person has become more like my persona; calmer, somewhat more forgiving, certainly more capable of caring for/taking care of others. An artist with a stronger aesthetic, too. This, dear readers, I owe to our interactions here. Thank you!

* * *

2024’s Water Cooler fundraiser went well, and it would be great if this final water cooler went just as well. Last year, we had 400 donors. I’d like to hit that mark again. Please give what you can.

What Yves wrote back in 2017 is true in 2025:

To be crass, Lambert is making well under a living wage for his work on Water Cooler and that is not right. We need you to live up to what we hope is one of the widely-held values in the commentariat, that people should be paid fairly for their work, especially work that has already been done! That means digging into your wallets, whether a little or for a lot, and chipping in for Water Cooler.

If you can dig deep, please consider doing so. Not only is this quarter tax time for me, I have people who depend on me in the real world. Further, you will be paying me for work I have already done — unlike the Naked Capitalism fundraiser proper, which sets the budget for the following year — and so having played the fiddle, I am now passing my cap, which I hope will shortly sag with your contributions. Please click the Donate button below and contribute what you can.

🌡️ Thank you!

* * *

To make the business relationships clear, Yves writes:

Water Cooler is a separate store front within Naked Capitalism to pay for [Lambert’s] considerable effort on it over and above all the work he already does on the site… Yes, Lambert also gets paid out of the annual fundraiser, but that is for the considerable amount of work he does besides Water Cooler, such as DJing the site, helping manage the comments section, managing a lot of the tech issues, and helping in tooth-gnashing over other “business of running the business” matters.

* * *

Readers, you may donate here:

Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated.

P.S. If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check; the directions may have changed since last year. Thank you! NOTE I really, really discourage checks. The USPS does not seem able to get them into the right box, and I have no recourse (I think they are trying to close the branch to develop the real estate). PayPal does take a cut, but OTOH there’s no hassle and no loss.

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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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55 comments

  2. doug

    Thanks for the opportunity to help send you off. Please accept my gratitude and sincere appreciation of all the work you have done here. Bravo!

  3. Ernie

    Lambert,

    Donation made. We are going to miss you. You give us viewpoints not found anywhere else. Among my great memories are seeing you at both of the meet-ups you did in Maine, so many years ago.

    My wife Lisa and I especially thank you for your creation of the immensely useful and felicitous word “crapification”, which I was disappointed to see got beat out on the internets by the much uglier word “enshitification”. We nevertheless use crapification all the time.

    Best wishes on your retirement. As someone who has been retired a few years myself, I know you’ll love it, whatever you decide to do.

  4. PlutoniumKun

    Donated. My goodness, you will really be missed. Water Cooler was always out of my time zone so I rarely commented, but it became my morning read along with the always fascinating comments. I love your lightness of touch with so many serious issues.

    1. Camelotkidd

      Donated
      Really going to miss you Lambert, especially your connection to the golden era of blogging–the Blogosphere years when Shrub and the neocons were ginning up the invasion of Iraq.
      Good luck in all your endeavors and maybe stop by sometimes to let us know how you’re doing
      PS your writing has helped mine become so much better

  5. ilpalazzo

    Lambert, I sent a small donation your way.

    Thank you for being a guide to US Public matters for this European. Whenewer I see or read a supposed expert on US matters in my native msm I laugh at them for how not even wrong they are. It’s hilarious and tragic at the same time and it is your doing. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

    If I may recommend, please check out some italians. Titian is good.

  6. upstater

    I was going to suggest a virtual retirement party with a DJ (just like your speech and debate live blogs!)… but you beat me to the punch with the fundraiser!

    I’ll mail a retirement gift.

    Thank you for YEARS of efforts. So much Susan and I have learned! Your dedicated COVID coverage helped keep us healthy and COVID free AFAIK. And your yellow waders kept my Lacrosse barn boots clean! So many links to so many sites I don’t read or didn’t know. Your work ethic and productivity (and Yves) is awe inspiring.

    Have a safe, happy and healthy retirement. And please consider throwing an article over the transom once in a while! Ride some trains! A Swiss Railway pass is highly recommended! Thank you again!

      2. amfortas the hippie

        id send some of these here Grande Tamales de Pata, if i knew how.
        (“giant duck tamales”-made 3 dozen yesterday)
        instead, i will again encourage you to come camp on my couch or extra beds whenever you find yerself near the geographical center of texas.
        a heads up text would be cool, so’s i can thaw/pick/marinate/brine/etc.(as well as drag a broom around)
        april, should be seeing plums(quail egg sized round little lavender things)
        by may, hundreds of pounds of peaches and nectarines.
        by june, all the rest.
        lol

  8. JustAnotherVolunteer

    Done!

    It’s the same story the crow told me
    It’s the only one he know
    Like the morning sun you come
    And like the wind you go

    Ain’t no time to hate
    Barely time to wait
    Woah, oh, what I want to know
    Where does the time go?

  9. sporble

    A few weeks ago I asked Yves if there were any plans for a “parting gift” for you. I am very honored to have just now contributed.

    There’s no way I can find adequate words – YOU are the one who finds adequate words, actually, you usually find way-better-than-adequate words for just about anything and everything at NC.

    THANK YOU for everything. Wishing you the very best, whatever comes next. And I’m wishing all of us a better timeline…

  13. ddt

    Started reading NC pre-election 2016 and have only missed a handful of Water Coolers and Links since then. You and everyone at NC have been daily companions. I feel that not only my understanding of the world we live in, but also my diction has grown exponentially. (Many a days I had to look up words from your writings and share them with friends as a WOTD- “word of the day”). Goes to show the gap between the MSM and what we’ve enjoyed from this site and you Lambert. A heartfelt Thank You for everything. Enjoy whatever comes next. Wish you health and longevity.

    1. Lambert Strether Post author

      > WOTD- “word of the day”

      This is very important. As a child of professors, I feel strongly that everyone can learn, if they study. Hence the vocabulary. Also, the PMC, as symbol manipulators, control with words, so it’s good to be able to shock them once in awhile!

      1. amfortas the hippie

        aye!
        given my general hoary visage(especially in winter, when i have a long and bushy beard to go with my long and bushy hair)…and habitual unkempt and tattered attire(some of us work for a livin…and are not vain)….i enjoy shocking PMC/Bougie types with erudition.
        to hell with 5o cent words, throw some $12 words at them,lol.
        its become something of a hobby, when i venture forth.

    2. Rick

      Seconded! I have appreciated the apposite vocabulary boost. When my kids were in college I sent them ‘word of the day’ postcards, has been fun to occasionally add to my list of words.

      I’ve read your work since before NC and have a long appreciation.

      Sorry to hear your problems with the USPS, will donate online for this last event.

  14. ChrisPacific

    I think my favorite Lambert moments were when he selected an official political speech, obviously planted media report, or piece of thinly disguised propaganda, unwrapped his array of tools, and set about a leisurely and amiable dissection. All, of course, with the methodology outlined in advance, and the resulting parts sorted, categorized and clearly labelled. This is how you do it at home, folks!

  16. dommage

    I have greatly appreciated your work for many years. And as for ‘24, IAAL and your dissection of People v Trump NYSupreme was brilliant. The damage that piece of lawfare has done, and is doing, has not yet been acknowledged. You will be missed. Many thanks!

  18. Wukchumni

    Thanks for keeping me off the streets and on my toes, and best of luck in future endeavors, i’ve enjoyed our time together on this here contraption. The claim is that everyone is replaceable-but i’m not so sure the likes of you.

    Check is in the mail…

  21. ambrit

    Threw in a little money for a spare battery for the “Gold Watch.”
    Best of luck with the Jane Austin musical project. Keep your “rat line” to Fredericton open! We know not the time or place that Fate has chosen for our doom.
    Stay safe.

  22. MikeB

    Hope this worked. Did I need to include my address to be successful? I hit DONATE. When I went back to check the fields it said i must. But then gave me the ” I am not a Robot” pics. I filled that out but then…hope it took the transfer of wealth.

    Thank you for the well written and informative posts.

  23. timotheus

    I started in on The Ambassadors seeking some insight into why you had chosen that particular nom de plume. The library wanted it back before I could finish, but perhaps now would be the time when you reveal your motivation/inspiration as the L.S. persona may be about to retire from the stage? Just a thought.

    1. Lambert Strether Post author

      > perhaps now would be the time when you reveal your motivation/inspiration

      Years and years ago when I had a courier job I read long books while picking up checks via public transportion: I would put the checks between the pages of the books. I also connected to a volunteer writing position and needed a pseudonym — this was way before blogging — and I was reading The Ambassadors at the time.

      Plus I like The Ambassadors as a story. But the real motivation is Strether’s saying: “Live all you can. It’s a mistake not to”, which speaks to me.

      1. amfortas the hippie

        in spite of the million books that have passed through my brain, i never even heard of that one…but i always suspected that it was a nomme de guerre.
        but i afforded you the benefit of the doubt, regardless,lol.
        maintaining an alias should be codified as a human right, i reckon.

        Ive had many…mostly pre-intertubes, so as to confound the cops and rednecks, etc.
        but ive been Amfortas, and related, for 25 years, now.
        and i figger that anyone with any kind of beyond passing familiarity with Wagner(rather Wagner’s source materials) would be able to identify me across numerous forums during that timeframe.
        and with people like the nsa(amfortas waves, with his sore middle fanger=>damaged from capturing a satangoose, 3 weeks ago) embedded in this machinery from the beginning, what does it matter….such subterfuge is mainly to be able to speak freely on the web, while being anonymous here, locally,IRL.

        anyhoo…again…”may the road rise up to meet you”, and all.

      2. maria gostrey

        mr james himself preferred the ambassadors to all his other novels. as we move closer to spting, i often find myself listening for the “bird haunted trees” of glorianis garden.

  24. skippy

    Lambert … sigh~~~~

    Oh my … Your old blog and then time spent here, so many names in the past – eh – and not forgotten on my part. Everyone gave a bit of themselves and contributed – too the whole – that made NC what it is today.

    Hi-jinks, top shelf sarcasm, and OCD nirvana when you would put the yellow waders on for a post – pass the ammo – and both right and so called left equally would lose the plot when I would link back to it on other sites.

    Anywho … I hope the move [bad roof if I remember] and whatever the heck you end up at and doing, fulfills you as much as my work on old Queenslanders after a life of military/corp experiences. Bit shy on the funds after GF B-day festivities, so I hope a days labour next Tuesday will go though. Family blog the exchange rate now between AUD and USD shry ..

    Your mate in Plaid[tm] forever …

  26. Chuck Harris

    Glad to once again make a donation, and thank you for all your good work. I will miss the water cooler. Wish you well as you join the ranks of retired people.

    1. Lambert Strether Post author

      I’m gonna work ’til I drop; shuffleboard is a death sentence. But I am retired from The Show here at Naked Capitalism, the firehose, the frenetic pace. I need time to think (and write, and do art). Thanks for the kind thoughts!

  27. JohnnyGL

    It’s the end of an era! Watercooler will be sorely missed!

    I’ve dug between all the couch cushions for this one! I even went behind the couch! And under it!

  28. FreeMarketApologist

    Done. Many, many thanks for an excellent collection of links, art, plants, bird calls, and thoughtful commentary on such a wide range of topics. I so appreciate all the work you did in your yellow waders so I didn’t have to! You brought us a real cabinet of curiosities, assembled with a coherent point of view and enhanced by the commentariat’s ongoing dialogue. Bravo!

  30. Bugs

    I hit you up for a few simoleons, LS. Enough for a nice lunch, outside the big city.

    Hope to see you back around these parts soon.

  34. BillS

    Godspeed Lambert! No goodbyes, but a hearty “Arrivederci!” Hope to see you ’round the ridges one day!

  36. Pat

    I just sent you some green via the dastardly PayPal. I was going to do it this week even without a fundraiser. I wish you all the best in your new life. I hope you find more time for things that bring you comfort and joy, something I think we all need and will probably need more of in the future. Like everyone else on this thread, we would love to follow along if you are amenable.

    But even if we never encounter each other again I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for so many things. For your yellow waders, without which I would not have had as much understanding of so many of the events of recent years. For your humor, even when the links you provided were at their darkest your take took the sting out of so many. For your love of plants and art. I didn’t always understand, but your links and pictures provided both information and solace. For your afternoon salon, because when you were providing enlightenment on the days events your guests were happy to do it. And of course for your Covid coverage. I didn’t escape unscathed, but I do believe that the information you provided access to limited my exposure and kept those too up close encounters with the virus rare and brief.

    I cannot speak for any else, but I am sure I am not alone in telling you that you will be greatly missed.

    Thank you.

  37. NOT 3rd Term Please.

    Lambert, big thank you for all your links.

    As I am now effectively under the poverty line you’ll just have this poor substitute for the soon to falter greenbacks.

    I did provide a pic which you used. Some consolation!

    Enjoy.

  38. Paleobotanist

    Thanks Lambert. I really will miss the birdsong. I play the clips to annoy my cats. They always fall for it and go looking for the birdie. I get murderous looks when they realize it was a recording and that they have fallen for it again. I shall miss this and your snark.

  40. You're soaking in it!

    Ok, then, if that’s the way you feel, so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good bye! Your friends at Commie Martyrs’ are mighty proud of you!

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