We're often derided as heartless capitalists here at DealBreaker, which is a strange way of describing our skepticism of bailouts for investment banks, mortgage lenders and billionaires. If there's any fairness in this description, it probably arises from our noted doubts about mega- charities such as the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation and the misbegotten idea that corporations only do good deeds when they engage in unprofitable charitable activity rather than wealth and job creation.
We're not, however, against helping out with a good cause. And to prove it, tonight we'll be stopping by a fund raiser for The Nourishing Soup Kitchen. It's being held at Merchants East, on First Avenue and 62nd Street. Things kick off at 7:00. Ten dollars buys you a warm fuzzy feeling and admission to the bar. (Note: there is no truth to the idea that we're attending simply so we can bask in talk about soup lines, bank runs, mass layoffs and other things Wall Street has revived from the Great Depression.)
We just get by however we can.
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:19PM
Is Bess going too?
Posted by golden girl , Jul 23, 2008 2:20PM
Yay, see you there JC!
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:20PM
circle jerk
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:20PM
circle jerk
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:22PM
circle jerk
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:22PM
heartless communists
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:24PM
heartless communists
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:24PM
heartless communists
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:26PM
DB staff are being accused of being capitalists?
Posted by golden girl , Jul 23, 2008 2:28PM
They're not communists, they're fascists. They just happen to circle jerk back and meet each other at the ends.
Posted by John Carney , Jul 23, 2008 2:29PM
It's funny. Half the people I talk to think we're socialists pointing out the contradictions and excesses of capitalism, while the other half think we're capitalists celebrating the triumphs of the market and decrying government interference. I'm not really sure who is right.
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:31PM
heartless communists
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:31PM
awesome clip
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:33PM
awesome clip
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:33PM
You're more libertarian: right-leaning in the worst sense of the word.
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:33PM
portfolio's take on "drunk wall street":
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/07/23/Bush-Wall-Street-Got-Drunk
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:34PM
carney, will you be doing another Dark Knight analysis?
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 2:55PM
Can we please get a few more double and triple posts?
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 3:06PM
Touche #18 - blndebnker.
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 3:06PM
Touche #18 - blndebnker.
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 3:07PM
Touche #18 - blndebnker.
Posted by american bandersnatch , Jul 23, 2008 3:08PM
Nice ironic post blndebnker. Very clever.
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 3:11PM
thanks, AB. good lookin' out-- blndebnker
Posted by lemmerdeur , Jul 23, 2008 3:11PM
Stupid Carney, you're going to be talking about the Great Depression and soup kitchen lines, and no invite for me? WTF?
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 3:15PM
thanks, AB. good lookin' out-- blndebnker
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 3:15PM
thanks, AB. good lookin' out-- blndebnker
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 3:23PM
How about some advance notice next time? I think it would be fun to go to events and meet some of the people we comment with here. DB should list stuff or replace the DB Weekend Update with events (?)
Posted by Clown Capital , Jul 23, 2008 3:24PM
Carney,
I'm perplexed. How could you possibly be a supporter of capitalism when your gross income is probably around the annual wage of a cement factory worker? I mean, how much is Dealbreaker paying you to "bologna pony" around all day and post 2nd grader content? Loser.
Posted by FUNdamental , Jul 23, 2008 3:33PM
You're a basket of fishes away from the birth of christianity...
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 3:40PM
Did somebody mention Govt cheese?
In case you don't know, it makes great grilled-cheese sandwiches.
Sen. Biden tipped me off to that. That's why he keeps a stash of it at his house.
The Guy from Delaware
Posted by miami , Jul 23, 2008 3:41PM
You guys are Marxists, obviously.
Either Chico or Zeppo, I'm just not sure yet.
Posted by golden girl , Jul 23, 2008 3:41PM
Clown Capital, you sound like quite a guy! I bet you're a hit at parties!
Posted by blndebnker , Jul 23, 2008 3:43PM
Way to try to counterfeit me guys. By the by, I don't use the apostrophe when saying "good lookin out".
Posted by miami , Jul 23, 2008 3:44PM
You guys are Marxists, obviously.
Either Chico or Zeppo, I'm just not sure yet.
Posted by HAM05 , Jul 23, 2008 3:45PM
what the eff is merchants east? swear that place was NOT there last year...
Posted by golden girl , Jul 23, 2008 3:48PM
@HAM : I'm pretty annoyed by the location. It might as well be in Jersey.
Posted by FUNdamental , Jul 23, 2008 3:50PM
@ham - it's on the west side of the street, been there at least 4 years. Pretty big place actually, but the food is ok at best.
Posted by FUNdamental , Jul 23, 2008 3:54PM
@blnde - on the second
Posted by FUNdamental , Jul 23, 2008 3:54PM
@blnde - on the second
Posted by FUNdamental , Jul 23, 2008 3:58PM
Damnit to hell, tough to make shortbus jokes about the double/triple posts now.
//velcro shoes on, here we go!
Posted by blndebnker , Jul 23, 2008 4:12PM
@FUN - Don't forget the helmet.
Posted by Anal_yst , Jul 23, 2008 4:13PM
@ golden girl
You mean it might as well be in bumf&ck brooklyn/queens, I take it, but I get the point, def not an area I've ever spent much, if any time in.
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 4:14PM
Will Timmy be there? I mean as an example of who the Soup Kitchen feeds.
Posted by FUNdamental , Jul 23, 2008 4:19PM
@blnde - I got my lunch packed up, got my boots tied tight!
@anal, gg - it's a perfectly good neighborhood, no need to hate!
Posted by HAM05 , Jul 23, 2008 4:28PM
dont hate, i miss that hood - 24hr bridgemarket and a bubble in the winter...
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 4:31PM
The bridgemarket is where I learned how to trade.
Posted by girl , Jul 23, 2008 4:33PM
I for one applaud you Carney for supporting a real cause, not of the variety that keeps landing in my mailbox:
Young Ghetto Skippers on the Hudson
Southsides for Migrant Tennis Players
Havana Nights for Disadvantage Youth
These are the best of them, I might add.
Posted by fyi , Jul 23, 2008 4:35PM
Bubble in the winter? I used to live over there and hear you on the Bridgemarket (only clean market over there) but not quite sure what the bubble is....
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 4:37PM
this conversation alludes to the possibility that the entire site revolves around 5-10 finance nerds with nothing better to do
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 4:47PM
@ 4:37...
that is correct
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 4:50PM
Robert Novak hit and run!
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/23/national/w111727D16.DTL&tsp=1
Posted by Anal_yst , Jul 23, 2008 5:16PM
Oh, internet is out over @ DB HQ, just a heads up kids until further notice
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 5:16PM
According to its web site, Merchant's East has one of the last surviving cigar bars. Personally, I'm not into cigar bars, but you might catch a glimpse of Giuliani there. Food area is separate and non-smoking. The cause is legit: the charity has its tax-exempt status from the IRS. It's a good thing to support, so why look for ulterior motives?
Posted by american bandersnatch , Jul 23, 2008 5:27PM
The cigar bar vibe is odd. Too many guys standing around staring at each other with too few/no girls and no sports - feels very gay, not that there's anything wrong with that.
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 5:27PM
He, heh, cigar bar. Girl, are you coming tonight?
Posted by girl , Jul 23, 2008 5:48PM
@ 55
I'd love to but I'm sort of in detox and have a date with my favorite treadmill. He/she/it will be crushed if I don't show.
Have a cigar for me though.
Posted by trojan , Jul 23, 2008 6:19PM
hey girl
how much does a polar bear weigh
Posted by girl , Jul 23, 2008 6:27PM
@trojan- as much as your mother, i'd venture.
Posted by trojan , Jul 23, 2008 6:34PM
enough to break the ice.
i like the sass, but come on i expected something a bit wittier from you
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 6:38PM
Repo Man!!! Awesome clip, dude. The original Big Lebowski.
Posted by american bandersnatch , Jul 23, 2008 7:23PM
1 point for girl
Posted by Lowly Assistant , Jul 23, 2008 7:37PM
Carney,
You're such a fucking lawyer, I love it! I always considered you a Government Issue kinda guy, so the Circle Jerks threw me through the loop.
Posted by guest , Jul 23, 2008 8:16PM
i'll see everyone there. i'll be wearing a blue shirt and black pants. and ill have sunglasses on top of my head
Posted by MGR , Jul 23, 2008 8:55PM
@48 - the bubble is the softball field. they cover it during fall/winter and turn it into a tennis club.
Posted by fyi , Jul 23, 2008 11:53PM
@MGR: Thanks! Definitely time for me to switch sports. Playing in a bubble sounds like so much more fun.
Posted by guest , Jul 24, 2008 8:24AM
how the f did you people not know about Merchants East??
Great little cigar lounge
Posted by guest , Jul 24, 2008 8:25AM
United Fruitcake Outlet - it all makes sense - the life of a DB is intense.
Posted by guest , Jul 24, 2008 9:31AM
never before has a movie been so bad, and its soundtrack so good.
Puck
Posted by guest , Jul 24, 2008 10:12AM
A repo man spends his life getting into tense situations.
Posted by miami , Jul 24, 2008 10:53AM
Only a moron would think Repo Man was a 'so bad' movie. Perhaps you should stick to the Michael Bay section of your local blockbuster.