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Guns and coffee collided Tuesday outside as Ohio State students from the group Buckeyes for Concealed Carry on Campus spent part of their Valentine's Day advocating for the right to carry a weapon on campus. The group protested outside Starbucks on 14th Avenue and High Street in a response to a nationwide boycott against Starbucks for its neutral position on concealed carry. The National Gun Victim's Action Council called for a nationwide boycott of Starbucks on Valentine's Day until the corporation prohibits guns in the stores. Michael Newbern, a second-year in industrial engineering and president of Buckeyes for Concealed Carry...

Gun bloggers Sebastian and gay cynic responded to the National Gun Victims Action Council recent announcement of a Valentine’s Day Starbucks boycott by organizing a BUYcott. Greg’s asking gun owners to reward Starbucks for its firearms policy by buying a beverage or food item with a two dollar bill (representing the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms) on February 14th. Not forgetting to “thank the clerk for Starbucks’ support of the Constitution.” Ahead of Starbuck’s Appreciation Day–which has now gone viral—our own Tim Tritt contacted the Seattle coffeesmith to voice his support for their support for gun rights....

We discussed here in February, 2010 how the Starbucks chain, when gun haters demanded that firearms be banned from their coffee shop premises, stood up and said no, they would follow the laws of the given state, and those legally carrying guns would be welcome. My friend and colleague Dave Workman brings you up to date here: http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/nw-gun-rights-activists-coffee-up-as-starbucks-posts-profits . Be sure to read his links for background. It seems than an anti-gun group has called for a boycott of Starbucks on this coming Valentine’s Day, February 14. As Dave explains, many of us in the gun movement will be buying...

As Washington's legislature works diligently to force homosexual marriage on its constituents, one of the more high-profile corporate entities in the Evergreen State has volunteered to help. In a January 24 statement, Starbucks vice president Kalen Holmes announced that the coffee retailing giant was proudly joining “other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples.” Holmes emphasized that the measure, which would legalize homosexual partnerships as equal with traditional marriage, “is aligned with Starbucks business practices” and is “core to who we are and what we value as a company.” The Seattle Times...

Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee shop chain, added its name to the list of major corporations that have endorsed a gay marriage bill in Washington State, saying the legislation shares the company’s values at its core. The decision was criticized by many conservative, pro-family organizations. Leading traditional marriage organizations, for instance, are accusing the Seattle-based company of “meddling” in the debate, after Starbucks joined Google, Microsoft, and Nike in support of the legalization of same-sex marriage that is currently gathering momentum in the state legislature. Kalen Holmes, executive vice president for Partner Resources, released a statement on Jan. 24 entitled,...

Starbucks has joined the fight for gay marriage, as Washington state edges closer to becoming the seventh state to approve marriage equality. Executive vice president of Partner Resources at Starbucks sent an email to business partners yesterday afternoon with the subject, "RE: A Message From Kalen Holmes: Starbucks Supports Marriage Equality." "Starbucks is proud to join other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples," Holmes wrote.

As you may know, TTAG commentator Greg responded to a Valentine’s Day Starbucks boycott by the National Gun Victims Action Council by organizing a BUYcott. He’s asking gun owners to reward Starbucks for its letter-of-the-law firearms policy by buying a beverage or food item with a two dollar bill (a suggestion made by NukemJim, the bill representing the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms) on the 14th of Feb. Not forgetting to “thank the clerk for Starbucks’ support of the Constitution.” Ahead of Starbuck’s Appreciation Day–which has already well and truly gone viral—our own Tim Tritt contacted the...

Starbucks today joined a growing list of corporations, including Microsoft, that have endorsed gay marriage legislation in the state House and Senate. Gay marriage supporters have apparently secured the votes needed to pass a measure through both houses, and Gov. Chris Gregoire has said she'll sign it into law. Starbucks' statement below: Starbucks is proud to join other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples. Starbucks strives to create a company culture that puts our partners first, and our company has a lengthy history of leading and supporting policies that promote equality...

The National Gun Victims Action Council has declared a Valentine’s Day boycott of Starbucks to protest the coffee chain’s support for American gun laws. TTAG Commentator Greg in Allston has a counter-proposal (so to speak) . . . “OK everyone, let’s have some real fun, shall we? Good! Listen up and please hear me out. The antis are planning a boycott. Let’s counter with a BUYcott. On February 13, 14 & 15, please make the effort to go to Starbucks and buy something. Don’t like their coffee? Get a tea, a cocoa, a pastry, anything. Thank the clerk for Starbucks’...

An anti-gun group is attempting to organize a nationwide Valentine's Day boycott of Starbucks over the coffee chain's gun policy. Starbucks does not ban guns in its stores; rather, it defers to local laws. The National Gun Victim's Action Council (NGAC) says that amounts to a pro-gun policy that endangers customers. "Starbucks allowing guns to be carried in thousands of their stores significantly increases everyone's risk of being a victim of gun violence," NGAC CEO Elliot Fineman said in a news release. "Open and conceal and carry are among the reasons there are 12,000 gun homicides each year in the...

Starbucks was targeted by a well known anti gun rights group recently because they took “No position” on firearms in their stores. They couldn’t coerce Starbucks into banning guns in Starbucks for everyone except criminals who don't care about "No guns" policies. Again, Starbucks is the target of a boycott beginning on Valentine’s Day by The National Gun Victims Action Council. Starbucks has the right to run their business as they see fit. They call themselves “A force for sane gun laws.” They cite England’s gun laws as a model to follow. But, English criminals are stealing guns, converting starter...

Claims clerks wouldn't let her use restroom to fix legStarbucks is getting serious about their rule that says people can't use the restroom unless they buy something, and now they've found themselves in hot water because of it. A Central Valley woman is suing the coffee shop company after a clerk denied her bathroom priviledges to fix her prosthetic leg, because she had not purchased something first. The Snitch reports Janet Marx has filed a complaint against an El Dorado Avenue Starbucks, stating that when she went to use the restroom to repair a loose screw on her prosthetic leg,...

If Starbucks chief Howard Schultz wants voters to withhold campaign cash from federal politicians, he may need to start with trying to halt the flow of donations coming from the people who work for him. Starbucks leadership, employees and the company's lobbying firm have continued to contribute thousands of dollars to federal officeholders despite Schultz's urging, according to campaign records reviewed by The Associated Press. He had invited Americans to join him in withholding campaign contributions until politicians could reach a bipartisan deal to stabilize the nation's fiscal situation — an appeal that Fortune magazine cited in naming Schultz its...

This weekend will be quite the spectacle in Bartlesville. A group of Oklahoma veterans plans to picket the Starbucks. Tjuana Boulanger, says, "This is how we feel. We will not support Starbucks anymore in Bartlesville." Boulanger was at the coffee shop last Saturday when a manager kicked the veterans of the property and called police for trespassing. The vets were on motorcycles to attend the funeral for Sgt. Chris Gailey. He was killed recently in Afghanistan. Boulanger says, "At one point I looked over and I saw one of the workers out with an apron out in the parking lot...

BOSTON (BP) -- Some of the nation's top companies such as Google, CBS, Starbucks and Nike have joined forces in a legal brief asking a federal court to force the federal government to recognize gay "marriage." The friend-of-the-court brief asks the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a 2010 lower court ruling that struck down part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. In that ruling, Judge Joseph L. Tauro said the federal government must recognize gay "marriages" from such states as Massachusetts, Vermont and the other four states where it's legal. In essence, the brief argues, the...

Microsoft and Starbucks are among 70 corporations, financial institutions, medical centers, and other major organizations that have signed on to a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).The organizations are, or represent, major employers who argue that DOMA imposes significant administrative costs, and that it harms their ability to attract and retain talent."Microsoft has joined dozens of corporations, organizations and governments in support of a challenge on constitutionality grounds to the federal Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA," the company said in a statement. The amicus brief "points out the significant...

Is it pure coincidence that this year's Starbucks holiday cup features a Nutcracker bearing an uncanny resemblance to the iconic Guy Fawkes mask? Or is this is some radical graphic designer's way of sticking it to the Man. Of course, it could also be Starbucks' way of commodifying some of that Occupy Wall Street magic. Because what could be more punk than drinking coffee from a chain restaurant in a disposable cup referencing a 17th century religious nut!

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Talk about a caffeine kick. A morning trip to get a cup of coffee turned into more than several customers bargained for at a Sacramento-area Starbucks when an angry panhandler ransacked the store, according to police. The bizarre incident began at the Starbucks at West El Camino and Truxel after a man began asking customers for money. When he failed to get any donations, witnesses said he grew very agitated and started screaming at people. Officials said he also allegedly shattered a glass counter that separates the customers from the baristas, and threw coffee and other items...

Occupy Wall Street: The scene on the groundBy Brian Montopoli October 5, 2011 2:55 PM **SNIP** Meanwhile, groggy demonstrators found their way to the makeshift kitchen in the middle of the park, where food donated by sympathizers - much of it vegan - was being given out. After nearly three weeks of the "occupation" -- which began as a relatively small protest in response to a call from anti-consumerist magazine Adbusters -- a semi-functioning society has sprung up. Barred by police from using megaphones, protesters created a structure whereby whoever is speaking says his piece, and then the rest of...

Starbucks Corp. Chief Executive Howard Schultz, who has been on a mission to cut the national debt and boost job creation, has pledged to donate at least $100,000 of profits annually from two Starbucks stores in low-income areas to boost jobs in those communities. Profits from Starbucks stores in the Harlem section of Manhattan and the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles will go toward two community organizations that work to improve education and job training for young adults in those areas. High-school students in those neighborhoods also will receive barista training at the Starbucks shops. "We can't wait for Washington....

Starbucks hopes customers will be willing to pay at least $5 more when they stop in for their morning cup of Joe. Starting Nov. 1, Starbucks will begin collecting donations of $5 or more from customers to stimulate U.S. job growth through its “Jobs for USA” program. The Seattle-based coffee chain is collaborating with the Opportunity Finance Network, a nonprofit that works with nearly 200 community development financial institutions to provide loans to small businesses and community groups. Starbucks says 100 percent of the donations will go toward loans for firms and organizations that can add jobs or stem job...

ACTIONS speak louder than words. Let's see if Schultz stands firm or rejects his own rhetoric going forward.

Gee, deceptive advertising? This is her 40 years ago and it was touched up before photoshop was invented

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on today's Neil Cavuto show states he is unsatisfied with politicians ability to run the country and wants all corporations to withhold campaign contributions to both parties. Already many companies have decided to withhold their contributions.

Starbucks has settled a suit for $75,000 with a woman who claimed she was fired because she is a dwarf. According to Reuters, Elsa Sallard, a barista at a store in El Paso, TX, requested a stool or small stepladder to do her job. Starbucks denied the request and fired her that same day in 2009. The company said she could have been a danger to employees and customers. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which filed the lawsuit in May, said after three days of training, the store should have made a reasonable accommodation for the woman. Robert Canino,...

EL PASO, Texas — Starbucks Coffee Company has agreed to pay $75,000 and provide other significant relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged Starbucks Coffee Company with unlawfully denying a reasonable accommodation to a barista with dwarfism at one of its El Paso stores and firing her because of her disability.

...In his letter Monday, Schultz invited executives to join him in a "pledge to withhold any further campaign contributions to the president and all members of Congress until a fair, bipartisan deal is reached that sets our nation on stronger long-term fiscal footing."...

The CEO of Starbucks is urging fellow business leaders to join him in getting Washington’s attention by refusing to give money to political campaigns until there is a serious plan to rein in deficits. “I am asking that all of us forgo political contributions until the Congress and the president return to Washington and deliver a fiscally disciplined long-term debt and deficit plan to the American people,” Howard Schultz wrote Sunday in an email to business honchos obtained by POLITICO. Schultz called on CEOs and other corporate executives to “voice your perspective publicly,” and he has done the same in...

Full title: Panic In DC As Starbucks' Schultz Calls For CEO Boycott Of Campaign Donations, Urges Americans To Go On Strike Against Their Politicians In today's most underreported news of the day, which could potentially have the biggest impact on the future of America, none other than America's CEOs, or at least one of them: Starbucks' Howard Schultz, has mass blasted an email to fellow CEOs asking for a consensual boycott on donating to political campaigns in order to encourage the nation's muppets, elsewhere idiotically called "leaders", to solve America's budget and debt impasse. Bloomberg quotes from the CEO's e-mail...

Starbucks is well-known for coffee, but laptop users love their juice — electrical juice. Now, a rumor is floating amongst the Interwebs that New York City Starbucks locations are replacing electrical sockets with blank faceplates, effectively pulling the plug on laptop (ab)users plagued with poor battery performance. The Seattle-based caffeine pusher did not immediately return a request for comment. I can see the need to DC AC hogs, but I know a lot of folks, including some of my favorite reporters I never see anymore, use Starbucks as a transient office. Starbucks Gossip provides the following jolt: If you are...

Nearly three years ago, a Minneapolis man blew himself up oceans away in Somalia. His death put Minnesota at the heart of a still unfolding multinational counterterrorism probe that has seen 20 Minnesotans indicted on terror-related charges, at least another nine killed in fighting overseas and a handful more arrested and convicted. Others have been charged with fundraising or wiring money to a terror group in Somalia, and one of the men charged is scheduled to go on trial next month -- a first in the case. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder visited Minneapolis last month to reaffirm his office's...

About a year ago, the Brady Campaign warned that “gun rights” activists were converging on Washington, D.C., seething with threats of right-wing violence. Of course, the Brady Campaign rejected the “bumper sticker logic” of the gun lobby. The gun control group called for a new reality-based discussion of guns and violence. Someone at the Brady Center wrote a book titled “Lethal Logic: Exploding the Myths that Paralyze American Gun Policy.” The author dissected the superficial appeal of bumper sticker logic (e.g., when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns). While I don’t normally display bumper stickers, I am convinced...

GLENDORA, Calif. (KABC) -- Glendora Police announced the arrest of a man suspected taking "Peeping Tom" videos at a Starbucks store in the city. William Velasco, 25, was arrested by Glendora Police after two search warrants were served on May 4. Velasco, a San Dimas unemployed student, was arrested on suspicion of placing hidden audio/video recording equipment in the women's restroom of the Starbucks store at 1832 E. Route 66 in Glendora. A Starbucks employee discovered the device and alerted police. Velasco is suspected of installing the device, disguised as a coat-hook, directly across from the toilet in the women's...

A California man placed a hidden camera inside a Starbucks bathroom and filmed dozens of unsuspecting women and children, according to police. The camera was disguised as a coat hook and affixed to a wall adjacent to a toilet for two days last month. William Zafra Velasco, 25, was arrested earlier this month by Glendora Police Department officers, who executed search warrants at the San Dimas home of the unemployed student. Detectives examining Velasco’s computers discovered “disturbing video of at least 45 female victims using the restroom, including children,” according to investigators. Velasco, pictured in the above mug shot, was...

The federal government is suing Starbucks for firing a dwarf. According to Reuters, the barista, at a store in El Paso, TX, requested a stool or small stepladder to do her job. Starbucks denied the request and fired her that same day. The company said she could have been a danger to employees and customers. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said after three days of training, the store should have made a reasonable accommodation for the woman.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is backpedaling on his support for Obama’s health care law. The coffee giant CEO said in a statement that the way the bill is written under the current guidelines, the pressure on small business because of the mandate is “too great.” Martha MacCallum spoke to Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office and president of the American Action Forum about Schultz’s statement and the impact to small business owners.

Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz asks that the Obama administration reconsider its position on health care reform in an interview published Tuesday by The Seattle Times. The coffee company and barista bigwig, often vocal about wanting health care reform, saw double-digit employee health care cost increases for five consecutive years. “That cost last year was $250 million,” Schultz told The Seattle Times.

A Missouri family is suing Starbucks after a patron was killed while trying to prevent a tip jar robbery. Roger Kreutz was ordering coffee from a Crestwood Starbucks on March 3, 2008, when suddenly a 19-year-old thief snatched the barista tip jar from the counter, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Kreutz chased the man, later identified as Aaron Poisson, out of the coffee shop and the two had a physical altercation near the thief's car. Kreutz was thrown to the ground after Poisson, in his rush to escape, hit him with his car, the Dispatch reported. Kreutz later...

Starbucks Workers Get Holiday Pay, Protest Anyway1/17/11 at 7:11 PM For most of us, Martin Luther King Jr. day is considered a holiday. But not for Starbucks workers, who up until this year didn't receive holiday pay for working on MLK Day. The Industrial Workers of the World Starbucks Workers Union spent three years lobbying to get Starbucks employees time and a half on the holiday — and this year they got what they wanted. And as is often the case, the company was loathe to give the union any credit in adding Martin Luther King Jr. Day to the...

Starbucks Corp will roll out its biggest drink size yet -- the 31-ounce "Trenta" -- in all of its U.S. coffee shops by May 3, the company said on Sunday The new size will be available only for iced coffee, iced tea and iced tea lemonade drinks in the United States. The Trenta is 7 ounces larger than Starbucks' "Venti" cup for iced drinks, which currently is its largest size on offer. Drinks in the Trenta size will cost 50 cents more than similar Venti-sized iced drinks, the company said. Seattle-based Starbucks tested the new size in several U.S. markets...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A former San Francisco police lieutenant who weathered numerous allegations during his career, including that he loitered around prostitution hot spots, has filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit against the city. Jerry Lankford, 54, claims he was forced to retire after being wrongly accused of being unprofessional when he rapped his badge against a Starbucks window while the coffee store was closed. The 30-year department veteran said he was unfairly placed on unpaid administrative leave in February and had no choice but to retire after being accused of "conduct unbecoming an officer" at the Starbucks in the West Portal...

Remember six months ago when the anti-gun Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Washington CeaseFire were aghast that Seattle coffee giant Starbucks would not become their political surrogate and ban armed customers from their shops? This column wrote about it here and here. The campaign against Starbucks had kicked off down in California (where else?) and the gun prohibition lobby tried to spread it nationally, but quickly lost traction when Starbucks did the responsible thing and merely announced that it was in compliance with, and would do business under all state and local laws. Almost immediately, the Open Carry...

Starbucks Corp... announced plans for "targeted" price increases in some markets on certain products as green arabica coffee prices hit 13-year high and other raw ingredients jump. "Over the last six months a highly speculative green coffee market and dramatically increased commodity costs have completely altered the economic and financial picture of many players in the coffee industry," said Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz. "And while many, if not most, coffee roasters and retailers began raising prices months ago, we have thus far chosen to absorb the price increases ourselves and not pass them on to our customers. But...

VANCOUVER, Wash. – A bizarre attack sent a Vancouver woman to the hospital on Monday and police said they believe her attacker threw some kind of acid in her face. Bethany Storro had no idea who the woman was who attacked her and no idea why someone picked her for an attack. Storro, 28, doesn’t usually wear sunglasses but she bought a pair about an hour before the attack. Those glasses may have saved her eyesight. She had stopped to get a coffee at a Starbucks near Esther Short Park at 8th and Columbia and was getting something out...

NEW YORK, - A New York English professor said she was kicked out of a Starbucks by three police officers because she refused to follow the cafe's ordering rules. Lynne Rosenthal, who gave her age as early 60s, said she got into an argument with a barista Sunday morning because she refused to specify whether she wanted butter or cheese on her multigrain bagel, the New York Post reported Monday. "I just wanted a multigrain bagel," Rosenthal said. "I refused to say 'without butter or cheese.' When you go to Burger King, you don't have to list the six things...

NEW YORK, July 3 (UPI) -- A New York woman is suing Starbucks, saying her baby son was seriously injured when she dropped a cup of overly hot tea on him. In a complaint filed Friday in Kings County, Villona Maryash said the scalding took place in a Starbucks in the Bensonhurst neighborhood in Brooklyn in October, the New York Post reported. She said her son, Arnold Glouchko, who was 5 months old at the time, was in his stroller when she picked up the tea and then dropped it because it was so hot.

It's pretty well documented MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski likes to brag about her workout routine and showcase its effects on her physique. And perhaps for that reason, Brzezinski believes that entitles her to pass judgment on what consumers should put into their bodies. On MSNBC's July 6 "Morning Joe," Brzezinski boasted about San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's vending machine soda ban that took effect today. But Brzezinski wanted to take it a step further - not to just ban them in city vending machines, but just stop people from drinking soda altogether. "And in San Francisco, a ban on sugary drinks...

If you’re like me, you might enjoy a cup of Starbucks’ coffee on a regular basis. My brother-in-law tells people that if they’d be interested in assassinating me, they simply need to be on the roof of the building across the street from the neighborhood Starbucks at precisely 7:00 am on any given morning. All jokes aside (I think?), I can’t help but to be “bombarded” by literature on Starbucks’ “Social Responsibility” program each time I visit. This kind of thing, more often referred to as corporate “sustainability” in the business environment, is becoming commonplace in today’s competitive consumer markets....

Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/Starbucks?v=wall&ref=ts Enjoy! And, uh, boycott Starbucks and the rest of Seattle.

(Reuters) - Starbucks Corp has been sued by a customer who allegedly suffered second-degree burns after being served tea that was too hot.