A baker in Massachusetts refuses to sell her dessert pies to people who pay for them with their food stamp card (EBT Card). She maintains that the EBT card should be used for necessities. If they want to purchase desserts, they should use their own money.

The controversy started when the organizers of a farmer’s market wanted all the participants to accept the EBT cards for purchases. Andrea, the owner of the bakery, stated that the farmer’s market “was designed initially to help people who could not afford to put nutritious food on their tables. And there’s plenty of that at the farmer’s market.” But she sells pies, cakes, and cookies. “My position was that the American taxpayers should not be footing the bill” for desserts.

What started out as a “voluntary program” became pressure to comply.

Massachusetts has a food stamp problem, as do most states. It’s worse than using an EBT card for desserts. “If you are a tax payer in Massachusetts, you get to fund EBT cards for those who want to buy tattoos, manicures, body piercings or porn.” The legislature had the good sense to stop the madness, but it seems that Governor Deval Patrick had other ideas.

“According to the Boston Herald, which first reported the veto, the governor berated the legislature’s stab at banning the purchase of specific items like manicures, tattoos, guns, porn, body piercings, jewelry, and bail by saying the move was ‘political grandstanding’ at a time when such reforms are already on track elsewhere.”

The owner of “Crumb and Get It,” a Virginia bakery, refused to host Vice President Biden because of President Obama’s “You Didn’t Build That” comments. The owner said that “he’s hoping folks will understand he just didn’t want to be part of a photo op for an administration whose policies he doesn’t agree with.”

Here’s the rest of the story. “Shortly after Crumb and Get It told Biden’s advance people ‘no’ — the secret service walked in and told Chris McMurray ‘Thanks for standing up and saying no’ — then they bought a whole bunch of cookies and cupcakes.”

In support of the owners, customers flocked to the store. They had so much business that they had to close the store because they “had run out of cookie dough. It reopened a few minutes later, but with a sign in the window noting that only ice cream was being sold.”

A water park owner in Arkansas is standing up to the business bullies. The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation organization has threatened legal action against

Willow Springs Water Park of Little Rock because the owners give a discount to members of churches. The atheist group claims that the discount violates the Civil Rights Act.

Stephanie Schmitt, staff attorney for the atheist group argued the following:

“Any promotions should be available to all customers regardless of religious preference or practice on a non-discriminatory basis. Willow Springs Water Park’s restrictive promotional practice favors religious customers, and denies both customers who do not attend church as well as nonbelievers the right to ‘full and equal’ enjoyment of Willow Springs Water Park.”

My wife and I get a 62-and-older discount at the movie theater near our house. Students also get a discount. Is this discriminatory for non-students and younger people? Military discounts are also popular. Am I being discriminated against because I’ve never been in the military? No one is being discriminated against at the water park. No one is kept from entering.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation didn’t build the park. It’s not their business. If they don’t like the policy of the park, they can build their own and give discounts to atheists.

It’s time that more business owners stand up against the anti-business bullies. If you do, you will be generously rewarded for your efforts and might start a trend that will help turn our nation around.

Bullies are enabled when the bully’s victims don’t fight back. When Ralphie Parker stood up to the bully Scut Farkas in A Christmas Story (1983), he never again had any trouble with the bully.