Silicon Investor - US Government Attack on Gibson Guitar

[joseffy] Gibson’s “American Sniper” Les Paul Sells for $117,500 ....................

joseffy — 5/7/2015 6:29:05 PM

Gibson’s “American Sniper” Les Paul Sells for $117,500

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Guitar Player Magazine ^ May 7, 2015

The Gibson Chris Kyle Commemorative Les Paul Standard Special—a.k.a the American Sniper—sold at auction for $117,500 on Tuesday, May 5. The company created the one-off custom guitar and auctioned it to raise funds for U.S. veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The guitar is named for former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who was depicted in the 2014 film American Sniper. Kyle is the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history and in 2012 wrote a memoir of his experiences, on which the film was based. He was shot and killed by a fellow veteran at a gun range in 2014.

The Sniper went on the auction block on Thursday, April 2, with a starting bid of $3,000. Within the first 24 hours, the bidding had gone above $15,000. The guitar had an estimated value of $50,000, which it handily exceeded.

Proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Guardian for Heroes Foundation, which was founded by Kyle and helps veterans with disabilities.

The guitar was the brainchild of country musician Tim Montana, who came up with the idea after seeing American Sniper. About eight years ago, Montana befriended Hunter Mitchell, a combat veteran with PTSD. Mitchell died in February.

“In the midst of this whole thing, he passed away,’ Montana told USA Today. “He told me about [how PTSD affected him] and helped me see it firsthand.”

The Sniper was handcrafted at Gibson Guitars in Nashville and took nearly two months to build. It has a ’57 classic pickup, satin nickel hardware, a rosewood fingerboard with white binding, a mahogany neck and back, and a maple top.

In addition to its distinctive knobs made from ammo shells, the guitar has a finish that features a skull graphic that mimics the logo used by Kyle’s SEAL Team 3 group. Frank Johns, Gibson's product supervisor, told USA Today that the finish is a “special paint job with many layers of paint and masking, not a sticker that's applied.”

Johns team also created a silk screen for the headstock to commemorate the Chris Kyle Second Annual Memorial Benefit, held this year from May 1 to 3, to benefit the Guardian for Heroes Foundation.

Chris Kyle Commemorative Les Paul Standard Special Specs
Model: Les Paul Standard Special build for Chris Kyle benefit?
Pickups: Bridge: 57 classic?
Hardware: Satin Nickel
?Fingerboard: Rosewood with white binding?
Scale: 24.75” / 62.865 cm?
Nut Width: 1.695” / 4.305 cm?
Nut: Graph Tech?
Bridge: Lightning Bar Wrap around?
Neck Material: Mahogany?
Body Material: Mahogany back / Maple Top?
Controls: 1 Volume and 1 Tone with .338 and .300 shell knobs?

Colors: Chris Kyle Benefit logo in Viper Blue and Red Rocker with metallic gray background and Viper Blue back.

Slideshow

Alex Juszkiewicz (Global Director Entertainment Relations at Gibson Brands) and Tim Montana

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[joseffy] Crime, Crime, Everywhere a Crime ..................................................

joseffy — 12/23/2014 12:42:57 PM

Crime, Crime, Everywhere a Crime
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Capitol Confidential ^ | 12/22/2014 | Michael Reitz

Three fish nearly cost John Yates 20 years in prison.

Yates makes his living as a commercial fisherman. In 2007 he was fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. A state wildlife official boarded Yates’ vessel and determined that 72 red groupers (of a 3,000-fish catch) were undersized, issued a civil citation and ordered the fish to be confiscated. When Yates returned to port, armed agents inspected his catch and found only 69 undersized fish.

Nearly three years later, federal agents arrested Yates at his home and charged him with violating the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s anti-shredding rules (yes, the post-Enron Sarbanes-Oxley Act) a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. His crime? Throwing three undersized fish overboard. Yates was prosecuted and convicted of having destroyed evidence. Yates fights on; his case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in November 2014.

Yates’ case represents much more than the proper interpretation of federal financial regulations. Civil liberties groups, libertarians and conservatives are joining forces to confront the problem of “overcriminalization,” taking on both the sheer volume of laws and the troubling trend of imposing severe criminal sanctions on behavior that simply isn’t wrong.

Consider the well-publicized plight of Lisa Snyder, from Middleville, Mich. In 2009, she agreed to watch several neighbor children in the morning before the school bus arrived. The Department of Human Services accused Snyder of running an illegal daycare — a misdemeanor publishable with jail time. That situation was resolved without incarcerating the neighborly Mrs. Snyder, but it required an act of the Michigan Legislature.

Like many states, Michigan’s criminal code is overpopulated. A study we recently co-published with the Manhattan Institute identified more than 3,100 crimes, with the Legislature creating an average of 45 new crimes annually. Many of these laws do not require a prosecutor to prove criminal intent on the part of the accused.

Some of Michigan’s laws are obscure or downright silly. You are a criminal if you transport a Christmas tree without a bill of sale, curse or blaspheme, cause a pet ferret discomfort, sell artificially dyed ducklings or rabbits, mock a person for refusing to duel, or dance to “The Star Spangled Banner.” Other laws may be justified but carry heavy penalties; Sparta businessman Alan Taylor was charged with a wetlands violation and was ordered to pay $8,500 in fines for expanding his company’s parking lot.

It’s time for Michigan to tackle the problem of overcriminalization. There’s progress on that front; Rep. Joe Haveman, R-Holland, is leading an important effort to reform sentencing and probation guidelines, Rep. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, recently introduced a bill that addresses criminal intent and Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, is fighting civil asset forfeiture.

[isopatch] OT/Best acoustic guitar I ever played was a Gibson. A 1952 J-200. Have played ...

isopatch — 11/9/2014 2:57:48 PM

OT/Best acoustic guitar I ever played was a Gibson. A 1952 J-200. Have played other J-200s AWA many other Gibson acoustics. Nothing else even came close.

Even the Martin I now use isn't as good though I've been told by a talented guitarist/luthier that it's one of the best 00-28s he's played.

The 1952 was just incredible. Like thunder and lightning for bass and treble. Was the day to day performing instrument of white folk blues trailblazer Dave Van Ronk. One of the biggest mistakes of my life was not buying it. Instead set up the deal for a close friend who later cut two LPs for Columbia in the mid 70s.

Broke my heart that instead of restoring it, he tossed the original neck, and fingerboard, replacing them with new more narrow ones. Then he sold it, without telling me, for $800 a few years later. Just look at what even a good mid-50s J-200 goes for today! What a shame?!

Iso

[joseffy] Federal effort could outlaw old ivory .............................................

joseffy — 6/7/2014 12:24:16 PM

Federal effort could outlaw old ivory
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Protect this signed Japanese bronze elephant sculpture with ivory tusks. It was made in about 1900 and sold in March 2014 at a Cottone Auctions in Geneseo, N.Y., for $920. If the suggested new antique ivory regulations become law, this antique bronze will be worthless because it will be illegal to sell it or even give it to a museum.

May 29, 2014 Terry Kovel/King Feature Syndicate

An heirloom bronze elephant with ivory tusks, great-grandmother's piano with ivory keys, a vintage ivory chess set or an antique silver teapot with a small ivory inset in the handle to keep it cool may be "endangered" by proposed laws that could be in place sometime in June. Buying, selling or importing ivory from recently killed African elephants already is illegal and has been for about 25 years.

But an executive order issued by President Barack Obama would extend the ban to include all antique ivory harvested from elephants that died before 1914. There would be a law forbidding sales, even gifts to museums, of any ivory, including antique pieces. This affects antiques dealers and collectors, knife makers and collectors, Inuit craftsmen, owners of mahjong and chess sets, and manufacturers of musical instruments, including guitars and violins — the list could go on.

And those in favor of strong endangered species laws want to also insist that all confiscated antique carved ivory art be destroyed — not even given to a museum. Already thousands of pounds of ivory art objects have been destroyed. This will cause huge losses to companies, collectors and museums.

There's still time to contact your U.S. senator, representative or the Fish & Wildlife Service to make your thoughts known. For links to more detailed information, go to www.kovels.com/latest-news/new-ivory-ban.html.

Feds say no end in sight for policy of 'dumping' illegal immigrants in Arizona, Gov. Brewer says

[joseffy] Ovation guitar factory in Connecticut is closing ..................................

joseffy — 4/23/2014 4:26:59 PM

Ovation guitar factory in Connecticut is closing
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Associated Press ^ | Apr 23, 2014 Dave Collins

An Ovation guitar factory in the western Connecticut hills that produced instruments for music legends from Paul Simon to Cat Stevens to Glen Campbell will be closing in June after 47 years and production of the Ovation line in the United States will stop, the manufacturer’s parent company told the shop’s 46 workers this week.

One former factory worker called it “the end of an iconic American brand.”

Fender Musical Instruments Corp., based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and maker of the iconic Stratocaster electric guitar, said in an announcement Tuesday that it was ceasing domestic production of Ovation guitars and closing the New Hartford factory, citing “current market conditions and insufficient volume levels.” The company also said it is consolidating production of U.S.-made acoustic instruments. …

(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...

[joseffy] More of the same .................................................................

joseffy — 3/19/2014 5:20:02 PM

More of the same
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Message 29448408

[joseffy] They should have named it the Eric "My People" Holder Jackboot Guitar.

joseffy — 2/3/2014 7:45:13 PM

[CF Rebel] Government Series II Les Paul www2.gibson.com Great Gibson electric guitars ha...

CF Rebel — 2/3/2014 7:38:29 PM

Government Series II Les Paul

www2.gibson.com

Great Gibson electric guitars have long been a means of fighting the establishment, so when the powers that be confiscated stocks of tonewoods from the Gibson factory in Nashville - only to return them once there was a resolution and the investigation ended - it was an event worth celebrating. Introducing the Government Series II Les Paul, a striking new guitar from Gibson USA for 2014 that suitably marks this infamous time in Gibson’s history.

From its solid mahogany body with modern weight relief for enhance resonance and playing comfort, to its carved maple top, the Government Series II Les Paul follows the tradition of the great Les Paul Standards - but also makes a superb statement with its unique appointments. A distinctive vintage-gloss Government Tan finish, complemented by black-chrome hardware and black plastics and trim, is topped by a pickguard that’s hot-stamped in gold with the Government Series graphic - a bald eagle hoisting a Gibson guitar neck. Each Government Series II Les Paul also includes a genuine piece of Gibson USA history in its solid rosewood fingerboard, which is made from wood returned to Gibson by the US government after the resolution.

And because it’s a Gibson, the Government Series II Les Paul is a pure and powerful tone machine. Aided by a pair of Dirty Fingers+ pickups, among the hottest humbuckers Gibson has ever produced, this historic Les Paul is ready and willing to wage war on tonal timidity - and to get you heard in the process! Add a set of high-quality Grover™ tuners, a black hardshell case with Government Series graphic, a Certificate of Authenticity personally signed by Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, and legendary Gibson quality and craftsmanship: this is one mighty Les Paul that you’ll want to confiscate quickly and turn to your own creative devices. The Government Series II is limited by the availability of qualifying woods, so seize yours now from your authorized Gibson USA dealer.

Starting at $1,099

Body and Neck
The Government Series II Les Paul is crafted in the image of the original Les Paul Standard, with a carved maple top and solid mahogany back with modern weight relief for improved playing comfort and enhanced resonance. The glued-in mahogany neck features a comfortably rounded late-’50s profile, while the unbound fingerboard - with a Corian™ nut, 22 frets and traditional trapezoid inlays just like the very first Gibson Les Pauls - is made from solid rosewood returned to Gibson by the US government.. And, the guitar looks superb with its unique Government Tan finish in vintage-gloss nitrocellulose lacquer.

Pickups and Electronics
The guitar carries a pair of Gibson’s super-hot Dirty Fingers+ pickups for maximum rock action. Among the most powerful humbuckers Gibson has ever produced, these will drive your amp of choice into über-crunch and singing lead tones, while cleaning up beautifully for subtler moments. They’re mounted “open coil” with no covers, and wired through the traditional four-knob control section with three-way selector switch.

Hardware
A classic Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece anchor it all down for outstanding resonance and sustain, while Grover™ tuners represent a significant upgrade up top - all plated in black chrome. Plastics are all black, and the black pickguard is hot-stamped in gold with the Government Series eagle graphic.

Cases and Coverage
The Government Series II Les Paul comes protected in a black Gibson hardshell case. Backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty and Gibson’s 24/7/365 Customer Service, the package includes a truss-rod wrench, owner’s manual, and a Certificate of Authenticity personally signed by Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz.

[Investor2] Good for Gibson! If I didn't already own too many guitars not being played, I'd...

Investor2 — 2/3/2014 7:30:45 AM

Good for Gibson! If I didn't already own too many guitars not being played, I'd buy one.

[joseffy] Yep, Fender buys exactly the same wood from the same suppliers. No raid, no...

joseffy — 2/2/2014 1:09:34 PM

Yep, Fender buys exactly the same wood from the same suppliers. No raid, no hassle.

[joseffy] Fender is the other major marketer of guitars. And, yes, they are a big Demo don...

joseffy — 2/2/2014 1:07:07 PM

Fender is the other major marketer of guitars. And, yes, they are a big Demo donor.

This was nothing more than Eric Holder doing a number on his big donor's competitor. Crony Capitalism at its worst.

[joseffy] So many people have been irrecoverably ruined by the Obama Regulatory Extermina...

joseffy — 2/2/2014 1:03:57 PM

So many people have been irrecoverably ruined by the Obama Regulatory Extermination of Small Business policies

[joseffy] As for the guitar, it can't be a government guitar. It works.

joseffy — 2/2/2014 1:02:37 PM

[joseffy] What Gibson Guitars Did with the Wood the Government Returned ............

joseffy — 2/2/2014 1:00:12 PM

What Gibson Guitars Did with the Wood the Government Returned

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American Thinker ^ | 2/2/2014 | Victor Keith

In 2011, the Department of Justice conducted raids on the Tennessee facilities of the famed Gibson Guitar company and confiscated large quantities of tonewood that had been imported from India and Madagascar.

The action included armed SWAT teams, with automatic weapons, who apparently feared being garroted with a guitar string by an enraged Gibson employee. These raids were conducted due to the Lacey Act, which bans the importing of certain woods. The issue at hand was not that the wood was endangered or illegally harvested, but that it was not of the proper thickness that would have meant that some labor had been performed on it by workers in India and Madagascar. This was the law in Madagascar and India as a nod to the unions in those countries. Gibson, who hand-makes its guitars, cannot guarantee the craftsmanship of its products if a portion of the work is done outside their facilities.

What raised many eyebrows about this governmental action was that the countries involved, India and Madagascar, indicated that they were not interested in pursuing the matter when contacted by the Department of Justice. Also, even if Gibson had been guilty, this would have been a civil, not a criminal matter. Finally, this same kind of tonewood is used by other guitar makers such as CF Martin and Company and Fender. Those other companies were not raided. The principle difference seems to be that those companies contributed to Democratic candidates, while Henry Juszkiewicz, the CEO of Gibson, gives openly to Republicans, and Gibson has plants in a right-to-work state.

After spending nearly two and half million dollars in legal fees and paying a $300,000 fine, the government has settled with Gibson and has finally returned the confiscated tonewood. Normally that would be the end of the story, with a victory scored for partisan government bullying of political opponents, however, that is not the end.

Gibson took that wood and made it into the Government Series II Les Paul. These special edition guitars are hot stamped in gold with the Government Series graphic, which is an American bald eagle holding a Gibson guitar neck.

It is an admirable statement of defiance of an abusive government and a refusal of a historic American company to be intimidated.

Read more: americanthinker.com

[joseffy] Gibson Sticks Thumb in Obama Administration's Eye with 'Government Series' Guita...

joseffy — 2/2/2014 12:42:23 PM

Gibson Sticks Thumb in Obama Administration's Eye with 'Government Series' Guitars

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Breibart ^ | feb 1, 2014 | by Jeffrey Poor

In 2011, the Department of Justice raided Gibson Guitar facilities in Memphis and Nashville, alleging a violation of the so-called Lacey Act, a law that bans the importation of certain kinds of wildlife, plants and wood. At the time of the raid, Gibson Guitars CEO Henry Juszkiewicz told Hugh Hewitt on his radio show that the feds confiscated tonewood imported from India for the guitar Gibson manufacturers which would result in a cost of $2 to $3 million for his company.

At a great expense in legal fees and time, Juszkiewicz fought the federal government tooth and nail. But in August 2012, he settled with the Department of Justice by agreeing to pay a penalty of $300,000 and a $50,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

At the time, Breitbart News suggested that the federal government targeted Gibson because of the conservative ideological stance it had supported. But according to the Gibson Guitar website, the tonewood was returned and made into the Government Series II Les Paul guitars:

Great Gibson electric guitars have long been a means of fighting the establishment, so when the powers that be confiscated stocks of tonewoods from the Gibson factory in Nashville—only to return them once there was a resolution and the investigation ended—it was an event worth celebrating. Introducing the Government Series II Les Paul, a striking new guitar from Gibson USA for 2014 that suitably marks this infamous time in Gibson’s history.

Gibson’s line of those guitars start $1,099 and are topped by a pickguard hot-stamped in gold with the “Government Series” graphic, which is a bald eagle hoisting a Gibson guitar neck.

“Each Government Series II Les Paul also includes a genuine piece of Gibson USA history in its solid rosewood fingerboard, which is made from wood returned to Gibson by the US government after the resolution,” the website states.

[joseffy] Seven years after Gibson Guitars worked with Arlo Guthrie to reconstruct Woo...

joseffy — 1/2/2014 3:46:07 PM

Seven years after Gibson Guitars worked with Arlo Guthrie to reconstruct Woody Guthrie's guitar and sell reproductions of it, a gang of Officer Obies burst into its Nashville factory with guns drawn looking for wood. And they did it again two years later accusing Gibson of making guitars out of wood that was not finished by Indian workers.

Both times the raids happened under the regime of President Obama who is the living culmination of everything that the counterculture hoped for.

Greenfield: President Obie
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Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog ^ | Thursday, January 02, 2014

In 1967, folk singer Arlo Guthrie played a song on a left-wing New York City radio station that was supposed to sum up the cultural difference between the culture and the counterculture.

On one side of the moral equation in Alice’s Restaurant you had Office Obie and the nameless army officers who were rulebound fascists and on the other side you had the easygoing hippies who believed in community, hanging out and letting things slide. Culture would drag you into court for littering with twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy photographs as evidence while counterculture would shrug and invite you to dinner.

Culture was bureaucratically and violently absurd. Counterculture was humanely lovingly absurd.

That's still the image that the left likes to wear like an old pair of jeans. It's still just a bunch of easygoing fellows out to build community and take on Officer Obie’s senseless repressive rules. But then the counterculture became the culture and the left became Officer Obie.

Or President Obie.

If there's anyone who's going to drag you into court with twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy photographs as proof; it's going to be the Officer Obies of the EPA. Except that a straightforward thing like littering would be much too sensible for environmental enforcement groups to bother with. They're more likely to arrest you for collecting rainwater on your own property, making a guitar out of unfinished wood or cleaning up trash from your own property.

EPA Administrator Al Armendariaz, whose fiefdom included five states, told staffers that his philosophy of enforcement was borrowed from the Romans."They’d go in to a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw and they’d crucify them."

Compared to the Officer Obies of the ruling counterculture, the original model seems like a humanitarian and the soul of reason. If you ran afoul of Officer Armendariz, or Caesar Armendariz as he liked to be called, you would be very lucky to come away with nothing more than a twenty-five dollar fine and a few hours in jail.

A mere two decades after Arlo Guthrie began singing about being arrested on Thanksgiving for littering by Officer Obie, John Pozsgai was sentenced to three years in jail for “discharging pollutants into waters of the United States" for the crime of adding topsoil to his land.

And you can be sure that the evidence for the legal case which went on in varying forms for twenty years consisted of a lot more than a mere twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy photographs with a paragraph of text on the back.

There's a folk song in there alright, but it's not one that a liberal would listen to because every progressive who grins when hearing Arlo joke about a federal case being made out of throwing some garbage off a cliff would want to hang him in real life.

Bill Ellen, a Vietnam veteran and conservationist who ran a shelter for injured wildlife, spent six months in jail for making duck ponds based on a 1989 reinterpretation of environmental law which stated that land which had water on it for seven days was considered Federally protected wetlands.

"That's as close as you can come to restitution for them, the ducks," the judge in the case declared. The judge has since retired to a more fitting post as a member of the Governor's Advisory Panel on License Plate Reader technology. There's probably a folk song in that, but no one would ever air it.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane F. Barrett called it "a premeditated environmental crime" and declared victory even though Ellen was only sentenced to six months in jail instead of three years.

"It might be true that five years ago Ellen wouldn't have to go to jail. But we're living in a different world now," she admitted.

And that different world is the world that progressives have made.

They have made America into a nightmarish place that would horrify even Officer Obie. A place where you don't just go to jail for trashing public property, but for cleaning up your own.

Ellen's own Officer Obie has moved on to be the Director of the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Maryland. Despite donating a few thousand dollars to Obama, she has yet to get the US Attorney gig that she had her eye on.

Doubtlessly though President Obie is sure to find a place for any legal eagle who can try to send a Marine Corps vet with two young children to jail for three years over a duck pond.

But the final Officer Obie touch was yet to come.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reviewed the case and declared; "That Ellen believes that an offense of this magnitude is trivial or unimportant ironically exemplifies the need not to foreclose punishment by imprisonment."

The need to sentence a man to prison for a trivial offense because he believes rightly that it is a trivial offense is the definition of irony only behind the Iron Curtain. But in a more fitting definition of irony, the judge responsible for writing that decision lost his shot at a Supreme Court spot because he couldn't stop talking to the New York Times about being considered for the Supreme Court.

The justice of the Officer Obies, Judge Obies and President Obies may be blind, deaf and dumb; but sometimes a higher court than the Supreme Court intervenes with its own judgement.

The different world that U.S. Attorney Jane F. Barrett gleefully inhabits where a man may be sent to jail for a duck pond wasn't made by Officer Obie and the culture, but by the counterculture. If the laws of the culture made sense but were guilty of overreach, the laws of the counterculture are all overreach with no sense. The laws of the counterculture are every bit as addled as its art and its literature.

Seven years after Gibson Guitars worked with Arlo Guthrie to reconstruct Woody Guthrie's guitar and sell reproductions of it, a gang of Officer Obies burst into its Nashville factory with guns drawn looking for wood. And they did it again two years later accusing Gibson of making guitars out of wood that was not finished by Indian workers.

Both times the raids happened under the regime of President Obie who is the living culmination of everything that the counterculture hoped for. And what they hoped for was Officer Obie writ large with a teleprompter in one hand and an infinite rule book in the other.

The laws of the culture were rational. The laws of the counterculture are emotional. They exist because someone demanded them vehemently enough.

The pursuit of that humane and caring system instead gave us a system that sends men to jail for the unrepentant manufacture of duck ponds. It turned every Federal employee into Officer Obie and made Officer Obie in his various guises as environmental crusader, financial regulator and political activist with revolving door roles in government agencies into a progressive superhero.

The counterculture heroes aren't rebels anymore. They are the protectors of the values of the counterculture who suppress opposition by dissenters who don't want to buy health insurance, uppity photographers who don't want to take pictures at gay weddings and free spirits who build duck ponds without the proper permits.

In the culture, laws were made by men and carried out by professionals who understood the laws they were executing. In the counterculture, laws were made by activists and then modified by regulators and bureaucrats so many times that both the aforementioned trials involved extensive debates over what law was broken, whether it was broken and whether the law that may have been broken even existed.

In the counterculture the sheer morass of laws, regulations and interpretations of both means that there really is no law, only whim. No one ever knows what the law is. They only know whom they want punished and why.

Ridicule a law enough and it stops applying. Demonize a defendant enough and he is guilty. Truth is nothing. Emotion is everything. The humanitarian creativity of the counterculture was egotism dressed up in philosophy. It wanted what it wanted. And what it wanted, it got.

ObamaCare or ObieCare is based on a million regulations that no one understands holding up an oppressive system based on wishful thinking that can't work. President Obie is the perfect leader for an ideology that wants its fascist overreaches and abuses of power cloaked in cheerful grins and empty talk about sharing and community whose practical implications are defined in implementable legalese on Page 2809, subparagraph 81b, footnote 311 which no one has read.

Under the liberal Officer Obies, you can't get what you want at Alice's Restaurant. Not unless it meets State and Federal regulations, has listed calorie counts and doesn't contain any transfats. You can't get the health plan you want under ObieCare and you can't get much of anything else either except a lecture, a reeducation program or a prison term.

[joseffy] Another Republican-Supporting Business Raided: Suspicion of Using Mongolian Wood...

joseffy — 9/28/2013 5:54:56 PM

Another Republican-Supporting Business Raided: Suspicion of Using Mongolian Wood
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Saturday, September 28, 2013
thegatewaypundit.com

Thursday, Federal agents raided Lumber Liquidators.

Lumber Liquidators advertises heavily on The Rush Limbaugh Show and even put in the flooring for one of Rush’s studios.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports:

Agents from the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Justice executed the search warrant at the company’s headquarters and plant near Williamsburg, said Brandon Montgomery, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security.

The reason for the raid? Suspicion of using Mongolian Wood. Mongolian wood, apparently, is an imminent threat to Homeland Security.

Two years ago, Federal agents raided Republican-owned Gibson Guitars on another wood-related charge: They might have used wood from India that wasn’t finished by Indian workers.

Rather than go through an expensive and protracted legal suit, Gibson settled with the government and paid $300,000 plus $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

No one believed Lois Lerner and the IRS were targeting Tea Party organizations until they admitted it to Congress.

How many more Republican-supporting businesses will be raided before Congress steps in?

- See more at: thegatewaypundit.com

- See more at: thegatewaypundit.com

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Teena Goar
• 8 hours ago

Buy all of your lumber at Lumber Liquidators

"How many more Republican-supporting businesses will be raided before Congress steps in? "
Answer.......ALL of them!

government bullying anyone? time to wipe all the books clean of laws, they can get you on any technicality they please.

[joseffy] In Eric Holder’s DOJ, enforcing the law equally is ‘high heresy’ .................

joseffy — 8/19/2013 11:28:30 PM

In Eric Holder’s DOJ, enforcing the law equally is ‘high heresy’
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By Grae Stafford 08/19/2013

In the final part of his interview with The Daily Caller, J Christian Adams, a former lawyer with the Department of Justice in the Civil Rights Division turned whistle-blower, explains how the internal dynamics of the DOJ operate and how a political agenda is being instigated through the implementation or non implementation of law.

“I saw it on the inside of justice, at the Justice Department,” Adams said. “I saw the structures, the attitude, the philosophies, the conference room meetings and you begin to get an appreciation for how this whole left-wing apparatus works when you are actually a part of it. … When you’re on the inside, you learn the architecture.”

Adams, who started as a lawyer with the DOJ in 2005, recounts how cases he brought regarding white people drew huge criticism compared to the cases he brought regarding black or Hispanic minorities.

“One of the things I was brought in there to do was to simply be objective and neutral, but see, that’s high heresy. They don’t want people who are objective and neutral. They want people who are part of the orthodoxy, so during the Bush administration, a very small number of people were brought in and it was like an anti-body in the system. The left went absolutely wild. They had congressional hearings. They could not abide by people who were willing to enforce the law to protect everybody.”

Injustice by J. Christian Adams Grae Stafford/Daily Caller

In his new book “Injustice” Adams details how a request by the Civil Rights Commission to appear under a subpoena over the Black Panther voting intimidation case was blocked by the DOJ and how Adams was informed not to comply with the subpoena. “They said that if you comply with the subpoena, you’re violating our directives. The problem was that there’s a federal statute that says that you have to comply with the subpoenas and if you don’t it’s a crime — it’s a crime, its a criminal offense to interfere — so I just resigned my job and testified about what’s going on.”

Catch any parts of the J. Christian Adams interview you may have missed here:

‘Voting law, Civil Rights Law is a tool to help Democrats’

Read more: dailycaller.com

[joseffy] Bombshell: Eric Holder Lied to Congress Under Oath During friendly questioning ...

joseffy — 5/24/2013 2:16:31 PM

Bombshell: Eric Holder Lied to Congress Under Oath

During friendly questioning from Rep. Hank “I fear that Guam will capsize!” Johnson in Congress last week, Attorney General Eric Holder offered the following statement.

In regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material. This is not something I’ve ever been involved in, heard of, or would think would be wise policy.

He made that statement before the facts about the sweep on Fox News’ James Rosen were known. Since then, it’s come to light that Holder himself approved the subpoena that, among other things, named Rosen as a criminal co-conspirator.

So, Eric Holder lied under oath before a congressional hearing.

In addition to that, he may have intentionally misled a judge in the request of Rosen’s phone records according to Jennifer Rubin.

[T]he affidavit (paragraph 45) asserts that DOJ exhausted all means available to get the material from Rosen’s e-mails and phone, and “because of [Rosen's] own potential criminal liability in this matter,” asking for the documents voluntarily would compromise the integrity of the investigation. Moreover, the affidavit asserts that the “targets” of the investigation (including Rosen) were a risk to “mask their identity and activity, flee or otherwise obstruct this investigation.” It is highly questionable whether Holder believed any of that to be true. (Really, he imagined a Fox News reporter would flee the country? He thought Rosen would don a disguise?) Was the affidavit a sort of ruse to get Rosen’s records (or later to pressure his cooperation)? Did Holder intentionally mislead a judge when he signed off on the affidavit? That is worth exploring.

President Obama put himself on the record regarding the DOJ’s actions against journalists Thursday, declaring himself sufficiently “troubled” to order Holder to look into the matter. Eric Holder will be investigating Eric Holder to determine if Eric Holder lied under oath and misrepresented facts before a federal judge.

That won’t do.

Eric Holder must resign, and he must face investigation and probable prosecution.

pjmedia.com

[joseffy] Article neglects to mention Gibson is a non-union shop. The others are union. Fo...

joseffy — 5/24/2013 1:12:29 PM

Article neglects to mention Gibson is a non-union shop. The others are union. Follow that money, too.

[joseffy] Now The Gibson Guitar Raids Make Sense--- Investor's Business Daily: 05/23/20...

joseffy — 5/24/2013 1:07:35 PM

Now The Gibson Guitar Raids Make Sense---
Investor's Business Daily:

05/23/2013
news.investors.com

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.

In one raid, the feds hauled away ebony fingerboards, alleging they violated Madagascar law. Gibson responded by obtaining the sworn word of the African island's government that no law had been broken.

In another raid, the feds found materials imported from India, claiming they too moved across the globe in violation of Indian law. Gibson's response was that the feds had simply misinterpreted Indian law.

Interestingly, one of Gibson's leading competitors is C.F. Martin & Co. According to C.F. Martin's catalog, several of their guitars contain "East Indian Rosewood," which is the exact same wood in at least 10 of Gibson's guitars.

So why were they not also raided and their inventory of foreign wood seized?

Grossly underreported at the time was the fact that Gibson's chief executive, Henry Juszkiewicz, contributed to Republican politicians. Recent donations have included $2,000 to Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and $1,500 to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.

By contrast, Chris Martin IV, the Martin & Co. CEO, is a long-time Democratic supporter, with $35,400 in contributions to Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee over the past couple of election cycles.

"We feel that Gibson was inappropriately targeted," Juszkiewicz said at the time, adding the matter "could have been addressed with a simple contact (from) a caring human being representing the government. Instead, the government used violent and hostile means."

That includes what Gibson described as "two hostile raids on its factories by agents carrying weapons and attired in SWAT gear where employees were forced out of the premises, production was shut down, goods were seized as contraband and threats were made that would have forced the business to close."

Gibson, fearing a bankrupting legal battle, settled and agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty to the U.S. Government. It also agreed to make a "community service payment" of $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation — to be used on research projects or tree-conservation activities.

The feds in return agreed to let Gibson resume importing wood while they sought "clarification" from India.

The feds say they acted to save the environment from greedy plunderers. America is a trivial importer of rosewood from Madagascar and India. Ninety-five percent of it goes to China, where it is used to make luxury items like $800,000 beds. So putting Gibson out of business wasn't going to do a whole lot to save their forests.

Juszkiewicz' claim that his company was "inappropriately targeted" is eerily similar to the claims by Tea Party, conservative, pro-life and religious groups that they were targeted by the IRS for special scrutiny because they sought to exercise their First Amendment rights to band together in vocal opposition to the administration's policies and the out-of-control growth of government and its power.

The Gibson Guitar raid, the IRS intimidation of Tea Party groups and the fraudulently obtained warrant naming Fox News reporter James Rosen as an "aider, abettor, co-conspirator" in stealing government secrets are but a few examples of the abuse of power by the Obama administration to intimidate those on its enemies list.

[joseffy] HOLDER LIED TO CONGRESS On His Role in Investigating News Reporters (Video)

joseffy — 5/24/2013 8:46:57 AM

[joseffy] Did IRS bias extend to targeting conservative companies?

joseffy — 5/17/2013 2:09:29 PM

[joseffy] "Eric Gibson: The Illegal Eagle and a Baldly Grasping IRS Only in the fantasy ...

joseffy — 12/5/2012 5:57:50 PM

"Eric Gibson: The Illegal Eagle and a Baldly Grasping IRS

Only in the fantasy bazaar of the U.S. government's imagination can an item that is worthless carry a multimillion-dollar price tag.

By ERIC GIBSON

On Wednesday last week, New York's Museum of Modern Art unveiled its most recent gift, and one of the most significant in its history: Robert Rauschenberg's "Canyon" (1959). Rauschenberg was among the leading American artists of the post-World War II era, and "Canyon" is a "combine," a kind of large-scale, by Text-Enhance">three-dimensional collage that includes photographs, pieces of wood, a mirror, a pillow and a stuffed bald eagle.

The arrival of "Canyon" at MoMA is the culmination of a five-year absurdist farce—one tinged more by Kafka than Feydeau—that involved the IRS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the heirs of art dealer Ileana Sonnabend. It might have been laughable, except that the stakes were so high.
Related video

Leisure & Arts editor Eric Gibson on how the federal governments' heavy-handed regulation forced heirs of an art dealer to choose between giving a work of art away at no benefit or holding on to it for a hefty fee. Photo: John Wronn

Sonnabend, a dealer and collector, died in 2007, leaving a collection of art by Rauschenberg as well as such contemporaries as Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns. It was valued at about $1 billion. Her heirs, Nina Sundell and Antonio Homem, paid about $471 million in taxes on the value of the collection, selling some $600 million worth of art from it to do so.

But "Canyon" was another story. The presence of the stuffed eagle meant it couldn't be sold without violating the 1940 Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Since the artwork couldn't be sold, logic dictated that it be listed as having zero value, which is what the Sonnabend family's three appraisers, one of them Christie's auction house, did.

But don't look for "logic" in any government by Text-Enhance">dictionary. In the summer of 2011, the IRS sent the family an unsigned report appraising "Canyon" at $15 million. When they rejected the valuation, the government upped the ante: The appraisal was increased to $65 million, which yielded a $29.2 million tax bill. And the IRS levied a special "undervaluation penalty" of 40%, applied in cases where a party has made what the IRS deems a "gross understatement" of a property's value. That added $11.2 million to the tab. Plus interest.

Only in the fantasy bazaar of the U.S. government's imagination can an item that is worthless carry a multimillion-dollar price tag.

Ms. Sundell and Mr. Homem had another option: donate "Canyon" to a museum. But since they were declaring that it had no value, they would have to forfeit the charitable deductions that normally accrue to individuals in such cases. In the end, this is what they chose to do. "Canyon," which had been on extended by Text-Enhance">loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, now joins five other Rauschenberg combines at MoMA. In exchange, the government has dropped its $40 million-plus claim against Sonnabend's estate.

"Canyon" had, in fact, been in the feds' sights long before this particular debacle. According to a by Text-Enhance">New York Times story last summer, in the early 1980s the combine had caught the attention of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which tried to seize it from Sonnabend.

Robert Rauschenberg's "Canyon" (1959) at Museum of Modern Art.

A deal was struck allowing her to keep possession as long as the work remained on public display. The issue resurfaced a few years later. In 1988, Rauschenberg himself had to submit a notarized letter stating that the eagle had been killed and stuffed by one of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders long before the 1940 law went into effect.

Ever since Picasso and Braque began mixing sand into their paints and affixing pieces of newsprint or wallpaper to their canvases at the beginning of the 20th century, artists' use of unorthodox, nontraditional materials has been the norm. One wonders what other contemporary works exist whose owners might some day find them fiscally neutered thanks to the heavy hand of government regulation.

If Mayor Bloomberg's anti-smoking campaign were to gain any more traction, for example, there might come a time when a work like Damien Hirst's "Cremation," one of four "ashtray sculptures" the artist made in the late 1990s and described on his website as composed of ". . . cigarettes, cigarette packaging, tobacco packaging, cigarette papers, matches . . . and ash" might be cast into market limbo.

Having paid a blue-chip price for "Cremation," a collector might find himself prohibited from ever selling it. Sound far-fetched? Already, the Motion Picture Association of America takes into account smoking scenes, along with depictions of sex and violence, in determining its movie ratings.

There is a sense in which Ilena Sonnabend's heirs never really owned "Canyon." It ceased to be their property from the moment they inherited it. First it was, as they say in the auction business, "burned" by one federal agency, rendered as unsalable as if it were a fake. Then another forced them to choose between giving it away at no benefit or holding on to it for a hefty fee. What the government takes away with one hand, it takes again with the other.

As with many modern art works, Rauschenberg's title doesn't tell you very much. No geological formations are visible in this "Canyon," for example. Perhaps it is time to substitute something more descriptive, a title that will clearly communicate to MoMA's visitors what Rauschenberg's work symbolizes. I propose "Catch-22."

Mr. Gibson is the Journal's Leisure & Arts features editor."
online.wsj.com

credit to neeka

[joseffy] Justice Department Gives Hiring Priority to the Clinically Insane and Intellectu...

joseffy — 10/30/2012 1:58:29 PM

Justice Department Gives Hiring Priority to the Clinically Insane and Intellectually Disabled

Justice Department Gives Hiring Priority to the Clinically Insane and Intellectually Disabled

[jrhana] Well looks like ther is a Gibson center near me stores.guitarcenter.com Need t...

jrhana — 9/11/2012 4:40:46 PM

Well looks like ther is a Gibson center near me

stores.guitarcenter.com

Need to get my 1967 Gibson J50 Acccoustic Steel String refurbished

[jrhana] Again it't lie a doctor with a wild unjust crazy Malpractice suit. Better just s...

jrhana — 9/9/2012 6:29:44 PM

Again it't lie a doctor with a wild unjust crazy Malpractice suit. Better just settle that thing for (relative) small change that take the chance that some modern jury could go hog wild and award millions.

The truth of the actual case is irrelevant

[jrhana] Again it't lie a doctor with a wild unjust Malpractise suit. Better just settle ...

jrhana — 9/9/2012 6:29:08 PM

Again it't lie a doctor with a wild unjust Malpractise suit. Better just settle that thing for (relative) small change that take the chance that some modern jury could go hog wild and award millions.

The truth of the actual case is irrelevant

[jrhana] Gibson Is Off the Feds' Hook. Who's Next? harveysilverglate.com August 20, 20...

jrhana — 9/9/2012 6:26:26 PM

Gibson Is Off the Feds' Hook. Who's Next?

harveysilverglate.com

August 20, 2012 11:21:27 AM by Harvey Silverglate

On July 30, I wrote a piece on my “Injustice Department” blog on Forbes.com discussing the narrow-mindedness of the Gibson Guitar Company CEO’s claim in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the United States Justice Department is waging a war against capitalism. It is a war, I suggested, against many sectors of civil society.

Since that piece went up, Gibson Guitar has entered into a deal with the DOJ in which it sort-of admits guilt to alleged violations of the Lacey Act, pays a whopping fine, and will emerge without a criminal conviction in the end. Gibson took this step even though the company and its CEO earlier had publicly proclaimed their innocence. My latest piece, published in today’s Wall Street Journal, explains how corrupt plea-bargaining practices at the Department of Justice, as opposed to actual guilt, likely led to Gibson’s guilty plea and, most disturbingly, to its agreement to stick to a negotiated script with regard to the question of guilt versus innocence. As is increasingly true at the Department of Justice – via a process that has been gaining momentum since at least the mid-1980s – there is no longer a principled and discernible line between truth and falsehood.

Gibson Is Off the Feds' Hook. Who's Next?

The guitar company settlement reveals a disturbing effort by federal prosecutors to silence their corporate targets.

Gibson Guitar Corp. got lucky. Its looming federal prosecution for claimed violations of vague, protectionist export regulations involving imports from Madagascar and India ended abruptly after the absurdity and unfairness of the case spread virally. Apparently the Justice Department couldn't handle the heat of news reports on how armed federal agents twice in two years dramatically raided guitar factories full of unarmed luthiers.

On Aug. 6 prosecutors agreed not to prosecute Gibson provided the company adheres to some remedial measures meant to assure that it never again violates regulations—regulations that it likely didn't violate in the first place. The company also agreed to pay a modest (as these things go) $300,000 monetary penalty to the government, along with a $50,000 contribution to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. (The Justice Department always looks for an opportunity to portray itself as benign and even philanthropic—with other people's money, of course.)

Gibson Guitar Corp. got lucky. Its looming federal prosecution for claimed violations of vague, protectionist export regulations involving imports from Madagascar and India ended abruptly after the absurdity and unfairness of the case spread virally. Apparently the Justice Department couldn't handle the heat of news reports on how armed federal agents twice in two years dramatically raided guitar factories full of unarmed luthiers. On Aug. 6 prosecutors agreed not to prosecute Gibson provided the company adheres to some remedial measures meant to assure that it never again violates regulations—regulations that it likely didn't violate in the first place. The company ...

Continue reading...

[jrhana] hope not. No matter what happens to ESA you will still be one of the most malign...

jrhana — 9/9/2012 6:23:26 PM

hope not. No matter what happens to ESA you will still be one of the most malignant twisted Aholes in the history of SI

I mean go crawl back in your hole and suck some dirt

[Pogeu Mahone] Subject 58894

Pogeu Mahone — 9/9/2012 9:56:03 AM

[joseffy] It is puzzling to me how Holder's Justice Department has been able to monitor t...

joseffy — 9/3/2012 2:05:09 PM

It is puzzling to me how Holder's Justice Department has been able to monitor the importation of illegally harvested wood, but has had no awareness that the ATF was exporting Fast and Furious guns to Mexican drug dealers.

[jrhana] You now it just occurred to me that the first time I can scrap up some dough, I ...

jrhana — 8/22/2012 10:18:34 AM

You now it just occurred to me that the first time I can scrap up some dough, I will go and spend it on a Gibson Guitar. Let us show the Feds what we feel by supporting Gibson by buying their guitars.

That would inspire me to start playing the guitar again seriously.

I also need to fix up a mildly hurricane damaged 1967 acoustic Gibson J50 (as well as a Goya classical also with mild damage).

Anybody know a good place to refurbish old Guitars?

Anybody know a good place to buy a case for each of the above?

Everybody from the Govt in any way involved in the Gibson Guitar legal harassment up to and including Nobama (remember HST's the buck stops here)

will burn in hell.

[joseffy] NUGENT: Crimes against Gibson guitars ...

joseffy — 8/22/2012 12:08:07 AM

NUGENT: Crimes against Gibson guitars

Uncle Sam is Uncle Sham

By Ted Nugent -The Washington Times Tuesday, August 21, 2012
washingtontimes.com

Illustration Gibson in Trouble by John Camejo for The Washington Times more >

My all-American sonic-bombast weapon of choice for 50 years has been those world-class pieces of musical art, the mighty Gibson guitar. I own a stunning arsenal of them. It wouldn’t surprise me if some Fedzillastooge from Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.’s Department of Gunrunning Injustice will try to tell us American guitarslayers that we can only buy one fully automatic Gibson guitar a month.

Gibson guitars reportedly ran afoul of Uncle Sham’s Lacey Act, which is one of the most overreaching, bizzaro, contemptuous laws in the history of the United States.

Armed federal agents raided two Gibson guitar plants looking for allegedly illegally obtained wood from Madagascar and India. The Lacey Act permits the feds to prosecute U.S. companies who the feds believe have violated another country’s wood laws.

Essentially, it boils down to this: Gibson and other companies can legally import ebony wood from Madagascar if the wood has been “finished.” According to the Lacey Act, if the wood is imported in raw form from Madagascar or India, that is a violation.

Got that? Word has it that the same mind freaks who engineered the U.S. tax code also authored the Lacey Act. Oh, and they penned the best of the Grateful Dead songs, too.

It can’t get anymore bizzaro than this unless Fedzilla drops LSD and starts writing and passing some Cass Sunstein-inspired human-animal marriage laws.

Gibson settled with Fedzilla in order to keep from spending millions to defend itself against Uncle Sham who can borrow unlimited resources from China to harass American companies and individuals.

By anyone’s standards of fairness, what Mr. Holder’s gang of federal prosecutors did to Gibson was naked harassment that cost Gibson millions of dollars in lost production.

The feds have the unlimited power, resources and volumes of arcane laws, regulations and requirements to go after any company or individual they so choose, including prosecuting American companies the feds believe have violated another country’s timber laws.

This mindless abuse of Gibson by the heavy hand of the out-of-control federal government is a perfect reason why millions of Americans believe the corrupt, abusive power of Fedzilla needs to be reined in.

Meanwhile, it has just been reported that Fedzilla is not expected to file charges against former executives such as prominent Democrat John Corzine at the now defunct MF Global, where a billion dollars of investor cash just disappeared. Surprise, surprise.

The feds spent who knows how many millions of our tax dollars prosecuting retired baseball pitcher Roger Clemens for some erroneous and dumb reason such as throwing spitballs at Congress. Mr. Clemens beat the feds.

Even rarer than unfinished Madagascar ebony is when Uncle Sham goes after one of its own because of obvious and intentional fraud, waste and abuse of our hard-earned tax dollars.

While America’s finances are sliding into oblivion, the General Services Administration spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on junkets to places like Las Vegas. Yet hardly any federal employees are ever prosecuted or even fired.

Fedzilla has a license to steal and does so routinely. Our federal government makes Bernie Madoff look like a two-bit, petty criminal.

You could read for days on the Internet example after example of the fraud, waste and abuse of our tax dollars at the hands of Fedzillacrats gone mad.

Once President Romney is elected, I want him to put a commission together to identify dumb laws that serve no purpose other than to harass American citizens and businesses, and then to eliminate these laws and all the knuckle-dragging bureaucrats associated with them. I recommend this commission start with the Lacey Act. My arsenal of Gibson guitars would howl in delight.

Support American jobs and businesses. Buy a Gibson guitar and throttle some good old American R&B love songs of defiance.

Read more: NUGENT: Crimes against Gibson guitars - Washington Times

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.'S Department Of Gunrunning Injustice

[joseffy] Justice Department says it won't prosecute Goldman Sachs or its employees for fi...

joseffy — 8/9/2012 7:34:29 PM

Justice Department says it won't prosecute Goldman Sachs or its employees for financial fraud

Thursday, August 9, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department says it won't prosecute Goldman Sachs or its employees for financial fraud.

Read more: seattlepi.com

A Senate panel found that Goldman marketed four sets of complex mortgage securities to banks and other investors but that the firm failed to tell them that the securities were very risky. The Senate panel said Goldman secretly bet against the investors' positions and deceived the investors about its own positions to shift risk from its balance sheet to theirs.

Read more: foxnews.com

[joseffy] Obama White House told GSA not to arrest Occupy protesters [But they go after G...

joseffy — 8/8/2012 6:51:09 PM

Obama White House told GSA not to arrest Occupy protesters

[But they go after Gibson quitar]

August 7, 2012

Documents obtained by Judicial Watch confirm that somebody in the White House told officials with the General Services Administration (GSA) to "stand down" and not arrest Occupy Portland protestors who may have broken the law last year.

Former GSA Public Buildings Service Commissioner Robert Peck told a senior Department of Homeland Security official that the federal housekeeping agency had been instructed by the Obama White House to go easy on the Occupy protestors.

In a Nov. 6, 2011, DHS/National Protection and Programs Directorate Chief of Staff Caitlin Durkovich asked GSA's Peck if it was true that his agency had asked Federal Protective Service officials not to take action against the Occupy Portland protestors.

"Yes, that is our position," Peck responded. "It's been vetted with our Administrator and Michael Robertson, our chief of staff, and we have communicated with the WH [White House], which has afforded us the discretion to fashion our approach to Occupy issues...The arrests last week were carried out despite our request that the protesters [sic] be allowed to remain and to camp overnight..."

The Occupy Portland protestors had been protesting for several days on GSA-owned property in the Portland area. Eleven of the protestors had chained themselves to a railing in a downtown Portland park. A week before the Peck email, Portland police, some dressed in riot gear, had arrested more than two dozen Occupy Portland protestors.

The Obama White House denied on multiple occasions during the Occupy protests last year that anybody in the Obama administration had given aid or encouragement to the demonstrations, many of which erupted into public and private property destruction, arrests for drug dealing and prostitution and public health violations.

Cont...

washingtonexaminer.com

[joseffy] The winners will be Takamine, Ibanez and the Korean and Chinese guitar manufact...

joseffy — 8/6/2012 7:13:45 PM

The winners will be Takamine, Ibanez and the Korean and Chinese guitar manufacturers who are not being raided or regulated out of business.

We have so little manufacturing left in the US but the government is doing its best to put them down too.

[joseffy] Our intrepid government will hunt guitar wood to the end of the earth, but 14,0...

joseffy — 8/6/2012 7:12:43 PM

Our intrepid government will hunt guitar wood to the end of the earth, but 14,000,000 illegal immigrants are just fine and dandy.

[joseffy] Soros' POLITICO is lefty filth.

joseffy — 8/6/2012 6:28:25 PM

[Glenn Petersen] Gibson Guitar strikes deal with DOJ By: Kevin Cirilli Politico August 6, 2012...

Glenn Petersen — 8/6/2012 6:17:20 PM

Gibson Guitar strikes deal with DOJ By: Kevin Cirilli Politico August 6, 2012 04:46 PM EDT
Gibson Guitar struck a deal Monday with the U.S. government to avoid criminal prosecution for importing illegally logged wood. The Nashville-based electric guitar company will pay a $300,000 penalty for violating the Lacey Act by buying and importing ebony wood from Madagascar and rosewood and ebony from India, and will donate $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Justice Department officials announced today. Federal agents raided Gibson last fall and seized an estimated $1 million worth of wood. The raid sparked a political controversy, with Republicans saying that the investigation exemplified government overreach and costly regulatory policies. The debate centers on an amendment to the Lacey Act that prohibits illegal wildlife, fish and plant tracking and was signed in 2008 by President George W. Bush. Under the amendment, companies must obtain confirmation from exporting countries that certain plant products were obtained legally. “The Lacey Act’s illegal logging provisions were enacted with bipartisan support in Congress,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe said in a statement. But the amendment’s enforcement has some lawmakers worried. Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), chairwoman of the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee, is considering scheduling a hearing about how the Lacey Act is enforced, senior adviser Ken Johnson told POLITICO. “There was bipartisan support for the intent of the Lacey Act — but, unfortunately, we feel that DOJ was a little heavy-handed in this instance,” Johnson said. “We’re concerned they were browbeat into paying a penalty and forced to forfeit their products.” “I am extremely disappointed with the intimidation tactics … . There is no reason that hard-working employees at the Gibson plants should have been raided by armed federal agents,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn said in a statement. “It didn’t have to come to this.” Blackburn took Gibson Guitar CEO Henry Juszkiewicz to President Barack Obama’s jobs speech to Congress last September. Gibson could not be reached for comment.
© 2012 POLITICO LLC

politico.com

[CF Rebel] And it will take a new president to call the dogs off and set things right. The...

CF Rebel — 7/28/2012 5:52:43 PM

And it will take a new president to call the dogs off and set things right. The dopes of America wanted "hope and change" and this is the kind of change they stuck us with. Can't wait 'til Nov. 6th.

CF Rebel

[joseffy] Heroic Eric Holder is "enforcing the law." Especially against companies like Gi...

joseffy — 7/28/2012 3:54:10 PM

Heroic Eric Holder is "enforcing the law."

Especially against companies like Gibson Guitar, whose owner donates to Republicans but not to Democrats.

[Investor2] With all of the crime in the country, the Government is going after making guita...

Investor2 — 7/28/2012 3:48:02 PM

With all of the crime in the country, the Government is going after making guitars with the wrong kind of wood????

[CF Rebel] Gibson's Fight Against Criminalizing Capitalism Government overreach in the crim...

CF Rebel — 7/26/2012 6:10:44 PM

Gibson's Fight Against Criminalizing Capitalism Government overreach in the criminal-justice system takes money from taxpayer wallets, and takes jobs away from the American people.

July 19, 2012, 7:18 p.m. ET

By Henry Juszkiewicz

online.wsj.com

Making its way through the House of Representatives is a bill that could help prevent companies from experiencing what happened to mine last Aug. 24. Without warning, 30 federal agents with guns and bulletproof vests stormed our guitar factories in Tennessee. They shut down production, sent workers home, seized boxes of raw materials and nearly 100 guitars, and ultimately cost our company $2 million to $3 million worth of products and lost productivity. Why? We imported wood from India to make guitars in America.

Growing businesses face a number of hurdles in today's economy. For Gibson Guitar - a company that has created more than 580 American jobs in the last two years - the largest hurdle is the federal government.

The Aug. 24 raid was authorized under the Lacey Act. Originally enacted as a means to curb the poaching of endangered species, the law bans wildlife and plants from being imported if, according to the interpretation of federal bureaucrats, the importation violates a law in the country of origin.

The fingerboards of our guitars are made with wood that is imported from India. The wood seized during the Aug. 24 raid, however, was from a Forest Stewardship Council-certified supplier, meaning the wood complies with FSC's rules requiring that it be harvested legally and in compliance with traditional and civil rights, among other protections. Indian authorities have provided sworn statements approving the shipment, and U.S. Customs allowed the shipment to pass through America's border to our factories.

Nonetheless, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to enforce its own interpretation of Indian law, arguing that because the fingerboards weren't finished in India, they were illegal exports. In effect, the agency is arguing that to be in compliance with the law, Gibson must outsource the jobs of finishing craftsmen in Tennessee.

This is an overreach of government authority and indicative of the kinds of burdens the federal government routinely imposes on growing businesses. It also highlights a dangerous trend: an attempt to punish even paperwork errors with criminal charges and to regulate business activities through criminal law. Policy wonks call this "overcriminalization." I call it a job killer.

In America alone, there are over 4,000 federal criminal offenses. Under the Lacey Act, for instance, citizens and business owners also need to know - and predict how the U.S. federal government will interpret - the laws of nearly 200 other countries on the globe as well.

Many business owners have inadvertently broken obscure and highly technical foreign laws, landing them in prison for things like importing lobster tails in plastic rather than cardboard packaging (the violation of that Honduran law earned one man an eight-year prison sentence). Cases like this make it clear that the justice system has strayed from its constitutional purpose: stopping the real bad guys from bringing harm.

A proposed bill in the House - the Retailers and Entertainers Lacey Implementation and Enforcement Fairness (Relief) Act - could reduce the chances of citizens accidentally running afoul of the Lacey law.

But broader change is needed. I recently endorsed the Right on Crime Statement of Principles, which asserts that criminal law is an overly blunt instrument for regulating nonfraudulent business activities. Right On Crime - a conservative initiative supported by Newt Gingrich, Jeb Bush and others - also argues that costly criminal proceedings should be reserved for those acts that threaten public safety, and expensive prison beds should be used only for offenders who are blameworthy or endanger our neighborhoods.

Nationwide, the criminal-justice system costs taxpayers more than $200 billion a year, judging by figures from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. While much of that spending is justified, Right on Crime argues that much of it could be eliminated or redirected without hurting public safety. For instance, the government has probably spent millions of taxpayer dollars on the Gibson factory raids, investigating an Indian law India said we didn't break. This is an overreach of government authority and an abuse of taxpayer dollars.

Policy makers must stop criminalizing capitalism. This begins by stopping the practice of creating new criminal offenses, or wielding obscure foreign laws, as a method of regulating businesses.

Especially in a bearish economy, entrepreneurs need to be able to operate without the fear that inadvertently breaking an obscure regulation or unknowingly violating a foreign statute could shut down their company and land them or their employees in jail.

Mr. Juszkiewicz is the CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp.

A version of this article appeared July 20, 2012, on page A11 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Gibson's Fight Against Criminalizing Capitalism.

[CF Rebel] Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars talks about scarcity of hardwoods, especially ebony...

CF Rebel — 6/12/2012 9:40:29 PM

Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars talks about scarcity of hardwoods, especially ebony, for guitar production. He gives a good overview of the problems the industry faces and what Taylor is doing to help sustain the supply and supply the industry. Well worth watching.

youtube.com

CF Rebel

[joseffy] A nice pro-Obama/Holder "Justice" Department article. The standard talking poin...

joseffy — 6/3/2012 10:50:13 AM

A nice pro-Obama/Holder "Justice" Department article.

The standard talking point in such articles is that bogeyman Gibson "is hiring a lobbying firm."

Notice this propaganda article contains not a single word about how the "Justice" department has never charged Gibson with anything--but has raided its factories with guns drawn and confiscated large amounts of Gibson's guitar making materials and is holding them, crippling Gibson's ability to function and survive.

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Gibson Guitars, Senators & The Lacey Act

02:01 PM Friday 6/1/12

pollstar.com

No, the Obama Administration is not going to ban the summer concert season, recent headlines to the contrary. But the ongoing dispute between Gibson Guitar and the feds over the use of imported woods barred by the Lacey Act continues to provide fodder during the never-ending political season. Hoping to put an end to that are U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), with a new attempt to close loopholes and clarify the regulations.

While the bipartisan effort is in its infancy, Alexander says the pair is working to make clear that the Lacey Act “was not intended to seize instruments made of wood harvested before 2008.”

“Senator Wyden and I will work first to achieve these goals through administrative regulation because it produces a faster result, but, failing that, we’re prepared to introduce legislation to amend the law,” Alexander said.

In the statement, Alexander hypothetically alluded to country artists being held up at the Canadian border and their instruments seized, prompting some of the more colorful among the conservative media, including the Washington Examiner, to state that President Barack Obama “declares war” on the summer concert season. Buried in the Examiner’s story is the admission that Obama administration officials flatly deny that artists will be detained at the border over their guitars.

Gibson Guitar facilities in Nashville were raided once in 2009 and again last year, with federal agents seizing as evidence several guitars that were suspected of being made from contraband wood.

That is horseshit, They seized more than "several guitars." That falsehood makes this 'article' raw propaganda selling the "Justice" department's line.

Since that time, the guitar company has hired a lobbying firm, the Tennessean reported, and supported a bill introduced by state representatives Jim Cooper and Marsha Blackburn that would provide protections for those who unknowingly possess illegally imported wood.

Alexander and Wyden are taking the administrative, rather than legislative, route before attempting to develop a bill.

“Senator Wyden and I are going to write the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service a letter in the next couple of weeks and try to make it clear that wood harvested before 2008 to make musical instruments can’t be seized by the federal government.”

Alexander said in the May 18 statement that he hopes to have the issue resolved with a clear ruling. If not, he and Wyden intend to introduce legislation to amend the act.

“We are also working to make clear which laws apply and don’t apply to businesses importing and manufacturing with wood, and to remove burdensome regulations on importers and instrument manufacturers,” Alexander said.

--Deborah Speer

[CF Rebel] Gibson Guitars, Senators & The Lacey Act 02:01 PM Friday 6/1/12 pollstar.com...

CF Rebel — 6/3/2012 8:26:55 AM

Gibson Guitars, Senators & The Lacey Act

02:01 PM Friday 6/1/12

pollstar.com

No, the Obama Administration is not going to ban the summer concert season, recent headlines to the contrary. But the ongoing dispute between Gibson Guitar and the feds over the use of imported woods barred by the Lacey Act continues to provide fodder during the never-ending political season. Hoping to put an end to that are U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), with a new attempt to close loopholes and clarify the regulations.

While the bipartisan effort is in its infancy, Alexander says the pair is working to make clear that the Lacey Act “was not intended to seize instruments made of wood harvested before 2008.”

“Senator Wyden and I will work first to achieve these goals through administrative regulation because it produces a faster result, but, failing that, we’re prepared to introduce legislation to amend the law,” Alexander said.

In the statement, Alexander hypothetically alluded to country artists being held up at the Canadian border and their instruments seized, prompting some of the more colorful among the conservative media, including the Washington Examiner, to state that President Barack Obama “declares war” on the summer concert season. Buried in the Examiner’s story is the admission that Obama administration officials flatly deny that artists will be detained at the border over their guitars.

Gibson Guitar facilities in Nashville were raided once in 2009 and again last year, with federal agents seizing as evidence several guitars that were suspected of being made from contraband wood.

Since that time, the guitar company has hired a lobbying firm, the Tennessean reported, and supported a bill introduced by state representatives Jim Cooper and Marsha Blackburn that would provide protections for those who unknowingly possess illegally imported wood.

Alexander and Wyden are taking the administrative, rather than legislative, route before attempting to develop a bill.

“Senator Wyden and I are going to write the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service a letter in the next couple of weeks and try to make it clear that wood harvested before 2008 to make musical instruments can’t be seized by the federal government.”

Alexander said in the May 18 statement that he hopes to have the issue resolved with a clear ruling. If not, he and Wyden intend to introduce legislation to amend the act.

“We are also working to make clear which laws apply and don’t apply to businesses importing and manufacturing with wood, and to remove burdensome regulations on importers and instrument manufacturers,” Alexander said.

--Deborah Speer

[joseffy] FEDS Want To Seize Musicians Guitars? This Crazy Lacy Act Lunacy Just won’t Stop...

joseffy — 5/22/2012 11:39:24 AM

FEDS Want To Seize Musicians Guitars? This Crazy Lacy Act Lunacy Just won’t Stop- aka ” Lunacy Act”

May 18, 2012
axvault.com

Lawmakers are scrambling to save the summer concert season from federal agents poised to seize the instruments of rock and country stars because the wood used to make them may have been illegally harvested–and without their knowledge.

“I don’t want the musicians from Nashville who are flying to Canada to perform this summer to worry about the government seizing their guitars,” said Tennessee Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander.

Alexander, whose state is home to famed Gibson Guitars used by bands and stars like Van Halen, the Allman Brothers, Sheryl Crow, Ted Nugent and Paul McCartney, said Friday that he and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden are working to protect the artists, their instruments and makers and eventually change the law governing illegal wood harvesting.

“Senator Wyden and I are going to write the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service a letter in the next couple of weeks and try to make it clear that wood harvested before 2008 to make musical instruments can’t be seized by the federal government,” Alexander said in a statement. “The Justice Department and Fish and Wildlife have said they have no intention of doing that, but Sen. Wyden and I are going to make it absolutely clear. We hope to get a clear ruling within a few weeks, and if we can’t get a clear ruling, we’ll introduce legislation to change the Lacey Act.”

The 112-year-old Lacey Act regulates the trade in bird feathers for hats and was amended in 2008 to cover wood and plants. The goal: make sure the woods used were not exported in violation of another country’s laws.

Their goal is to protect wooden instruments built with materials imported before 2008, when the Act was expanded. “This law was never intended to apply to those instruments,” said Alexander.

They are also working to help companies like Gibson–raided by the Feds recently–figure out what imports are legal.

Wyden and Alexander met with representatives from the music industry, wood import business and environmental and conservation groups Thursday to settle on a solution.

“We held this roundtable because instrument makers like Gibson Guitars in Tennessee are an important part of our music industry, and if the Lacey Act as written is keeping them from being able to get the wood they need to make instruments, we need to make every effort to fix the regulation,” said Alexander.

“The law was intended to prevent illegal logging and protect U.S. job that are threatened by illegal logging, it was never intended to seize instruments or wood products that were obtained prior to the passage of the Lacey Act amendments in May 2008 because they were made from imported wood—and when laws have unintended consequences, Congress has a responsibility to promptly make changes,” he added.

Posted in: Gibson, News

Comments (9)

9 responses to “FEDS Want To Seize Musicians Guitars? This Crazy Lacy Act Lunacy Just won’t Stop- aka ” Lunacy Act””

GUitarstuff4U
May 18, 2012 at 7:26 pm | Permalink | Reply
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!!! stupid ass crap like this make “Normal” people,(not politicians) want to line up all the retards that make these stupid ass laws and run them over with a tank! Jesus Christ, makes me wonder just how these morons passed reading interpretation in school! People wake the hell up and vote the people that do this kind of stuff out of office in November!

Ray Whiteside
May 18, 2012 at 7:46 pm | Permalink | Reply
The feds have nothing better to do than take away a persons living in these hard times when we need music most.

Scott Knauss "Coconut Grove. Fla."
May 18, 2012 at 8:24 pm | Permalink | Reply
Jus alot of “HorseShit” as far as I’m concerned .. typical jackass nonesence !!!!!

wannabe
May 18, 2012 at 9:23 pm | Permalink | Reply
It is all crazy. “Who is John Galt?” It is just like the book “Atlas Shrugged” It was written as exaggerated hyperbolic fiction. But it seems more real every day.

Mike- Admin

RC Hinrichs
May 19, 2012 at 12:06 am | Permalink | Reply
Someones been watching too much Faux.news

Actual American
May 22, 2012 at 2:58 pm | Permalink | Reply
RC Hinrichs feels that it’s important to control what information you are allowed to see. Your papers pleasss!

Matt Fleming
May 21, 2012 at 5:01 pm | Permalink | Reply
I have been following the Gibson Lacy Act debacle for a while. How I understand it is that it wasn’t about the actual wood, but whether or not the wood being shipped to Gibson was considered raw or finished. It is a law in Madagascar that wood shipped from them needs to be finished to a certain degree to protect local labor. The wood received by Gibson in the eyes of the U.S. Fed violated Madagascar’s law, not any U.S laws. Basically Gibson was raided because Madagascar didn’t follow their own laws. Or, perhaps they were raided because they supported Mike Huckabees in the 2008 presidential election, but that’s a whole other topic.

Here is a video pertaining to the Lacy Act. Andrea Johnson of the Environmental Investigation Agency says the government has no interest is going after individual musicians. Once again, they say one thing and do another.

youtu.be

JoeThePimpernel
May 22, 2012 at 2:58 pm | Permalink | Reply
The purpose of the feral government is to put the peasants in their place.

Robbins Mitchell
May 22, 2012 at 3:03 pm | Permalink | Reply
Note to self:…buy more ammo at Walmart this weekend

[CF Rebel] Feds threaten to raid summer concerts to seize guitars Anthony Martin Conserv...

CF Rebel — 5/21/2012 7:13:19 PM

Feds threaten to raid summer concerts to seize guitars

Anthony Martin
Conservative Examiner

May 18, 2012

examiner.com

The Obama Administration is once again poised to begin harassing Gibson Guitars of Nashville, Tennessee, this time taking its grievances with the company to musicians and fans at summer concerts across the nation.

Administration officials have threatened to raid summer concerts in order to seize what it deems to be illegal guitars made from wood that has been banned.

The issue has been in the news before when federal investigators raided Gibson factories in Nashville and Memphis on Aug. 25, 2011:

Guitars were seized as evidence. Pallets of wood were confiscated. Computers containing electronic files were taken, all under the assumption that something in those files would indicate that Gibson had used 'protected wood from overseas' in the making of its guitars.

Gibson denied the allegations, stating that the wood used to make its guitars comes from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier.

The latest skirmish, however, takes the government's case against Gibson to a new level. The feds intend to take the battle directly to the musicians who use Gibson guitars, which are considered the best in the business, and to the fans who come to hear them play.

If the feds raid summer concerts, major disruptions will ensue which will impact the fans who paid hefty ticket fees to see their favorite musicians such as Sheryl Crow, Ted Nugent, and Paul McCartney, all of whom use Gibson guitars.

The threat was enough to send U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., quickly leaping into action to make sure the government is prevented from seizing guitars made with forbidden wood provided they were manufactured prior to 2008. A law passed 112 years ago in order to regulate bird feathers used in hats was amended in 2008 to protect wood in "protected forests."

Alexander does not wish to repeal the amendment but to insure that it is understood that guitars and other musical instruments made before the amendment passed in 2008 cannot be considered unlawful, given that they were manufactured when using such wood was fully legal.

A meeting was held today between Alexander, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., representatives from the music industry and the wood import business, and conservation and environmental groups to come up with a workable solution.

[CF Rebel] Senator says he wants to prevent government from seizing guitars at border Ant...

CF Rebel — 5/21/2012 7:03:17 PM

Senator says he wants to prevent government from seizing guitars at border

Anthony Martin
Conservative Examiner

May 20, 2012

examiner.com

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., stated after a meeting Friday with music industry and wood import officials that he wants to prevent the government from seizing guitars made with banned wood when musicians travel to other countries to perform.

Artists are currently leaving their best guitars at home when they travel, unless they take paperwork with them that proves their instruments were not made with banned wood -- a provision of an amendment to the century-old Lacey Act which prevents the sale of feathers from rare birds.

Alexander, along with U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., cosponsored an amendment in 2008 to the Lacey Act that would add the wood from certain forests around the world to the list of banned items.

But the manner in which the Obama Administration is interpreting the amended law is raising eyebrows and creating havoc for one guitar maker, Gibson Guitars of Nashville, Tenn.

In August of 2011 federal agents raided Gibson factories in Nashville and Memphis, seizing multithousands of dollars' worth of guitars, wood samples, and computer files. Gibson was forced to shut down its operations for a day.

This was not the first time the Obama Administration had targeted Gibson. In 2009 the company's Nashville factory was raided during which armed federal agents seized guitars and a large amount of ebony fingerboard blanks from Madagascar.

Although it has been three years since the initial raid, the Administration has not filed any criminal charges against Gibson, and the company's property is still being held by the federal government.

When Alexander and Wyden first proposed the banned wood amendment to the Lacey Act, they stated that the government had assured them that the law would not be used to seize musical instruments made with the wood. But in less than a year federal agents were doing exactly that, and Gibson found itself the target of armed federal agents.

However, although the Administration targeted Gibson, apparently it did not equally apply its interpretation of the law to other guitar manufacturers, such as C.F. Martin.

Martin guitars are made with the same wood as Gibson instruments. Yet Martin has not been the subject of federal raids or the confiscation of its guitars.

The Martin company is widely known in Tennessee for being supporters of the Democratic Party and Barack Obama.

Musicians say that in enforcing the law the government is requiring them to carry paperwork proving that any instrument made before 2008, the year the banned wood amendment was passed, was not manufactured with material that came from protected forests.

The paperwork would not normally be required unless the musician traveled through customs en route to concerts in other countries, such as Canada. And this is the point being made by Sen. Alexander. The Senator states that the amendment which he proposed and got approved in 2008 was never meant to be applied to musical instruments, and he wants to make sure that musicians are not targeted by the Obama Administration when they go through customs.

For example, with the manner in which the Administration is currently interpreting the law, a musician who travels through customs without paperwork certifying that their instrument was not made with banned wood would be subjected to having that instrument seized.

Although the Obama Administration, Alexander, and Wyden appear to play up the environmental angle of the 2008 amendment, critics say that the real issue is not forest conservation at all. The issue is making sure the United States is placed under the laws of other nations.

In short, if a manufacturer uses wood from India to make its guitars, then that company must comply with the laws of India. Conservatives say that this is a clear violation of American sovereignty.

Human Events, the oldest conservative publication in America, stated the following concerning the assumption that U.S. companies must obey all of the laws of foreign countries if they use material from those countries:

...it’s all about the Lacey Act, which the Memphis Daily News tells us “does not directly address conservation issues, but is about obeying all laws of the countries from which wood products are procured.” In other words, if you’re going to buy wood from India, you have to be in full compliance with Indian law.

Which Indian law did Gibson allegedly violate? Gibson Guitar CEO Henry Juszkiewicz told the Memphis Daily News the government refuses to explain the charges to him:

But Gibson’s CEO says his company has not been told what it did wrong and that he assumes the allegation is that some of the wood being used to manufacture the company’s guitars is illegal.

“Everything is sealed. They won’t tell us anything,” Juszkiewicz said, never raising his voice but pulling no punches in his defense of the storied guitar maker.

Further, a Reuters report indicates that the entire issue can be traced to a "weird" interpretation of the law by the Justice Department:

However, a Reuters report includes some speculation that it might be a weird Justice Department interpretation of a law the Indian government has not asked the American government to enforce:

"(The government) has suggested that the use of wood from India that is not finished by Indian workers is illegal, not because of U.S. law, but because it is the Justice Department's interpretation of a law in India," Juszkiewicz said.

If the same wood from the same tree was finished by Indian workers, the material would be legal, he said.

In an affidavit, agent John Rayfield of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said U.S. Customs agents in June detained a shipment of sawn ebony logs from India.

The paperwork accompanying the shipment identified it fraudulently as Indian ebony fingerboards for guitars and it did not say it was going to Gibson, the affidavit said.

In July, agents observed Indian ebony and rosewood delivered to a storage facility for Gibson, according to the affidavit, which asked permission to seize Gibson's business computers.

As far as Sen. Alexander is concerned, unless the Administration is clear that the law is not meant to be used to prevent guitar manufacturers from using wood that is essential to the look and sound of their finest instruments, then the Lacey Act should be changed to reflect that stipulation.