Gibson Guitars, G-Men and Regulatory Absurdity

   Gibson guitars seem to be a major threat to the United States and conservation. That’s the conclusion I reached after reading about how an armed SWAT team arrived at the company’s factories and headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee.

   On August 24 federal agents arrived with all the subtlety of a Hollywood celebrity. A simple office call didn’t fit the bill. Mind you, guitar makers, as a lot, must be prone to intense violence while making fine instruments. Otherwise, why the hoopla?

   The November 12 issue of the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz about the “invasion” of the agents. In addition to a SWAT team with automatic weapons, Fish and Wildlife Service agents entered the factories and threatened the poor craftsmen and other employees. What heinous crime did Gibson commit to warrant such behavior? Well, we don’t really know because they have not been charged with a crime. What? No charge? Nope. It’s hard to imagine what crime is so secret even the alleged perpetrator can’t be told about it. Entré to the premises was gained because the feds had a warrant issued under the Lacy Act, a conservation law.

   What conservation law did Gibson violate? Guitar makers use imported rosewood to form the frets on guitars (that’s the long, skinny part where musicians place their fingers to make chords.) Guitar makers don’t normally raise their exposure to liability by importing illegal hardwoods from other nations. Neither did Gibson. They have all the proper documentation stating unequivocally they met the standards for legal importation of rosewood from India. So what is the real problem? That’s hard to say. Because Juszkiewicz isn’t speculating about any of it.

   The CEO denies the “raid” was politically motivated. Naturally he has some smart lawyers who advised him to keep mum, especially in front of the press. No sense stirring up yet more animosity from the purveyors of political correctness and liberal nonsense. The interview is an upbeat account of how Gibson is faring, other than the pesky problem of the Lacey Act. Musicians are all about making music on their instruments and listening to music through a variety of playthings, so Gibson is focusing on that, rather than the theatrics. Still, you have to wonder.

   If a major music instrument manufacturer can be hounded by thugs supposedly representing us in the guise of government workers, what could happen to the rest of us and our businesses? Is your business safe from predatory intervention? Go ask the owners of coal mines. If the EPA regulations continue unabated we’ll see more mines shutting down with the concomitant rise in energy prices. Energy companies are under attack now from untenable regulations. What other businesses will find themselves in court, their rights sacrificed on the altar of politics.

   Gibson doesn’t claim politics is behind this scare tactic. Boeing will sing a different song. Their move to build a plant in South Carolina is being blocked by the National Labor Relations Board, an entity with no jurisdiction over where companies build their plants. Yet, somehow, they are in the midst of trammeling upon Boeings right to conduct business as it sees fit. See a pattern here?

   If you care about your business, your personal life, and the ability for you and your family to decide for yourself how to pursue your own happiness, then start making noise. As P.J. O’Rourke says in his book, “Don’t Vote, It Just Encourages the Bastards,” we have the only republic founded upon the premise that we are endowed by our Creator to many things, including the right to pursue happiness. Exercise your rights and tell the turkeys to leave you alone. In a world gone mad with murders and terrorists, surely there are more important problems than picking on guitar makers about where they obtain their wood for parts. This is especially true if that business followed all the laws in importing the wood. What a waste of taxpayer dollars. But, then, that’s what the left does best…waste our money, right? Okay, time to smile again. And it’s time for a real change, don’t you think?

Have a terrific day!

Patricia