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is it the Lacey act that says that the sawn logs are illegal?



The Lacey Act is the law in question. The wood itself is legal, The question is about whether the wood was “finished” prior to coming into the US. So, foreign labor is okay, … American labor isn’t. The wood remains the same, so the same trees get cut down either way.

See my previous post ” #330498 - Thu Sep 01 2011 10:16 AM” for more detail on this.

No wonder American job growth was 0, (zero), last month for the first time since 1945.

And now, after Chris Martin, CEO of Martin Guitar, made comments supporting the Feds, there's a new twist from numerous sources. Here’s one.

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Another interesting tidbit in the Gibson Guitar saga
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Commenters yesterday wondered whether Gibson Guitar CEO Henry Juszkiewicz is a Republican donor. Yep, he is. It also turns out that Chris Martin IV, the CEO of Gibson competitor, C.F. Martin and Company, is a long-time donor to Democrats. C.F. Martin uses the same “questionable” Indian rosewood in its guitars, but has the federal government raided a C.F. Martin factory? Didn’t think so. Juszkiewicz said yesterday he feels like this is a personal attack. Could it be because it is?
John Hinderaker over at Power Line words it perfectly:
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It has come out that Juszkiewicz is a Republican donor, while the CEO of one of his principal competitors, C.F. Martin & Company, is a Democratic donor. Martin reportedly uses the same wood, but DOJ hasn’t raided them, leading to speculation that the Obama administration is sending a warning to Republican businessmen that they had better not oppose his re-election, lest they face criminal investigations. Normally such speculation would not be credible, but Eric Holder has politicized the Department of Justice to a point where such questions must be taken seriously. …
If nothing else, this incident illustrates the misguided priorities of the Obama administration. Harassing American businesses on frivolous grounds is not exactly what our economy needs at the moment. But the anti-business Obama administration just can’t help itself.


It’s also worth noting that the U.S. is a “trivial” importer of rosewood from India and Madagascar. According to Hinderaker, 95 percent of it goes to China. So, the whole “it’s for the trees” argument doesn’t really hold up.



Hmmmmm, the plot thickens.

Bob
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http://soundcloud.com/bobcflatpicke/music-in-the-mountains