Standard Mischief

I was doing some out-of-position welding on my exhaust on the toyota the other day, I had managed to scrounge up some lift time and I was patching a few small holes in anticipation of the state sniffer test. (No modifications to the exhaust system or catalytic converter took place, so I know I’m in compliance with federal regulations, unless something recently slipped through unread of course.)

I didn’t have on the full regatta of safety gear, only an auto-darkening helmet, [1] and some gloves. I got some blisters and burns from droplets of hot metal, but as I said before it was only a small job so I only barely got a shade of red on my exposed arms. You see, an arc welder gives off lots of ultraviolet rays.

And that is when it hit me. We were in the middle of the Obamacare debate at the time, and I realized that every single arc welder on the planet is a back-alley, untaxed, unregulated tanning salon!

I can’t believe it, but there is a tax in Obamacare that targets the melanin-challenged. And then after the bill was deemed passed, our Glorious Leader signed it into law without even waiting his promised five days for comments from the public. Even though keeping this empty gesture would have cost him nothing. Now are we allowed to judge him based on the content of his character?

An oppressive tax on a common preventive measure by the pale-skinned among us to keep from burning themselves so easily when they go on vacation to a sunny location. Clearly this is proof that, as they like to say over at LeanLeft, we are not a post-racist society.

[1] Best thing to ever happen to a hobby welder. With it, MIG welding is like using a glue gun that spits out molten metal. Without it, you’ll waste hours making metallic bird doodoo. The cost is probably sub-$50 nowadays, about a third of what I paid. Make sure you put a clear shielding lens on both sides when installing it in your helmet.