free food (or drink)

General public announcement

"Starbucks Coffee Break"
Starbucks nationwide is giving out free coffee on Wednesday, March 15, 2006 from 10am - 12pm.

DAMN! I missed it.

Not free but cheaper

During the stress-filled, "taxing" period from April 11 until April 17, Papa John's customers who order online at www.papajohns.com can get a large original crust cheese pizza for just $10.40, and add up to five toppings for free.

Do they have gorgonzola, prosciutto, and roma tomato pizzas?

canuck89
DAMN! I missed it.

You also missed Yahoo's 10th anniversary free Baskin and Robbins ice cream day [money.cnn.com]

ursaminor

canuck89
DAMN! I missed it.

You also missed Yahoo's 10th anniversary free Baskin and Robbins ice cream day [money.cnn.com]

If you happen to prefer Ben and Jerry's over Baskin Robbins, Free Cone day is coming soon. April 25, 2006. Don't miss it .
[www.benjerry.com]

Edit: For those of you in Indiana, the *only* scoop shop is in Belterra IN .
Belterra Casino
777 Belterra Drive
Belterra, IN 47020
812-427-7777

Bump. Don't forget Tuesday 4/25 is Ben & Jerry's customer appreciation day. Go enjoy a free scoop!

edit: to correct date from IRS customer appreciation day (4/15, unless your IRS office is in MA) to B&J customer appreciation day, 4/25.

Maybe if I had some Phish food, I wouldn't be making such silly mistakes.

You mean Tuesday, 4/25

[www.ihop.com]

IHOP - Feb 20th is "National Pancake Day".
Go get your free shortstack between 7am and 10pm

Starbucks is having another "coffee break" this year:

[www.starbucks.com]

Get your free coffee Thursday March 15, 2007, from 10AM to noon.

Ben and Jerry's Free Cone Day is Tuesday, April 17, 12 PM to 8 PM.

[www.benjerry.com]

Check here to find a participating Ben and Jerry's store.

nyc94
Ben and Jerry's Free* Cone Day is Tuesday, April 17

* This offer does not apply to hourly employees who may find that a cone cost them 2 hours' wages.

ugarte

nyc94
Ben and Jerry's Free* Cone Day is Tuesday, April 17

* This offer does not apply to hourly employees who may find that a cone cost them 2 hours' wages.

At least the dairy farmers are still getting a fair price for their milk, right? Or did all that change when Ben and Jerry sold out to Unilever?

ugarte

nyc94
Ben and Jerry's Free* Cone Day is Tuesday, April 17

* This offer does not apply to hourly employees who may find that a cone cost them 2 hours' wages.

Party pooper.

nyc94
At least the dairy farmers are still getting a fair price for their milk, right? Or did all that change when Ben and Jerry sold out to Unilever?

I was a farmer and now am a consultant and dairy nutritionist in Vermont. No processor pays a significantly different price than any other. Ben and Jerry's gets the vast majority of its milk from the St. Albans Coop, if I remember correctly. I am 95% sure that they don't pay the farmers directly.

As much as I think Ben and Jerry's does have a great social philosophy as far as how they run their company, their attempt to use milk from only small farms and buying milk from farms that don't give their cows supplemental bST is all just marketing hype. The reason their ice cream tastes really good is because it has a lot of fat and not much air. Supplemental bST and herd size make absolutely no difference to milk quality.

Sorry about the ramblings, but I am pretty passionate about this. I used to run one of the best and healthiest herds in New England and used rBST. It really pisses me off that there is a sign in the parking lot at Ben and Jerry's with a cartoon showing a cow in bed with a bag on her head and a thermometer in her mouth implying that cows get sick when farmers use this.

Marketing to people's emotions like this with no scientific evidence to back it up is making people question the safety of their milk and either encouraging them to pay more for milk labeled rbST free or organic when there is absolutely no difference or even causing some people to give up milk for less healthy choices if they can't afford the increased price. Feel free to PM me with questions or for information backing up my statements.

Chris

Judy must be asleep.

Free scoop of new flavors at Haagen Dazs shops. Tues. 5/15 from 4-8 pm.

[www.haagen-dazs.com]

RichH
Judy must be asleep.

Free scoop of new flavors at Haagen Dazs shops. Tues. 5/15 from 4-8 pm.

[www.haagen-dazs.com]

Dude, I totally missed that one...and by almost 2 months!

[www.fishbowl.com]
Orange Julius Chill Out Event. Aug 18,19,25,26. Saturday, noon to 4. Sunday 1 to 4. Free smoothie!

Free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco at Taco Bell on Tuesday, October 30, 2007, between 2 PM and 5 PM as part of their World Series "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco" promotion

[www.mlb.com]

nyc94
Free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco at Taco Bell on Tuesday, October 30, 2007, between 2 PM and 5 PM as part of their World Series "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco" promotion

[www.mlb.com]

Yes, thanks to Tacoby Bellsbury (http://www.bostondirtdogs.com/ for this and other things about the RedSox).

I guess this promotion worked better than the one they ran during the 2006 World Series. If a HR was hit to left field during Game 3, America got free tacos. Then nobody hit one, and they gave it to us anyway.

I caught the replay of the Islander/Sharks game late last night and apparently the Islanders' 3rd goal gets everyone in the LI/NYC (?) area a FREE bowl of chili at your local Wendys.

If you do not have a ticket stub, they said you can still get the chili if you say "Go Islanders". They did not say what would happen if you said "Potvin Sucks".

I guess I could also post this in the "Alumni Thread" because it was Douglas that got beat on that 3rd goal.

If the Flyers score 4 or more, your ticket stub gets you a free big mac.

Interestingly, back in the late 80's, they had to score 6 goals before you got free food. Times have changed.

Not quite free but Dunkin' Donuts is dropping the price of certain coffee drinks today while every Starbucks closes today for three hours of employee training or as The Guardian put it "Starbucks closes to learn how to make coffee".

[www.guardian.co.uk]

[www.dunkindonuts.com]

CANTON, Mass., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, February 26, Dunkin' Donuts wants to ensure that no coffee lover is denied a delicious espresso-based beverage. The world's largest coffee and baked goods chain will offer all customers a small latte, cappuccino or espresso drink of their choice, hot or iced, for the special price of 99 cents. The promotion will be available in participating Dunkin' Donuts' shops across the country from 1 PM to 10 PM.

Allow me to pile on. Free Slurpies at 7-11 every year on 7/11. We have two within a mile from my house. Traditionally, I'b bring my four kids to one and then straight to the other. Not a whole lot going on in the summer when you're a teacher.

McDonald's has a free McSkillet Burrito with the purchase of a medium or large drink on Thursday & Friday (2/28 & 2/29).

[www.mcdonalds.com]

In "honor" of tax day, Dunkin Donuts is giving away a free donut with every purchase of hot coffee. Too late for your morning coffee, but perhaps some of you will be able to take advantage for an afternoon snack.

Josh's post reminds me - Ben & Jerry's free cone day is April 29.

KeithK
Josh's post reminds me - Ben & Jerry's free cone day is April 29.

Happy birthday to me! Unfortunately, I live a good hour from the closest B&J. Wonder if the Oxford ripoff, G&D's (complete with Woody Jackson art) would honor it...

Free Burritos to the first 100 people at Moe's on Saturday, May 3rd. They open at 10 am. If anyone really craves burritos at 10 am on Saturday...

Wesley Snipes will be getting free food for the next three years. (I didn't want to start a new thread.)

ugarte
Wesley Snipes will be getting free food for the next three years. (I didn't want to start a new thread.)

Or a new forum: "Wesley Snipes Has Been Convicted". WSHBC doesn't flow as nicely as JSID.

ugarte
Wesley Snipes will be getting free food for the next three years. (I didn't want to start a new thread.)

My first reaction was that three years in prison for three misdemeanor counts of tax evasion was pretty harsh (he was acquitted on the felony charges). But then I read this bit in the ABC news story:

Snipes withheld tax returns based on his belief that the Internal Revenue Service is not a properly established government agency. According to the memo filed today, Snipes also contended that he did not file business returns because he "was personally not subject to taxation because he was a 'stateless person' or 'nonresident alien,'" or a "'nontaxpayer,'" which prosecutors flatly rejected.

Uh, right. I'd like to repeal the 16th Amendment too. But this is ridiculous. Sometimes morons get what they deserve.

KeithK

ugarte
Wesley Snipes will be getting free food for the next three years. (I didn't want to start a new thread.)

My first reaction was that three years in prison for three misdemeanor counts of tax evasion was pretty harsh (he was acquitted on the felony charges). But then I read this bit in the ABC news story:

Snipes withheld tax returns based on his belief that the Internal Revenue Service is not a properly established government agency. According to the memo filed today, Snipes also contended that he did not file business returns because he "was personally not subject to taxation because he was a 'stateless person' or 'nonresident alien,'" or a "'nontaxpayer,'" which prosecutors flatly rejected.

Uh, right. I'd like to repeal the 16th Amendment too. But this is ridiculous. Sometimes morons get what they deserve.

He not only didn't file taxes, he filed applications for refunds for millions of dollars in taxes that he had paid in prior years and he swamped the IRS with tax-protester-nonsense correspondence. Three years does seem very high, actually, but he was probably not only the most famous person to join in the tax protester nonsense*, but also probably the richest. On the other hand, the big accounting firms routinely come up with "borderline" tax shelters for people that make Wesley Snipes look like a pauper, and a three-year bid for the taxpayer is extremely rare.

* There are rational arguments for the immorality and impracticality of the tax system but there is literally no valid argument under the Constitution or the tax code for the illegality of the income tax.

I apologize. Back to your regular posting of free coffee and sandwiches. (Though I'd continue the conversation in PM. I find the tax protester world fascinating.)

ugarte
I apologize. Back to your regular posting of free coffee and sandwiches. (Though I'd continue the conversation in PM. I find the tax protester world fascinating.)

KeithK
Uh, right. I'd like to repeal the 16th Amendment too. But this is ridiculous. Sometimes morons get what they deserve.

Well, I just set a timer to see how long it takes for Kyle to show up. Hopefully he can start the new thread.

RichH

ugarte
I apologize. Back to your regular posting of free coffee and sandwiches. (Though I'd continue the conversation in PM. I find the tax protester world fascinating.)

KeithK
Uh, right. I'd like to repeal the 16th Amendment too. But this is ridiculous. Sometimes morons get what they deserve.

Well, I just set a timer to see how long it takes for Kyle to show up. Hopefully he can start the new thread.

I am wondering the same thing (about Kyle's response time).

I was tempted to post something about Ugarte's blatant "come-on" line earlier but wasn't (and am still not!) quite sure how to phrase it. Well, at least Ugarte offered to "get a room".

RichH
Well, I just set a timer to see how long it takes for Kyle to show up. Hopefully he can start the new thread.

I know better than to argue with committed statists.

Nonetheless, Keith has it right: tax protesting is nonsense. The government can tax you because they have more and bigger guns than you do. It's as simple as that. Trying to argue with them about the meaning of the laws they create, interpret, and enforce is the height of idiocy and serves only to illustrate how he completely misses the point.

Kyle

Trying to argue with ourselves about the meaning of the laws we create, interpret, and enforce...

Just to be that guy, I fixed your post. Insert some sort of G.B. Shaw quote here.

mnagowski

Trying to argue with ourselves about the meaning of the laws we create, interpret, and enforce...

Just to be that guy, I fixed your post. Insert some sort of G.B. Shaw quote here.

There's nothing that pisses me off more than putting words in my mouth out of ignorance.

I'll refer you to a recent post I made on my own forum:

We vote in all governors, mayors, and state senators.

I don't do any of those things. Nobody I have ever voted for has ever been elected to office.

The enemy is us.

Speak for yourself.

[pmpub.krose.org]

Kyle

Bump for free ice cream at Ben and Jerry's!

Free Cone Day!

Wow, did you two plan that?

Not totally free, but if you live near a Baskin-Robbins, tonight is "31-cent Scoop Night".

ugarte
Not totally free, but if you live near a Baskin-Robbins, tonight is "31-cent Scoop Night".

According to their webpage it was yesterday.

... jerk

DeltaOne81

ugarte
Not totally free, but if you live near a Baskin-Robbins, tonight is "31-cent Scoop Night".

According to their webpage it was yesterday.

... jerk

Mea culpa - it was in my facebook newsfeed this morning and I didn't read the details. It was obviously lingering around from yesterday.

RichH
Judy must be asleep.

Free scoop of new flavors at Haagen Dazs shops. Tues. 5/15 from 4-8 pm.

[www.haagen-dazs.com]

This year's Häagen-Dazs new flavor free scoop day is Tuesday, May 13, 4-8pm.

[haagen-dazs.com]

Beeeej

RichH
Judy must be asleep.

Free scoop of new flavors at Haagen Dazs shops. Tues. 5/15 from 4-8 pm.

[www.haagen-dazs.com]

This year's Häagen-Dazs new flavor free scoop day is Tuesday, May 13, 4-8pm.

[haagen-dazs.com]

Perfect. Run my mile to Georgetown, get my ice cream, run mile back to car That was the original B&J plan this year, but fell through when I walked over at lunch with my coworkers.

Thursday, May 15, 10 AM to 10 PM, Free 16 ounce iced coffee at participating Dunkin' Donuts

Today, May 15, 2008
McDonalds.
With purchase of a medium drink, you get a free chicken biscuit between 7am and 10:30am. From 10:30am to 7pm, it's a free chicken sandwich.

They're promoting the new southern style chicken line.

The chicken biscuit is kinda tasty and the batter a little crunchy!

Dammit, post these things earlier.

Well, now B-R is just getting silly and going overboard with their "free" days.

Celebrate your new addition with a free 3 oz. cone* of our newest addition - Soft Serve.

For: Expectant mothers.

When: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

[www.baskinrobbins.com]

RichH
Well, now B-R is just getting silly and going overboard with their "free" days.

Celebrate your new addition with a free 3 oz. cone* of our newest addition - Soft Serve.

For: Expectant mothers.

When: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

[www.baskinrobbins.com]

Now that tightfisted ol' Irv is dead, they can start giving away stuff for free.

Today is Free Doughnut Day at participating Krispy Kreme stores.

Today (Saturday June 7) Friendly's in Upstate New York will be giving free ice cream from 12-5.

judy
Today, May 15, 2008
McDonalds.
With purchase of a medium drink, you get a free chicken biscuit between 7am and 10:30am. From 10:30am to 7pm, it's a free chicken sandwich.

They're promoting the new southern style chicken line.

Repeating again for June 12.

Free root beer floats from 2pm to 8pm today at participating A&W locations

Posted to the MetroNY Young Alumni group (shhh! don't tell them how old I am):

Miki Agrawal
FREE PIZZA DAY AT SLICE ON MONDAY JULY 14th FROM 6-8pm!

"Slice, the perfect food", the Upper East Side favorite spot for healthy pizza (2nd ave btwn 73rd/74th st), and founded by fellow Cornellian Miki Agrawal, is offering a free pizza evening for all Cornellians on Monday July 14th from 6-8pm.

You can now also order pizza and have it delivered to you in Central Park! We have several delivery drop-off points in the city. Call Slice at 212-249-4353 to find out more or check out the website for details.

Free Slurpees today

At Chick-Fil-A today: dress like a cow, get free food. (Really. Has it come to this?? I swear that companies just want us to dance like a monkey now)

Full cow costume gets a free meal.
Partial cows get a free entree.

[www.cowappreciationday.com]

Cold Stone Creamery is giving out free three-ounce size servings of two special ice cream creations as part of a Make-a-Wish Foundation promotion, 5-8pm on Thursday, September 25.

World's Largest Ice Cream Social

Tuesday, November 4, 2008 from 5-8pm, participating Ben & Jerry's scoop shops will give you free ice cream if you voted. They don't even need much proof, like an "I Voted" sticker - apparently doing an "I Voted" Dance will suffice.

Tuesday 10/28/08 from 2-6 pm at Taco Bell.
[mlb.mlb.com]

Unfortunately, the stolen base was by Jason Bartlett and his name is not as marketable as "Tacoby Bellsbury".

Rita
Unfortunately, the stolen base was by Jason Bartlett and his name is not as marketable as "Tacoby Bellsbury".

Thank god.

I don't have a link, but free burrito at Chipotle on Halloween for anyone who goes to a Chipotle dressed as a burrito.

Josh '99
I don't have a link, but free burrito at Chipotle on Halloween for anyone who goes to a Chipotle dressed as a burrito.

A likely story. I'm not falling for *that* trick again.

Free scoop on election day from 5-8 pm.
[www.benjerry.com]

Chris '03
Free scoop on election day from 5-8 pm.
[www.benjerry.com]

You don't say.

Starbucks is offering a free, tall cup of coffee on Election Day. Just need to say you voted!

Bio '04
Starbucks is offering a free, tall cup of coffee on Election Day. Just need to say you voted!

Hm... now I need to find the closest Starbucks/Ben & Jerry's shops in Manhattan for greatest efficiency.

You can add Krispy Kreme to the Election Day freebies list:
[www.dealseekingmom.com]


Unfortunately, there are no Krispy Kremes or Ben & Jerry's near me. That leaves Starbucks, but I plan on voting in the evening and don't really want a coffee at 7 PM - I may go earlier in the day anyway knowing full well I'll vote later (shhhh).

DeltaOne81
You can add Krispy Kreme to the Election Day freebies list:

Wow. They're still in business?

DeltaOne81
You can add Krispy Kreme to the Election Day freebies list:
[www.dealseekingmom.com]


Unfortunately, there are no Krispy Kremes or Ben & Jerry's near me. That leaves Starbucks, but I plan on voting in the evening and don't really want a coffee at 7 PM - I may go earlier in the day anyway knowing full well I'll vote later (shhhh).

ACORN!

ugarte
ACORN!

Hmmm, I'd heard of Hazelnut. But acorn flavored coffee? Dunno if that's a good idea

DeltaOne81

ugarte
ACORN!

Hmmm, I'd heard of Hazelnut. But acorn flavored coffee? Dunno if that's a good idea

No worries, it taste just like squash .

It's what the pigs in Spain drink to give them that special quality.

DeltaOne81
You can add Krispy Kreme to the Election Day freebies list:
[www.dealseekingmom.com]


Unfortunately, there are no Krispy Kremes or Ben & Jerry's near me. That leaves Starbucks, but I plan on voting in the evening and don't really want a coffee at 7 PM - I may go earlier in the day anyway knowing full well I'll vote later (shhhh).

You know that you're allowed to order decaf, right?

Beeeej

Bio '04
Starbucks is offering a free, tall cup of coffee on Election Day. Just need to say you voted!

Hm... now I need to find the closest Starbucks/Ben & Jerry's shops in Manhattan for greatest efficiency.

Yeah right - good luck finding a Starbucks in Manhattan.

Josh '99

Beeeej

Bio '04
Starbucks is offering a free, tall cup of coffee on Election Day. Just need to say you voted!

Hm... now I need to find the closest Starbucks/Ben & Jerry's shops in Manhattan for greatest efficiency.

Yeah right - good luck finding a Starbucks in Manhattan.

Any thoughts on a method of gaming Google Maps to get it to tell me which Starbucks/Ben & Jerry's pairing is closest together?

Beeeej

Josh '99

Beeeej

Bio '04
Starbucks is offering a free, tall cup of coffee on Election Day. Just need to say you voted!

Hm... now I need to find the closest Starbucks/Ben & Jerry's shops in Manhattan for greatest efficiency.

Yeah right - good luck finding a Starbucks in Manhattan.

Any thoughts on a method of gaming Google Maps to get it to tell me which Starbucks/Ben & Jerry's pairing is closest together?

According to the Ben & Jerry's webpage, there are only six scoop shops in Manhattan - it's probably quicker just to search for Starbucks at each of those addresses and see what's closest than it would be to do anything fancy with Google Maps (even quicker if you disregard the one in Times Square on general principle).

Josh '99

Beeeej

Bio '04
Starbucks is offering a free, tall cup of coffee on Election Day. Just need to say you voted!

Hm... now I need to find the closest Starbucks/Ben & Jerry's shops in Manhattan for greatest efficiency.

Yeah right - good luck finding a Starbucks in Manhattan.

Awesome. I am now considering driving way out of my way to get to the only Krispie Kreme in Northern VA. I want a donut!

judy
Awesome. I am now considering driving way out of my way to get to the only Krispie Kreme in Northern VA. I want a donut!

I hope the $3 in gas money is worth it!

judy
Awesome. I am now considering driving way out of my way to get to the only Krispie Kreme in Northern VA. I want a donut!

Hey Judy, I'll trade you a Krispie Kreme donut for a Dunkin Donut. .

"Dunkin donuts it's worth the trip" means a trip to Chicagoland for me . (There is one in Estero... near the Germain Arena).

However, Lafayette is the home of a Krispie Kreme donut shop, several Starbucks (I think 5 now), but still no B&J's.

And somehow there are at least three Dunkin Donuts within a few hundred metersyards of my apartment in Berlin...

Beeeej

DeltaOne81
You can add Krispy Kreme to the Election Day freebies list:
[www.dealseekingmom.com]


Unfortunately, there are no Krispy Kremes or Ben & Jerry's near me. That leaves Starbucks, but I plan on voting in the evening and don't really want a coffee at 7 PM - I may go earlier in the day anyway knowing full well I'll vote later (shhhh).

You know that you're allowed to order decaf, right?

Whats the point of that? That's like ordering a non-alcoholic beer. Sheer lunacy.

BCrespi

judy
Awesome. I am now considering driving way out of my way to get to the only Krispie Kreme in Northern VA. I want a donut!

I hope the $3 in gas money is worth it!

I don't mind the $3 in gas money. I do mind the freakin' traffic around I here that I would encounter trying to get there and then to work. I ended up stopping by the Dunkin Donuts for donuts. It's on my way.

judy

BCrespi

judy
Awesome. I am now considering driving way out of my way to get to the only Krispie Kreme in Northern VA. I want a donut!

I hope the $3 in gas money is worth it!

I don't mind the $3 in gas money. I do mind the freakin' traffic around I here that I would encounter trying to get there and then to work. I ended up stopping by the Dunkin Donuts for donuts. It's on my way.

It wasn't meant as a criticism. These things always remind me of a friend from high school who would drive around to something like 7 different 7/11's around our county on July 11th to get free $.79 Slurpies. I would always yell at him if he just bought the next 6 at the first 7/11, he would be spending way less money than the half-tank of gas he burned traipsing around the county! And this was before we were thinking about C-footprint!

judy
Awesome. I am now considering driving way out of my way to get to the only Krispie Kreme in Northern VA. I want a donut!

There's a Krispy Kreme in NoVa? Where? The closest I remember is near Charlottesville.

French Rage

judy
Awesome. I am now considering driving way out of my way to get to the only Krispie Kreme in Northern VA. I want a donut!

There's a Krispy Kreme in NoVa? Where? The closest I remember is near Charlottesville.

There's one in Alexandria VA, one in DC, and several in MD.

[web.sa.mapquest.com]

BCrespi
It wasn't meant as a criticism. These things always remind me of a friend from high school who would drive around to something like 7 different 7/11's around our county on July 11th to get free $.79 Slurpies. I would always yell at him if he just bought the next 6 at the first 7/11, he would be spending way less money than the half-tank of gas he burned traipsing around the county! And this was before we were thinking about C-footprint!

I was having a conversation with a friend about this yesterday. She reminded me to go to Starbucks for the free coffee. When I told her that I didn't like coffee, her reply was, "but...it's free!" "Yeah, they could be giving out free kicks to the head. I still don't want one." It's a funny aspect of our society. So obsessed with getting something...anything for nothing. I always laugh at the people at sporting events who frantically wave their arms trying to get the sponsored t-shirt cannon to fire their way. They could be giving out bags of poop, and there would still be people climbing over each other to get one.

RichH
I was having a conversation with a friend about this yesterday. She reminded me to go to Starbucks for the free coffee. When I told her that I didn't like coffee, her reply was, "but...it's free!" "Yeah, they could be giving out free kicks to the head. I still don't want one." It's a funny aspect of our society. So obsessed with getting something...anything for nothing. I always laugh at the people at sporting events who frantically wave their arms trying to get the sponsored t-shirt cannon to fire their way. They could be giving out bags of poop, and there would still be people climbing over each other to get one.

I always knew you were un-American Rich! Free stuff is free! I got a canon-fired tee shirt at a Diamondbacks game that I have always worn inside out because I can't stand the team. But by god it's a free shirt!

(To some degree I agree with you. But if the free thing has at least some utility for you and you don't have to put much effort to get it then it makes sense to go for it. It's a net positive.)

Earlier today a friend said that giving free stuff in return for voting is actually illegal. If that's true then Starbucks, et al. are just giving out free stuff on election day regardless of whether you claim to have voted. It's a distinction without difference since they're not requiring proff of voting. But interesting (to me) nonetheless.

KeithK
Earlier today a friend said that giving free stuff in return for voting is actually illegal. If that's true then Starbucks, et al. are just giving out free stuff on election day regardless of whether you claim to have voted. It's a distinction without difference since they're not requiring proff of voting. But interesting (to me) nonetheless.

There was a story about this on today's (11/4) NPR's Morning Edition.

KeithK
I always knew you were un-American Rich! Free stuff is free! I got a canon-fired tee shirt at a Diamondbacks game that I have always worn inside out because I can't stand the team. But by god it's a free shirt!

Back in 1999 or 2000 or so, at Dartmouth, I caught a Dartmouth t-shirt thrown from the ice during an intermission. I promptly threw it back - then everyone nearby made me feel bad for not giving it to one of the little kids sitting near me who might actually have wanted it.

See, Starbucks is known as a tool of left-wing liberals and so is Ben and Jerry's, so if people of that un-American ilk try to bribe people to go out and vote with a free coffee or ice cream, then it's going to lead to more votes cast for that black feller, to coin a phrase used by my in-laws, since God-fearing conseratives would be less likely to be sucked in by a free Starbucks coffee. They're not comfortable saying things like vente mochachino. Maybe if Denny's gave out free waffles, more McCain supporters would turn out and it would be an evenly balanced election.

In the days before newsmen and women had to blog 7x24, we'd just sit around the office drinking coffee (cheap coffee) until around 10 pm, then write like crazy for a couple hours, then go out and get drunk. Now there's more airspace to fill up and you've got dumb stories like this.

KeithK
I always knew you were un-American Rich!

Oh, Rich has been in the tank for the Leninists ever since he started riding that darn velocipede.

RichH

BCrespi
It wasn't meant as a criticism. These things always remind me of a friend from high school who would drive around to something like 7 different 7/11's around our county on July 11th to get free $.79 Slurpies. I would always yell at him if he just bought the next 6 at the first 7/11, he would be spending way less money than the half-tank of gas he burned traipsing around the county! And this was before we were thinking about C-footprint!

I was having a conversation with a friend about this yesterday. She reminded me to go to Starbucks for the free coffee. When I told her that I didn't like coffee, her reply was, "but...it's free!" "Yeah, they could be giving out free kicks to the head. I still don't want one." It's a funny aspect of our society. So obsessed with getting something...anything for nothing. I always laugh at the people at sporting events who frantically wave their arms trying to get the sponsored t-shirt cannon to fire their way. They could be giving out bags of poop, and there would still be people climbing over each other to get one.

What about free hats?

KeithK
I always knew you were un-American Rich! Free stuff is free! I got a canon-fired tee shirt at a Diamondbacks game that I have always worn inside out because I can't stand the team. But by god it's a free shirt!

Oh, don't get me wrong. If a shirt lands in my lap, I'll keep it and wear it. I have a Polaroid shirt that I got outside a Virginia Tech football game because someone handed it to me in one of those super-compressed wad packaging. But I'm not going to expend energy cheering or jumping up and down and waving at the t-shirt canon tool. I even have a Florida Everblades shirt that they gave jmh and I for agreeing to push each other around the ice in a recliner. But I did that for fun, not the free shirt. A free hat, however...

Free Hat! Free Hat!

Thanks to Guns N' Roses, we all get free Dr. Pepper. Coupon available on Sunday.

[news.yahoo.com]

KeithK

RichH
I was having a conversation with a friend about this yesterday. She reminded me to go to Starbucks for the free coffee. When I told her that I didn't like coffee, her reply was, "but...it's free!" "Yeah, they could be giving out free kicks to the head. I still don't want one." It's a funny aspect of our society. So obsessed with getting something...anything for nothing. I always laugh at the people at sporting events who frantically wave their arms trying to get the sponsored t-shirt cannon to fire their way. They could be giving out bags of poop, and there would still be people climbing over each other to get one.

I always knew you were un-American Rich! Free stuff is free! I got a canon-fired tee shirt at a Diamondbacks game that I have always worn inside out because I can't stand the team. But by god it's a free shirt!

(To some degree I agree with you. But if the free thing has at least some utility for you and you don't have to put much effort to get it then it makes sense to go for it. It's a net positive.)

I think it's more winning the competition against other spectators for whatever is thrown. For example, the candy at hockey games in near worthless, but I'd rather be the guy who got the worthless candy than the guy who lost out to the person next to me for it. (Actually, I don't think I ever got the stuff thrown by the scoreboard people or the bears, but I occasionally got the candy thrown by Jim. Thanks Jim!)