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Government Series Gibson Guitar.

sawdust

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Gibson Guitars donates to Republican candidates. Fender on the other hand donates to Democrats. Par for the coarse under the Tammany Hall political guidance of the Obama administration, Gibson was raided a while back for supposedly importing banned rosewood. As I remember, the rosewood didn't violate American law but our government questioned wether or not it violated law of the country of origin because it didn't meet the value added criteria for export.

In any event, Holder sent in storm troopers who closed the Gibson factory for a day and they confiscated the rosewood in question. Gibson naturally took them to court and prevailed. The government had to return the rosewood.

Now Gibson has built the government issue guitar with rosewood fingerboards confiscated in the raid. I'd buy one and hang on to it in the case for twenty years and sell it for a huge profit just for the hell of it but in twenty years I probably won't remember where I left it.

Gibson.com: Government Series II Les Paul

Check it out.
 
Gibson Guitars donates to Republican candidates. Fender on the other hand donates to Democrats. Par for the coarse under the Tammany Hall political guidance of the Obama administration, Gibson was raided a while back for supposedly importing banned rosewood.

Making accusations with absolutely no evidence. How very Republican of you.
 
I prefer to play a Fender, does that make me a Dem? Also great marketing on the part of Gibson, get people to buy a guitar not because its the kind of instrument they want to play but because they can "stick it to the man" while buying one. And Gibson will happily let you stick to the man by sending them a bunch of your cash.

Christ.
 
Making accusations with absolutely no evidence. How very Republican of you.

You know, the internet is a wonderful tool for those who know how to use it. Prior to opening your yap about something you know nothing about, I'd do a little independent research. It's better to be quiet and have people think you are a fool than open your mouth and prove it.

Look it up and get back to me.
 
I prefer to play a Fender, does that make me a Dem? Also great marketing on the part of Gibson, get people to buy a guitar not because its the kind of instrument they want to play but because they can "stick it to the man" while buying one. And Gibson will happily let you stick to the man by sending them a bunch of your cash.

Christ.

No, both companies make great guitars. There are two issues. First, this guitar may become a collectable. Second, the government abused it's power when it invaded Gibson for something that was later considered to be in error and they did so for political reasons.
 
No, both companies make great guitars. There are two issues. First, this guitar may become a collectable. Second, the government abused it's power when it invaded Gibson for something that was later considered to be in error and they did so for political reasons.

Hmmmmm where's the evidence of that?
 
Hmmmmm where's the evidence of that?

My apologies, my memory failed me. It wasn't Fender that was untouched, it was Martin.

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."


Read More At Investor's Business Daily: IRS Tea Party Intimidation An Echo Of Raids On Gibson Guitar - Investors.com
Follow us: @IBDinvestors on Twitter | InvestorsBusinessDaily on Facebook
 
Making accusations with absolutely no evidence. How very Republican of you.

Ummm...

There is ample evidence that the history that sawdust related is true...not accusations at all.

Perhaps one could say, "How very liberal of you", for opening your mouth and inserting your foot.
 
Making accusations with absolutely no evidence. How very Republican of you.

So, what are you saying? Gibson isn't making guitars with the wood that was confiscated in the raid?
 
In any event, Holder sent in storm troopers who closed the Gibson factory for a day and they confiscated the rosewood in question.

Check it out.

All m granduncles were stormtroopers.

They publicly humiliated a local socialist politician, by parading him through the streets wearing a sign saying "Red scum", later they participated in handing him over to the Gestapo who sent him to Dachau. They also were part in a purge of a local jewish paper manufacturing buisness, the owners had left in a haste vefore, yet their property was seized and then sold to another company.

Can you show me this behavior conducted by democrats?
 
Gibson Guitars donates to Republican candidates. Fender on the other hand donates to Democrats. Par for the coarse under the Tammany Hall political guidance of the Obama administration, Gibson was raided a while back for supposedly importing banned rosewood. As I remember, the rosewood didn't violate American law but our government questioned wether or not it violated law of the country of origin because it didn't meet the value added criteria for export.

In any event, Holder sent in storm troopers who closed the Gibson factory for a day and they confiscated the rosewood in question. Gibson naturally took them to court and prevailed. The government had to return the rosewood.

Now Gibson has built the government issue guitar with rosewood fingerboards confiscated in the raid. I'd buy one and hang on to it in the case for twenty years and sell it for a huge profit just for the hell of it but in twenty years I probably won't remember where I left it.

Gibson.com: Government Series II Les Paul

Check it out.
[emphasis added by bubba]
seems gibson is trying to recover some of its losses. it had to pay fines in the settlement:
Under the settlement, Gibson agreed to pay a $300,000 fine for the ebony from Madagascar that was taken in the first raid. The company also agreed to make a $50,000 donation to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to promote conservation work and forfeited the seized illegal wood, which was valued at $261,844.
the DOJ released some additional information about the case, none of which makes Gibson look very good:

Gibson purchased “fingerboard blanks,” consisting of sawn boards of Madagascar ebony, for use in manufacturing guitars. The Madagascar ebony fingerboard blanks were ordered from a supplier who obtained them from an exporter in Madagascar. Gibson’s supplier continued to receive Madagascar ebony fingerboard blanks from its Madagascar exporter after the 2006 ban. The Madagascar exporter did not have authority to export ebony fingerboard blanks after the law issued in Madagascar in 2006.
In 2008, an employee of Gibson participated in a trip to Madagascar, sponsored by a non-profit organization. Participants on the trip, including the Gibson employee, were told that a law passed in 2006 in Madagascar banned the harvest of ebony and the export of any ebony products that were not in finished form. They were further told by trip organizers that instrument parts, such as fingerboard blanks, would be considered unfinished and therefore illegal to export under the 2006 law. Participants also visited the facility of the exporter in Madagascar, from which Gibson’s supplier sourced its Madagascar ebony, and were informed that the wood at the facility was under seizure at that time and could not be moved.
After the Gibson employee returned from Madagascar with this information, he conveyed the information to superiors and others at Gibson. The information received by the Gibson employee during the June 2008 trip, and sent to company management by the employee and others following the June 2008 trip, was not further investigated or acted upon prior to Gibson continuing to place orders with its supplier. Gibson received four shipments of Madagascar ebony fingerboard blanks from its supplier between October 2008 and September 2009.
Gibson Guitars and Feds Settle in Illegal Wood Case | Mother Jones

the wood in these guitars includes the wood from india which was a part of the federal dispute:
The [settlement] agreement allows Gibson to keep the rosewood and ebony from India that was taken in the second raid and continue importing from India.

i would not find this instrument investment grade. for about the same money, buy a Derek Trucks signature SG. you will not lose a dime and over time, it may be one of the current models that will increase in value
 
I admit that I have ebony that's probably illegal according to the law. I purchased it from someone who bought it over 20 years ago, and I have no documentation that it was properly harvested and all the other stuff the law requires. I'm going to turn it in, pay the fines, and fall on a table saw. I hear the government takes the wood back to the point of origin and sticks it in the ground, and hopes a tree grows from it.
 
I admit that I have ebony that's probably illegal according to the law. I purchased it from someone who bought it over 20 years ago, and I have no documentation that it was properly harvested and all the other stuff the law requires.
I'm going to turn it in, pay the fines,
and fall on a table saw. I hear the government takes the wood back to the point of origin and sticks it in the ground, and hopes a tree grows from it.

No need ... let me take care of that ebony for ya ... I'm authorized.
 
All m granduncles were stormtroopers.

They publicly humiliated a local socialist politician, by parading him through the streets wearing a sign saying "Red scum",
later they participated in handing him over to the Gestapo who sent him to Dachau. They also were part in a purge of a local jewish paper manufacturing buisness, the owners had left in a haste vefore, yet their property was seized and then sold to another company.

Can you show me this behavior conducted by democrats?

Quite right ... these days Democrats would hold parades FOR Socialist Red scum and even get them elected to high office. Good point how things change.
 
No need ... let me take care of that ebony for ya ... I'm authorized.

Morning, Bubba. Have you ever read the law in this? I did. It's amazing, and it was written early in the 20th century. I understand it's intent, but you could actually take a guitar out of the country that you've bought and owned for years, and have it confiscated upon your return here if you don't have proper documentation. Now who carries such documentation with them when traveling? I don't remember ever having purchased a guitar that even came with such documentation. Weird, very weird.
 
Morning, Bubba. Have you ever read the law in this? I did. It's amazing, and it was written early in the 20th century. I understand it's intent, but you could actually take a guitar out of the country that you've bought and owned for years, and have it confiscated upon your return here if you don't have proper documentation. Now who carries such documentation with them when traveling? I don't remember ever having purchased a guitar that even came with such documentation. Weird, very weird.

Why change an arcane law? It can come in handy when you decide you need to enforce it.
 
Ummm...

There is ample evidence that the history that sawdust related is true...not accusations at all.

Perhaps one could say, "How very liberal of you", for opening your mouth and inserting your foot.

ACtually, there is evidence that what sawdust has posted is not true. He claims the govt returned the confiscated rosewood. Untrue. Gibson relinquished claims to the rosewood

He claims that Gibson prevailed in court. Untrue. The case was settled out of court

Gibson Settles Lawsuit in Exotic Guitar Wood Case

Guitar maker, Gibson, has settled U.S. allegations that it illegally bought protected species’ wood for manufacturing instruments, ending a criminal probe and forfeiture proceedings in federal court in Tennessee.
Gibson, based in Nashville, will pay $350,000 in penalties and agreed to implement a compliance program. The company also will withdraw its claims to about $261,000 of ebony and rosewood from India and Madagascar seized during the investigation, according to a statement today by the U.S. Justice Department.

“Gibson has acknowledged that it failed to act on information that the Madagascar ebony it was purchasing may have violated laws intended to limit over harvesting and conserve valuable wood species from Madagascar, a country which has been severely impacted by deforestation,” Ignacia Moreno, head of the department’s environment and natural resources division, said in the statement



Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com Gibson Settles Lawsuit in Exotic Guitar Wood Case
 
I admit that I have ebony that's probably illegal according to the law. I purchased it from someone who bought it over 20 years ago, and I have no documentation that it was properly harvested and all the other stuff the law requires. I'm going to turn it in, pay the fines, and fall on a table saw. I hear the government takes the wood back to the point of origin and sticks it in the ground, and hopes a tree grows from it.

That would not surprise me! :no: I wonder what they do with all the wood they confiscate, though?

Greetings, humbolt. :2wave:
 
That would not surprise me! :no: I wonder what they do with all the wood they confiscate, though?

Greetings, humbolt. :2wave:

I have no doubt it's sitting somewhere in a warehouse - of no good to anybody. I can understand some prohibition on rare woods which can't be replenished or are in danger of being wiped out. I can also understand why profiting from the sale of things that incorporate such woods should be discouraged. However, the law was written in the early 1900's, when control of harvesting didn't really exist in many of the places in which such species are harvested. Things have significantly changed since then. The Gibson thing was undoubtedly politically inspired.
 
I have no doubt it's sitting somewhere in a warehouse - of no good to anybody. I can understand some prohibition on rare woods which can't be replenished or are in danger of being wiped out. I can also understand why profiting from the sale of things that incorporate such woods should be discouraged. However, the law was written in the early 1900's, when control of harvesting didn't really exist in many of the places in which such species are harvested. Things have significantly changed since then. The Gibson thing was undoubtedly politically inspired.
enforcing the law is found to be politically inspired ... how is that?
 
The people who get upset that Obama "picks and chooses" which laws to enforce want him to choose to not enforce this law.

seems reasonable sarcasm.gif
 
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