Coffee with steam: Some conservatives are angered by opinionated quotes th

(This is one brave act for a business to do!! Go Starbuck's!)

Moments after picking up a venti vanilla latte from a St. Petersburg Starbucks, Sam Maston removed his cup's cardboard sleeve to inspect a message printed beneath.

"America's national debt is now $7.5-trillion, and it's skyrocketing, even as America's population ages," the cup read. "There will never be a better time to start paying off this crippling debt than today."

The quote, from environmentalist Denis Hayes, didn't faze the 29-year-old Maston.

"I'm a pretty hardcore Democrat," said Maston, who wore a black rubber wristband bearing the words I DID NOT VOTE 4 BUSH. "I think they should put that stuff on there."

more...

http://sptimes.com/2005/03/25/Business/Coffee_with_steam.shtml

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Well done, Starbucks.

n/t

what f***ing country does she live in? Has she not noticed it's being completely run by asshole conservatives?

... with rights and stuff ... corporate freedom of speech and buying politicians and all ...

bet Ms. Nunez, et al, have no problem whatsoever with In-N-Out Burger putting Bible verses on its cups, wrappers, etc. "The In-N-Out chain (NV, CA, AZ) was founded by Harry and Esther Snyder in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948...The Snyders are a religious family, and their continuing to control their own company means they can put what they want on their product packaging."
http://www.snopes.com/business/alliance/inandout.asp

She can go buy her coffee at some other chain.

Lynne Cheney-Joe Lieberman-David Horowitz spreading to other venues ... the mindset is dangerous.

Good for Starbucks.

As a stockholder since 1993 and an avid Starbucks fan, I was very disappointed to see Starbucks use a quote from Al Franken. Mr. Franken’s political leanings, as well as his attacks on conservatives in general and our President specifically, are offensive. I am disappointed that Starbucks would feature such a biased individual.

I suggest you play it safe and use more moderate individuals and avoid offending dedicated Starbucks fans. I don’t think Starbucks wants to be in a position of promoting political viewpoints.

The offending quote?

The Way I See It #3
"Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it’s a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from."

-- Al Franken

Why do I think bro stockholder is lying through his teeth? Seems if he'd owned in the company for that long, he knows what he's into.

where you can send Starbuck's a comment about the quotes. Let's support them for their efforts. This country needs to be taught to think again!!!

promoting a religious viewpoint.

It looks like they get a fair amount of negative input. Do your thing and let them know we like what they have to say!

start frequenting their establishments if you don't already. I don't, but I think I'll start throwing a little business their way.

Good for them for trying to enlighten people and make them think!

but I'm willing to make it.

They over-roast their beans. It's really pretty putrid, if you ask me. Maybe that's why everyone is sweetening and flavoring the sludge.

Their coffee has always tasted bitter to me. I'm a fan of Caribou Coffee shops personally.

Still that is a brave thing for Starbucks to do.

My husband and I were trying to define that Starbuck's taste, but you described it perfectly.

We LOVE Starbuck's coffee. We buy the beans and grind it at home.

We don't do non-Starbuck's coffee, cuz we love that unique--as you said--"funky burnt" taste. LOL!

It does have a bite, that's for sure.

It's totally addictive! You get accustomed to that taste.

good for them! :thumbsup:

thanks for posting this.

THANK STARBUCKS FOR PUTTING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE NEWS MESSAGES ON ITS COFFEE CUPS

Conservatives are steamed at Starbucks’ campaign to put news messages on its coffee cups—such as educating the public about the soaring deficit and environmental problems. Starbucks is being pressured to include conservative voices on its cups. Please e-mail Starbucks at the link below and thank them for being a good corporate citizen by airing progressive views. Urge them to stand firm against conservatives’ efforts to distort the truth—and to continue bringing these important messages to their customers.

http://www.starbucks.com/retail/thewayiseeit_comments.asp

BTW, Dunkin Donuts uses fair trade coffee in their espresso drinks.

about Alaska Airlines leaving a prayer card on your tray when they serve meals?

The last I heard, Starbucks was a private company. They're welcome to take their business to SBC or Dunkin Donuts or any other establishment.

where I used to live. I used to patronize it until I found out that the owner was a big-time sponsor of the anti-gay initiatives that were circulating at the time and that the name of his shop was considered a codeword for "fundamentalist-owned."

that you'll have these some of these asshole cons giving hell to the employees

At least there are some moderate people who don't mind drinking out of a cup that disagrees with them ;-)

First, what did the conservatives who used "latte liberals" as an insult think was going to happen? They created a marketing campaign on behalf of Starbucks with that phrase, handing them an image for free. True, that image of the latte-drinking well-heeled liberal may keep some conservatives away from fancy coffees in general, so it makes good sense to capitalize on the distinction and consolidate a more liberal base rather than attempt to fight the image.

Second, Starbucks has got a problematic image with some of the Left, to the point that a peace demonstrator with a Starbucks coffee in hand is seen as hypocritical. Starbucks, being the giant that it is, has been a focus of anticorporate, anti-big business attacks. This continues despite Starbucks' liberal employee benefits policies, corporate giving, and participation in fair trade with coffee growers' collectives. Simple slogans on coffee cups that have to be printed with something anyway do not cost much, but may help to improve the company's image with the Left.

It's a decent marketing campaign. Starbucks has an obligation to its employees and shareholders to sell coffee. One would imagine that conservatives would understand this simple, capitalist point. However, it seems that when the marketing campaign includes liberal messages, the confused conservatives forget themselves and begin to believe that a corporation has a duty to provide a balance of political viewpoints if it is to provide a political viewpoint at all. How thorougly bizarre!

It would be interesting to see if the Torrefazione chain, also owned by Starbucks, picks up on the coffee quotes. My guess would be no, since the Torrefazione chain has maintained a distinct brand identity from its parent. It would be very wise of Starbucks to continue that distinctness, and position Torrefazione as the traditional (faux-Italian) alternative to the funky, liberal Starbucks brand. Ideally, Starbucks would then be able to place two coffee stores in the same market area and have conservatives defiantly buy coffee at the conservative Torrefazione stand just to piss off the libruls on the other side of the mall.

I'm sorry Ms. Nunez feels underrepresented. Maybe we can go for someone a little farther to the right, like Pinochet.