09.12.11
The sinister plot against Gibson
Some on the right have tried to link the US government’s raids on Gibson Guitars to a sinister Democratic/Obama administration plan to destroy jobs.
Gibson’s CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, has hitched his horse to the hare-brained conspiracy thinking for the sake of publicity.
They are among the most sought-after musical instruments in the world. Everyone from Chet Atkins to Les Paul to Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin to Slash of Guns n’ Roses played them. A vintage 1959 Les Paul guitar can go for as much as $400,000. Almost every kid who has dreams of music stardom wants a Gibson guitars.
Gibson is also a company that is proud to put the “Made in the USA??? label on its instruments. While the company has lower-end lines that are made overseas, every guitar that bears the “Gibson??? label is made in the U.S. by American workers …
Outside observers see a more sinister possibility in all of this. Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson’s CEO, is a Republican, who has contributed to Republican candidates (as well as some Democratic candidates). Other guitar companies, which have not been targeted, are led by Democrats. Is there a political motivation to all of this? Neither Mitchell, nor Juszkiewicz will offer an opinion, but consider what Juszkiewicz told Neil Cavuto on “Your World.”
“You know we’ve been pretty low key. We’re a guitar company. We’ve been manufacturing guitars. We’ve been involved in the environmental movement. We’ve been trying to do the right thing in terms of sourcing. We really don’t know why they are picking on us.???
The government is picking on Gibson because it appears to have been importing banned wood, something other guitar makers in the US refrained from. And that is explained here.
And Gibson, like many other musical instrument manufacturers, employs more people in China than it does domestically. It’s American-made business is for the wealthy as any day trip to a local Guitar Center will quickly demonstrate.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn gets it wrong again (“Gibson Guitar CEO joins jobs talk fray,??? Sept. 8). The investigation into Gibson Guitars illegally importing protected wood was started before November 2009.
The Lacey Act of 1900 was amended in May 2008 to add more protection to many commodities. The amendments were included in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 passed by the House and Senate and vetoed by President Bush. A month later, Congress overrode the veto by a bipartisan vote of 317-109 in the House and 80-14 in the Senate.
The recent raid probably was to determine if Gibson had kept its word from the raids of November 2009 to stop using illegally harvested wood. This adds to a troubled past including IRS tax liens and charges of price fixing.
Everyone hopes that Gibson will survive this latest problem.
Laughably, Juszkiewicz has said the US government is engaged in “class warfare” in pursuing its investigation.
Please save my Gibson guitar from the tyrannical hands of the US guv’mint!
mickeywhite said,
September 12, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR:
Omnibus Appropriations, Special Education, Global AIDS Initiative, Job Training, Unemployment Benefits, Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations, Agriculture Appropriations, FY2004 Foreign Operations Appropriations, U.S.-Singapore Trade, U.S.-Chile Trade, Supplemental Spending for Iraq & Afghanistan, Flood Insurance Reauthorization , Prescription Drug Benefit, Child Nutrition Programs, Surface Transportation, Job Training and Worker Services, Agriculture Appropriations, Foreign Aid, Debt Limit Increase, Fiscal 2005 Omnibus Appropriations, Vocational/Technical Training, Supplemental Appropriations, UN “Reforms.??? Patriot Act Reauthorization, CAFTA, Katrina Hurricane-relief Appropriations, Head Start Funding, Line-item Rescission, Oman Trade Agreement, Military Tribunals, Electronic Surveillance, Head Start Funding, COPS Funding, Funding the REAL ID Act (National ID), Foreign Intelligence Surveillance, Thought Crimes “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, Peru Free Trade Agreement, Economic Stimulus, Farm Bill (Veto Override), Warrantless Searches, Employee Verification Program, Body Imaging Screening, Patriot Act extension., Supplemental Appropriations, Patriot Act Extension.
Marsha Blackburn Voted AGAINST:
Ban on UN Contributions, eliminate Millennium Challenge Account, WTO Withdrawal, UN Dues Decrease, Defunding the NAIS, Iran Military Operations defunding Iraq Troop Withdrawal, congress authorization of Iran Military Operations, Withdrawing U.S. Soldiers from Afghanistan, Libya Troop Withdrawal.
Marsha Blackburn is my Congressman.
See her “blatantly unconstitutional??? votes at :
http://mickeywhite.blogspot.com/2009/09/tn-congressman-marsha-blackburn-votes.html
Mickey
George Smith said,
September 13, 2011 at 7:56 am
You should have told readers you ran against her once and don’t like these things. And that you’re fundamentally Tea Party.