Starbucks gives $30 million for TBI/PTS research
ROS sends us the tip that CBS News reports that Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz announced that his company is giving $30 million to research for traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress in veterans;
HOWARD SCHULTZ: The truth of the matter is, and I say this with respect, more often than not, the government does a very — a much better job of sending people to war than they do bringing them home. These young men and women who are coming home from multiple deployments are not coming home to a parade. They’re not coming home to a celebration. They’re coming home to an American public that really doesn’t understand, and never embraced, what these people have done.
[…]
SCOTT PELLEY: You were recently at Walter Reed Army Hospital. What did you see there? What was that experience like? What did you learn?
HOWARD SCHULTZ: I was not mentally prepared, or emotionally prepared, for what we saw at Walter Reed. And a young, 21-year-old warrior who had lost both his legs was being wheeled around by his mother. And you ask yourself, “If that was my son or my daughter, how would we respond?” And I think my responsibility now is I have seen things, and I’ve heard things and I’ve met these people and their families, and you just can’t be a bystander. You have to do everything you can to tell their story and help them.
Last year, Starbucks promised to hire 10,000 vets and their families over the next five years. Now, I know as a conservative, the herd wants me love or hate Starbucks on their issue du jour, and it couldn’t be more schizophrenic. So as a veteran, I’m a Starbucks supporter, even though there’s not a Starbucks within 50 miles of me at the moment.
Category: Veteran Health Care
I will say, Starbucks’ stock, in my mind, just increased an order of magnitude. Wish more company CEOs would take the time to visit, as Howard Schultz did with these wounded warriors. Then follow suit and make the monetary commitment he did. They can talk all they want when they are sitting on multi-millions or billions of dollars. But to the troops who need it, money talks and bullshit walks.
I don’t drink latte mocha joka poka from Starbucks or anywhere else BUT, after reading the CBS story, I will opt for a cup of overpriced joe from Starbucks if there is no Dunkins next door. That’s the best I can promise to do–other than to say I truly appreciate what he’s doing: research and jobs.
Front for their other anti American business practices.
Not foolin’ me.
I would buy coffee from Starbucks, but I can’t afford their prices. Plus, the stench from hipsters and leftist hippie types is beyond my capacity for toleration.
I thank Starbuck’s CEO for doing this, but as above, it seems to me to be a PR cover for their other pro-statist/socialist philosophy. I hope the government takes the money and uses it for this research and help, but it’ll take more than that to wash away the bad taste in conservative mouths of the rest of their agenda.
AW1 Tim that is why they need to change their name to “Fivebucks” because you’re not getting out of there for less.
In theory, I certainly support this commitment. However, that support is qualified until he announces where he is sending the $$ for the research.
Meanwhile, perhaps limited purchase of some Starbuck’s something is in order. Sam’s does sell their bottled stuff. 😉
For what it’s worth, here’s my war story about how I once got kicked out of a Starbuck’s franchise:
It was during my days as a trucker, and THERE I WAS at a PA Turnpike plaza in line behind this booger-eating, snot-nosed insufferable Northeastern blueblood Preppie critter, SO impeccably dressed and groomed, hair all pouffed up and styled with mousse, I didn’t know whether to just mess up his hair to hear him/it cry or drag him/it to the pisser and give that critter a well-deserved SWIRLY (Stuffin’ the critter’s head in the toilet and flushing)!!
I just stuck it out and waited anyway, and sho’nuff, he gets to the counter, and in his nasal voice, he goes something like “Uuhhm, yes *SNEEEEER* I want a pumpkin eggnog latte with organic milk and cocoa, natural organic sugar,…” he/it not only ordered THE FAGGIEST-sounding cup of coffee I’ve ever heard of, he had to coach them on how to make it, and I unleashed. I knew that everyone that heard him order and coach would hear me, so I said “AND HE WANTS IT STIRRED WITH A 12 YEAR OLD VIRGIN ALTAR BOY’S PENIS!!” Next thing I knew, the ASSistant manager came out asking me to leave, and I suddenly had an urge to get a thermos full of truck stop joe with some instant mixed in to give it some more “punch”.
YEAH, I still have that stereotype in my head as the type that HAS to get their overpriced coffee from there. But hey, they started from scratch and now they’re everywhere, THEY’RE *GASP!* CAPITALISTS, YEAH, say that to the Birkenstock-clad, ponytailed neo-Hippies that go there, it’ll make them “spazz”!
Excellent!!! Coffee meet screen, screen meet coffee.
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I’m not a huge fan of Starbucks coffee, especially the “complicated” stuff stirred with virgin altar boy penises. Honestly I think all their coffee just tastes burnt … over roasted … whatever. However, in a pinch, mostly when my thermos has run dry (and yes ladies and gentlemen I travel with a thermos of my own home brew coffee everywhere I go,) I will stop in for their largest size normal black coffee. They even have real half&half, so it tones down the burnt taste a bit.
I guess maybe I’ll look carefully at their menu next time and see if they have something I can tolerate, like cookies or cake, and patronize their business a bit more.
Proud my man. Best Starbucks story I ever heard! I would have paid money to hear that. Right on brother!
Wasn’t it Denis Leary who said “if it takes you more than five words to order your coffee, you’re an asshole!”?
I frequent the drive through a few times a week.
One thing I will say about Starbucks is they tend to do customer service right. They listen to what you want, make it to your satisfaction and don’t quibble with you.
On more than one occasion they not only fixed my order, gave me the “mistake” and gave me a coupon for a free beverage on my next visit.
Thats a big plus here in So Cali, where most drive through workers cant comprehend English and screw things up at least 20% of the time.
Just An Old Dog. I hear and feel you my man. I go to Starbucks for my wife’s whatever it is called coffee. Their service is first rate in the drive through.
As opposed to McDonalds where few speak English well. I love McDonalds diet coke. Just my favorite drive through fountain mix. Yes 20% of the time I order two large diet cokes, ask at the pay window, “now you got two large diet cokes right” “Yes” is the reply. I pick it up and again say, “those are diets right?” “Yes” is the reply again. Then as I drive down the road putting my straw in my much anticipated favorite beverage, what the hell is it? A F@cking, straight Coke or a Mr. Pibb!!! Sonsofbitches!!!! Even when you ask three times they f@ck it up. Man that chaps my ass. So I head back to the drive through and of course now there is a six deep line of cars and I wait and tell the speaker person. You got my order wrong, I ordered diet cokes and you gave me straight coke. What do I hear…”do you have your receipt?” Sonsofbitches, sonsofbitches, sonsofbitches, again!!!
The CEO seems pretty sincere. So I guess I’ll buy some regular coffee from them, again. I’ll go to their drive ups. That way you don’t have to stand in line behind the stinky sh*t head in front of you while you spend your time watching vermin crawl out of it’s dreadlocks!
What if you miss the opportunity to mess up a preppie’s hair, let alone damn near make him/it pee his(?) britches?!
Proud that is why I use the drive through for my wife’s whatever it is called coffee. If I go inside it is just a cluster f@ck of nerdy, lactose intolerant, little mommies boys and crabby women who seem in a perpetually bad mood.
So they supported the 2nd amendment AND the troops…yep, I can buy a coffee there now and again. Nice.
Grande Kudos Starbucks for supporting TBI/PTS Vets.
Grande Fuck You Starbucks for your 2nd Amendment stance.
Still prefer my Folgers though.
Hate their coffee, but damn if you cannot love a Company that puts its money where their mouth is like they are doing!
rb325th Well said. More companies need to put up or shut up.
Well kudos to Starbucks for finding a useful way to drum up tax deductions while trying to improve their corporate image among the conservative crowd.
But I’m still not buying their overpriced and crappy tasting coffee.
For the price of 4 cups of their swill I can buy a can of my favorite national brand and brew about 200 cups of my own, all in the comfort of my own home while not having to subject myself to the uptight self important morons I always seem to see patronizing that establishment.
Sweet! That is good!
Wow, I am not fond of being characterized as a stinky sh*t head because I happen to go to Starbucks. You don’t have to like their coffee, but thinking that one cannot simultaneously drink their coffee and be of a conservative bent is just a tad rude.
At any rate, I applaud the ceo’s willingness to put money to a great cause.
So you object to stinking, smelly hippies being correctly identified as being stinking, smelly hippies?
Well, all right then. Your objection has been noted. Not likely to change the behavior of those who are capable of objective reporting of what they observe, but your freedom to express your feelings because most of us here served protect that right for you has been documented.
Whatever.
What the EF Over? “be of a conservative bent” … What does that mean?
Very good news.
I worked at Starbucks a little after getting out of the Army and while in the NJNG at Rutgers. There were very good to me.
And for the record – I usually get the doppio, black eye, or their Latin American coffees. They’re are a lil pricey but so is Dunkin Donuts these days too. Luckily, my job has an espresso machine so its all good.
On 9/11 when people were running for their lives, in lower Manhattan, and literally choking to death, a jerkoff manager at a Starbucks locked the doors.
Refused sheltering and denied people of water … as the story goes here in NYC.
I stopped drinking Starbucks on that day!
I am not a big fan of lefty politics and mixing such politics with basic commerce … “don’t carry a weapon in my store” knda crap!
But I will say this, I will give credit to where it is deserved … Howard Shultz I will now buy that nasty tasting coffee of yours because of your corporate support for Vets and your most recent 30 mil dolloars towards TBI/PTS research … good on you and your corporation for taking a Patriot position!
BTW … Have you ever heard some of these people order at Starbucks. I stopped in with a work mate recently (I did not purchase) and this Metro type guy ordered a “latte, soft, gauc, range free cane sugar, soy milk with a twist of vegan and a discounted CD of an ugly chick playing a harp while banging a tambareen bewteen her knees.”
I don’t get it! But maybe this will help!
Thanks Master Chief. Thank you for that video! My EXACT reason why I ONLY use the drive through! Can’t stand to even hear them place an order, much less see who is placing it. Nerds, Valley Girl types and Metrosexuals with “man purses” who are named Pat, Kelly, Kim or something that keeps me from knowing whether to say “hey Miss or hey buddy”.
Sparks… As a died-in-the-wool total Nerd, I object to you lumping my peeps with the metrosexual-types you describe. Apart from the nerd inclusion, I agree with everything else you said.