How Stupid Will Government Get?

How dangerous?

If you own a guitar, you too could be targeted by the USA Feds based on a corrupted "Lacey Act" law.

The pervasive bullying by the U.S. government has gone beyond performers and has now reached the musical instrument industry.

My Long-necked, ebony and rosewood Gibson SG's "Kate" and "The Countess", together gave a brief statement to media by Skype-phone from an undisclosed location. Their statement was short and sweet when asked if they have a message for the United States' government officials persecuting Gibson. "Fuck Off", the two guitars wailed together in a growling F-Major.

"Due process under the law and assumed innocencebefore being proven guilty are two concepts that are apparently no longer applicable in the United States of America, at least as far as the federal government is concerned"says Natural News' magazine writers. 

Using an obscure law dating back to 1900, American SWAT teams descended upon two Gibson manufacturing plants on August 31, 2011 and seized over million worth of rare woods used to make the necks of Gibson Guitars like the "SG" (Solid Guitar) and the "Les Paul". There may be a shortage of new Gibson guitars soon.

The "Lacey Act", of 1900, was originally passed to regulate trade in bird feathers used for hats and amended in 2008 to cover wood and other plant products. It requires companies to make detailed disclosures about wood imports and bars the purchase of goods exported in violation of a foreign country's laws.

The U.S. Government has decided that "Kate" and "The Countess" are Outlaw Guitars.

It would seem that all Gibson guitars made with the outlawed wood are also outlawed and subject to seizure unless Gibson or some entity prevails in a legal action against the United States' Justice Department.

It does not matter if the guitar was produced in full accordance with the law -- if the U.S. government decides that some aspect of the guitar is in violation of the Lacey Act, it could theoretically seize it or any other wood-containing instrument at airports, country borders, and other areas, and even arrest the instrument owners in the process.

"Most people would say you have to know you did something wrong to do something wrong. This [U.S.]  law says no, you don't have to have done anything wrong to be going to jail," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson's Chairman and CEO in a recent interview following the most recent incident.

The guitar at left is a Fender, all Maple guitar and not impacted by the recent scandal. The middle guitar is the "Blue-Horned Gibson SG" and is the subject 'Outlaw' guitar. The guitar at right contains the same rare woods as the middle guitar but made in Quebec, Canada by Godin and is not affected.

Gibson was raided once before in 2009.

The Justice Department of the United States and Gibson are battling in federal district court in Nashville, Tennessee over whether materials seized in the 2009 raid should be returned to Gibson. That civil fight provides indications of the case the government is trying to make against Gibson.

The Black Countess is an Outlaw Guitar!

Long hair, beards, tattoos, piercings and rings will get you arrested at the USA border. Now my guitars could be busted too.

The U.S. Government has decided that "Kate" and "The Countess" are  Outlaw Guitars. They are seriously growling about that.

My Long-necked, ebony and rosewood Gibson SG's  "Kate" and "The Countess", together gave a brief statement to media by Skype-phone from an undisclosed location. Their statement was short and sweet when asked if they have a message for the United States' government officials persecuting Gibson.

"Fuck Off",  the two guitars wailed together in a growling F-Major.

Peace, love and light

Ruffian Angel

See: http://youtu.be/2E-tXQ6kQoU for an interesting interview.

(See: http://www.naturalnews.com/033454_Gibson_Guitar_armed_raid.html#ixzz1WxfxgbTV).

The RINJ Foundation