A few weeks ago it would have been difficult to imagine that the Fish and Wildlife Service would
raid a guitar factory looking for illegal wood. If there is such a thing as forbidden wood,
imported from overseas, then it's a matter that could be handled by a polite reprimand and a fine
issued by a couple of overpaid federal nerds during normal business hours. After all, those
trees are already dead. (And that's the thing about trees — they'll grow back.)
There is nothing to be gained by seizing the forbidden lumber and destroying it —
unless the raid was executed for the purpose of heavy-handed intimidation of a group of
people who didn't vote for Barack H. Obama, and a non-union company that relocated to a
right-to-work state. In that case, this story goes from stupid to sinister.
That's a really nice guitar factory you have. It would be a shame if something bad
happened to it.
The Government and the
Guitar Man. On Aug. 24, federal agents descended on three factories and the Nashville corporate
headquarters of the Gibson Guitar Corp. Accompanied by armored SWAT teams with automatic weapons, agents from the
Fish and Wildlife Service swarmed the factories, threatening bewildered luthiers, or guitar craftsman, and other
frightened employees. A smaller horde invaded the office of CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, pawing through it all
day while an armed man stood in the door to block his way.
Gibson Guitar CEO slams
U.S. raids as "overreach". Gibson Guitar Corp.'s chief slammed the U.S. government on Wednesday
for sending armed agents to raid two Tennessee factories under a law aimed at curbing the illegal harvest of
tropical hardwoods.
Gibson
Guitar CEO warns that jobs may be sent overseas in aftermath of DOJ raid. Although two months
have passed, Gibson Guitars CEO Henry Juszkiewicz has taken an unusually aggressive posture against the DOJ.
On Wednesday [10/12/2011], he told The Daily Caller there could be casualties from the DOJ's actions, first of
which he said may be higher guitar prices. "It's a zero-sum game," he said. "You don't create
money out of thin air. So a dollar goes to lawyers in Washington, D.C. is a dollar that comes out of
our consumers' pockets, period."
Guns,
Guitars and Government Raids. In August, armed federal agents raided the offices and factories
of the legendary Gibson Guitar Corp. in Nashville and Memphis. It was the second time the feds had
ransacked the renowned Tennessee guitar-maker since President Barack Obama took office. And what were they
going after? Dirty laundering monies? Gun smugglers? Cocaine cargo that could make cartels
quiver? No. The federal search and seizure sought to capture ... ready? Wood. To be
exact, rosewood and ebony from India, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had declared to be illegal to
import.
500
turn out at rally supporting Gibson Guitar. "If the government is going to target Gibson today,
whose business are they going to raid tomorrow?" said Cookie Bowers, 64. "We said, 'We've just got
to go.'" It was a sentiment echoed by others in the crowd of about 500 who turned out for Saturday
afternoon's [10/8/2011] "We Stand With Gibson" rally, some carrying signs that read "Who's Next" and "When
they come for you, who will be left to speak?"
Gibson
Raid Leaves Other Guitar Makers at Risk. Gibson facilities in Memphis and Nashville were raided
by federal agents on August 24, leaving the company with an estimated loss of $2 to $3 million.
Gibson's alleged crime was a violation of the Lacey Act, a conservation law that aims to protect plants and
wildlife from endangerment by enacting civil and criminal penalties for a throng of violations. Gibson
is being charged for allegedly importing wood from a foreign country in violation of a 2008 amendment to the
law that makes it unlawful "to import certain plants and plant products without an import declaration."
Gibson: Feds
'lied' about CEO's wood statement. A Gibson Guitar spokesman said Friday that a federal agent
"lied" in an affidavit filed in federal court that claims the company's outspoken CEO was aware that wood
seized by authorities was illegally imported.
The Gibson
Raid: Much to Fret About. With military precision, the federal officers surrounded the building,
donned flak jackets and helmets, readied their weapons, burst in, and forced terrified employees out at gunpoint.
Officers ransacked the facility, seizing computers, papers, and materials. It was the second raid in three
years by the Fish and Wildlife Service on Gibson, maker of the famous Les Paul guitar. The situation would
be laughable, if the consequences for Gibson weren't so dire.
Feds
to Gibson: Hand over more wood. Federal authorities are pressuring Nashville-based Gibson Guitar to
hand over an additional 25 bundles of Indian wood that the company allegedly planned to use in its famous
guitars.
Gibson
Guitar becomes cause celebre for conservatives. The feds were after contraband in Gibson's
Tennessee factories that day — ebony and rosewood they suspected was illegally imported from
India. But their actions against the company whose guitars have been strummed by B.B. King,
Bob Dylan and John Lennon netted some unanticipated results: infamy on talk radio and from commentators
on the right. Weeks later, the raid has generated publicity worthy of a rock concert.
Feds
Still Mum on Reason for Gibson Raids. Federal officials have shed a little light on last month's
raid of Gibson Guitar Corp. facilities in Memphis and Nashville — without really revealing much
at all.
With
Gibson, Obama 'actively discouraging' jobs. Three House Republicans sent a
letter yesterday [9/8/2011] to Attorney General Eric Holder, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar,
and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Director Daniel Ashe challenging two raids on a Gibson
Guitar Corporation factory by federal agents. ... The Department of Justice is reportedly
investigating whether Gibson violated Indian export laws by importing "sawn wood" for their
guitars, which in turn would violate the U.S. Lacey Act of 1900.
Gibson Guitars.
So many great musicians, both well-known and unknown, have played those great Gibson guitars over
the years. From Chet Atkins to B.B. King to Roy Orbison to Jimmy Page to Slash — the
list seems almost endless.
Gibson
CEO to face feds. U.S. Justice Department officials have requested a meeting with Gibson
Guitar owners next week, while in Congress lawmakers continue to ask why the factories and offices of
the longtime manufacturer of prized guitars were raided on Aug. 24. Gibson CEO Henry
Juszkiewicz said he will meet with federal officials in Nashville on Wednesday to discuss the
raids. Juszkiewicz said he is unsure where the conversation will lead.
Embattled
Guitar Exec to Attend Obama's Speech. [Henry] Juszkiewicz has vocally defended Gibson's practices
and denied the allegations. "There's no doubt we're being persecuted," he said in an interview with the
Tennessean. "But while I was sitting in my conference room, while agents blocked the door to my office,
I decided two things. One, we were going to try and fight this in court. Secondly, we were going
to give this issue visibility."
Gibson goes
on the offensive. Eleven days ago, Gibson Guitar CEO Henry Juszkiewicz was getting ready for
work when he got a phone call at home from his assistant, whose voice sounded panicky. Half a dozen
armed federal agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were searching the Gibson executive suite.
Two of the company's South Nashville guitar factories also had just been raided, along with one in Memphis.
By the time Juszkiewicz reached his office, agents were forensically imaging his computer and carting out
boxes of paperwork and company hard drives.
The Guitar Police.
The making of electric guitars frequently involves the use of various exotic hardwoods. This
raises some environmental concerns. In 2009, the DOJ, armed with automatic weapons, raided
Gibson and seized significant quantities of the company's wood. Nearly two years later, no
charges have yet been filed related to the initial raid. However, environmental concerns
are only a tangential matter for the guitar police.
Gibson:
Feds Want Guitar Woodwork Done by Foreign Labor. Gibson Guitar Corp. is
claiming the Obama administration wants more of its woodwork done overseas, as a bizarre
battle heats up between the government and one of the country's most renowned guitar makers.
Eco-zealous
feds target Gibson guitars, antique piano sellers. US Fish and Wildlife officials have raided
the famous Gibson Guitars. And the instrument-maker isn't alone. Antique piano dealers are also
in the crosshairs. Why? Because rare, beautiful instruments made of ecologically incorrect
materials must be sacrificed at the green altar.
Environmental
Enforcement Leaves Musicians in Fear. Federal agents swooped in on Gibson Guitar Wednesday
[8/24/2011], raiding factories and offices in Memphis and Nashville, seizing several pallets of wood,
electronic files and guitars. The Feds are keeping mum, but in a statement yesterday Gibson's chairman
and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, defended his company's manufacturing policies, accusing the Justice Department of
bullying the company. "The wood the government seized Wednesday is from a Forest Stewardship Council
certified supplier," he said, suggesting the Feds are using the aggressive enforcement of overly broad laws
to make the company cry uncle.
Will
the Music World Protest Against Feds Eco-Zealous Raid On Gibson Guitar? Does this sudden
interest from the Feds have more to do with the fact that Gibson is non-union and relocated to Tennessee, a
right to work state?
Fretting
Over Foreign Laws. Now the Internet is reverberating with a mean blues riff about how the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service over the last two years has twice raided Gibson factories in Tennessee. The
federal blue meanies have decided that the iconic guitar maker may be violating the century-old Lacey Act,
which outlaws trafficking in flora and fauna whose harvesting has broken foreign laws.
The
Gibson Guitar Saga Gets Steadily Curiouser. It has come out that [Gibson CEO] Juszkiewicz is a
Republican donor, while the CEO of one of his principal competitors, C.F. Martin & Company, is a
Democratic donor. Martin reportedly uses the same wood, but DOJ hasn't raided them, leading to
speculation that the Obama administration is sending a warning to Republican businessmen that they had better
not oppose his re-election, lest they face criminal investigations. Normally such speculation would not
be credible, but Eric Holder has politicized the Department of Justice to a point where such questions
must be taken seriously.
Gibson
Guitar CEO: Feds Are Out to Get Us. Juszkiewicz says that 20 heavily armed officers from the
Fish and Wildlife Service and Homeland Security stormed his factories. Since when do we heavily arm
officers from the Fish and Wildlife Service? Juszkiewicz also explains how Gibson guitar owners must
fill out multiple forms of paperwork to prove the material used to build the guitar is legal. Yes, the
federal government is now worried about unregistered guitars floating around in the market place.
Feds
Raid Gibson Guitar to Save Endangered Foreign Trees. At approximately 8:45 a.m.
on August 24, federal agents raided Gibson Guitar Corporation facilities in Nashville and
Memphis, making off with an estimated $1 million worth of Gibson property. Gibson's
alleged crime? Using imported wood from endangered trees. At least that's what the company
assumes the feds have in mind. Gibson hasn't actually been notified of any charges against the
company. In fact, according to a Gibson press release, they still haven't been told on what charges
"more than a dozen agents with automatic weapons" raided their factory and stole their property in
November 2009.
Obama's Creepy
Agency Creep. Why is the US Wildlife and Fisheries raiding Gibson Guitar, the SEC
examining hydraulic fracturing fluids, NASA seeking to build bridges with Muslims, and the
Department of Education attacking Rick Perry?
Obama
Admin Enforcing Non-Existent Madagascar Law. The Gibson Guitar company must not be unionized.
If they were, the Obama administration wouldn't be coming down on them for importing wood from Madagascar.
There's no business safe from these people.
Gibson
Guitar Busted By Feds ... Just Because. Being a carpenter, woodworker and sometimes wood carver,
I consider myself a connoisseur of fine wood. It didn't say in the article, but I'm thinking the wood
seized was Indian Rosewood and/or Satinwood. Both are highly figured woods that look spectacular on the
front of a guitar or any piece of furniture for that matter. And all this wood was confiscated because
of some obscure law, the Lacey Act which has to do with violations of foreign laws only. Gibson has
steadfastly proclaimed their innocence and said they've followed all laws of the US and any foreign countries
where they obtain their lumber from.
Michelle Obama's Gibson
guitar gift. Last week's DOJ raid on two Gibson Guitar facilities in Tennessee has generated
justifiable anger. The Justice Department confiscated $1 million worth of Gibson property (pallets
of wood, electronic files, guitars and the like), but failed to inform the company why. The raid
represents a repeat performance, too: Federal regulators pulled the same stunt on the storied
manufacturer in 2009.
Gibson
Guitars CEO on DOJ bullies. Since the WSJ first reported on the famed instrument-maker's battle with
the feds over rare wood used in its guitars last week, people across the country have rallied to Gibson's side.
The company's CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz has publicized his legal plight — and the heavy-handed, botched
enforcement tactics of a Justice Department bent on mis-applying foreign laws to American workers.
Obama
Administration Raids Gibson Guitars. Gibson, the storied maker of the Les Paul electric and
iconic instruments like the ES-150 jazz guitar played by Charlie Christian, has been a leader in corporate
responsibility on ethically sourced hardwoods. The company's chairman and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz,
issued a strongly worded statement defending his company's manufacturing policies. "The wood the
government seized Wednesday is from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier," he said.
Gibson
Guitar vs. The Obama Regime. It is just coincidental that Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry
Juszkiewicz has been a donator to Republican candidates and not to Barack Obama's election or now his
reelection. Mr. Juszkiewicz was informed by the government that they would drop all the charges against
his company and return the property that was seized if he moved his production plants to Madagascar.
That means 500 American jobs destroyed and lost to an overseas company. Thus we witness Obama's jobs
program in true action.
Gibson CEO: Feds Demanded Foreign
Labor. The federal government seized wood, guitars and electronic records from Gibson's
Nashville warehouses in 2009 and again last week. According to Juszkiewicz, that's when the
Feds made an unusual request from the American manufacturer. On KMJ airwaves, [Henry]
Juszkiewicz revealed that representatives of the US government told Gibson that their legal
issues would "disappear" if they used Madagascar labor instead of American labor.
Obama's minions spring into action.
Environmental,
industry groups push back against Gibson Guitar. A coalition of environmental groups and wood
product companies is launching a public relations counteroffensive against what they describe as misinformation
promoted by Gibson Guitar. The groups want to protect the Lacey Act, which Gibson is under investigation
for possibly violating. Gibson, led by its CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, has decried the government investigation
as bullying and harassment.
Gibson raid part of effort
to extinguish American workforce, outsource jobs. Gibson's CEO Henry Juszkiewicz has openly
announced that the US government actually advised him in a pleading that if he simply were to move his
workforce to Madagascar, he could avoid his current quandary entirely. This shocking, written admission
by government agents, which was expounded upon by Juszkiewicz himself during a recent interview on KMJ AM's
The Chris Daniel Show, clearly illustrates what the federal government is up to these days. By targeting
a US-based company with a US-based labor force — which is an amazing rarity in today's globalized
world, by the way — for no legitimate or legal reason, it is obvious that an ulterior motive
is at work.
The
Government Grinches That Stole Christmas. The Little Drummer Boy had to be thankful that he did
not meet the same fate as his buddies in the guitar business. The iconic American instrument company was
raided by Feds who accused the company of selling "illegal wood" that it had legally obtained. The final
sour note: the government basically acknowledged the company would have an easier time manufacturing
its products overseas.
CEO of Gibson
Guitars' Main Competitor is a Huge Democrat Donor. Like almost all of the actions of the Holder
Justice Department, the raid was likely motivated by political considerations.
Back to Abuse of Power
Back to The Road to Tyranny
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