Eco-zealous feds target Gibson guitars, antique piano sellers; Updated: Gibson explains

Michelle Malkin ^ | 8/25/11 | Michelle Malkin

[Nachum]

The real endangered species?

I’ve seen a lot of enviro-nitwittery over the years, but this takes the cake.

US Fish and Wildlife officials have raided the famous Gibson Guitars. And the instrument-maker isn’t alone. Antique piano dealers are also in the crosshairs. Why? Because rare, beautiful instruments made of ecologically incorrect materials must be sacrificed at the green altar. Talk about hitting a sour note.

Eric Felten at the WSJ reports:

Federal agents swooped in on Gibson Guitar Wednesday, raiding factories and offices in Memphis and Nashville, seizing several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. The Feds are keeping mum, but in a statement yesterday Gibson’s chairman and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, defended his company’s manufacturing policies, accusing the Justice Department of bullying the company. “The wood the government seized Wednesday is from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier,” he said, suggesting the Feds are using the aggressive enforcement of overly broad laws to make the company cry uncle.

It isn’t the first time that agents of the Fish and Wildlife Service have come knocking at the storied maker of such iconic instruments as the Les Paul electric guitar, the J-160E acoustic-electric John Lennon played, and essential jazz-boxes such as Charlie Christian’s ES-150. In 2009 the Feds seized several guitars and pallets of wood from a Gibson factory, and both sides have been wrangling over the goods in a case with the delightful name “United States of America v. Ebony Wood in Various Forms.”

[griswold3]

Note to Feds: You, Bastards! I’ll give you my guitar when you take it from my cold dead hands!

[RC one]

It’s gonna take Tea power to do it. For the sake of Gibson Guitars everywhere, we have to win big in 2012. I own a ‘78 Gibson Les Paul custom BTW. It’s one of those rare American things that doesn’t ever become worth less than you paid for it (unless you break it).

[6SJ7]

This is just the Fed’s version of the mafia protection racket.

“Yous mights want to consider a campaign contribution, strictly voluntary mind you, ‘cause you never knows what could happen to your bidness. The Fish and Wildlife might pay yous a little visit.”

[MrEdd]

It is an issue that can be used to hammer youth cullture with next year.

don’t forget the Amish milkmen.

[livius]

It’ll be a huge file. The other unnerving thing is that most people are totally unaware of what’s going on.

[absolootezer0]

This is killing the importing and exporting of instruments, to say nothing of building them. It’s the US government eco-terrorists at work.

not just instruments, it's *anything" with even a small chunk of whatever material they deem "endangered." jewelery, guns, clothes, furniture, antiques and curios, art..

[steelyourfaith]

Thanx for the econuttery ping Army Air Corps !

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[justapicker]

I don’t know how many voting guitarists there are in the USA, probably millions.

Big O might have scewed his own pooch (apologies to Bo).

[FlingWingFlyer]

I never owned a Gibson although I would have like to have had one. Always played Fenders to get that “Waylon Jennings” sound. I knew a guy in the Army whose father gave him a Les Paul. This was back in the mid 70s and the guitar was already old at that time. The guy had it thrown in the back seat of his car. He didn’t even have a case for it. Needless to say, it was getting beat up pretty bad. I could have strangled him. He wouldn’t sell it to me because it “used to belong” to his dad.

[Gena Bukin]

I own a ‘78 Gibson Les Paul custom BTW. It’s one of those rare American things that doesn’t ever become worth less than you paid for it (unless you break it).

Yep! I own a Gibson Custom Shop Historic 1958 Les Paul reissue. Some day it will be my son's.

[MikeSteelBe]

I had a ‘73 Les Paul Deluxe and a ‘78 Les Paul Standard, back when you could get them used for $500. That’s what I paid for my ‘06 Epiphone Les Paul Custom Vintage now.

I wonder if any values will spike like what happened to Colt Series 70 pistols and Python Revolvers?

[upsdriver]

Anyone still want to argue we cannot balance the budget on spending cuts alone?

Yeah, I'd include massive tax cuts as well.

[txhurl]

I hope you’re happy those mother-of-pearl frets cost an abalone its life somewhere! /green

[gargoyle]

...Been pissed off at the SchutzStaffel on lots of things but, as a musician, guitar and piano, this rrrrreally pisses me off!!!

[squarebarb]

I own a martin D-18 made in 1948. I bet I would be charged with something in a minute if ‘they’ knew I had it.

[PapaBear3625]

Was Gibson on a list of Republican donors?

[sportutegrl]

Feds going after luthiers. McCartney and Jackson’s “Ebony and Ivory” come to mind.

[RC one]

that is basically exactly what mine looks like except I have the Bigsby tremolo. I never play it though, I actually prefer my '72 telecaster thinline reissue. I installed 500 K pots on the volume and tone and it screams like a banshee.

[livius]

it's *anything" with even a small chunk of whatever material they deem "endangered."

Yes, that's true. They can lock down anything they want.

[RC one]

that is basically exactly what mine looks like except I have the Bigsby tremolo. I never play it though, I actually prefer my '72 telecaster thinline reissue. I installed 500 K pots on the volume and tone and it screams like a banshee.