Posted on 05/24/2013 9:52:52 AM PDT by rktman
IRS Scandal: The inexplicable raid nearly two years ago on a guitar maker for using allegedly illegal wood that its competitors also used was another targeting by this administration of its political enemies.
On Aug. 24, 2011, federal agents executed four search warrants on Gibson Guitar Corp. facilities in Nashville and Memphis, Tenn., and seized several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. One of the top makers of acoustic and electric guitars, including the iconic Les Paul introduced in 1952, Gibson was accused of using wood illegally obtained in violation of the century-old Lacey Act, which outlaws trafficking in flora and fauna the harvesting of which had broken foreign laws.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...
What percentage of guitar players are white? Maybe Eric Holder can answer that question. Think ‘tanning salon tax’ in 0bamacare. Purely racist. Purely punitive against whites.
Proud owner of a 335 and SG-standard. Maybe it’s time for a third Gibson axe.
Did you read the complete article?
Yep, payback for daring to support a Republican.
I had never heard of the tanning salon tax. Just did a little research. This administration is completely out of control!!! We are in the USSA
From a previous thread about the same article
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3023205/posts?page=46#46
Back when it happened, we all knew why:
http://landmarkreport.com/andrew/2011/08/ceo-of-gibson-guitar-a-republican-donor
This unfortunate event begs the question, Why Gibson?
Putting aside the presumably misguided motivation to enforce another sovereign nation’s laws, why would a homegrown American company be the target of the Department of Justice in the first place?
It’s worth pointing out that Henry E. Juszkiewicz, Gibson’s Chief Executive Officer, is a donor to a couple of Republican politicians. According to the Open Secrets database, Juszkiewicz donated $2000 to Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN07) last year, as well as $1500 to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN). Juszkiewicz also has donated $10,000 to the Consumer Electronics Association, a PAC that contributed $92.5k to Republican candidates last year, as opposed to $72k to Democrats. (The CEA did, however, contribute more to Democrats in the 2008 election cycle.)
When warrants as ridiculous such as these are issued and executed, there appears no other reason than because the company or individual at hand is being targeted, not because there is any sort of wrongdoing. As a company, Gibson is a legendary. They’ve done nothing wrong, except, apparently, deigning to have a Republican CEO.
The plot thickens, however.
One of Gibson’s leading competitors is C.F. Martin & Company. The C.E.O., Chris Martin IV, is a long-time Democratic supporter, with $35,400 in contributions to Democratic candidates and the DNC over the past couple of election cycles. According to C.F. Martin’s catalog, several of their guitars contain “East Indian Rosewood.” In case you were wondering, that is the exact same wood in at least ten of Gibson’s guitars.
The Gibson facility wasn’t raided over allegations of tax evasion, charges of embezzlement, or even something as drab as child labor. Not even close. It was raided over what the DOJ deems an inability to follow a vague domestic trade law in India (one that apparently the Indian government didn’t seem too concerned about enforcing) regarding a specific type of wood. Not illegal wood, just wood with obscenely specific procedural guidelines.
Stand with Gibson: They have the Law on their side, just not the government.
.
To avoid any possible raids on my house, I only have one guitar with a rosewood fretboard. Gibson made ‘65 Kalamazoo Epiphone Riviera that I bought new. All my other guitars have maple fretboards so maybe I’m safe. Unless the maple was imported from Madagascar or something.
Proud new owner of a new Gibson Hummingbird, given to me by my wife on my 62nd birthday. This brings me to 6 great guitars.
FMCDH(BITS)
Who’s the lame brain who ordered out the SWAT team?
Not sure but those strings at high tension can be very dangerous. But I can tell you for certain that king hussein only learned about it on the evening news like the rest of us commoners. (the king needs a “swat” team to keep the flies off of him)
Somagun! Who would have thunk it?
Or to quote a famous Marine.
SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE
He only played a marine. And, he was gay. Surprise, surprise, surprise. LOL!
My daughter’s Hummingbird sounds great live and on recordings. She also has a ‘58 custom shop SG reissue that she won in NYC last year. She doesn’t play it but I have, and it sounds good! Love their guitars even though I can’t play worth a darn.
Apparently Gibson was non-union; another big no no.
The federal SWAT gestapo reportedly terrorized employees at gunpoint as well as stealing hundreds of thousands of $$$ worth of computers, equipment, stock and merchandise.
Didn’t Gibson sue and win their case (at considerable cost)?
Guitars have to be assembled out of country now - how many American jobs were destroyed?
Wonder if they ever get any of their plundered stuff back? Wonder how many democrats and union thugs have those stolen guitars on their wall?
Gestapo government... Ain’t it swell?
As drummer my hats off to you. Always loved the sound of a 335.
Can Gibson sue Obama and the Democrat party for damages?
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