Obama administration tells Gibson Guitar Company-Get out of America

Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
The environment is everybody's business. These aren't random laws. The EPA saves lives. If it were up to the Right, we'd still be choking on and dying from the kind of pollution that was totally legal from the Victorian Age until the 1970s and the Ecology Movement.

Remember when Lake Erie was considered "A dead lake?" No life in it, NONE. Lack of Environmental Regulations and Big Business doing whatever they wanted KILLED it. It was brought back to life, courtesy of the EPA! You want dead lakes? Shitty water? NO trees? Pollution and poison in your drinking water, your farm land,your food, your yard and your breast milk? Then eliminate the EPA. People who are capable of thinking beyond the tip of their own nose will see that Environmental Regulations are necessary.

Someone has to watch over and save the planet. That should NEVER be put on the back burner. Saying "it harms big business" is simply a red herring for big businesses who want ABSOLUTELY NO RULES about how they fuck up our planet.

Some things can't be fixed and this is the ONLY planet we have. Businesses have the obligation to FOLLOW THE LAWS when it comes to all things, including the environment. If they pack up their bags like spoiled children, because they aren't allowed to do WHATEVER THE FUCK THEY WANT and go somewhere else in order to continue to fuck up our planet, at least we know we did the right thing. All we can do is to encourage other countries to have similar or stronger Environmental Laws.

Then TAX THE FUCK out of those expat businesses when they try to do ANY business in the USA!
10/15/2011
Contributor: LoveDove LoveDove
Quote:
Originally posted by wetone123
I take personal offense at this latest ploy by the U.S. government because it will take about 1,000 jobs out of my city. Why must they take our jobs away and give them to overseas workers? I am very angry that Americans need jobs and THEY are taking ... more
Well, as a guitarist: Rosewood and ebony are critical. Absolutely critical. My guitar has solid rosewood back & sides, and an ebony fingerboard (cedar top.) Rosewood is one of the most revered woods used for the back & sides of guitars, but can also be used for fingerboards, so when the US Government took them - of course Gibson can't manufacture acoustic guitars, and possibly not electric guitars, either.

As far as I know, the only rosewood it's illegal to export/import is Brazilian Rosewood because those trees are in danger of becoming extinct. I'm not as aware of the laws on ebony.

I understand that the EPA wants to make sure that this wood isn't going to damage/pollute the US, and great! But Gibson's been importing the wood from India for 17 years and they choose to act now? Seems odd to me, but we don't have the whole story. And Gibson needs to make sure it meets regulations, yes, but the EPA shouldn't have shut down an entire factory by taking $500,000 worth of wood. Jeez.
01/26/2012
Contributor: Chirple Chirple
If it's the case that they broke the law, you can only blame them for the loss of US jobs.

They would have had a choice - either obey the law and keep jobs here, or do something semi-shady overseas.

It's not the law or enforcers killing jobs, it's the people who aren't following it and who will leave the country in order to avoid having to deal with it.


If they're innocent, cool, nothing against them. If the laws are truly unjust, well that sucks, hopefully they can be fought.
01/27/2012
Contributor: GONE! GONE!
What the hell?! =/
01/27/2012
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Follow up:

Six months later, still no charges filed....Read more here
02/24/2012
Contributor: wetone123 wetone123
Thanks for the update Stormy. Six months and still they can't come up with any charges against Gibson. Won't give them a day in court. This is just wrong.
02/26/2012