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London Meetup Today, Friday, June 16, at 6:30PM

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As in 2010, our venue will be the Jerusalem Tavern in Farringdon at 6:30 PM. Here’s a map with details (link):

I am tallish, with short grey hair, glasses, will be wearing a purple polo shirt, and carrying a large brown leather bag. I’m underdressed by British professional standards (no blue striped shirt, unpolished shoes). Hope to see you!

NOTE I’m not anticipating enormous attendance; perhaps 10? But if you will let me know if you’ll be attending in comments, that would be great. And if a great torch-bearing mob of a hundred or so show up, I’ll be asking you for solutions, because I don’t know the city! Thank you!

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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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28 comments

  2. Colonel Smithers

    Thank you, Lambert.

    You sound overdressed for a (dress down) Friday. One hopes you are having a good trip and enjoying the sunshine.

    Have a splendid evening, all.

    Perhaps, the London / British Isles readers should meet, may be, once a year and not leave it for when Yves and / or Lambert are in town…

    1. PlutoniumKun

      Sounds an excellent idea, Colonel, sadly I can’t make this meet-up, but would love to attend some future one.

      1. Colonel Smithers

        Thank you, PK.

        BTW if ever you want to visit Mauritius for some cycling and hiking, you are most welcome to stay at my place near the sea.

        Nearby and still French Ile de la Reunion is quite spectacular.

        1. PlutoniumKun

          Thats a great offer Colonel, thank you so much, I’ve only heard good things about Mauritius.

        1. Clive

          We really all should do this shouldn’t we? (note the patented Clive Backsliding TM lack of agency about who would do the nitty-gritty organising but it would be a nice thing to do).

          1. Colonel Smithers

            Hi Clive. Thank you. I am / would be delighted to. Have fun this evening. Warmest.

  4. Drage

    I’l be wearing Bob Hope style golfing trousers with a white floppy style cardigan. Brown patent leather shoes and an eye patch.

    Do we do the secret handshake this year?

    1. Lambert Strether Post author

      Gravity’s Rainbow:

      …turned out in a green French suit of wicked cut with a subtle purple check in it, broad flowered tie won at the trente-et-quarante table, brown and white wingtip shoes with golf cleats, and white socks, Slothrop tops off now with a midnight-blue snap-brim fedora and is away, clickety clack out the foyer of the Casino Hermann Goering, looking sharp.

      Look good, and you feel good!

  9. Lambert Strether Post author

    I had a wonderful time at the meetup — didn’t leave until after 10:00PM! Thank you all for coming, and I learned a ton.

    I do hope I talked to everybody; I’m not completely ept, socially, so if I missed you, please forgive me.

    1. Anonymous2

      And it was good to meet you too Lambert.

      For identification purposes, I was the one with the anecdote about Bunny Garnett and my next door neighbour.

  10. RBHoughton

    Wish I could have been there. Its rare to have a chance to meet people who are changing the world for the better. Good wishes to all at NC from distant Hong Kong.

  11. skippy

    Goss…. I want bloodly goss…..

    disheveled…. those that can’t attend are dying for goss…. bastards….

  12. different clue

    If you are interested in interesting birds and you have time to try going to see one . . . the Great Bustard which was hunted to extinction in Britain was recently re-introduced in the Salisbury Plain area. I read there are ways to try going to see it, in case it seems worthwhile.
    https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/mar/25/salisbury-travel-tips-great-bustard-birdwatching

    Here is a bunch of images of the Great Bustard.
    https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrBT87WvURZmWMA_XhXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyNWNiaW4yBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjI5NDRfMQRzZWMDc2M-?p=great+bustard+salisbury+plain&fr=sfp

  13. kate

    Thanks so much lambert for arranging last night, great idea and great fun, amazing to meet the group of other secret lurkers in here, who read the same us and uk blogs, and I do hope we can set up this pub meet here regularly, everyone I spoke with seemed more than keen, and maybe we can get him along too one evening!

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