Blogmocracy in Action!
Guest post by: Bellamags!
It was the middle of summer, two thousand ten. As I pulled into the almost vacant office complex I noticed the thermometer in my car read 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It seems as each winter passes, I forget just how hot and humid it is every summer in Florida.
I had taken the afternoon off from my duties as shop keeper to take care of my father’s income tax filing while he was away. I got out of my car and began the long hike to see the accountant. As I walked up the stairs toward the office, I wondered how people could actually work outside when it was so hot. My overactive imagination got the best of me and I imagined myself picking weeds and digging ditches because my business failed in this miserable economy. “If it comes to that, at least I will stay tan and get skinny”, I thought.
A blast of super cold air hit me in the face as I opened the glass door to the office. Adding to the North pole atmosphere, the accountant that met me in the lobby reminded me of Santa, only younger and clean cut but just as rotund and jovial. He showed me to his office and as I sat down at his desk he began to give me instructions on how to file the return. I told him I would get things done as soon as I could and I am very busy with a shop of my own. He asked what business I was in. “I own a tanning salon” I said then looked at him to watch his reaction. He stopped abruptly and looked me in the eye and said “Oh honey. I’m sorry. It seems you are being targeted. I read the legislation and was amazed at what had passed. I‘ve never seen anything like it.” The sincerity and concern in his voice brought up all of the emotions that I had been bottling up for months. I felt the familiar sting of tears. “He knows.“ I thought. “He understands, and I’m not imagining this.“ I put my hand up to my mouth and squeezed my eyes shut trying to keep it together but a few drops managed to escape. He saw my reaction and felt terrible as he realized he shouldn’t have said anything.
In the spring of 2005, I purchased a small tanning salon. It had been in business for seven years and did well financially. After the high of becoming “President” of a corporation wore off, I soon began to realize how naively optimistic I had been during the first half of my life. Buying the salon quickly opened my eyes to the realities of the world. I began to see the total lie the government and media were feeding the public regarding sunlight. I started to notice how many negative articles and news stories hammer the tanning industry. I learned that the reason for so much negative press was the financial interest pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies have in keeping human beings vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D is effective in combating flu. Vitamin D deficiency is a common link in breast cancer victims. Recent studies have shown melanomas actually SHRINK when exposed to ultraviolet light. Emerging science is slowly exposing the “sun-scare” lie and is discovering the link between vitamin D deficiencies and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
Frightening people to the point they use sun block (cosmetic companies) for just a short trip to the mailbox was an easily accomplished task because of the high frequency of skin cancer. Demonizing ultraviolet light shifted behavior which ultimately benefits certain industries. It is a common misconception that any sun exposure is harmful or that sunlight is a danger to humans. This is equivalent to saying that water is a danger to humans. It can be, but it is also essential for survival. Our bodies NEED it. They were designed to use water to function properly. That is why we get thirsty. Our bodies crave it. The same is true for sunlight. Our bodies were designed to process and use ultraviolet light to benefit overall health and to work in tandem with essential nutrients. Too much too often can be harmful, but we also need it to survive.
To most people in this country, tanning beds (and tanning in general) are simply evil, narcissistic devices only used by superficial socialites that should be eradicated from the face of the earth. The public isn’t informed of the positive effects of ultraviolet radiation, just the negative. The body requires a certain level of vitamin D which is actually a hormone called cholecalciferol. Sunlight is the only way the body can produce this hormone at the levels needed to maintain health. You simply cannot eat enough Tums to get the proper amount or type of vitamin D required by the body. I have a few customers that tan with a doctor’s prescription.
In June of 2009, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified ultraviolet radiation as carcinogenic to humans. This is where the dots begin to connect. Exactly who is the IARC and why would they make this classification? If you visit the IARC website, you find its actually a division of the World Health Organization and is considered an “intergovernmental agency” which should scare the crap out of anyone who knows anything about any government. I did a search of the agency and found a page on the sometimes useful Wikipedia. At the bottom of the page there is a link titled “Controversy at IARC”. When I clicked on the link, the page had been removed which is interesting but not surprising. I continued my research and found the link from another source. This is a snippet:
“A few years ago, there was a flap over something called DEHP. It’s found in IV bags, blood bags and tubing of all kinds. DEHP makes plastic soft, pliable and strong. It was found to cause problems in rats, including infertility.
After a full review, IARC decided to downgrade the risk of cancer from DEHP. That opened the door for more widespread use.
For Lorenzo Tomatis, the downgrading of DEHP was a clear sign IARC had let industry get too close to the science. He and 30 other scientists from around the world decided to go public with their fears saying that allowing industry representatives to take part in IARC’s decisions about what is cancerous “compromises public health” and that scientific papers showing a possible link to cancer had been “ignored or intentionally suppressed.”
“If you delete a suspicion of a risk,” Tomatis said, “you give full green light and that may create a special danger for the public.” Paul Kleihues took over from Tomatis as head of IARC. He says these critics always see industry as the enemy of public health. “If they don’t have scientific reasons they suggest a conflict of interest of industry or participants that have a vested interest. We do not believe that any of our recent decisions was ultimately influenced by industry.” Kleihues rejected the accusation and then barred Lorenzo Tomatis from ever re-entering the building. “He told me I was persona non grata and had me escorted out by two witnesses from the building saying I was not allowed to come back…I think even Saddam Hussein could go back into IARC but not me. I found it totally absurd because it was a disagreement on the interpretation of scientific data….”
So in other words, the IARC uses the same tactics as The Climate Research Unit. If you are not familiar with the CRU, they are the “scientists” that reverse engineered climate data which skewed conclusions to fit the global warming model. An email leak put the brakes on this fraudulent mess of information and what resulted is now called “Climategate”. In my book, this email leaker person is a hero.
Pharmaceutical companies and cosmetic companies have an interest in keeping us UV free and the government has an interest in milking more money from the non-impoverished portion of our population. So what resulted from these common interests? The tan tax. A 10% tax on any ultraviolet tanning service.
If you enter the string “tan tax” in the search bar of any search engine, a majority of what is found is not serious discussion and most bloggers and posters on the subject seem to think its funny. Most of the conversation centers around who won’t be paying the tax. It has been called “racist” and “discriminatory” by those who oppose it because only light skinned Americans will be taxed. The argument some law makers use to justify this? Brown skinned Americans would pay the tax, if they used the service. They just choose not to. That is about as preposterous as taxing hair relaxers (used by black Americans and are super toxic to humans by the way) and saying that it isn’t discriminatory because white Americans CAN buy them, they just choose not to.
Let’s all try to imagine if congress tried passing a law that taxed a certain product or service predominately used by black Americans. Besides the outrage sure to overwhelm Chris Matthew‘s leg, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would throw themselves on the Capitol steps and the law would be scrapped before the ink was dry. What happened when they added the tan tax legislation? Nothing. Just a few chuckles from various radio personalities, smart ass comments from black congress people and a few “well, that’s what the idiots get for tanning“ comments on blogs around the net. I guess the “cracker” lobby isn‘t as effective as the “black“ lobby.
Since the tax started July 1, 2010 I have noticed a drop in normal visit frequencies compared to last year. Tanning usually slows down in the summer, usually the week after the 4th of July to be exact, so the effect the tax has had is hard to gage. The IRS hasn’t even finished re-vamping the excise tax form for us yet, so why rush it? I’m sure the decision to start the tax at the beginning of slow season was intentional so the effect and loss of business wouldn’t be too noticeable and the outrage forgotten by next busy season.
Over 90% of my customers are female. All of them are white. Most tanning salons are individually owned and operated by white women. All of the salespeople I buy product and equipment from are white and most of them are women. This tax will categorically impact this segment of the population and it should be taken seriously.
Another interesting fact with regards to the tanning industry, almost every single product and piece of equipment I purchase is made in America. Tanning beds, lamps, lotions, linens, accessories, all made here, right in our own country. How many industries can say that?
The tanning industry doesn’t have a powerful lobby or a union which is precisely the reason the tax was allowed to pass. At the last minute, the “Botax” which would have put a 5% tax on certain elective plastic surgery procedures, was replaced by the tan tax. This presto-change-o maneuver should also give us a clue that the intent of the legislation is wealth redistribution not a concern over skin cancer. Everyone should be paying attention to this tax and to the IARC. What will they classify or de-classify (tax) next?
-Bellamags
