I have shelves of memory books in just about every size. Some full, some empty, because we keep a lot of photographs and we make books for friends and family members. I have a box full of frames for pictures--once again, both for ourselves and our friends and family.

As a home schooler, I also buy little Science kits, potato battery kits, volcanoes you make in a mold of plaster of paris, blank tee-shirts, iron-ons, patches and fabric paint, coloring books, word searches, paint by numbers, glue, construction paper, and crayons. And did I mention we make our Halloween costumes from scratch? That also means cutting into bolts of cloth, needles, thread, buttons, etc.,

Coloring books, and how-to-art-books, blank art paper pads of every tooth, brand, and size.

And I have boxes full of beads and beading supplies. 12X12 cloth boxes that go in cubbies, 5 of them to be exact, full to the top. And I have photo-boxes as well, full of beads, paper scraps,and photos.

And all of this stuff has to be replaced on occasion, or tweaked for this or that project.

But no more.

The other day on the radio, we heard that Hobby Lobby has filed a suit to try and get an exemption for providing insurance with birth control provisions for their female employees. Why?

The usual bullshit answer: Because the owners are Christian with strong "family values" who believe that they should have the power, to force their beliefs on other FREE AMERICAN CITIZENS simply because they imagine that the workers need work more than the company needs labor.

Tell me, do the workers need work, more than the company needs customers?

Being the boss ends when the shift ends.

And you don't get to determine what people do in their personal lives, whether that be if they have sex, whom they have it with, or the circumstances under which it occurs. That is simply NONE of the boss's business.

And the Boss has no place in the Doctor's office. You see those kind of ownership issues when away with the emancipation proclamation. You don't OWN your employees. You Hire them.

A job is a transaction that occurs when a person pays another person for labor with money. But there is no contract about ownership of said laborer. And it's about time these Romney-style-Bosses figured that out.

So until Hobby Lobby figures that out--The large amount of money I spend on Art Supplies will be exhausted somewhere else, such as: Michaels, or if Michaels decides to play Hobby Lobby's game, then I will buy everything online from Dick Blick

You see, I don't care where you go to church. I don't care if you go to church. But I do care, when a person or company, attempts to bully it's employees--especially it's female employees via religious bigotry, by holding a pay check as hostage. That's fine. You hold their paycheck hostage, to buy their silence, I hold yours hostage, to make you squeal.

And I especially care when a company has convinced itself that it's owners are so special, that it's okay for them to run our town like some Company Store from way back in the 1900s. You don't own your employees, you hire them. And as a customer, until you figure that out, I am taking my money and I am shopping elsewhere. Anywhere else but your store. And that will suck for your store, because I buy a lot of art and craft supplies. And apparently I am not the only one upset with this little stunt.

I also avoid Mardel's. They offer a military discount, but then give me crap, because my husband is the ranking member, so that means I am sponsored under his SSN. So they pretend like I am not "really" a veteran. That's institutionalized sexism for you. Thank you for your service--that is as long as you are not a woman. And for the record, regardless of your weird-store policy regarding marriage and wife-ownership, I can assure you my husband does not own me. And any fool who attempts to treat me like he does will not get my business or his.

Just because I am courteous and offer others the space to be who they are without apology, is in no way, permission to deny me my space to be who I am. Just because I support the owner's Freedom of Religion, doesn't give them the right to deny me, Freedom from their religion, nor does that give the owners the right to deny to their workers, freedom from the owner's religion either.

Recognizing the rights of the owners, is in no way a declaration that they own the workers or that those owners can own women who work at that store or receive health coverage as a dependent.

It simply means I will treat the owners as an equal and no more. Any attempt to grab more power than that, will end poorly. You will loose business. The Holiday Season is upon you now, and that means I will be buying my wrapping paper, tape, replacement ornaments, and lights somewhere else. Anywhere but your store.

Corporations are not People, and that means Corporations do not have Freedom of Religion. And even if that corporation were labeled as such, that is not permission to deny other Americans, much less workers, their First Freedoms. When a person applies for a job, they are not asking to be "owned". They are making a bid, to exchange labor for money.

Never in my life have I witnessed such a blatant disregard for all the things that make this country a truly great nation. The owners need to learn that one cannot force devotion. That access to heaven cannot be bought by forcing others to convert in behavior or word.

When a person applies for a job, it is by no means an agreement nor a prerequisite that the applicant also apply to become a member of the owner's church or religion or political party.

Hobby Lobby is offensive to me as a woman, but most of all, as an American. No one is forcing the owners of Hobby Lobby to use birth control or the Morning After Pill. Having access to these things isn't a guarantee that all will use them or even want them. These are simply medical options specific to women, options explored between a woman and her doctor.

But I do thank the hobby lobby owners for imagining all such women who would use the morning after pill to be doing so because they are perceived as sluts. It must be nice, to be blessed with "all of the answers".

Alternative Stores for Artists and Crafters who wish to avoid Hobby Lobby:

http://www.utrechtart.com/

http://www.dickblick.com/

http://www.joann.com/

http://jerrysartarama.com/

More can be posted as I become aware of them.

Editors note: I am looking into claims about Michael's being no better and essentially owned by Bain Capital now. I'm Not sure what to make of it. I realize that some people do not order online and need an actual store to visit for a variety of reasons. So buyer beware.

