Gibson Guitars, a company who’s CEO, Henry Jusckiewicz, generally supports Republicans, has been raided and harassed twice during the last 39 months. The reason the Obama Administration used to effectively harm Gibson Guitars was the centuries old Lacey Act. This is an act that was passed originally to insure that fisherman and trappers from the U.S. would not travel to Canada and violate Canadian Law in order to sell Canadian fish and wild life here in the U.S. It was passed as a part of one of the first trade treaties between our two nations. Like all good acts passed by our Congress and enforced by the cabal of bureaucrats hired to oversee such things, it has grown in scope beyond not only its original intention, but also any reasonable interpretation by those of us who inhabit reality.
Gibson was raided because of some wood imported from Madagascar in 2009, and again in August of 2011, this time pertaining to rosewood imported from India. In either instance, the Government has yet to file charges. The net cost to Gibson so far is several Million Dollars in confiscated materials, productive closures and lost sales. Gibson of course wants her day in court. Gibson has been denied due process and her right to a speedy trial.Part of the reason Gibson has been denied her Fourth and Sixth Amendment rights is that the Obama Administration knew, even before going on this witch hunt, that they were wrong.
Andrea Johnson, who represents the Environmental Investigative Agency, the part of the EPA tasked with enforcing their little corner of the Lacey Act, (this sentence right here should be all the proof needed to show that both the Lacey Act and the EPA have grown beyond any reasonable description of their actual intent,) made some interesting statements during this video. She stated that, “it’s not up to Gibson or any other company which laws of other countries they’re going to respect. This is an issue about the mutual respect for law around the world, and that’s what the Lacey Act says. That’s the principle behind the Lacy Act.”
I say let’s take what Johnson says at face value. In fact, on this statement, I agree whole heartedly. The problem arises in her stance of course when both Madagascar and India have already come forward in Gibson’s defense, prior to the raids, and stated that Gibson acted honorably and obeyed all of their laws in this and every other matter. It is Johnson, and the EPA who have shown no respect for the law, as her raids on their facility were a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment, not filing any charges in over three years is a violation of the Sixth Amendment. Add to this that it also stands to reason that it is not up to Johnson or any other Obama Administration official which laws of foreign nations that they are going to enforce as well. Let us not forget that in addition to harming Gibson, they have also harmed Madagascar and India, both countries who wish to continue doing business with Gibson Guitars. That she was able to make that statement with a smug little smile on her face merely adds salt to the wound that is the Obama Administration.
Johnson went on to say, “do individual musicians need to worry about the Lacey Act and about declaring their individual instruments when crossing international borders? The simplest answer is no….The government has no intention of enforcing the Lacey Act against individual owners of musical instruments.” What she of course fails to mention is that other people who are not musicians are subject to those very stiff regulations, which are certainly obscure. This is a law with real teeth by the way, as the fines start off at $100,000, and hard time in the Federal Penn. How many of you fish? What kind of wood was used in your fishing rod? Where did the wood come from? I live on Lake Erie, and often times end up fishing in Canadian Waters, as many Canadians fish here in America. The fact is, the Lacey Act has been enforced already against individuals, maybe not musicians, but others for certain. The other point is this. Even if she magnanimously decides to allow guitar players to slide, they are still in violation of the law should they fail to make the Lacey Act declaration. Just because Andrea Johnson is so selectively gracious as to allow musicians to violate the laws enforced upon the rest of us, does not mean that the next Obama Appointee will feel the same way.
This case, as well as any other, highlights the true hideous nature of the leftists in charge. They take what little authority they do have, and they find ways to add to their scope, and size. “I control this little corner of the world, and I want more.” We the people, and our consent to be governed are nothing more than an annoyance to them. That outdated document upon which our nation was founded is something to be done away with, as the founding fathers messed up by not just granting these smug little bureaucrats the authority to rule as they see fit.
Cross Posted at Musings of a Mad Conservative.
The outrageous conduct of this criminal enterprise of an Administration continues. The harassment of citizens supporting conservative causes and Republicans by Obummer and his henchmen masquerading as federal agencies continues.
Gibson should bring suit against the government for confiscation of property without due process of law. If I recall correctly, the prohibition against the government doing this is found one of those pesky Bill of Rights (not the First, which probably explains why they have so much difficulty in this CEOAA in recognizing it.
@ Carolina Girl:
And I am sure the Holder Justice Dept. will get right on this and make sure that Gibson recieves their day in court..
right after he goes after the Black Panthers and Fast and Furious…
This is right out of Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela.
@ MikeA:
Of course, investigating Wall Street and the oil futures market is much more pressing.
@ MikeA:
You have more faith than me!
Makes me want a Gibson Les Paul…
@ Carolina Girl:
Those greedy Koch Brothers. But Soros is OK!
By the way, folks, Zero dropped 3 points in Ras overnight and is now at 53% disapprove. What the media won’t report, the price signs at Chevron and Shell and the receipt total at Lucky’s will.
Iron Fist wrote:
Oh man, who doesn’t?? And I don’t even play guitar all that well!!
@ Carolina Girl:
I’ve recently started back. I used to be pretty good. I figure if I stay back at it a year, I’ll invest in some new gear. A Les Paul is top of my list. That and a Marshall amp. I shjould be able to make some noise with that!
@ Iron Fist:
Well, Flyboy’s a hell of a drummer, and I’m not bad as a percussionist. I don’t suppose Velvet Glove plays keyboards? But we need a bassist.
@ Carolina Girl:
No, she’s not a musician. We could get her to play washboard or something
@ Carolina Girl:
I agree. If gas prices go up to the expected $5 or $6 per gallon this summer, he is toast. All of his bowing to Iran and apologzing for the koran burnings won’t amount to a hill of beans. Most of the sheeple do not care about anything except who is on Ameican idol, what they pay for gas and what sports team is winning. This will do more to defeat the Zero than anything.
Iron Fist wrote:
Nah. F-5 mandolin and/or Mastertone banjo. One of each, just to be safe…
MikeA wrote:
Gibson should learn how to play ball, this is jesse jerksons shakedown by grabbermint. Install some of the correct minorities in senior leadership positions and on the board. They don’t even have to show-up, just like that job mooch-hell got on the board of that Chicago hospital when obammy became senator.
@ MikeA:
If he starts a war in Syria, the GOP should hang that around his neck.
@ Rodan:
Rodan, Rodan, Rodan… he will not start a “war”. He will assist the peace loving people of Syria to liberate themselves from the yoke of tyranny through the use of some logistical support and kenetic action. This will allow them to vote for a new set of oppresion and increase the threat to Israel.
You really need to get with the liberal talking points…
@ Iron Fist:
I have a bag full of small percussion – never underestimate the power of the tambourine.
But Gibson really needs to force the government’s hand in this. I’d love to see that witch in front of Darryl Issa explaining herself. Doesn’t his committee have the power to plant her libturd ass in a chair for a nice summer grilling.
I still want to see someone explain the criteria for the shutting down of the GMC dealerships in 2009.
It is absolutely striking to me that Nixon had a bumbled break-in, campaign ratfucking, an enemies list and 18 minutes of missing tape.
This administration has scores of dead Mexican citizens, a dead federal agent, voter intimdation by a pseudo terror group, bond holders screwed in a bankruptcy, unConstitutional recess appointments, confiscation of property without due process, violation of the freedom of religion clause of the First Amendment, among their exploits.
And NIXON deserved impeachment for his danger to the Republic????
@ MikeA:
I know the liberal talking point. What irks me is that “Conservatives” like John McCain, Ms. Lindsey, Karl Rove will give Obama cover on the Right. Then when people like me criticize Obama, my own side will call me an isolationist.
@ Carolina Girl:
The Left hated Nixon, yet he was a Progressive Center-Left Republican. Weird.
MikeA wrote:
There, fixed that for ya!
Carolina Girl wrote:
I don’t know if I am suppose to divulge this little fact, but one of the owners/admins here is a bassist.
@ Rodan:
Oddly, the one thing I’d have impeached him for is creation of that fascist Environmental Protection Agency.
Carolina Girl wrote:
There are Les Paul’s, and then there are Les Paul’s. I would dearly love to get my hands on a late 60′s gold top Les Paul and I can play all that well…
@ Carolina Girl:
Obama deserves impeachment, but he is proof against that. Even if we win a majority in the Senate in November, Obama will still be President if he wins re-election. That, too, is part of the legacy of the Clinton Administration. What have we learned from all this? Never trust a RINO. It was the RINOs that screwed us then, and they will do it again. We will quite probably lose this election because of the RINOs, either because they force their candidate Romney on us or because they actively work against our candidate if it isn’t Romney. The RINO establishment would rather be in the minority than have a real Republican conservative majority.
Iron Fist wrote:
Sigh.. You make the assumption that RINO’s are liberal republicans. Rather than democrats who pretend to be republicans for a) the purpose of getting elected and b) to further the goals of the Marxist/progressives. It is my personal opinion that the vast majority of RINO’s are committing what can only honestly be called political perfidy.
@ doriangrey:
Hmmm….I seem to recall someone ELSE who played bass (he who will not be named in order to foil his internet search for mentions of himself).
@ Carolina Girl:
I also would have impeached him for Price/wage controls.
Carolina Girl wrote:
The ponytail blob? Na, he’s a guitarist.
@ Iron Fist:
Even winning a majority in the Senate won’t do anyone any good if Обама re-Occupies the White House in November, because if it isn’t veto-proof (or even if it IS), Обама will simply rule by decree. He’s already proven that.
@ Iron Fist:
Speaking of Clinton, I will bet you big time that he keeps his trap shut about the price of gasoline and oil – wasn’t he the genius who vetoed drilling in ANWR? You know – because we wouldn’t see any oil for 10 years so drilling in that fabulous pristine area and its concommitant endangering of an Alaskan winter food supply wouldn’t solve the present crisis?
Carolina Girl wrote:
Do you think he’d still search for his name written backwards?
@ doriangrey:
Oh, sorry – I thought he played bass for Jarreau. Notice he doesn’t anymore and Jarreau is still touring last time I checked.
@ doriangrey:
Historically the Republicans have been Center-Left. Reagan, Eisenhower(moderate-Conservative), Coolidge, Harding were the exception.
Hoover, Nixon, Ford, Bush, and Bush II were Center-Left Liberals.
The RINOs are the old guard of the GOP.
This is why Romney and Santorum are the top 2. Most Republican voters are Center-Left. Where they split with the Democrats is on Social issues and they are not Marxists.
I has a question.
Why Gibson?
Why not, say, Martin Guitars?
Why Gibson?
Carolina Girl wrote:
Na, he is just a guitarist, mediocre one at that. (he did play for Jarreau, but as a guitarist)
@ Macker:
He should try it. These days, all he gets is a million hits for a linesman for the Carolina Panthers.
@ Carolina Girl:
Guess what the Old Horndog has been up to…Believe it or Don’t, he actually got nominated for a Nobel Piece of Ass Prize!
@ doriangrey:
Thanks, DG – I does get my guitar-ing a bit mixed up. I do know that Paul McCartney, Gene Simmons and Brian Wilson played bass, so that’s something, I guess.
@ Macker:
Guess they forgot all about that Iraqi aspirin factory incident, not to mention Waco and Elian Gonzalez.
Carolina Girl wrote:
No Worky!
@ Carolina Girl:
The Zero’s plan to combat the high prices at the pump? good question, it appears as though a bumper sticker for all of our cars should do the trick.
@ Carolina Girl:
He probably had a falling out with Jarreau.
@ doriangrey:
He’s the greatest Guitarist ever!
Stop hating!
/////
@ Rodan:
I’ll bet he was hitting up on some of Al’s groupies!
Flyovercountry wrote:
He’s taking a page from Gerry Ford. WIN (WHip Inflation Now)!
Flyovercountry wrote:
POND SCUM!!!!!
@ eaglesoars:
You mean insofar as a raid over the wood?
@ Rodan:
As time goes on, I find myself in agreement more and more. Fixing the Republican Party is the crap being sold by the Republican Party to keep us in the fold. They want the Conservative Votes, and not the Conservative Voice. It is time we form an actual Free Market, strong defense, don’t give in to Sharia Party.
@ Carolina Girl:
Why you be hatin’ on pond scum?
@ Flyovercountry:
God knows the Ruling Elite hated Reagan and no doubt breathed a sigh of relief when his two terms were finished. The only thing that saved the election for Bush 41 was the Democrats inability to find a decent candidate to run against him. Dukakis pretty much did himself in with Willie Horton (thank you, Al Gore) and the stupid question about Kitty being raped.
And of course, there was that photogenic tank ride…..
Carolina Girl wrote:
yeah. Why is Gibson being singled out? did somebody contribute to the wrong political party or something?
There’s no doubt in my mind that this is part of a punishment/extortion scheme by this admin.
Well there it is. The Marxist is more concerned about jobs abroad than here. And with his concern hurts American industry.
@ Flyovercountry:
You want to laugh, I made this observation as a teenager 20 years ago. Poppy Bush raised taxes, exploded the deficit. Then to appear Conservative he attacked Murphy Brown, preached family values and talked about school prayer.
When I started HS in 89, it was cool to be a Republican. It meant you liked money, got good cars and got hot chicks. When I graduated in 93, being a Republican wasn’t cool and it meant being grouchy, being a scold and hating music. That image hasn’t changed in 20 years.
@ Rodan:
Actually, it wasn’t Bush I who went after Murphy Brown…it was Dan Quayle. And he was RIGHT! Never mind the rest of the segment….
eaglesoars wrote:
Two reasons. One because Gibson is the largest and most well known guitar manufacture in America. And two because the Obama Administration officials are ignorant imbecilic assholes.
Like many other people the Obama officials mistakenly believed that the majority of musicians are liberals. A dirty little secret in the music industry is, that this simply isn’t the case. There are a few very high profile extremely liberal musicians and a lot of music industry management people who are very liberal, but musicians themselves are generally speaking a lot more conservative than most people realize.
While music itself as an academic discipline is technically classified as a liberal arts degree, that classification is a misnomer. A degree in music, contrary to what the majority of the public believes, is actually the second most intellectually and academically challenging degree you can obtain, exceeded only in the difficulty of obtaining by a degree in pure mathematics. Yeas, a degree in Music really is that tough.
As a consequence of the challenges involved in obtaining either a degree in Music or professional level competency on an instrument musicians tend to lean towards the conservative end of the spectrum.
The buffoons in the Obama administration assumed that Gibson could be intimidated and cowed into returning to what they believed to be the proper political stature of a liberal industry. Assuming that it was only a couple of somewhat conservative senior management people at Gibson that had led Gibson astray.
In other words, what this was really all about, was that Gibson was making conservative political donations instead of liberal democrat donations and the Obama Administration figured that a little old fashioned Chicago styled intimidation was all it would take to get Gibson back in line.
What they didn’t count on was just how deep the conservative root’s at Gibson ran, or for that matter how deep those roots run in the music industry. They figured that the musicians who rely on Gibson would pressure Gibson, they never expected the musicians to side with Gibson.
@ Macker:
Well it was big turn off. In 92, people were worried about the economy, not some TV character. Also, she choose to have the kid, not abort it. So shouldn’t have she been applauded for that? That’s why Ross Perot got 19% of the vote. Economic Conservatives had no place to go.
eaglesoars wrote:
Yes.
@ doriangrey:
That was copied right out of Hugo Chavez’s play book.
Rodan wrote:
No, it was copied right out of Mayor Daley’s playbook.
@ eaglesoars:
It was pointed out at the time of the raid that indeed, Martin was “guilty” of the same infractions and was completely unmolested by the EPA and that there was evidence that Martin contributed to Democratic causes. Someone here may have a better recollection of the facts of the entire incident or a link. I’ll look for one for you. The Administration’s conduct is outrageous.
Heh heh heh…
H/T Hotgas…
doriangrey wrote:
I knnow. I took a semester in music theory. It was fun but I knew my limits.
As for consrvative musicians, two people just fall right out of my head; Gene Simmons and Ted Nugent.
So, this really IS about political donations. Why am I not surprised.
Rodan wrote:
Murphy Brown had nothing to do with why Ross Perot got 19% of the vote. Two things did: Bush I’s breaking his “No New Taxes” pledge and his imposition by executive fiat of an “Assault Weapons” import ban. Both fiscal (taxes) and social (gun control) issues were at the heart of that. That, and Clinton didn’t run as a dyed-in-the-woll Leftist, but as a “New” Democrat, so he didn’t seem as threatening. Obama has none of that going for him, but he may still very well win. If Romney is our nominee, well, he can’t convince Republicans to vote for him. How, exactly, is he supposed to bring in all of these “moderates”?
Iron Fist wrote:
He’s not.
People need a strong, contrasting view, and the GOP refuses to give them one.
eaglesoars wrote:
Cough cough, Gene Simmons (I voted for Barack Obama) really isn’t all that conservative. Dave Mustane makes Gene look like a squishy RINO.
Carolina Girl wrote:
Get Tal Wilkenfeld.
@ Carolina Girl:
Can I fix that for you?
Of course, pretending to investigate Wall Street and the oil futures market is much more pressing.
After all, much of Wall St. is in the tank for Obama.
Alberta Oil Peon wrote:
And Obama is really in the tank for Wall Street. Look who made out like bandits from TARP and the “Stimulus”. ‘Cause they were bandits, if you ask me…
@ Macker:
He was idiotic and tone deaf for doing that.
doriangrey wrote:
And has publicly regretted it. He admits he got taken in. Simmons is a friend of Israel – well d’uh, he was born there – and has been very supportative of our troops. Plus, he’s a true capitalist.
doriangrey wrote:
Very interesting, I did not know that.
doriangrey wrote:
I have worked with several people in my IT career with backgrounds in music, and while I found it curious, they were all extremely capable. If I remember correctly I asked one whom I had a close working relationship why, his answer was that music was very mathematical.
doriangrey wrote:
Reminds me of the GM dealership closings during the bailout, and talk that Republican supporters seemed to be targeted for closure.
The BHO Administration is at once a thugocracy & Revenge
of the Nerds.
The lack of respect for individual & corporate rights now
will seem benign compared to what they will do with a second term.
eaglesoars wrote:
Obama???
The imbeciles in the Obama Administration made the same mistake most American make, which is to assume that since the majority of Hollywierd types, the entertainment industry folks, are liberals, that most musicians are as well. The Movie/entertainment capital is Hollywierd, the Music capital is Hollywierd, ergo they are interchangeable.
The truth however is, that most musicians simply don’t make their political inclinations public. Generally speaking, it isn’t good for their careers (to many extremely liberal people in upper management at the major labels) and their fan’s basically don’t want to hear about politics. Their fan’s want to have fun listening to music, they don’t want to be lectured, politics is only fun if you are a hardcore political junkie, otherwise most people think it’s a damned drag.
@ Iron Fist:
That’s very true as well. But keep in mind, there are people who don’t view Guns as a Social issue. In my case I view it as a Constitutional Right! But I see why you view it as a social issue because the Left has framed it that way. A Constitutional Right shouldn’t even be an issue!
My beef isn’t with people who are both Economic and Social Conservatives. Heck, my favorites, Allen West, Marco Rubio and Pat Toomey are in that category. My beef is with people who use Social issues to cover up their Liberal Economic/Fiscal views. That’s the Bush Clan, Mike Huckabee and Santorum. That’s what Quayle did with Murphy Brown. He knew Conservatives were pissed with Bush’s Fiscals and Economic liberalism. S he trumped up the culture war to trick Conservatives. It backfired in 92. That’s who I have a gripe with.
Its obvious the Republican Establishment still hasn’t learned the lesson of 92.
New Thread.
eaglesoars wrote:
If Gene were an actual conservative he would have never been taken in like that. There is a lot more to being a conservative than supporting Israel and liking to make a buck. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying here, Gene Simmons is a very intelligent man. What he really isn’t is political, he is at best a center right moderate.
Gene is very much a capitalist, when it comes to Gene making a buck, what he isn’t so good at is spreading the wealth.
@ doriangrey:
I believe that there’s also that guy in Mega-Death that recently said he’d be voting for Santorum (I’m not a heavy metal girl, so his name escapes me).
@ Iron Fist:
Well, in honesty – TARP was the brainchild of Ben Bernacke under the Bush Administration. He thought it would free up the credit markets. Then they used it to bail out AIG and GM.
I often wonder how Dick Fuld felt after Paulson and Bernacke went and bailed out practically every entity in trouble but let his company fail (that’s not to say Fuld’s leadership was all that great, but that didn’t stop them from writing checks to everyone else).
@ Carolina Girl:
That’s Dave Mustain.
@ Carolina Girl:
Ben Bernanke is a worthless waste of breathable air, and, in truth, TARP was the worst thing to come out of the Bush years. All it was was the money people looting the public treasury. Obama just compounded it by looting another trillion dollars in “stimulus” funds. That made a lot of Democrat donors rich, but did precious little to stimulate the economy. I consider it the largest bank robbery in history. Nothing else comes close.