Starbucks Got It Right This Season

Starbucks has come under fire for simplifying their holiday cups this season. Evangelicals have taken the simple red cup as a war on Christmas. Here is a sample of the social media that started the boycotts and attention to the issue: This is from a Joshua Feurstein and he was given over 2 million likes for his post.

Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups because they hate Jesus ... SO I PRANKED THEM ... and they HATE IT!!!! ‪#‎share‬
Use ‪#‎MERRYCHRISTMASSTARBUCKS‬
Follow --> Joshua Feuerstein

Here is the response from Starbucks to the social media attacks.

"In response to the video, our core values as a company is to create a culture of belonging, inclusion and diversity," the representative said. "Each year during the holidays we aim to bring our customers an experience that inspires the spirit of the season and we will continue to embrace and welcome customers from all backgrounds and religions in our stores around the world."

The attack on Starbucks stems from company decisions that are against "Christian Values." The real "beef" is that Starbucks has been a supporter of marriage equality. Back in 2013, the company was willing to take a temporary dip in stock values to ensure that support for marriage equality was a part of Starbuck's corporate policy. The CEO had to respond to criticisms from his board that he had a greater responsibility to stockholders. (The board member was Thomas Strobhar, the founder of the Corporate Morality Action Center) He responded in kind he had a larger calling to be inclusive, and supportive of his employees.

Starbucks is criticized for actions that expand human rights by Christian groups. Maybe it is these groups that need to reexamine the true meaning of Christmas and not Starbucks.

 

 

Why We Need To Talk About The "Thin Blue Line."

Bill Maher interviewed Quentin Tarantino regarding the recent controversy regarding Police Brutality. Quentin Tarantino makes some excellent points about the need for honesty and transparency. He sums up the problem by calling out the barrier that exists known as "The Thin Blue Line." Simply put, the "Thin Blue Line" is a level of protection for unionized officers that prevents accountability for officers when they cross the line with the citizenry.

The "Thin Blue Line" is a conversation that needs to happen not only for the police, but also for our public education system. The police in our nation have the same issue that teacher's unions have, and that is the idea that 99.99% of the membership is competent enough to never need to be removed from their positions due to negligence. A statistic that is much higher than any other sector of our labor force.

Over 6 months ago, I wrote and article about New York teachers. Out of 112.000 employees, only a handful have been removed from their positions for their behavior. Each instance a teacher is removed, it is due to extreme circumstances. The same is true for law enforcement. It is very rare that a police officer is removed from duty. Reassignments and administrative leaves allow the officer to return to some form of active duty.

The problem with "The Thin Blue Line" is that it is not transparent. Many complaints by citizens are protected by as Quentin puts it....a snake with many heads. Somewhere, the institution of law enforcement became an institution that thinks of itself as not accountable to the citizenry they serve when the laws are broken by an officer.

We need to examine the systemic barriers and ask unions to consider transparency as a matter of substance and importance. Without it, more people will be innocently hurt by the system that is supposed to protect them.

Parents - Why Not Fully Opt Out Of Half Days

The opt out movement has successfully demonstrated that parents can ultimately control educational policy. While the parents rallied for their children to protest common core testing, they also rallied behind an idea strongly supported by the teacher's union. What would happen if parents rallied behind sound educational policies they themselves consider important?  Instead of relying on teachers, what if they listened to their parental instincts and began to opt out of educational policies that have similar consequences such as common core testing?

For many years now, parents have been complaining about many educational issues that have zero benefit for their children. For example, the half day of teaching has been argued for years to be of no benefit to children. Their is much evidence to support this conclusion by parents.

Here are some local examples of how inconsequential half days are for your children. At a local high school, a half day constitutes 28 minutes of learning per period. Some periods are dropped entirely from the schedule.  PM BOCES students sit in an auditorium or the library because their is no plan for their missing at half day. Elementary students have 15 min periods. Does any of this make sense from a learning perspective.

School districts have half days due to union contracts and technicalities of instruction from the State Education Department. NYS requires 180 days of instruction. School districts have to manipulate the schedule throughout the calendar year to meet SED mandate and negotiated teaching contracts. Local educational leaders understand that 2 hrs. a day of instruction counts as a full day and utilize half days to meet their mandates. How in the 21st century, did we allow this practice to continue? It makes absolutely no sense to continue half days of instruction for the convenience of mandates and teacher contract requirements.

The truth is that parents have been opting out for years of this nonsense. Absenteeism is extremely high on half days. Classrooms sit half empty. So the question begs to be asked, why do we still have them. The reason is that the
 "opt out" message is not being heard loud and clear in Albany. Albany needs to see increased rates of absenteeism in order for this practice to stop. We have learned from the opt-out crowd that civil disobedience works.  It is time for parents to opt out of half days in record numbers to get this practice to stop.

Move To Denmark Damn It!!!!

I was recently engaged in an interesting debate on Facebook regarding the benefits of living in Denmark versus the United States. Full disclosure, I have never lived in Denmark. However, I see a lot of ideas from the Bernie Sanders camp like to cite Denmark. This alone makes Denmark a Socialist/Communist country.

Here is the controversy. In Denmark, and other European countries, public policies have shifted to take care of every citizen in their country by utilizing the following strategies:

Much Higher Minimum Wage
Healthcare For All - Single Payer System
Free College Education
Free Child Care
Shorter Work Week

So this is what Socialism looks like? Hmmmmm. Why are we so scared of such a system? It is due to the fact we think people will become lazy and not work. It is not about that at all. It actually makes people more productive.

Another counter point is the higher income tax (some as high as 40%) and higher sales tax (some as high as 25%) It sounds counterproductive compared to our system. However, let me provide you and example of how we actually pay a lot of taxes comparatively. It is just hidden in our system.

For example:

Student Loans - Those who go to college spend a lifetime paying them back on plans that are 10-15% of their income.

Property Taxes - In NYS some communities pay as high as 12 thousand dollars on personal property taxes.

Federal Income Tax - Can be as high as 28% however middle income families pay a much high burden than the rich.

State Income Tax - In states that have state income tax, another 5-8% of your income can go towards state income tax

Child Care - Ask anyone. At least 10 percent of your income.

Healthcare costs - Can be as much as 10 percent of your income and depending on coverage, it can bankrupt you if there is a catastrophic illness.

We are living in a lottery system in the Untied States. Those that complain about Socialism have the odds in their favor. However, once one of the big five expenses hit their family, they begin to realize that a better system would benefit all Americans.

So, maybe we should go to Denmark. Not to live, but to learn about their system. Knowledge is power and we have the power to make our lives much easier in the United States by providing an effective safety net like the models that are currently successful in Europe.

NYC Is A Shining Example Of Responsible Gun Policy

While the nation grieves yet another gun tragedy, both sides of the gun debate have immediately become immersed in an all too familiar debate. The problem with gun policy is similar to many problems facing our nation, and that is we are too polarized. Right away, Fox News and MSNBC begin to choose sides and rally their base. What is lacking is a sound policy. Do we have one as a nation?

The answer may surprise you. We have a great example of gun policy right here in New York State. In particular, NYC has worked extremely hard to promote social policy that has saved lives. The facts are astounding. 20 years ago, 2250 or more families were victims of violence. Today, the deaths have been reduced to 400.

New York State and New York City has strengthened gun laws. In addition to that, programs were created to extract guns from high risk communities. In 2006, a gun suppression task force targeted hot zones. More importantly, violators were given harsh punishments. The law was enforced no matter who you were including the famous arrest of Plaxico Burress. NYC made sure that carrying a gun without a proper permit would be punished with a harsh sentence. The continued progress will rely on other states enacting similar policy. The guns that are illegal in NYC today are mostly bought out of state. The trend is also true for the rest of New York.

The road to sound policy has not been an easy one. Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg are under constant attack to their policies. However, they have worked. For other states to see similar results, they will have to rely less on polls and more on sound social policy.

The Dark Side Of Pope Francis Coming To Town......

Pope Francis coming to the United States has been inspirational to many. It is great to see the openness to his message. He provided examples for our legislators to consider regarding the plight of the poor and the environment. His message of simplicity by driving in a Fiat and eating with the homeless reminded many that we have an obligation to our fellow citizens to consider inequities in our own society.

Underneath it all, social media presented a much darker view of the visit. Centuries old habits of discrediting the Pope and the teachings of the Catholic Church came to light. Instead of enjoying the message behind the visit, they felt threatened by his presence. Similar to our President and Congress, they took apart sound bytes and challenged his doctrine. Essentially, fear reared it's ugly head, and the comments and conspiracies became a standard response.

What the Pope's visit is a reminder of is the importance of the separation of church and state. What separates our civilization from the chaos in the Middle East is the Constitution. The first amendment is a protective barrier. that religious zealots try to weaken, so that their message can be universal. the belly of the beast for many is Catholicism and Secularism. The Pope coming to the United States was for them, a threat and not a message of hope.

Generous Thinking Has Many Layers - (Watch This Video)

Generous thinking. Something that goes unnoticed unless picked up by Social Media. There is a lot to learn about the concept of generous thinking. In this video, it is so important to celebrate the accomplishments of individuals that understand we are greater than one's self. Some may watch this video and focus on the disability. The truth is that this video is more about the abilities of a community to rally for one individual's ability to think generously of others. (The Coach, The Team and Opponents) Watch this video and see for yourself. The child who practices generous thinking, along with the coach allow for a very special moment to happen. There are so many dynamics at work in this one act of kindness caught on film. See for yourself.