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SEATTLE, Washington, March 26, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - At the annual Starbucks shareholder's meeting in Seattle last week, company CEO Howard Shultz told a shareholder that he should buy stocks in other coffee businesses if he didn't like Starbucks’ endorsement of same-sex "marriage." Shareholder Tom Strobhar had pointed to what he argued was a significant drop in sales following a boycott launched by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) protesting Starbucks’ support of homosexual "marriage" in Washington state. "In the first full quarter after this boycott was announced, our sales and our earnings, shall we say politely, were a bit disappointing,"...

At question was whether it was prudent for the company to risk the return for its investors by advocating for gay marriage. The questioner also expressed disappointment with the company’s most recent results and claimed they were partly driven by the boycott Starbucks faced about the gay marriage issue. Schultz later said that if the shareholder remained unhappy with the 38% annual return on value the company provided, “You can sell your shares of Starbucks. It’s a free country.”

Hyping "growing support" for same-sex marriage, CNN's Carol Costello asked a supporter of California's Proposition 8 on Monday if he was "on the wrong side of history" for legally defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Her tone fits right with Friday's CNN panel where a traditional marriage supporter was disgustingly marginalized as a segregationist and compared to a slave owner. Costello cited GOP strategist Karl Rove admitting that he could see a Republican presidential candidate publicly support same-sex marriage in 2016. She then asked Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defense Fund, "Austin, you heard what Karl Rove...

Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz on Wednesday defended the company’s decision to support marriage equality, and told investors that if they weren’t on board, they could sell their stock and go elsewhere. Howard Schultz Last year, the Seattle-based company announced its support for legalizing same-sex marriage in Washington state, prompting opponents of the measure — notably the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage — to launch a boycott of Starbucks. At the company’s annual meeting Wednesday, shareholder Tom Strobhar described Starbucks’ first-quarter performance as disappointing, and suggested that was due in part to the boycott. “In the first fill quarter after...

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Monday is the last day New Yorkers will be able to buysuper-sized sugary drinks in New York City. The cola crackdown goes into effect on Tuesday. The new regulation puts a 16-ounce limit on sugary drinks sold at city restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues and street carts and applies to both bottled and fountain drinks.

STERLING, Va. (CBSDC) — If you enjoy packing heat while sipping a hot cup of coffee, Friday is your day. Firearms owners and gun rights advocates are heading to local coffee shops to celebrate “Gun Owners Support Starbucks Day.” It’s their way of saying ‘thank you’ to the Seattle-based coffee franchise for — as they see it — not infringing on their Second Amendment rights.

A Rohnert Park man was arrested after tearing apart a Starbucks and assaulting a police officer in Santa Rosa Saturday morning. Officers were called to the Starbucks near the intersection of Stony Point Road and Bellevue Ranch around 7:45 a.m., according to police. Police learned that a man had entered the store a few hours earlier and had been "exhibiting bizarre behavior" before locking himself in the restroom and pounding on the walls and door. At one point, the man allegedly tried to pull a Starbucks employee into the restroom with him. Police said an alert customer and workers evacuated...

“Room for smarm in your latte?” Isn’t there something creepy about Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz having [in Politico's words] “asked his Washington-area employees to write ‘Come Together’ on each customer cup today, tomorrow and Friday, as a gesture to urge leaders to resolve the fiscal cliff”? Did Schultz take a poll of his employees–sorry, “partners,” he calls them–before ordering pressuring asking them to join in this lobbying effort? What if he were, say, the CEO of Chick-fil-A and he “asked” his “partners” to write “Preserve the Family” on the outside of cups and containers.

Starbucks has ANNOUNCED that every cup of its coffee sold in the Washington D.C. area will have a message to Congress regarding the fiscal cliff written on then: "Come Together."Of course, the CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, is a liberal Obama supporter. What he really means is do what the president wants. Anyway, if you had the power to have a message written on coffee cups (not necessarily Starbucks) in the Washington D.C. area, what would it be. I'll lead off: 1. Read the DAMN bills before you vote on them! 2. Do NOT pass bills in order to find...

Starbucks will use its words and coffee cups to send a message to Congress about working together on securing America’s future. In an effort to prod the Democratic and Republican members to come together to create a responsible financial plan as the country approaches the looming fiscal cliff, Starbucks employees will write “Come Together” on every cup of coffee sold in its Washington, D.C., area stores.

It’s easy to chuckle at Starbucks’ tax troubles. The java merchant that has successfully enticed millions to pay for the privilege of hearing words like “barista” and “doppio” sprinkled over their morning jolt has made a specialty of offering a little dollop of sanctimony in every cup, promising to calm the conscience even as it raises the heartbeat. Shibboleths like “sustainable,” “fair trade” and “responsibly grown” seem to add value to its self-regarding clientele. Alas, Starbucks’ now-notorious “tax avoidance” policy in the United Kingdom proves that once you start chugging a Venti of self-righteousness, you may find yourself getting force-fed...

Google and Amazon are coming under growing pressure to follow Starbucks’ lead and pay a fairer share of tax in Britain as the chancellor plans to clamp down on rich companies and individuals. The multinationals will be among the targets of a £154million clampdown to be unveiled by George Osborne today aimed at raising another £5billion tax in the next three years. They are also being accused by MPs of ‘immorally’ minimising their tax bills, while giving ‘unconvincing and, in some cases, evasive’ evidence to a Commons committee investigating their financial affairs. Margaret Hodge, who chairs the Commons public accounts...

Coffee chain Starbucks said it was considering changes to its UK tax practices, which allowed it to make billions in revenue while paying little in income taxes, following criticism from lawmakers, tax campaigners and the media. A Reuters examination of Starbucks accounts published in October showed the company had reported 13 years of losses at its UK unit, even as it told investors the operation was profitable and among the best performing of its overseas markets. The chain's UK unit paid no corporation tax - a tax on a company's income - in the last three years for which figures...

Coffee aficionados have a difficult decision to make: Spend $7 on a full lunch or on a single cup of Starbucks coffee? The brew in question: The Seattle giant’s new Costa Rica Finca Palmilera, its most expensive offering ever and also one of its rarest. The coffee is part of the company’s Reserve line and costs $7 for a grande cup.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz Endorses Barack Obama Grace WylerNov. 1, 2012, 4:38 PMFollowing in the footsteps of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced on CNBC Thursday that he is endorsing President Barack Obama for re-election. Schultz's endorsement is surprising, given his vocal abstinence from politics this election cycle. In August 2011, Schultz called for a halt on campaign donations until both parties found common ground on the country's long-term fiscal issues. Watch the video his endorsement below:(click to the site to see the video)

STARBUCKS was yesterday slammed for “gaming” Britain — as it emerged the coffee king hasn’t paid a bean to the taxman in THREE years. Experts claimed that, since 1998, the American coffee firm has paid just £8.6 million in income tax here. Over the same period it has generated more than £3 billion of sales as customers flock to its cafes for cappuccinos and lattes. The chain — which prides itself on being “ethical” — has been able to cut income tax by paying fees to other parts of its global empire, such as royalty payments for use of the...

Starbucks Fans Bemoan Shortage of Seasonal Favorite; Expressions in Haiku For Asher Anidjar, the arrival of fall isn't marked by turning leaves or a chilly breeze, but a steaming seasonal drink. Recently, though, when he headed to his local Starbucks SBUX -0.04% for a Pumpkin Spice Latte, he left with a bitter taste in his mouth. They were out of the special sauce that gives the treat its distinctive autumnal flavor. "I just left, depressed," said Mr. Anidjar, a 26-year-old commercial real-estate analyst who lives in Manhattan. The drink crops up on the Starbucks menu annually for a limited time,...

Since when does serving up junk food give someone a license to preach? Politics and all things fried, fatty and fast are becoming intertwined to the point of absurdity. We’ve got the Papa John’s pizza guys weighing in on the health-care debate, while the burger slingers out west at In-N-Out can’t serve up a cheeseburger without a Bible verse. The craziness of fast-food commentary on social issues became obvious to me when I stumbled into a totally earnest discussion at a party last week by a bunch of Washingtonians who personally support the right to same-sex marriage, but are also...

Something exciting just happened in San Francisco. And it should pose an intellectual challenge for those who call themselves “progressives.” Starbucks, the Seattle-based coffee beverage giant, announced that they will soon allow mobile telephone purchases in their stores. Get the new app from San Francisco-based Square, Inc. on your smart phone, order your drinks in the store, and – presto! - pay the bill with your iPhone or Android. Along with this new approach to sales, Starbucks is also investing $25 million in Square Inc., and Starbucks C.E.O. Howard Schultz (a bona fide “food and beverage revolutionary”) will soon join...

...A pro-SSM blogger in NYC had to admit by mid-day that the event wasn't going as planned, writing: "...Either we've become too complacent about this issue or the event just wasn't organized and promoted with enough vehemence. And now it seems like we may have lost this particular battle, especially since the haters cagily framed their actions as being pro-freedom-of-speech." Today it appears the Starbucks Appreciation Day was a complete bust. This marks the second failed attempted to counter-protest the Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day last week (the first attempt was the failed Chick-fil-A "kiss-in"): "The Chick-fil-A controversy has left the gay...