{"id":117,"date":"2012-07-04T09:58:55","date_gmt":"2012-07-04T16:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lloydhanford.com\/?page_id=117"},"modified":"2012-07-04T09:58:55","modified_gmt":"2012-07-04T16:58:55","slug":"have-a-cup-of-coffee-at-starbucks-today","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.lloydhanford.com\/?page_id=117","title":{"rendered":"HAVE A CUP OF COFFEE AT STARBUCKS TODAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

The letter below from Howard Schultz appeared in many newspapers and while it has little to do with real estate it has a lot to do with the health of this country and is most appropriate for a 4th<\/sup> of July post.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr. Schultz, a very responsible business leader, has absolutely identified what is wrong with America today. It is a glaring leadership deficit where the elected appear to be much more interested in re-election than they are in solving problem. The political partisanship, ideological bickering and brinksmanship should be an embarrassment to all of them but it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t.\u00c2\u00a0 Winning political points and playing \u00e2\u20ac\u0153gotcha\u00e2\u20ac\u009d appears more important than solving the nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problems by rolling up the sleeves and working together.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every thinking American should join in this discussion whether today or later, and let our elected politicians knows that if they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get their acts together and act responsibly to solve America\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problems with civility and cooperation, the voters will find new people to represent them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To spark the conversation in your neighborhood Starbucks, please join us this 4th of July<\/strong><\/a> for a free tall hot brewed coffee.<\/p>\n

An Open Letter: How Can America Win This Election?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Friday, June 29, 2012<\/p>\n

Posted by Howard S., Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive officer<\/p>\n

On Independence Day, our country celebrates the promise of America.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a day to remember that the principles that bind us together vastly outweigh what keeps us apart. The freedom to dream and the opportunity to create a better life \u00e2\u20ac\u201c not just for ourselves, but for each other \u00e2\u20ac\u201c has always defined our great nation.<\/p>\n

I am a product of that American Dream. As a kid who grew up in public housing, went on to get an education at a state university and build a business, I am grateful for what this country has made possible for me. In turn, at Starbucks, we have always tried our best to honor our responsibility to the communities we serve.<\/p>\n

And on this Fourth of July, our communities need all of us.<\/p>\n

Across the country, millions of Americans are out of work. Many more are working tirelessly yet still unable to adequately care for their families. Our veterans are not being welcomed home with the level of support they deserve. Meanwhile, in our nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s capital, our elected leaders are continuing to put ideology over real solutions. I love America, but we all know there is something wrong. The deficits this country must reconcile are much more than financial, and our inability to solve our own problems is sapping our national spirit. We are better than this. America\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s history has showed that we have accomplished extraordinary things when we act collectively, with courage, creativity, and generosity of spirit\u00e2\u20ac\u201despecially during trying times.<\/p>\n

As we celebrate all that is great about our country, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s come together and amplify our voices.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tell our government leaders to put partisanship aside and to speak truthfully about the challenges we face. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ask our business leaders to create more job opportunities for the American economy. And as citizens, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all get more involved. Please, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a bystander. Understand that we have a shared responsibility in solving our nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problems. We can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wait for Washington.<\/p>\n

At Starbucks, we are trying to live up to our responsibility by increasing our local community service and helping to finance small-business job creation with Create Jobs for USA. Our company is far from perfect, and we know we can do more for America. But we need your help. We need your voice.<\/p>\n

Join the national conversation with #INDIVISIBLE<\/strong>. Starting today, I invite you to share your view of America, and how we can all put citizenship over partisanship. On Instagram, post a photo of the America we all need to see. On Twitter, provide a link to an innovative idea. Blog about who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s making a difference in your community; or on YouTube, share how you made your American Dream come true. No matter where you post, if you use the tag #indivisible, Starbucks will do its part to collect and amplify your voices.<\/p>\n

To spark the conversation in our stores, your local Starbucks will proudly serve everyone a free tall hot brewed coffee on the Fourth of July<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Together, we can set a new tone in America. We hope you agree that doing so is a powerful way to celebrate our nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s birthday.<\/p>\n

In 2012, America needs to win the election more than either party does<\/strong>. It is time now to join together as Americans. It is time, whatever our differences, for us to strive and succeed as one nation \u00e2\u20ac\u201c indivisible.<\/p>\n

#INDIVISIBLE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The letter below from Howard Schultz appeared in many newspapers and while it has little to do with real estate it has a lot to do with the health of this country and is most appropriate for a 4th of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-117","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.lloydhanford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.lloydhanford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.lloydhanford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.lloydhanford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.lloydhanford.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=117"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.lloydhanford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118,"href":"http:\/\/www.lloydhanford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/117\/revisions\/118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.lloydhanford.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}