Guitars, Cadillacs and Government Interference

So when the Obummer government wanted to crush the spirit of American business, ruin a key and historic industry for America and ensure hundreds if not thousands of Americans lose their jobs and become government dependees, they attacked Gibson guitars for their use of "endangered" wood - despite the fact that Gibson had complied with all laws in the US, and all laws overseas. Other guitar firms that weren't managed by prominent Republican CEOs, of course, were not targetted by the fleets of armed soldiers the government sent into Gibson to terrorize their workforce and purloin all of their working materials.


The government insists that business - even in matters of health care, cannot be trusted to do the right thing by their market, country and customers and must be forced, at the point of a gun if required, to comply with mandates that bureaucrats in Washington - yes the same ones that made all the GREAT decisions over at GSA, the ones we know we can trust with our money, have come up with.


But I digress.


But what if a business, a progressive, market attuned and smart business, interested in doing the right thing was to be left alone to solve a problem? According to the government office of Compliance and Thuggery, such businesses don't exist, and if they did, they surely would only be motivated by short term profits at the expense of their customers, their country and all natural resources? Is this true?

I give you Taylor Guitars.


Taylor recently acquired an ebony weood mill in Cameroon. Black ebony is a prized material for guitar fretboards. It's also on the verge of extinction.


Was this a hedge against diminishing worldwide supplies of ebony? Was it an effort to stabilize prices, or was the move was more about thoughtfully introducing sustainability into the supply chain? Surely no greedy business would THINK through the supply situation and get involved unless the government MADE them do it?

Perhaps not.


Alarmed by the diminishing supply of this wood, Taylor visited ebony loggers in Cameroon -- the last legal ebony harvesting site in the world. What they saw there defied business sense and common logic. Since the harvesters were unable to see whether an ebony tree would produce rich black wood, or an 'inferior' striated variety unless they first cut down the tree, they cut down 10 trees just to find the one "good one". And the nine trees that had been needlessly felled were left to rot.




Taylor realized that the striated ebony wood made acoustically and ergonomically perfect fretboards, amongst other guitar parts. In fact, Taylor had been using striated ebony for guitars since the company started -- initially as a cost-saving measure. Now, if other leading guitar brands could be convinced to use this wood, the ebony shortage would suddenly disappear, guitar builders would have ten times the supply and the Cameroons could sell 10 times as much wood.


Prior to the Cameroon acquistion, Taylor guitars had contemplated feedback from consumers recommending the company support tree replanting programs in areas stripped of ebony. It was a simple solution that would, in theory, provide a sustainable supply of the prized wood. It would also make for a wonderful corporate sustainability story.

In reality, however, the idea was less than ideal.

Bob Taylor said, "In places like Cameroon, it's not possible to do anything without a bribe. Planting trees in situations like this would simply fuel illegal harvesting, and do nothing to make the wood supply more sustainable." Taylor came to understand the solution was more complex. With the company's purchase of the mill, the full extent of that complexity was revealed.

"We quickly grasped there were fundamental issues that needed to be addressed -- contradictory laws and lumber accounting systems, for example" says Taylor. "We had to start by helping fix the system, demonstrating by example that doing business honestly -- taxing us and auditing us -- was in the government's best interest." Taylor is quick to point out that his company's approach has, of necessity, been methodical rather than splashy. "We aren't planting trees yet. We're working first to stop the illegal harvest, and get a better understanding of how many trees there actually are. Our focus is ensuring the harvest is legal, and then sustainable. It's a long-term strategy that might not make a great sound bite. But ultimately, it will help us save our own industry and the ebony species in Cameroon."

Taylor Guitars understands that looking at and understanding whole systems is key to creating successful, sustainable innovation, instead of "fake"solutions that make Western consumers feel good but do nothing to correct underlying problems. And this point is underscored when government bodies, with even less knowledge, with suspect motives and no accountability to anyone interfere with free market forces and , at the point of a gun, make companies behave the way they want them to.

It is bad business, bad poltics and bad ethics. While Taylor is succeeding because they were left alone, Gibson is still trying to get their ebony back from our government.

When will we learn?

Seized Gibson Guitars used by Mexican Rockers

WASHINGTON - Today's uncovering of secret multi-agency program for shipping illegal Gibson guitars to Mexican drug cartels left red-faced officials of the U.S. Department of Justice scrambling for an explanation amid angry calls for a Congressional investigation.

"I have ordered all agency personnel to fully cooperate in any Congressional inquiries, including all reasonable document requests, as soon as we can redact them with Sharpie pens and safety scissors," said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

The secret program came to light early this morning in the border town of Nogales, Arizona, after what was described as a wild battle of the bands between members of the Sinaloa cartel and Los Zetas, two of Mexico's most notorious and violent drug gangs.

"Usually these guys are armed with Mexican Strats and Squires, Epiphones, small caliber stuff like that," said Pedro Ochoa, 46, an eye witness to the 6-string melee. "This time they were packing the heavy firepower."

The steady barrage of power chords and piercing solo attacks attracted the attention of nearby U.S. Border Patrol agents, who arrived at the scene just as Los Zetas broke into Led Zeppelin's 'Immigrant Song.' By the time the dust had cleared, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Oscar Jimenez was found in a catatonic state of headbanging. He was later flown to the University of Arizona Hospital, where his condition is listed as seriously rawked.

The spandex-clad suspects were able to flee back into Mexico, but not before abandoning their arsenal of axes - the quality of which shocked Border Patrol agents.

"I've been working the border for over 25 years and have never seen a weapons cache like this," said Patrol Supervisor Mike Foreman. "A '53 Goldtop, a Mary Kay Strat, a '59 Black Beauty, Flying V's, a whole armory of SGs. Enough for an entire guitarmy. It's a wonder there weren't any total shreddings."

Suspicions that the U.S. Department of Justice was involved in the case first arose after agents noticed "Property of the U.S. Department of Justice" embossed on the back of each guitar. A trace of the serial numbers confirmed that they were confiscated only days earlier by DoJ agents from the Gibson Guitar Company in Memphis.

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request, Justice Department officials admitted that the guitars were part of a complicated sting program know as "Operation Fast and Fretless," ostensibly designed to stem traffic of illegal guitars and amplifiers between the U.S. and Mexico. The multi-agency program - involving Justice, ICE, TSA, EPA, IRS, FDA, Fish & Wildlife, USDA, and the Bureau of Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll - reportedly encourage border area pawn shops to sell the guitars to known drug kingpins.

Justice spokesman Gary Evans said the Nogales incident yesterday showed the program was a success. "By putting American guitars in the hands of Mexican gangs, I think we've proven what we've warned all along - that Mexican gangs have access to American guitars. Hopefully this will lead to sane and sensible guitar controls." 

Despite the defense of the program, Darrel Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Heavy Metal Affairs is expected to call hearings soon.

"We need to get to the bottom of this thing before it gets out of hand," said Issa. "We have reports that Justice is also providing Colombian cocaine gangs with Marshall Plexi Amplifiers."

Feds Raid Gibson Guitars (not because CEO is Republican!)

A week ago armed federal agents under the direction of the Justice Department raided a US corporation (120 years old) Gibson Guitars and seized wood used in the manufacture of instruments with the assertion that it was imported illegally. This is the second such raid, costing Gibson untold millions in down time costs not to mention the inevitable lost jobs.

In the first raid almost two years ago, agents armed with automatic weapons seized Madagascar ebony fingerboards. No charges were laid, and event the government of Madagascar provided documents and assertions that the wood was harvested properly, was not pirated and they were happy to sell it to Gibson. Apparently the Madagascar gov't understands how this jobs thing is supposed to work.

The wood seized this week came from Indian and was sourced legally. The supplier is certified with the Forest Stewardship Council (a blessing to ethically harvest and woods of all type) The gov't of India has endorsed its export. The Lacey Act requires that users (like Gibson!) of rare resources like speciality woods ensure that the harvesting and purchase/sale of the wood was done without convening local laws in the export country. This law was designed to stop the illegal harvest of rare woods and other plant-like items by pirates who circumvent the gov't of the exporting country and poach the wood.

So why have the Feds gone after Gibson? Did Gibson purchase wood from poachers? Are the Indians upset that Gibson had violated some local law?

Nope.

What the justice department is contending is that the INDIAN GOV'T IS NOT ENFORCING IT'S OWN LAWS STRINGENTLY ENOUGH! They feds are reading INDIAN LAW and saying that they will enforce it in this country to higher standard than India would. In essence - the Feds are subjecting Gibson not to US laws, but to the laws of a country on the other side of the world. It is not enough that Gibson adhere to the requirements of the Lacey Act and the FSC, but to local laws they cannot and should not have to contend with.

The obcure Indian regulation that the Feds are insisting on enforcing refers to the fact that Indian law says that the wood must be "finished" in India. India say this "finishing" is that the wood be cut into usable pieces for the purpose intended such as guitar fingerboards or pen blanks or whatever. Because the craftmen and women at Gibson sand and shape the wood for final installation - the US gov't is contending that the "finishing" happens here in contravention of Indian law - despite the assertion by the Indian gov't that they have NO ISSUE with Gibson's use of the wood and India is satisfied that "finishing" according to their definition has taken place in India. The government of the US is saying that US workers should not have jobs "finishing" wood.

So Martin Guitars in PA uses the same kind of wood from the same countries and has no raid, no gov't sanctions. Now I know that you might think that the fact that since the CEO of Martin is a big Obama supporter and that the CEO of Gibson is a long time and visible Republican that there is just an outside chance that some pressure was exerted. I roundly dismiss that notion - as I reject the notion that since Obama will be a one term President that the greens and union raiders are getting what they can now before the pillaging of Real America is over. That would be disrespectful of the Presidency, and of the glorious history of Chicago style politics. There has been no cases that I can point to of unions and the Democratic party influencing the LOSS of American jobs. I mean, other than that Boeing thing. That doesn't count. Or that GE thing with the gov't of China, that was an anomaly.......

Hey - you got a nice factory here, we sure wouldn't want anything to happen to it........



seal team 6