Gibson Guitar uses Twitter to tap into Tea Party anger over
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:Gibson Guitar uses Twitter to tap into Tea Party anger over federal overreach:
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valle ... ment-probe
First coal plants now Gibson guitars what next? This is not a representative republic anymore. So much of our society is being destroyed by federal regulations. :( if this isn't a imperial president than what is?
Gibson Guitar, the maker of the iconic Les Paul electric guitar, is appealing to anti-government Tea Party anger as it fights a government investigation into the wood it uses.
The company has used Twitter and Facebook to argue the government overreached when federal agents raided Gibson factories in Tennessee last week and seized several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars.
According to a government affidavit, Fish and Wildlife Service agents were investigating whether wood used in Gibson guitars was illegally imported from India.
Although the guitar company says it cooperated with agents, it has turned to new media to complain of bullying by the federal government.
Gibson's official Twitter account uses the hashtag "ThisWillNotStand" for posts about the raids, and on its Facebook page, the company promised, "We are fighting this tooth and nail."
“We believe the arrogance of federal power is impacting me personally, our company personally and the employees here in Tennessee, and it’s just plain wrong,” said Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz at a press conference last week.
The company accused the Justice Department of "bullying" and "harassment." Juszkiewicz said the raids temporarily shut down the factories, costing the company money.
In a statement, the company insisted it was innocent and vowed to "fight to protect its rights."
Conservative websites quickly picked up the story, suggesting the company's social-media campaign was effective.
"Whatever the specious merits of the government’s investigation, the broader lesson is that federal regulatory authority is so expansive and vague, it enables corrupt bureaucrats to intimidate and punish nearly any honest business that falls under Washington’s crosshairs," wrote a blogger on the conservative website RedState on Monday.
Other conservative websites have suggested a nefarious political motivation behind the raid, pointing to the fact that the Gibson CEO donated to Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee in 2007. According to campaign finance data on Open Secrets, he also donated to Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) in March.
On Monday, Juszkiewicz appeared on conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt's show to discuss the investigation. Hewitt asked Juszkiewicz whether he believed the raids were political, who replied that it is "clear to me that there is some terrific motivation because we are not the only company that uses this type of wood."
Juszkiewicz also appeared on the show of conservative radio host Dana Loesch last week. On Monday night, he called into National Rifle Association Radio to talk about the raids.
Wyn Hornbuckle, a Justice Department spokesman, said the raids were part of an ongoing investigation.
The Fish and Wildlife Service declined to comment.
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valle ... ment-probe
First coal plants now Gibson guitars what next? This is not a representative republic anymore. So much of our society is being destroyed by federal regulations. :( if this isn't a imperial president than what is?
Gibson Guitar, the maker of the iconic Les Paul electric guitar, is appealing to anti-government Tea Party anger as it fights a government investigation into the wood it uses.
The company has used Twitter and Facebook to argue the government overreached when federal agents raided Gibson factories in Tennessee last week and seized several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars.
According to a government affidavit, Fish and Wildlife Service agents were investigating whether wood used in Gibson guitars was illegally imported from India.
Although the guitar company says it cooperated with agents, it has turned to new media to complain of bullying by the federal government.
Gibson's official Twitter account uses the hashtag "ThisWillNotStand" for posts about the raids, and on its Facebook page, the company promised, "We are fighting this tooth and nail."
“We believe the arrogance of federal power is impacting me personally, our company personally and the employees here in Tennessee, and it’s just plain wrong,” said Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz at a press conference last week.
The company accused the Justice Department of "bullying" and "harassment." Juszkiewicz said the raids temporarily shut down the factories, costing the company money.
In a statement, the company insisted it was innocent and vowed to "fight to protect its rights."
Conservative websites quickly picked up the story, suggesting the company's social-media campaign was effective.
"Whatever the specious merits of the government’s investigation, the broader lesson is that federal regulatory authority is so expansive and vague, it enables corrupt bureaucrats to intimidate and punish nearly any honest business that falls under Washington’s crosshairs," wrote a blogger on the conservative website RedState on Monday.
Other conservative websites have suggested a nefarious political motivation behind the raid, pointing to the fact that the Gibson CEO donated to Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee in 2007. According to campaign finance data on Open Secrets, he also donated to Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) in March.
On Monday, Juszkiewicz appeared on conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt's show to discuss the investigation. Hewitt asked Juszkiewicz whether he believed the raids were political, who replied that it is "clear to me that there is some terrific motivation because we are not the only company that uses this type of wood."
Juszkiewicz also appeared on the show of conservative radio host Dana Loesch last week. On Monday night, he called into National Rifle Association Radio to talk about the raids.
Wyn Hornbuckle, a Justice Department spokesman, said the raids were part of an ongoing investigation.
The Fish and Wildlife Service declined to comment.
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Comments
international laws may have been breached...
are you angry that the president might actually be enforcing a law?
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=167056
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
this certainly seems like an odd thing to be mad about. If it is illegal to import the wood, they broke the law on the books. Don't see why that would be a problem. If they didn't do anything wrong they will be fine
It is terrifying when you are too stupid to know who is dumb
- Joe Rogan
there was a much better informed discussion on this topic on "the gear page" forum the other day..
if you are importing materials you have to abide by international law. and as you said, if gibson did nothing wrong then they have nothing to worry about.
personally i have 5 gibson guitars. i love the tone. they are very costly, but when you play one you know where that money went. i thought they were doing a good thing several years ago with the "smartwood" series, but for some reason those guitars are no longer available....
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
What is the purpose of this law? Is it Indian law, US law, or International law?
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
According to the story I read, the wood was not just smuggled out of India in order to get around their laws, but also broke U.S. customs laws by mislabeling the wood as being finished parts and veneer, and using a false name for the recipient of the shipment.
Of course it doesn't go into the details of the laws, it just makes it sound like Gibson got in trouble for simply possessing this type of wood, and that Martin should be in the same boat because they use it to. But the fact is that it's not illegal to buy, possess, or use Indian wood. You just have to follow their laws about how much, how it is processed, etc. The issue isn't that they have and used Indian wood, it's the fact that it was smuggled out of India and smuggled into the U.S.
back in the 80s or 90s they were buying rosewood from cartel style gangs in brazil i think it was. the rainforest was being mowed down, the land was being raped, and animals and civilians were being killed. that is why the smartwood program started because they actually planted trees to replenish those that they were taking to make the guitars, making it a renewable forest.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
hell if i had known that i would have never bought any of my gibsons
everything always becomes a political issue when you get caught breaking the law...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
You should do the right thing gimmesometruth, and give them to me. I know you can't in good conscience keep playing those conservative, right-wing guitars. I bet right now they're talking about building a giant fence around your house to keep those dirty Fender's out. Fender's take jobs away from good hardworking Gibsons.
i have 2 american strats too, so they might be illegal for having passed under the planned fence..
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
OK, I'll pay. But I'll only pay in Confederate dollars.
Reported.
Free advertising? To shut down your manufacturing facility? Are you serious? Where exactly is the free?
also, should the feds just let them continue to produce the guitars with the wood in question, or stop that process while the investigation continues? i would think that they want to stop production so as potential law violations are not continued during the investigation...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
I never said what was happening was wrong. I don't know enough about it to say anything. But this is hardly free advertising for the company. In fact, it is costing them some serious $. And being in the news for this could cost them future sales, not help them. Look what you have already said in your own posts.
In the corporate world it's not the same as the entertainment industry.
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Gibson ... -E6869.htm
A 1.8 out of 5 average based on 97 reviews is pretty bad.
At the very least its a company you wouldn't want to work for.
It seems that the Department of Justice wasn’t satisfied with merely raiding the law abiding factories of Gibson Guitar with armed agents, shutting down their operation costing them millions, and leaving the American company in the dark as to how to proceed without going out of business.
Now, according to CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, agents of the United States government are bluntly informing them that they’d be better off shipping their manufacturing labor overseas.
In an interview with KMJ AM’s “The Chris Daniel Show,” Juszkiewicz revealed some startling information.
CHRIS DANIEL: Mr. Juszkiewicz, did an agent of the US government suggest to you that your problems would go away if you used Madagascar labor instead of American labor?
HENRY JUSZKIEWICZ: They actually wrote that in a pleading.
No offense, but after reading a clearly biased line that line to start an article, I usually take what follows with a grain of salt.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
How is this a surprise? The law says the wood needs finished in India...so if they used labor over there to finish the wood they wouldn't have any legal issues. Personally, this is an issue that the federal government should be talking to India about as it's an attempt by India to keep jobs there, not free trade, and if they want it that way, we should have the same laws concerning products. Not to mention, phone calls to tech support.
Apparently this has to do with an US law too. (From: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 59286.html)
The law ensnaring Gibson is the Lacey Act of 1900, originally passed to regulate trade in bird feathers used for hats and amended in 2008 to cover wood and other plant products. It requires companies to make detailed disclosures about wood imports and bars the purchase of goods exported in violation of a foreign country's laws.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
By the way, some of the reports make it sound like these agents went in guns blazing, or use file photos of swat teams to make it look like it was some big armed raid. Here is a picture some of the stories have been using,
When really it was like this
They're making a big deal just over the fact they're armed, but of course they are, they're law enforcement. If a cop shows up to get a kitty our of your tree, or help you change a flat tire, he is technically doing so armed. For people who are so gung-ho about people's right to carry guns, you would think they wouldn't make such a big stink over cops having pistols holsters.
http://www.heritageguitar.com/history.html
If you want the Gibson quality, but at a fraction of the price, why not buy a guitar built in the original Gibson factory by the original Gibson employees in Kalamazoo, MI???
A few years back I got a real nice gold-top Les Paul for $1500 that would have been at least $3500 if the Gibson headstock was on it. I spoke over the phone with their luthiers to make sure it was custom made to my specifics and they were really helpful and courteous. They claimed the guy doing the finish was in his 80's and used to custom finish guitars for Zeppelin.
It's worth checking out if you have been dreaming of a Les Paul but can't afford Gibson's mark-up.
i did not click the link at work, but i know all of the original heritage people were all long time luthiers and guitar makers at gibson who left gibson to start their own company to uphold the "heritage" and legacy of what gibson once was.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
They could tell me that their luthier once pumped gas for Jimmy Page at a filling station and I'd be sold.
8/30/11 broadcast.
http://www.marklevinshow.com/sectional.asp?id=32930#
He talked a lot, but didn't say very much. And of course gave his version of events. I don't wish anything bad on Gibson, but I think they broke the law here, I don't think anybody will go to prison, just pay your fines and follow the law from now on.
And if the wood was so legal as he claimed, why was the shipment falsely labeled, and why did they have a false destination (a California luthier) for the wood, and instead of going there was diverted to the Gibson plants?
I don't think all of this is that big of a deal, but they should just own up to it, and not try to make some political issue out of it. They broke the law, deal with it.