Another attack on American business by our own government.




  1. The Game Is Over - You too Republicans says:

    Obama and your ecological goons
    wait until november
    look at all of these women in charge – they all democratic party rewarded political hacks
    Affirmative action went to school
    They all have this proud look on their faces like they are accomplishing something – lord knows what
    Yet look how Obama and his group lives and parties everyday while americans suffer
    What an evil group
    Yet Americans voted for him – and yet they also were abused by the Republicans for years
    John McCain should be put in jail
    What did he do for his constituents
    Boys and girls on both sides watch out
    the game is over

  2. Rick says:

    The problem is guitar buyers. They still believe in the mythical values of rare woods that come from exotic countries, and they will pay through the nose just to own a guitar made of rare wood.

    Remember not too long ago guitarists were raving about the wonderful qualities of tusk bridges, not caring that elephants were getting slaughered so some guy can play “smoke on the water” in his garage. Plastic works fine, cow bone is plentiful. Thank goodness guitar owners don’t think that bones from jews make better sound!

    I have a japanese yamaha guitar made of simple spruce with plastic bridge and nut and it sounds great. I’ve had guitarists marvel at how good it sounds considering how cheap it was.

  3. B. Dog says:

    It is a shame that a SWAT team would shut down a fine guitar factory without the common courtesy of telling them what they’re doing wrong.

    It is also a shame what the foolish people in Madagascar have done to their island. They cut down their forests and now they’re starving — just like the Haitians.

    Disclaimer — I’ve got a rosewood fretboard on my guitar, but the factory that makes it works actively with the Rainforest Alliance:

    http://www.epiphone.com/news.asp?NewsID=868

  4. jobs says:

    #35 Epiphone is a part of Gibson guitar.

  5. ubiquitous_talking_head says:

    As long as it increases the value of my formidable guitar collection it’s ok with me.

    A haw haw haw.

    Actually I hate rosewood and vastly prefer ebony.

  6. jobs says:

    #37 Rosewood and ebony fretboards usually come from the same tree. Ebony is more from the center of the tree and is usually harder and darker.

    I have have rosewood, ebony and maple fretboards and like them all.

  7. #23 – Yeah, nothing like serenading the old lady with a helicopter blade.

  8. The Justice Dept. is too busy shipping weapons to the Mexican drug lords to make sure they control the drug profits coming in to the US.
    They have to clear the way for all the opium they are flying in with military hops from Afghanistan(Google: US military ships 80% of opium on miltary hops. Also, Google: fast and furious).

    I’m surprised the Justice Dept. has time to shut down a guitar factory in the US. I didn’t know we actually made anything in the US. I thought they were too busy raiding the Amish for producing raw milk from cows and blocking South Carolina from employing thousands of US workers because they were non union Boeing workers(Google both of these topics, you can’t make this stuff up!).

    Clearly, the US government hates American business if it’s not government run or union.

    That’s why the head of Obama’s jobs commitee, Jeffrey Immelt of GE took a gigantic heap of stimulus money then immediately closed up our xray manufacturing in the US to ship it overseas and now he’s announced that he’s selling all of our commercial jet secrets to China in a joint venture. Yeah(Google it)!

    The reward for selling out America to the Chinese? GE pays zero US taxes while Obama talks about the fat cat CEOs and their jets and how we should raise their taxes, yet he sucks up to them like he’s going to get $25 in an alley.

    Then, Warren Buffet says the rich should pay more and after a visit to the White Houes get several special deals for the industries he just invested in.

    Of course Obama says nothing, because he is too busy campaigning on US tax money on a tour bus made in Canada, while the greenies have blocked the US from getting oil from Canada which is now going to China (Google it: RT.com). Thanks Green movement…if there’s any global warming, it because of you and your hot air!

    All the while we are having rolling blackouts across the country, Obama is shutting down 8% of the US power plants. Google it.

    Not to mention that Goldman Sachs fraudulently repackaged crap home mortgages that the policies of Barnie Frank and Chris Dodd forced down our US Banks, then sold them as AAA paper around the world, yet no one is in prison for this fraud, instead they are rewarded: Hank Paulsen (Goldman Sachs) was put in charge of billions of bailout money where he gave himself a multi-millon dollar bonus with no oversite, then Obama put little tax cheat Timmy Guithner in the seat of the US Treasury Director, not to mention Goldman Sachs’ Larry Summers.

    No no, Obama said that he would be a man of the people and against these Wall Street types while on the campaign trail, instead he’s giving a bj to Wall St. whenever they will allow him.

    Obama’s justice dept. won’t go after them, so Allstate is having to go after them with a civil suit for fraud (Google it).

    If you wish to be above the law, work for the White House or Goldman Sachs. If you want to go to jail, be an honest farmer working by the sweat of your brow.

    Thank you Obama for destroying America. Please exit stage left.

  9. Mr. Fusion says:

    I notice a disconnect here. Gibson is using a rare wood. Apparently that may be illegal. So they are fighting to continue and the government is fighting to protect the trees. And their profits.

    A few years ago, under the Bush administration, several Muslim charities were shut down and had their bank accounts confiscated. They were never charged with anything but forced out of business. Their money went to help Palestinians, denied assistance by the Israelis. People died from lack of medical supplies.

    So where is the umbrage over that injustice? I seem to remember the right wing nut crowd supporting the government’s actions.

    • Vladimir Estragon says:

      I blame Bush!! and Bush sr. and all Republicans!!! and a few people I have never met that live somewhere in south east Asia and and of course the industrial revolution. Don’t you silly little libs know what fools you are making of yourselves?

    • Jean says:

      Mr. Fusion,
      I looked into this carefully and Gibson followed the Lacy act for responsible manufacturing.
      This is put a chill on my view of the powers the DOJ weilds. Why can they just go in and shut down and american business. Couldn’t they just knock on the door and ask to check? Why – they told gibson that the fret boards were not finished enough – problem is there is no standard for the grade the wood has to be in to be used. gibson did not break any laws. I mean why did they need to come in with guns, shut down the security system. Gibson has been harmed.

      We need to be careful to research carefully and in a balanced way why this happened. DOJ has not come forward with any wrong doing for Gibson. They are contributing to the perservation of rain forests.

      Why and what does the DOJ need Gibson’s hard drives and fret boards.

  10. aslightlycrankygeek says:

    Interesting story – I actually know someone who used to be a security guard at this factory.

    I think #14, rr, has the best analysis here. I agree that if they are contributing to the destruction of rain forests in violation of federal laws, the government is within its rights to act this way. I can’t imagine they sell enough of these high-end guitars that the amount of wood in their fret boards would be more that a drop in the bucket, and why would such a respected company take a risk and use anything but wood from tree farms? Something definitely sounds fishy here, and I suspect after our relationship with Pakistan has officially gone to crap they are going to try to appease India to improve relations with them. Not our relationship with India is bad now, but the battle lines are being drawn for the next cold/world war from what I can tell, and we need as many strong allies as we can get.

  11. MikeN says:

    The answer to the question in the post is: because the CEO gives to Republicans. If he gave to democrats like the CEO of Martin guitar, there would be no raid.

  12. gmknobl says:

    Who knows why! A greedy or power hungry conservative is likely at the root of it. But even if it’s some *supposed* liberal like Edwards it’s simply a power grab by someone trying to make a name for themselves. But with this little info, it’s hard to say what happened and who’s in the right.

    I’d be willing to bet we aren’t getting anywhere near the truth of what’s going on here.

    Regulations should be reduced on small businesses but regulations should be re-enforced and brought back on big businesses. Generally, the bigger the business, the more regulations should be placed on them. Anything else causes problems for everyone everywhere in the world.

  13. Glen Woodfin says:

    This has government corruption written all over it.

  14. Leslie says:

    Of course we all want to protect rain forests and scarce natural resources. But this issue has nothing to do with protecting rare resources. The Lacy Act is what this is about. It is a crazy act, requiring U.S. businesses to know all of the laws of countries it does business with and make sure all of those laws are followed. In this case, Indian law states that the wood in question is supposed to be “worked” by Indian workers not sent to the U.S. “raw.” Well, it is up to India to enforce that law. Not U.S. business people. The laws of other countries are endless and growing (as are out own laws) – who could ever know them all.

    This is complete B.S. and demonstrates how our government is in collusion with global powers to destroy American jobs and American manufacturing. If India wants to have all of their wood worked by Indian workers, then they should stop it from export at customs and enforce it with suppliers who are not following their own rules.

    How can anyone know anything for certain anymore. It seems as if every act we take, maybe even exhaling (carbon emissions) is illegal in one way or another.
    -L


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