Gibson guitar under seige (McCain, Senate, doctor, CEO)
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I don't believe there are large political implications in any of this. I think that some mid-level, over zealous Customs official acted impulsively, or for his own reasons, whatever they may be, and Customs decided to cover up one of their own.
I can guarantee that if the same thing happened to another company, Customs would have been successful in covering their guy's butt. Every other guitar company would have caved in and let them keep the first batch of seized wood.
Gibson is not the largest guitar company in America. I don't know just how many electric guitars are produced daily, but they make about 80 acoustic guitars a day, compared to Martin's 200+ and Taylor's 200. All these numbers are probably lower now- those numbers came from my experience working for Gibson during 2003. I'm pretty sure that the scale is about the same- the production methods haven't changed.
It's possible that Customs went after Gibson because it is the smallest of the large manufacturers.
They just didn't know Henry. Like i mentioned earlier, his middle name is Sue.
We have seen similar things happen forever. There are all kinds of abuses from all kinds of government agencies, and it happens just as much on a local level as a national level; how many local legal cases do you know of where the prosecutors were found to be in the wrong and never apologized?
What do these prosecutors do? They try threatening further prosecution. They try to work out a deal that saves face. They try to just make it die peacefully. Anything but buck up, face humiliation, and apologize.
It always ends up being a career killer for somebody, too. I'll bet Customs is real busy now trying to figure out who gets thrown to the lions.
You already know me, Toyman. I'm not a liberal or a conservative. I'm moderately liberal when it comes to politics, but I'm an Idahoan, just like you- every Idahoan is more conservative than anything else.
In this case, I'm solidly on Henry's side. He has done things in the past I didn't agree with, but not this time.
There is nothing I've heard from him so far that implies there's some big conspiracy- all he wants his day in court, and he should have it, just as soon as possible.
And the fact is, every major guitar company in America could close up shop here at any time and move overseas. All of them have overseas facilities and connections.
There is no Republican or Democrat to it- Chris Martin V and Henry Juzkiewicz take equal pride in making their premier products in the USA. So does every other American manufacturer of fine guitars. It's more than just money to all of them.
Building guitars is a small specialized business; all the owners know each other, support each other, and share many improvements that develop from one or another.
Martin, Taylor and others may well be contributing support to Henry. What hits one hits all.
You might be able to casually dismiss the first seizure as some "over zealous Customs official" acting impulsively the first time, but it does not explain why the government kept the Madagascar ebony from their first seizure, or why there has been no indictments against Gibson for a year and nine months. If the government is not going to bring charges, the should have returned Gibson's property long ago.
It also does not explain why Gibson was targeted a second time for the seizure of its property, after the company bought their ebony and rosewood from a completely different source this time. The exact same source Martin buys their ebony and rosewood. Yet, once again, no charges have been filed against Gibson.
The government continues to take a very necessary component to Gibson's guitars. Without that ebony and rosewood, they are not able to manufacture guitars, as you well know.
The government either needs to indict Gibson, or return its property. They cannot simply take what they want, keep it, and file no charges. Gibson should be suing the feds to get their property back.
They can get legally imported ebony from trees that are not endangered. I don't feel an ounce of sympathy for greedy Gibson.
Gibson’s CEO Henry E. Juszkiewicz is a Republican donor. But the CEO of C.F. Martin & Company — one of Gibson’s main competitors and another user of the “East Indian Rosewood” — is a big Democratic donor.
This whole raid really is that simple.
"Punish your enemies, and reward your friends" - Barrack Hussein Oboma
Gibson’s CEO Henry E. Juszkiewicz is a Republican donor. But the CEO of C.F. Martin & Company — one of Gibson’s main competitors and another user of the “East Indian Rosewood” — is a big Democratic donor.
This whole raid really is that simple.
"Punish your enemies, and reward your friends" - Barrack Hussein Oboma
It sure is. The Feds told Gibson that if they outsourced their labor for the fret boards to Madagascar, that their problems would go away. I don't know how anyone can not see that this administration is trying very hard to destroy America and send all of our jobs over seas.
WOW! Having gone through this thread from start makes me glad more than ever to still have my Gibby. I have a cherry ES-335 that I bought new in 1965 for $250, including a hard-shell, plush-lined case. What impressed me was not only the feel of the thin semi-acoustical body, but the thin neck and how it sounds. Rich and warm both plugged in or acoustically. It still sounds as good as the day I bought it. I was a little concerned that the glaze finish is crackled, although it doesn't affect anything. An appraiser said the crackle is natural because of the age, and adds to the value. I've never thought about selling it. I've seen prices for Gibson's ES-335 classic reproductions, and the prices are shocking. These days trying to find a music store in my area that carries Gibson guitars is like trying to find hen's teeth.
Obama's DOJ tells Gibson Guitar to move production overseas
Isn't that special. Obama's DOJ is forcing an American company to move production overseas and outsource more American jobs.
It wasn't enough that the Department of Justice raided 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 have bluntly informed them that their legal problems would go away if they moved their manufacturing overseas.
When will the Dems? They had the power to do so and didn't. Keep supporting the party that is tearing this nation apart job by job!
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Obama's DOJ tells Gibson Guitar to move production overseas
